Proposal for new terminology

[Uncle Pug]

Originally posted by rcohn
I don’t really care whether we call it no decompression or no stop diving, but the risks and issues should be presented in an accurate and balanced manner.
Ralph

Yeah... I agree with you Ralph but I just don't think it will get past the marketing folk... probably for the other mutually contradictory *reasons* you mentioned.

1. Oh my... what if they are bold and begin to think that they can progress deeper into decompression diving because all diving is decompression diving

2. Oh my... what if they are afraid and fail to come to the surface in an emergency because all diving is decompression diving

Instead of teaching a falsehood and then complaining that the truth can't be taught because people don't have the correct understanding of the issues.... why not teach the correct understanding of the issues? :idea:

 

[Walter]

Rick is correct, as usual, on every dive we increase pressure (compress) and decrease pressure (decompress). YMCA recently began to use the term "no stop" diving for the reasons Rick mentioned. For reasons others have mentioned, I don't believe this is a better term than "no decompression." In the past I've used the term "staged decompression" to indicate dives requiring mandatory decompression stops. I like the term NDL if it's used to mean "No staged Decompression Limit". Perhaps NSDL? or NSL?

Sorry Submariner, looks like you need a review of decompression theory. As for the 60 f/m ascent rate, I believe almost all agencies have abandoned it in favor of 30 f/m. It's time for any hold outs to follow suit. A slow ascent is important to lowering the possibility of DCS.

 

[omar]

If we are shooting at the moon why don't we include the term "Safety Stop"? It is a decompression stop. I have been advocating for some time to abandon the 5 at 15 for the more efficient and better 2 at 20 and 3 at 10. Before you start howling this is backed up with studies on divers and goats with doppler.

It was demonstrated that the amount, size and length of bubbling was significantly reduced when using the 2@20 and 3 @10 verses the 5@15.

For more info look at Wienke's Basic Physics for Scuba Diving (or similar)

omar

 

[Rick Murchison]

For what it's worth, when I was initially trained there actually wasn't any distinction or stigma attached to having to make a stop - it's just what you did when the tables called for it. Our old tables had the direct ascent tables on the front and the stop tables on the back. There were exactly two "C" cards in those days too - Diver and Instructor.
Another "for what it's worth" - My buddies and I dove for two decades on the Navy tables, complete with 60 FPM ascents directly to the surface with stops only when called for by the tables. I think the first time I ever heard of a safety stop was when my Bride took a PADI OW course in '89. Indeed, she brought home so many [what I considered to be] wimpy pieces of gear - SPG's and two(!) second stages and a BC - and weak-milk procedures like safety stops and such... and then I found out they didn't even rip her mask off and turn off her air on every training dive... sheeesh! What was the diving world coming to? But I'm getting off the subject here... we did the 60/60/60 dives routinely and nobody ever got bent. We hung a tank at ten feet and used it if the tables said we had to - otherwise it was come straight up.
Now I've become a regular wuss with extremely slow ascents, redundant equipment, extra time at shallow stops... even a dry suit, fer cryin' out loud!
What's my point? There's great latitude in today's procedures, but there is also great disinformation - I'd like to see terminology that more accurately reflects reality... and "NDL" is an inaccurate, misleading, potentially dangerous one.
Pardon me for drifting so far afield...
Rick

 

[Uncle Pug]

Originally posted by Rick Murchison

Pardon me for drifting so far afield...

No problem old timer....
I catch your drift....