decompression without training

[Dr Wu]

thanks for all the advice.. from what Ive read so far seems like occasionally going into deco is not a deadly sin, but I should get some training before planning to do a deco dive

Not at all!

As it has been stated above you must have a plan if you "go into deco".

Every time.

Think about it like sex. "Once in a while without proper protection" is a very bad idea. The law of averages will catch up with you eventually.

Learn how to protect yourself for every adventure both above and below the surface.

 

[Thalassamania]

NOAA manual
U.S. Navy Manual - free on the internet!
UNESCO Standard of Practice for Scientific Diving (don't let the title fool you, great book)
"Scuba Diving," Fred Roberts (dated, but oh, so, complete - a new revision would be great)
"Deeper into Diving," John Lippmann

 

[DevonDiver]

1. If you bouyancy is not sufficiently expert to ensure you can hold a stop in mid-water, without reference and without rising or sinking by a few inches (not meters!), then you should NOT do deco, either by purpose or accident.

2. If you have not planned your gas requirements or have not got adequate redundancy (and if you do not understand what 'adequate redundancy' is!), then you should NOT do deco, either by purpose or accident.

3. If you do not fully understand the safety implications of missing deco, then you should NOT do deco, either by purpose or accident.

4. If you can not anticipate and/or plan the decompression required for a dive that you intend to do,then you should NOT do deco, either by purpose or accident.

The list goes on.........

Dive WITHIN the limits of your training. Experience counts for a lot, but get an expert second-opinion of your abilities (whether on a 'course' or not) before you attempt to extend the limitations of your diving.

 

[waynne fowler]

IMO it's a great thing that you ask this question Steve and it speaks well of you I think. However that you 'have' to ask say's you shouldn't do it.....Yet... Train all you want, IMO training won't make you ready for pulling deco. It's knowledge and experience. Now that said.. I think the fact that you ask this question means that you'd be able to get the right information from a proper course. (though I've seen plenty of people go thru the training and IMVHO still were not ready to do deco because they really didn't understand what was going on). Anyone can download a deco program and cut some tables or slap a computer on their wrist and go do deco dives... and most likely all will be ok if they simply 'do as they are told'... but, again IMO, they're playing Russian Roulette in that if something unexpected comes up and they have to get themselves out of a fix, they wouldn't have the proper knowledge to make appropriate choices as to whats the best way to get home safely.
find a good mentor.... someone who dives well beyond the realm you wish to, take some training, but learn all you can even outside the course.. go slow and gain some experience with nice mellow stuff...

Have fun Steve, being versed in decompression procedures and theory can be a wonderful way to open up a whole new arena of this great sport.
JM2C

 

[H2Andy]

1. If you bouyancy is not sufficiently expert to ensure you can hold a stop in mid-water, without reference and without rising or sinking by a few inches (not meters!), then you should NOT do deco, either by purpose or accident.

2. If you have not planned your gas requirements or have not got adequate redundancy (and if you do not understand what 'adequate redundancy' is!), then you should NOT do deco, either by purpose or accident.

i think those two are the key

doing deco is no big deal IF you have enough gas and can keep track of and hold to your required depth

"enough gas" implies planning, which implies training

"keep track of and hold on to your depth" implies skills which implies experience

so ... don't do deco without the required training and experience

that said, if you accidentally hit deco on a recreational dive, don't panic. your obligation is minimal, and you should be ok if you do a slow ascent and as long a safety stop as you can

don't set out to do it on purpose, but if it happens, keep a cool head, take it slowly, and learn from your mistake so it doesn't happen again

 

[Web Monkey]

Im getting my first dive comp in the mail in a couple days and I want to know how often have you/did you go into decompression mode (either accidentally or purposefully) without deco training. How safe is this (im guessing not very)? Please elaborate.

Aside from the training aspect, a lot of it depends on the computer.

A good air-integrated computer will be screaming at you to ascend while you still have enough gas left to handle your deco obligation.

A not-so-good (or non-air-integrated computer) can happily tell you that you require a 20 minute deco stop, even though you only have 3 minutes of gas left. This gives you a choice between:

• Getting "lucky", bent or killed (depends on how much deco you're blowing off)
• Drowning
• Hoping someone else has enough gas left to save your bacon and that you can make them understand the problem

Terry

 

[vladimir]

1. If you bouyancy is not sufficiently expert to ensure you can hold a stop in mid-water, without reference and without rising or sinking by a few inches (not meters!), then you should NOT do deco, either by purpose or accident.

Really? I'm having a hard time believing that everybody doing decompression dives is holding their mid-water stops within a few inches without reference. I have an even tougher time believing that, say, 1-foot fluctuations would have dire consequences if I did acquire a 3-minute ceiling by overstaying my NDL a little.

 

[Thalassamania]

They should be holding their stops that close. 1 foot fluctuations would not likely have consequences for a required 3 min stop, but where do you draw the line? When will it have an effect? Not knowing where the cliff edge is means towing the line as bes you possible can, even when it seems unimportant and insignificant. Just ask yourself ... how important is bowel, bladder and sexual function to you?

 

[Dr Wu]

Aside from the training aspect, a lot of it depends on the computer.

A good air-integrated computer will be screaming at you to ascend while you still have enough gas left to handle your deco obligation.

A not-so-good (or non-air-integrated computer) can happily tell you that you require a 20 minute deco stop, even though you only have 3 minutes of gas left. This gives you a choice between:

• Getting "lucky", bent or killed (depends on how much deco you're blowing off)
• Drowning
• Hoping someone else has enough gas left to save your bacon and that you can make them understand the problem

Terry

Well I guess there is your answer to the question of "going into deco" if you have a "bad" computer.

Apparently you are going to either "get lucky", bent or die. You might also drown (option two) but apparently that is different from death so keep that option in mind should the opportunity arise.

That's with a "bad" computer.

So make sure you get a "good" one.








'

 

[vladimir]

Just ask yourself ... how important is bowel, bladder and sexual function to you?

Too important to not have more of a safety margin than "a few inches" between a scheduled stop and where I might stray to. But I am an NDL diver, so I'll accept it if you tell me that people routinely hold their stops that well. Clearly too, I will remain an NDL diver, because I am okay with a safety stop that ranges anywhere between 14 and 16 feet, for example.