Exceeded NDL by a bit, but computer cleared me. What should I do?

[Gandalf-the-Diver]

dA "mandatory safety stop" is a contradiction of terms. I think it's more clear to consider a stop either mandatory (as in this case) or an optional/safety stop.

The DC assumes an ascent rate of 30 fpm, and the diver would have broken the ceiling had they ascended as expected (or faster). Instead, the diver ascended more slowly than expected, which gave additional time to off-gas and the mandatory stop was no longer needed. The second blip was caused by the on-gassing due to the descent. Similarly, a slower than expected ascent cleared the mandatory stop obligation before arriving.

Shearwater automatically goes to a 5 min SS when it is set to adaptive, and one goes below 100'.

 

[Bob DBF]

Just go into deco, clears on ascent, not much different than a no stop dive.

I would agree with you, unless the diver has no idea they have gone into deco, nevermind about the ramifications of wandering into deco. Everything works out fine until it doesn't.

 

[Centrals]

Once you came shallow, it recalculated at the new depth, giving you more time. Then, it recalculated again when you went deeper.

Once, you started your final ascent, it decided you had been shallow long enough that you no longer needed a mandatory safety stop.

My limited experience on RGBM indicated differently. And the "penalty" carried over to the subsequent dive.

 

[Centrals]

I would agree with you, unless the diver has no idea they have gone into deco, nevermind about the ramifications of wandering into deco. Everything works out fine until it doesn't.

I have seen in few cases that the guide have to force the diver to complete the mandatory deco stop! On one occasion the diver has accumulated 13 mins of deco in her Suunto Mosquito and was ready to surface until the guide put a stop to it.
Some dive guides will check the computer of "new" diver before surfacing.

 

[Gandalf-the-Diver]

t’s a mandatory SS if his computer algorithm automatically adds the stop just because he exceeded the recreational limit of 130ft

Shearwater, set to adaptive SS automatically goes to 5 min if I go below 100'.

 

[arew+4]

Shearwater, set to adaptive SS automatically goes to 5 min if I go below 100'.

What if you blow off the the SS, does the shearwater penalize you? Skipping Suunto's manditory SS will result in a penalty, you won't be locked out but your NDL will take a hit until the computer clears.

 

[inquis]

What if you blow off the the SS, does the shearwater penalize you?

Nope. In their words:
There is no lock-out or other penalty for omitting a safety stop, as they are optional.

 

[johndiver999]

It’s not that unusual to go slightly into deco and then have the computer clear before you get to the safety stop. I personally don’t consider this to be an actual deco dive and just carry on as normal. I certainly wouldn’t sit out any dives because of it.

I think that is a strange thing to say. Your computer does all the math and says you have entered into Deco, yet you don't consider that to be "real". I think that is a dangerous way to look at the situation and not the way it should be viewed by a person like the OP who is unfamiliar with the situation and is seeking guidance and perspective.

We have enough trouble with terminology where we already have "deco", "safety stop", "mandatory safety stop", "optional/recommended safety stop" and now you want to add to the mix a new term, the idea of "not real deco"?

I'm more simplistic in my thinking. Either you have a safety stop or a deco stop. Pick one, they are not the same, they may both be estimates based on theory, but the concepts ARE DIFFERENT.

Not that I am advocating that someone drastically modifies their subsequent diving that day, if they wander into deco for a few minutes (and clear it), but I would rather that the terminology be simpler and more easy to understand. Adding in all these "made up" adjectives doesn't help with the basic comprehension of the situation nor make things safer.

 

[jborg]

I think the point was that the deco stop cleared during ascent before reaching the stop depth. No deco done, not a deco dive... But of course, if they’d have felt an urgent need to do a CESA at the point they were in deco, then it would indeed have been a deco dive…

 

[rongoodman]

I'm more simplistic in my thinking. Either you have a safety stop or a deco stop. Pick one, they are not the same, they may both be estimates based on theory, but the concepts ARE DIFFERENT.

True, but the original poster was never presented with a deco stop, so the question is moot. One could argue that he should have been paying more attention to his computer but that's a different issue.