Travelling Safety Stops

[mccabejc]

Based on another thread discussing what to do during safety stops, I was wondering if there is any reason not to do a travelling safety stop. Just hang around in 10-20 feet and make a nice easy tour of the area. Is there anything that says that you must freeze like a deer in the headlights for 3 minutes (or whatever)?

 

[String]

No but it depends where you dive, if its off a boat typically the dives are deeper than 20ft so you wont see the boat or anything swimming around anyway.

Abroad where a % of divers are incapable of holding a non swimming stop this is exactly whats done - they anchor the boat in about 5-6m of water and the dive is ended by 3 minutes swimming around that.

 

[Xanthro]

You can swim around. When there is a shallow spot near by, instead of doing a hovering safety stop, I'll plan my dive when I'm simply diving in less than 20 feet for the last few minutes.

In all cases, a hovering safety stop and diving in less than 20 feet, I make sure it takes forever to go the last 10 feet. I try to make it a minute, but can't always because of damn waves pushing me up. I have being 5 feet under and having a 5 foot wave push me to the surface.

Xanthro

 

[HarleyDiver]

Anytime the current allows it, I prefer to swim my stop.
Even when on a mooring line, I let go & do a slow drift up to the boat at the end.

 

[Mako Mark]

you can swim around no problem, in fact if you see guided dives on coral reefs, you will more often than not see the DM make the last ten minutes or so at the top of the reef, which is convieniently located at about 5 meters 15 ft.

 

[jsbromley]

I think it all depends on where you are diving. If the oppurtunity prevents itself and you can take advantage of swimming around during your safety stop, then go for it. When I was diving in Bonaire, we always swam around during our safety stops.

 

[DandyDon]

Swimming Safety Stops are what I do when I'm thinking: "Now, the boat is around here somewhere?"

I think I've read here on SB that light swimming exercise is better for off-gassing on the SS, but strenuous excercise is not good.

 

[String]

Strenuous exercise AFTER diving is a known increased risk factor for DCS. Light exercise during deco is believed to help offgassing due to increased circulation and gaseous exchange.

 

[Iruka]

Cancun Mark mentioned that guides will often spend the last 10 minutes (or longer, in my case) of the dive at around 15', basically doing a safety stop on the way back to the boat. If the reef contour allows this, I always do it....and even in deeper areas, I'll often swim back to the boat far above the bottom, just to "take care" of the safety stop on the way back. It's funny, though....sometimes we'll spend, say, the last 20 minutes back to the boat at 10~20', but when we get to the boat, some of the divers make a beeline right to the anchor rope, to "do" their 3-minute safety stop, not realizing they've already DONE at 20-minute safety stop. If I remember, I'll tell them in advance that on this particular dive, we'll have that already done by the time we get to the boat.....sometimes I think new divers think "safety stop = hold a rope." (I've seen "crowded" anchor ropes/mooring lines, where 20 or more divers are doing a safety stop at the same time....but because some of them don't have adequate buoyancy skills to do one w/out the rope, these divers are spread out from about 5m/15' all the way down to 15m/50' ! (hope they get in some sort of slow ascent/safety stop as they creep up the rope.)

 

[ShakaZulu]

Do those on our shores dives all the time.............. like them best.