Skip safety stop to assist diver to surface?

[tylerinflorida]

Skip It! Fast ascent to 30ft, then slower the rest of the way up. Then, I'd breathe some O2 for the hell of it.

 

[Digger54]

.... PADI tables mandate a safety stop....

"mandate" and "safety stop" do not belong in the same sentence. One is a "must" and the other is a "may".

 

[Max Speed]

Thanks all. You echo my instinct. Skip the safety stop but control the ascent rate.:glad:

 

[sabbath999]

If it is just a safety stop I would go through it, ascend at a safe rate and help the other diver.

I must disagree with this statement. All diving is decompression diving since you on-gas and off-gas. A safety stop IS a decompression stop since you are stopping to off-gas and add an additional safety factor, however it is not a REQUIRED decompression stop. I recently read "Deco for Divers" and there is some compelling evidence regarding the great benefit of the safety stop.

Hence my putting the word decompression is quotes. Obviously, all diving is deco.

I am not trying to argue that a safety stop isn't a good idea, I am just saying that preventing a fellow diver from drowning by rescuing them is a great benefit to their safety, more so than a non-required stop.

General note, not directed to any poster in particular: I think that all the people preaching about the value of the safety stop without actually explaining WHY it is good BUT NOT REQUIRED practice is actually confusing people into thinking it is something that IS required. Yes, they are a good idea. Yes, I do them, every time I dive (at least if the dive takes me under 20 feet).

Slow ascent, at least one safety stop (deeper ones seem to be a good idea as well) is just a safe way to dive... but eliminating that safety stop isn't going to mean a chamber ride unless it is a freak situation or you have been pushing your NDL's or not keeping track of your tables/computers like you should.

Letting a person drown while I sit at 15 feet for a non-required stop? I couldn't live with myself if I was that much of a jerk.

 

[TSandM]

I'm with James. I'd blow off a "required" safety stop; I'd blow off a small deco obligation (<10min). I wouldn't go back in the water afterwards. If it was just a "required" safety stop, I'd just self-monitor; if I blew off significant deco, I'd go hunting for an O2 bottle to suck on for a while.

 

[Walter]

Even if it were a short staged decompression stop, I'd skip it. You should look at the risks/benefits of both actions.

Assuming it is a safety stop:

Make the stop - risks - the other diver is dead - benefits - You have a larger safety margin.

Skip the stop - risks - almost none, your incredibly small chance of getting bent increases slightly - benefits - the other diver lives.

Assuming it is a short staged decompression stop:

Make the stop - risks - the other diver is dead - benefits - you don't get a possible case of mild DCS.

Skip the stop - risks - you might get a treatable case of mild DCS - benefits - the other diver lives.

It looks like as easy call to me.

 

[DennisW]

Assessing the risk is the question here. Walter laid it out exactly. Allowing another person to die because you "might" get a treatable case of DCS is unforgivable.

 

[irishsquid]

Even if it were a short staged decompression stop, I'd skip it. You should look at the risks/benefits of both actions.

Assuming it is a safety stop:

Make the stop - risks - the other diver is dead - benefits - You have a larger safety margin.

Skip the stop - risks - almost none, your incredibly small chance of getting bent increases slightly - benefits - the other diver lives.

Assuming it is a short staged decompression stop:

Make the stop - risks - the other diver is dead - benefits - you don't get a possible case of mild DCS.

Skip the stop - risks - you might get a treatable case of mild DCS - benefits - the other diver lives.

It looks like as easy call to me.

Well laid out! It took a lot longer to type this than it would have taken to actually run through this and make the decision. My kind of dive buddy.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

yep. Skip it. Help your buddy.

 

[Greendiver]

Swim through the safety stop without a doubt. And as said above, mix into equation that the "victim" is loved one and the willingness to bend the rules further is a given.

Good question! (Too bad it wasn't just hypothetical.)