slow ascents

[newdiverAZ]

Did a few lake dives today with BlueSpace and one with Azatty. We had a really good ascent profile, from 35 to 15 @ <30 fpm, 5 mins @ 15, then 2 mins to surface from 15'. What a difference post dive, I usually have a bit of fatigue after diving, put have more energy now than before the dive. That last 15' makes all the difference. Thanx to all that posted about this.

 

[bwerb]

It is an amazing feeling to get out of the water post dive and realize you don't have to feel totally exhausted for the next few hours.

Glad you gave it a try!

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

That advice was some of the best and easiest to follow that I have obtained on this board.

 

[divebuddydale]

What exactly (wording) was the advice.. I would like to try it, I can assume from NEWDIVERAZ's post of what it was, but I just want to make sure (is it --->ascend less than 30 ft per min, from depth to 15 ft. 5 minute saftey stop at 15 ft , then a slow (probably graded ascent from 15 to 0 ft, taking approx 2 minutes. That would get rid of most of the RN left in your system, which would be great for reducing fatigue)


Dale

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Could not have said it better myself. Just taking the last fifteen feet slow rather than finishing the safety stop and popping to the surface like a cork.

 

[Uncle Pug]

the World's Largest Waterbed!

 

[Big-t-2538]

the comfort of water...

When DMing for an OW class two weekends ago....my group was on doing dive 4...when we surfaced, the dock was full of about 20 divers...and their was another OW class mucking about 5 feet in front of both sets of stairs.

They looked over and said "what do we do"......I responded...."inflate, point your fins to the sky...lay back and relax" What seemed like 3 miuntes went by...and I heard them chattting...."should we tell him it's a clear dock?" It was pretty evident I was comfy and relaxed just floating out there....I think they would have left me out there if I wasn't someone they knew.

 

[Amber]

Is there any specific technique to making a slow ascent? I sometimes find it hard to go that slow.

 

[Genesis]

Make a conscious effort to stop at every FOOT.

If you have a dive computer with a digital readout, its easy.

You're at 15'.

You ascend to 14' and STOP. Count to 10.
Ascend to 13' and STOP. Count to 10.

Etc etc.

If you do this, you will take roughly 2 minutes to ascend the last 15' (the last 5' or so are impossible to hold to on this if there is any wave action on the surface, but that's ok since the rest was done this way.)

My usual protocol for a "no stop" dive is to stop at half the maximum depth for one minute, then I start my "safety stop" at 19' (just inside where my computer shows the "safety stop timer".) I allow myself to drift very slowly upward as far as 15' down by the time the three minutes expire, then do the conscious "1 foot and stop" thing to the surface.

Makes a huge difference for me.

(I also typically ascend quite a bit slower than the maximum 30fpm rate; typically my ascents take place somewhere between 15-20fpm, although if I'm real close to the NDL I may do the full 30 fpm until I get to the half-max-depth stop, just to stop the nitrogen loading.)

 

[Blue Space]

newdiverAZ once bubbled...
Did a few lake dives today with BlueSpace and one with Azatty. We had a really good ascent profile, from 35 to 15 @ <30 fpm, 5 mins @ 15, then 2 mins to surface from 15'. What a difference post dive, I usually have a bit of fatigue after diving, put have more energy now than before the dive. That last 15' makes all the difference. Thanx to all that posted about this.

Yup made a big difference on the post dive....

I don't have a computer so nothing to look at...Some of the best advice I got was from UnclePug who said let your ears and the stuff in the water tell you how fast your going up....

I think good trim and proper weighting helped with the slow ascent also...Pat on back :mean: