Half Way Ascent Stop

[PhilD]

I'm a newly qualified diver, so apologies if this is an old question.

I've just completed my ANDI CSU course and the instructor mentioned that he always does a 1 minute stop half way up on no deco dives, so from 90', he would stop at 45' for 1 minute, as well as his usual safety stop. This wasn't mentioned on my OW course and wondered if anyone could shed anymore light on it?

Many thanks.

 

[Uncle Pug]

I understand that NAUI has recently adopted what they unfortunately call the *Rule of Halves*.

 

[Diver0001]

PhilD once bubbled...
I'm a newly qualified diver, so apologies if this is an old question.

I've just completed my ANDI CSU course and the instructor mentioned that he always does a 1 minute stop half way up on no deco dives, so from 90', he would stop at 45' for 1 minutes, as well as his usual safety stop. This wasn't mentioned on my OW course and wondered if anyone sould shed anymore light on it?

Many thanks.

The idea is sound and is supported by decompression theory. NAUI has incorporated this into it's training but it's the only one of the major players to do so thusfar.

The concept is called a "deep stop" so you might want to search for that. You'll find loads of good stuff about it.

Happy reading.

R..

 

[PhilD]

Thanks. Found plenty of info now.

 

[drbill]

My "normal" profile involves a stop at approximately half my maximum depth for at least 5 min. and another 5-10 min. moving "stop" at 15-20 ft. Being an underwater videographer, this multi-level approach exposes me to a potentially wider range of subject matter.

Dr. Bill

 

[diverrick]

I was down in Cozumel in July this year and saw a variation on the "halve theory"
The dive master would begin the ascent by doing a VERY SLOW return to the surface, at the end of the dive, while still drifting. It was nice to see the overview of the reefs, as you flew over them. After we reached our safety stop, we simply drifted along until the time was up and then we surfaced.
I asked him about this technique, and he said he thought it added to the safety stop idea. Seemed logical to me, as long as we had sufficient air remaining and was a nice change from what I was used to.