Safety Stop

[BigBill]

I was diving last year in Beaver Lake and proceeded to do a safety stop after reaching at most 35 feet. My buddy and I had been moving along for 15-20 minutes at this same depth and he proceeded to surface, while I stayed put at 15 feet and did a 3 minute stop. I wasn't too concerned with losing my buddy, being this was his normal operation to move around not being aware of his buddy, and I could safely ascend, but afterward I asked him why he hadn't stopped. He explained to me that since we had been cruising along at that depth for sometime, there wasn't a need for a safety stop.

Lately I have been reading the AOW manual and the recommendation is to always have some type of safety stop; is this true even if you have been at the same depth for some time? Also during that same weekend I was diving with a divemaster who was more adamant on safety stops - we ventured to 60 feet and did 2 stops on our ascent.

By the way, this is the same guy (buddy) who went to 80+ feet and then ascended without a safety stop, so I am guessing the manual and the responses I get will be quite contrary to what his explanation was. He did mention afterward that he did get some tingling in his arms. Hmm...imagine that!

Bill

 

[rockjock3]

I was diving last year in Beaver Lake and proceeded to do a safety stop after reaching at most 35 feet. My buddy and I had been moving along for 15-20 minutes at this same depth and he proceeded to surface, while I stayed put at 15 feet and did a 3 minute stop. I wasn't too concerned with losing my buddy, being this was his normal operation to move around not being aware of his buddy, and I could safely ascend, but afterward I asked him why he hadn't stopped. He explained to me that since we had been cruising along at that depth for sometime, there wasn't a need for a safety stop.

Lately I have been reading the AOW manual and the recommendation is to always have some type of safety stop; is this true even if you have been at the same depth for some time? Also during that same weekend I was diving with a divemaster who was more adamant on safety stops - we ventured to 60 feet and did 2 stops on our ascent.

By the way, this is the same guy (buddy) who went to 80+ feet and then ascended without a safety stop, so I am guessing the manual and the responses I get will be quite contrary to what his explanation was. He did mention afterward that he did get some tingling in his arms. Hmm...imagine that!

Bill

They are only called safety stops and are recommended, but not mandatory. The rule of thumb (on the tables) is if you are at a certain depth to within 3 PGs of the NDL time then you should do a safety stop or if you dive to 100' or deeper. Still these are not required deco stops and there is only one not two stops recommeded.

I do a lot of shore diving and sometimes never get deeper than 30-35fsw. During these dives I will swim out, drop down and then swim back in along the bottom reefs. By doing this I will gradually come up and perhaps spend 10 minutes ascending from my deepest depth. During times like this I won't do a safety stop. On deeper dives you can sometimes come up to 20fsw or so and then swim around on a shallower portion of the reef for several minutes before you surface. This is o.k. also as there is nothing that says you have to be stationary at your safety stop. Usually if I dive more than 50-60fsw I will do a safety stop for 2-3 minutes and if I dive deeper than that then I will do a 3-5 minute safety stop.

You have to remember that the tables and rules for recreational diving were setup to be very forgiving so as to protect many divers from themselves. You can bend them quite a bit and never get hurt, but it is up to you which ones you want to bend and how far you want to bend them as it will be you and only you responsible if you hurt yourself.

 

[String]

No dive should "need" a safety stop - its an optional stop NOT a mandatory decompression stop. The safety stop is mainly introduced to act as a safety valve for divers that may have ascended a it too quickly, saw-toothed a bit and so on. Its also a good way of controlling the rate of ascent wihout people ballooning. It is not however mandatory. If you HAVE to do a stop that isnt a "safety stop".

Common sense should come to play as well. I seriously doubt id bother with 3 mins at 20ft if id spent the 30 mins previously at 30ft and so on.

A nice gradual ascent followed by playing around on the reef between 15 and 25ft will also act as a safety stop. It doesnt have to be an exact depth, an exact time or even performed at all.

 

[engdiver]

If you follow the Navy dive tables, safety stops are not required for NDL. That is the way that I was originally taught. I think safety stops are a good thing to practice when the tables are being pushed close to the limit. Unless your buddy was at 35 feet for an extended time it was OK to ascend without the stop. Beyond 60 feet I normally do a safety stop around 15'. Beyond 100' I stop at the half-way point for 2-3 minutes and the safety stop at 15' for about 5' as long as I am inside the NDL's. Others may disagree but I think it holds true for most diving.

my 2 cents.

 

[BigBill]

That's cool. We were pretty much "playing around" in relatively shallow water. With his type of diving, I question most of what he says and listen more to experienced divers and instructors. This is the same diver who managed to have his back turned to me and some 5 feet away when my tank valve got stuck on a cord during a night dive. Not that bad, but still a concern!

It is funny rockjock that you define a "safety stop" as being one that is to protect ourselves from our stupidity.

Bill

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

Safety stops are not mandatory. Decompression stops are. In general, it is preferred to do a safety stop every dive. However, if you have been cruising along at a depth of 5-6 meters (16 - 20 feet) for sometime, you could consider this as your safety stop. The point is, it's preferred to stay at this depth for 3 minutes or something, but you needn't be stall or not moving.

 

[BigBill]

If you follow the Navy dive tables, safety stops are not required for NDL. That is the way that I was originally taught. I think safety stops are a good thing to practice when the tables are being pushed close to the limit. Unless your buddy was at 35 feet for an extended time it was OK to ascend without the stop. Beyond 60 feet I normally do a safety stop around 15'. Beyond 100' I stop at the half-way point for 2-3 minutes and the safety stop at 15' for about 5' as long as I am inside the NDL's. Others may disagree but I think it holds true for most diving.

my 2 cents.

We were up and down mostly in the shallower levels of the lake - above the thermocline - as he managed to forget his thicker wetsuit.

Bill

 

[Captain CaveMan]

I do my all the time no matter how shallow or how long. as im looking it tech diving. I think its a good way to pratice boy.. when i do shore diving and i hit 15 ft i will stay there for my 3 min. than continue. yes its not manditory but why not pratice something safe

 

[OneBrightGator]

I'd be interested to see how many people pulled out their reference materials (PADI tables for me) to check this or just fired from the hip.

I try to do a slow ascent and safety stop on every dive, good habits and all. Besides, it's all noisey on the surface, I'll take another 3 min underwater anytime I can.

 

[H2Andy]

basically, all dives are decompression dives: your slow ascent to the surface
gives time for the absorbed nitrogen in your body to be safely released.
if you do too-quick an ascent, even on a relatively short and shallow dive, you
could get bent, just as if you had violated a deco obligation (though, in
all honestly, probably a lot less severe).

a safety stop is just another chance for your body to off-gas before coming up
through the final 20 or so feet of water (lots of pressure change there).

a safety stop is basically a MINIMUM thing. personally, a long, slow ascent
from 30 feet to the surface is the best kind of safety stop, with stops planned
at 30, 20, and 10 feet.

this ensures that you have offgased as much nitrogen as possible on the way up.

WHY you do the safety stop is key in understanding why they matter and why,
frankly, they are not enough to keep you getting "accidentally" bent.