PEOPLE - Don't Lie about your dive experience!!

[Kevin Carlisle]

I was diving with this guy named Sheck and he tried to feed me a line of BS about his 4000+ cave dives and the time he went below 400ft on air.

Not sure if you were joking or not but there was a guy named Sheck who did have the credentials you mentioned. I am not sure of his mix but he doubled the depth you mention but it also killed him. He was a premier cave diver and paved the way for many of us who explore the caves. SO no pickin on Sheck.

 

[river_sand_bar]

I am more than willing to help with what little knowledge I have... just need to know up front... makes for a better dive when I know I need to keep a closer eye on someone.

Do I do "safety" stops? Sometimes, but far from always. I try to be fairly rigid about my ascent procedures, safety stops are for when something has made me sloppy and I want to be extra careful.

So would you have a newbie who was your buddy and was down to 100swf for 30 mins NOT do a safety stop?

 

[Gombessa]

And after a 90 ft dive for 20 mins... I sure hope EVERYONE believes in a safty stop...

Well, if memory serves, 20 minutes at 90ft gives you a 5 minute buffer before accruing any "real" deco obligation, so it's not really any different than, say, 45 minutes at 55ft.

but being that he was using analog guages and my computer tells me to stop... I STOP.

Two points here. One, I don't think there's anything wrong with diving with analog gauges, and frankly I'd trust my gauges over any buddy's computer busily beeping away. Two, with that said, I'd still default to the most conservative profile. If you're my buddy and your computer tells you to stop whereas I feel none was required, I'm more than happy to stop until your computer clears. On the flipside, I'd expect a buddy to extend the same courtesy, if by reading my gauges I choose to make stops that the buddy's computer disagrees with.

 

[Thalassamania]

I am more than willing to help with what little knowledge I have... just need to know up front... makes for a better dive when I know I need to keep a closer eye on someone.



So would you have a newbie who was your buddy and was down to 100sw for 30 mins NOT do a safety stop?

Regardless of the experiences of my team mates (I was unaware that experience changes nitrogen takeup and offgassing, are there special experienced based tables? I'd love to get them) I'd make a three minute at ten fsw stop as required by the U.S. Navy Standard Air Decompression Table. I'd use the required ascent rate of 30 fpm (that's 10 seconds on my analog watch per 5 feet on my dialface depth gauge).

 

[river_sand_bar]

If you're my buddy and your computer tells you to stop whereas I feel none was required, I'm more than happy to stop until your computer clears. On the flipside, I'd expect a buddy to extend the same courtesy, if by reading my gauges I choose to make stops that the buddy's computer disagrees with.

I agree 100% with this... I have no problem stopping at all... just a little more off gassing time.

But the point is still what he tells the boat DM is one thing, then tells the truth afterwards... thats where the real issues are at.

 

[texdiveguy]

OP.... I would have even thrown in a 'deep' stop on that dive in addition to the 20-15fsw 'safety' stop. Not everyone is the same in their thinking in this regard.....but in terms of underwater communications he may of been OK'ing you back to say--ok go for your stop--?? If all had gone well at the point of you guys return to the 15fsw way point you wanted the 3 of you to hold for 3 minutes....and you saw him continue at a normal speed to the surface, I would of just let him go.......just being a DM does not mean you have to be a caretaker. Your action in grabbing him and pulling him from 8fsw back to 20fsw may of actually created a bigger mess for you and him in confusion, it sounds like all worked out and that is good.

 

[Thalassamania]

I think deep stops are good, both from a decompression and operational sense. I like the pause to sort of shake my myself and get into ascent mode. I also "cheat" on no-D or short-D dives and tend to go to my deep stop at 60 to 100 fpm, then I tighten up on my rate.

 

[crispix]

I'm more than happy to stop until your computer clears. On the flipside, I'd expect a buddy to extend the same courtesy.

Did a 100fsw dive on Nitrox, buddy was on air and had a small deco obligation. His computer cleared well before my safety stop timer elapsed. So he waited for me. Seemed funny at the time that the air diver "cleared" before the Nitrox diver, although his was mandatory deco and mine was just a safety stop. So yeah, I'd never complain about waiting for another diver. We all like being underwater, so what's the rush?

 

[river_sand_bar]

Your action in grabbing him and pulling him from 8fsw back to 20fsw may of actually created a bigger mess for you and him in confusion, it sounds like all worked out and that is good.

After getting back on the boat, and he told me he had forgotten about the safty stop, and that he hadn't dove in a few years, I knew I had did the right thing.. and he was thankful for it. So yeah, it worked out for the best.

 

[mwilding]

Not sure if you were joking or not but there was a guy named Sheck who did have the credentials you mentioned. I am not sure of his mix but he doubled the depth you mention but it also killed him. He was a premier cave diver and paved the way for many of us who explore the caves. SO no pickin on Sheck.

I wasn't picking on sheck as he did everything I said and more. The lie was that I met him.