free ascent?

[jon m]

hey all-
going to Playa next week, and was wondering if the dives near there(puerto morelos, akumal,etc) all involve a "free ascent"? never really done it , except in OW ,as all of my dives since then have been shore dives.(cold water) so, i have "free ascent" experience, just only from 15-20' , not 60-80'. more than anything, worried about blowing off the safety stop, and/or not being able to hold/ stop at 15'. do these small "panga"style dive boats drop a line? any tips?
thanks!!!

 

[yak]

hey all-
going to Playa next week, and was wondering if the dives near there(puerto morelos, akumal,etc) all involve a "free ascent"? never really done it , except in OW ,as all of my dives since then have been shore dives.(cold water) so, i have "free ascent" experience, just only from 15-20' , not 60-80'. more than anything, worried about blowing off the safety stop, and/or not being able to hold/ stop at 15'. do these small "panga"style dive boats drop a line? any tips?
thanks!!!

Most of these dives involve some mild current. The divemaster will shoot a bag, and you'll all slowly ascend to do your safety tops while drifting along. Just make sure you're not underweighted, maintain neutral buoyancy as you ascend, and you'll be fine.

 

[Captain CaveMan]

Most dives are free ascent. Your dive instructor should carry a dive flag under toe. Or some will shoot a bag @ 25ft to show the boat capt wear you are if he lost your bubbles. But some dive ops will not.

If you want to carry your own bag and shoot it at depth and use that to ensure your free ascent with a visible reffrence to help with the ascent rate. This will help alot. When I go I carry 2 bags and a reel and 3 spools. all over 150ft long. But most of my dives are on wrecks with mooring lines. but if I get nocked off I can shoot the bag, Most tech divers shoot a bag @ 70ft to let the capt know that your ok and starting
deco.


http://halcyon.net/mc/dam.shtml
heres the ones I carry 6ft and a 3ft.
In Mexico I did shoot my own bag since the divemaster did not. heres a pic
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid200/p312a0049af9cf72abb63b9a020511d8d/f0675b1f.jpg

I know my mask was on my forehead and I was not in trouble just taking it off for the pic.

 

[billeelou]

Alert Diver and Dive Training are both reporting NAUI has changed their reccomendations for safety stops to 1/2 distance of max for 1-3 minutes then again at 15-20 feet...they seem to think it will cut down on DCI...

Just a FYI

 

[jon m]

yes , i do a 1/2 max stop in addition to a 15' stop, it's not the 1/2 max, it's the 15' i worry about.
actually , it's probably all WORRY anyway, as i'll only be in a shortie 3 mill , instead of my customary 7 mill "spacesuit" and it should be a lot easier to control at shallow depth.
thanks!

 

[Spratman]

I do half stops as well. However, it's usually on deep dives, more than 70ft. But for shallower, if you do a 15" stop for three minutes, you should be okay. Better to be safe than bent.