Safety stops? you do um

[sdexcalibur]

SSI book says you should do a 3-5 min. safety stop at 15 feet.
The past 5-6 dives been about 15- 25 feet. should I be doing them? When do you do them and how long are you under before you will

 

[animian2002]

IMHO ... there's no harm doing it. You can practice buoyancy while doing ur safety stop

 

[SDAnderson]

Yes, you should be doing safety stops. Unless there is an emergency or conditions won't permit one, every diver should do a safety stop. Safety stops should be done at 15 feet for a minimum of 3 minutes, longer if you're even close to no-deco limits.

I do a safety stop at 15 feet on every recreational dive, without fail. My safety stop is at least 3 minutes, but usually longer. I take the opportunity to practice skills (hovering, kicks & turns, hand signals, etc.) and to check gear (breath from the alternate, check and adjust my bouyancy, etc.) and to just watch the underwater world. Unless I'm bored or cold or some other condition warrants getting out of the water, I'm going to stay down as long as I can and that means a nice leisurely safety stop.

Let me ask you a question: Why would you change or omit safety stops? Your training covered why to do them and how, has something happened to make you think there's been a change in standards? Nothing wrong with asking your questions, but I would have thought you would ask the question before deciding on the answer...this is how divers get hurt.

Steven

 

[luvdiving]

If I do shallow dives (40 ft or less), I don't do safety stops. I follow a very conservative computer for my dives. For deeper dives, I ALWAYS do a safety stop.

Don't forget, you don't need to hang on a line for the safety stop. Exploring a shallow reef for 3 - 5 minutes is also a safety stop.:boom:

 

[jbd]

you are talking about(15 to 25 feet) I usually don't do the safety stop. If I'm with someone that does them then thats fine with me and I do the stop with them. My normal procedure at these depths is to practice very slow free ascents i.e. not hanging on a line.

 

[sdexcalibur]

r
Let me ask you a question: Why would you change or omit safety stops? Your training covered why to do them and how, has something happened to make you think there's been a change in standards? Nothing wrong with asking your questions, but I would have thought you would ask the question before deciding on the answer...this is how divers get hurt.

Steven [/B]

Ok what about diving without a dive flag? Diving solo? Diving without an alternate air source? Diving beyond the limits?
Yes your training does cover all these as no no's but it still gets done.

 

[ElectricZombie]

Always do safety stops, even on shallow 40ft dives. I practice deeps stops so for example, on a 100 ft dive I'll stop at 80ft for 2 mins, 50 ft for 2 mins, maybe 30 ft for 1 min and 15 ft for as long as possible. Always 1 ft every 2 seconds ascent or slower.

I've tried doing just one stop at 15 ft but, I end up feeling much better when incorporating deep stops. More energy after dive, not tired, just all around better.

 

[SDAnderson]

As a general rule, I only change the rules when I have a darn good reason for it. Others (including training agencies) may disagree with those reasons, but I've given all of my changes a lot of thought and can defend my decisions. Your examples were good issues and here's my thinking:

Diving without a dive flag...
I avoid diving with a flag whenever I can. Having seen too many of them used as targets by sailboats and jetskis, I think they generate too much traffic. I also think that they represent an entanglement and task loading hazard that can't be justified by their purported benefit. That said, in shallow water where there is a risk of vehicular traffic that can possibly hit me, I will shoot a marker even if I don't have a flag with me.

Diving solo...
I've been known to solo dive and will again, within very narrow limits: only at sites that I am VERY familiar with, in excellent environmental conditions, and never deep enough that I can't get to the surface on one breath of air. I also dive with full doubles and I turn after using one third of my gas. I've been diving for a long time and have had the opportunity and time to develop my skills and my confidence in the water to a high degree. I've also been unfortunate enough to find myself in some true emergency situations, but that's given me an understanding of how I may react to future emergencies, should one occur.

Diving without an alternate air source...
I always have an alternate air source - at the very least a back-up regulator. My normal dives are done with 120cf tanks rigged with H-valves or with doubles. I sometimes dive with stage or deco bottles, but only rarely with a pony.

Diving beyond the limits...
As far as I know, all of the agencies say something to the effect of "don't dive beyond recreational limits UNTIL YOU GET THE PROPER TRAINING." I got the training and I practice it. When it comes to technical diving, I'm considerably stickier about following rules.

Finally, I have to admit that on a dive to 20 or 25 feet I may skip the safety stop if I haven't been down for very long - basically the whole dive counts as a safety stop.

Which gets us back to why would you omit the safety stop? As far as I know, the agencies all still recommend it and the science that's being done in the field increasingly shows that they're a great idea that help to forestall a wide range of sub-clinical DCS-related problems.

Steven

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

personally I do them why well as every one is diffrent as far as size weight ectand everyone retains nitrogen diffrent so this gives everyone a added safty margine besides good time to practice them bounancy skills
persinally I use this guide line in general 3 mins for 60 feet or less unless close to deco time and 5 mins for dives deeper than 60 feet .
and all repetive dives 5 mins . just my personal way to give me some added safty!!!!

 

[Genesis]

for any air in your tank when you go back to the dive shop.

As such, why not burn it up at 15'? If you've got the gas, is there any real reason NOT to stay down there and use it? It can't hurt you to do that - but it can help!