first deco dive

[LanceLisenby]

I was diving a wreck in pensacola Sunday and my computer was inching toward deco mode while I still had plenty of air(1500psi). I let 0min come and go deciding to test out the deco mode. I started my ascent and the deco stop was displayed at 10' for 2 min. A little anti-climatic since my regular safety stop is more conservative.

Anyway, I was hoping for some feedback from you more experienced divers on whether this would be considered wreckless behavior or is deco diving really just part of the sport if done conscientiosly.

 

[ScubaSteve]

If you do not have deco training (formal or informal) then I would classify it as reckless. Just my opinion.

 

[LiteHedded]

reckless.

 

[Randy43068]

All dives are deco dives.

Technically.

 

[DevonDiver]

There are different 'levels' of deco.

The deco that you incurred on your computer, may not even have happened on a slightly less conservative computer. Many dives that you complete as no-deco, would be deco for tables divers. etc etc etc

The problem with any deco situation is that you don't know the implications... so you have to be conservative. That means you have to stick with the decompression schedule.

If not properly trained and equipped, as a recreational diver, you could be forced to 'blow' decompression if an emergency happened, or your buoyancy was bad. That could kill you or leave you paralysed. It's not worth the risk.

The other problem is that it is not optimum to run deco based on your recreational diving computer. Those computers provide little more than 'emergency deco' stops to get you to the surface.

Get some proper decompression software...and see what sort of profile/schedule that gives you compared to your recreational computer....

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

You could get just as bent with 2 minutes of no decompression time left as with running 2 minutes over, but the risk is low either way. Really you should have a plan on what decompression you are going to do and be sure you have the gas to do it. In this case it sounds like you had it covered with the possible exception of equipment failures. Also of course there is a real need to hold your stops and maintain a reasonable ascent rate. If you cannot do that don’t do it. Dive computers tend to be all over the map. This post over on TDS: The Deco Stop showed two computers with a 59 minute difference in NDL time. In that case it would have been possible to run the Buhlmann model computer well into deco before the other computer ran out of NDL time. Would following the Buhlmann computer have been reckless? Do your stops, but don’t loose sight of the big picture. Also do realize there is a point where it really does become dangerous even if you did not reach it for that dive.

 

[Amphiprion]

Yes you got away with it, but I think you really ought to take advanced nitrox (which is basically decompression procedures) if you want to go deco diving. The last thing you want is to have 20 minutes of deco with 5 minutes of air. Also, make sure you have DAN insurance.

 

[Blackwood]

I was diving a wreck in pensacola Sunday

-snip-

would [this] be considered wreckless behavior [?]

Clearly not.
Wreckless, no. Reckless, depends on your understanding of your computer and basic decompression theory.

Granted, you aren't going to go from 60fpm direct ascent being okay to an hour long obligation simply by letting it click over to ceiling mode, and Mr Carcharodon is absolutely right: there's practically no difference between NDL-2 and NDL+2. However, doing so without having any idea how it will react isn't a good idea (not saying that's the case).

 

[Tortuga68]

Anyway, I was hoping for some feedback from you more experienced divers on whether this would be considered wreckless behavior or is deco diving really just part of the sport if done conscientiosly.

Definitely not wreckless since you were diving on a wreck

As you've already seen, you're going to get opinions at both extremes from the posters here

What was your max depth/total time for the dive?

 

[Tortuga68]

you really ought to take advanced nitrox (which is basically decompression procedures)

No, those are two separate courses, although they're commonly taken together