What to do if . . .

[Thalassamania]

If you're carrying a bag and you know how to shoot it you're not needing gas at 15.

 

[TheRedHead]

I was a Marine and we were all expendable in a pinch. Sure they cost a lot to train, but the military has a different agenda.

 

[MikeFerrara]

If you're carrying a bag and you know how to shoot it you're not needing gas at 15.

I tend to agree.

In regards to previouse posts...
The problem with hang tanks is that there's no insurance that you'll be comming back up the line where you hung it...especially when things aren't going well. In OW I carry any gas that I think I might need. In a cave?...drop it if you're pretty sure that you're comming out the way you went in. A monster tank of O2 on the boat with long hoses hung to 20 ft is more comforting than a hang tank but there's stll no guarantee that you'll get to it.

If I miss some decomrpession (hopefully not because of something totally stupid) I'm going back to finish it if I can and I'm asymptomatic. If I have symptoms and there's no other help around and I have the right equipment and support (read as, the expedition planned for the possibility in a remote area) I'm still going back down.

What I'm not going to do is take a single 80, the PADI table and go too deep for too long and then wonder why I don't have enough gas to spend 15 minutes at 15 ft. LOL

 

[Thalassamania]

... take a single 80, the PADI table and go too deep for too long and then wonder why I don't have enough gas to spend 15 minutes at 15 ft. LOL

That's Darwin Award time.

 

[Thalassamania]

As an old Chief I knew (who drove landing craft at Normandy) used to say, "The average life expectency of a marine from the time they leave the landing craft till they almost make it to the beach ... "

 

[all4scuba05]

the training agencies try to certify as many people as possible. They don't treat them like Navy Seal Recruits where if you can't cut it, you're washed out. It isn't for everyone. I guess the Agencies feel that the simpler the information being taught, the more cert cards sold. So what's their teaching? Simple things. Like "don't ever go back down to decompress"

So for the sake of those who still haven't learned its ok in certain situations, under no circumstances should you go down again. Eventually you will offgas.

 

[TheRedHead]

As an old Chief I knew (who drove landing craft at Normandy) used to say, "The average life expectency of a marine from the time they leave the landing craft till they almost make it to the beach ... "

Ok, I don't as much distrust the Navy but understand there are dives Navy divers would do that other divers shouldn't do. The Navy just isn't as conservative as DAN when it comes to recommendations. And the divers' level of training is much greater. Do you think it is a prudent idea for divers to re-enter the water for omitted deco? Not a contentious question, just curious.

 

[serambin]

I was wondering when someone was going to put that reply up.

There are those that would rather stay out of the water and pray they don't take a hit. Then there are others who will drop down again for the Deco stop and stand a lesser chance of getting "hit" after all they are decompressing.
So the original poster would have to make up his mind and decide which group he wants to belong to. The group that skips the deco stop and hope sucking on O2 is good enough, or the group that decides to grab another bottle and go do the mandatory deco stop plus a few more minutes of it.

The problem is that after diving since 1967, I'm not prepared to make a reasoned choice between the two. That is why I posted the question. A more precise question might be which tactic is more likely to reduce the possibility of taking a hit. I know many of you could not imagine a situation where you over run a deco stop due to lack of air, however it can happen to you. So what is your best course of action and what do you base the choice on?

Thanks,

Stan

 

[MikeFerrara]

Ok, I don't as much distrust the Navy but understand there are dives Navy divers would do that other divers shouldn't do. The Navy just isn't as conservative as DAN when it comes to recommendations. And the divers' level of training is much greater. Do you think it is a prudent idea for divers to re-enter the water for omitted deco? Not a contentious question, just curious.

Procedures for going back to finish omitted decompression are taught in every "technical" class that I know of. Yes, it's prudent. However, the difference is that at those levels you are planning dives that involve manitory staged decompression and there is always a chance that you'll have to skip some deco. I could be caused by currents, having to help another diver and who knows what else.

In most "recreational" diving and dive training, you're not supposed to have a decompression obligation in the first place. You haven't been taught how to plan it or do it. At that skill level and traing level they just figure that the best place for you after such an incident is back on the boat and they're probably right.


The most common mistakes that I've seen cause recreational divers to miss safety stops, incure and/or skip emergency decompression are inadequate gas planning and/or inadequate buoyancy control all possibly combined with blindly following a computer. A diver with those skill issues probably shouldn't get back in the water with a significant inert gas load because a bunch more ups and downs isn't going to help the situation. Being able to plan gas use, near perfect buoyancy control and the ability to do very slow controled ascents midwater are generally considered prerequisites to staged decompression diving.

You also have to look at some other differences. It's not uncommon for a diver doing a planned staged decompression dive to have a decompression obligation measured in hours rather than minutes. If you skip too much of that you are almost certainly going to be severely injured or dead. On the other hand, if a recreational divers accidentily incures a few minutes of theoretical decompression obligation on some table and blows his 8 minute stop there is probably a strong likelyhood that the diver will not be injured at all. Two completely different situations, hence, two completely different approaches. Still, that's why I'd rather plan any dive that's close to being a staged decompression dive as a staged decompression dive...it gives me plenty of margine.

If I had to give a real recommendation I'd say that you should follow your training or get some different training. My training taught me that if I miss some decompression that under certain circumstances I should go back and finish it. If you're training taught you to get out of the water before you make things worse then that's what you should do.

 

[MikeFerrara]

The problem is that after diving since 1967, I'm not prepared to make a reasoned choice between the two. That is why I posted the question. A more precise question might be which tactic is more likely to reduce the possibility of taking a hit. I know many of you could not imagine a situation where you over run a deco stop due to lack of air, however it can happen to you. So what is your best course of action and what do you base the choice on?

Thanks,

Stan

How might it happen? If you're not, both, trained and equiped to do a staged decompression dive then your gas and time planning should give you enough room to handle any forseeable problem without running out of time or gas without incuring a decompression obligation. That's why I don't do deepish dives on a single tank with no redundancy. These things do happen but, IMO, it's because divers are diving too deep for the equipment they are using, the skills they have and just cutting things way too close.

Do what you always did and you'll get what you always got.