Maximum Run Time poll

[gsk3]

If you guys take me there when I'm in cali next month I'll hate you!

You'll hate them right until the moment you get underwater, and then it'll just be, "Ooh, look at all the pretty fishes!"

 

[Guy Alcala]

I'm not sure whether you are asking what the maximum run we've done is, or what the maximum run time we think is reasonable is.

The maximum run time you've done, Lynne.

Is this question related to "how long of a dive would i do" or "how much time would i accept to be committed to being in the water" (eg. deco obligation, time to swim to shore, etc.)?

No, just how long have you personally done. I.E. your current experience, not what you might do in future.

Guy

 

[lv2dive]

I'd love to hear why anyone does an OW dive >2.5hrs instead of splitting it up unless it's really deep and deco is most of that.

Finding macro "stuff" - I was right under two hours in Lembeh Straits, and right at two hours today at Blue Heron Bridge. If I hadn't reached my pain threshold from jellyfish face stings today, I would have loved to have stayed a lot longer!

 

[Sas]

I'd love to hear why anyone does an OW dive >2.5hrs instead of splitting it up unless it's really deep and deco is most of that.

Because it is easier than getting in and out each time to do a dive... I can do three hours on a single tank at some shallow shore sites locally. Lots of macro stuff to find so I travel very slowly. Winter it's more around 70-80mins though...

 

[ScubaJohn65]

I'd love to hear why anyone does an OW dive >2.5hrs instead of splitting it up unless it's really deep and deco is most of that.

Longest OW dive was a shore dive with a swim out of just over 200 yrds to the dive site. Max depth was between 55 - 60 ft. Dive time was just over 2 hrs. We still have some gas left, but were in drysuits and wanted to keep them that way. With most of the effort for the dive in the hike between the beach and the car, as well as the swim out to the dive site, why not learn to stay warm (50' F water temp), master buoyancy so my air last longer, use enriched air, and just enjoy 1 nice long dive (diving single Worthington X7 104, but using a catalina 6 with argon to inflate the drysuit).

 

[RTodd]

Funny how perspectives change over time. I have done cave dives where the turn was beyond three hours. Somewhere around 4-5 hours I always start regretting that. "Fun" dives probably start to end around three hours depending on overal and diving conditioning. For me, open water dives are now rarely over 60 minutes but I used to stretch them much longer.

 

[SelkieDVM]

Maximum OW dive was about 2 hours 10 minutes in a quarry. I've not done any cave dives or appreciable wreck penetration.

 

[Guy Alcala]

I can see that, at least for the cave divers, I should have used different breakpoints (something like 2, 3, 4, >4 hours). Still plenty of good data.

Guy

 

[TSandM]

Funny how perspectives change over time. I have done cave dives where the turn was beyond three hours. Somewhere around 4-5 hours I always start regretting that. "Fun" dives probably start to end around three hours depending on overal and diving conditioning. For me, open water dives are now rarely over 60 minutes but I used to stretch them much longer.

Interesting, RTodd. Since I'm not doing exploration or scientific projects, I keep my dives to what's fun to do, and these days, a single stage is enough -- and that's about 2 1/2 hours in many of the Mexican caves. It's a long time to swim!

Open water in Puget Sound is not limited by gas or deco for me, it's cold. No more ever than 60 minutes in the wintertime, and rarely much more than that in summer. 70 minutes in 50 degree water is a long time. The guys who do the 250+ dives and hang on deco for an hour or more are nuts.

 

[RTodd]

I can see that, at least for the cave divers, I should have used different breakpoints (something like 2, 3, 4, >4 hours). Still plenty of good data.

Guy

Open water and wreck are the same thing for purposes of dive time, you can go back with the same amount of ease (assume same type of entry surface vs. boat, etc.). Open water dives are more a matter of maximum decompression obligation in open water. For shallower dives, it is generally more a matter of anything other than minimum deco not really being a good choice in most situations. Cave dives are where the logistics can dictate and better justify really long dives to see the site.