My old decompression schedule almost got me bent in the Gulf

For years I used the same Navy tables I learned in school, even on deeper offshore jobs around 150-180 feet. Last March I switched to a gradient factor computer after a dive buddy showed me his tissue loading data. The old method had me popping up way too fast on repetitive dives, especially with mixed gas. Now I run everything through the computer and add a 5-minute safety stop even if the table says I'm clear. Has anyone else changed their whole deco strategy after a close call like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

jade5171mo ago

Three years ago I got a mild hit on a 190 foot wreck dive off the New Jersey coast. I was using the old Navy tables too and came up feeling fine but had a weird headache and joint pain about an hour later. My buddy made me hit the oxygen and I ended up in the chamber for a few hours. After that I switched to a Shearwater computer with gradient factors set to 30/70 and it completely changed how I plan my dives. I also started doing a deep stop at half the max depth for a minute or two on anything past 130 feet. The real game changer was using a gas switching schedule on my computer for trimix dives instead of just winging it with the tables. Now I always add at least a 5 minute safety stop at 20 feet no matter what the computer says.

rowan9691mo ago

Gotta say, that deep stop at half max depth thing is a bit of an old school myth that's been mostly debunked. Actually, some studies showed that long deep stops might increase your risk of DCS instead of helping, especially on shorter shallower dives. The gradient factors you're using already handle decompression way better than guessing a random stop depth. I'd stick with the computer's algorithm and maybe bump those gradient factors up a bit if you're worried about conservatism. That 20 foot safety stop is solid though, no argument there. The Navy tables are just too risky for modern diving with deeper recreational stuff. But yeah, the trimix switch is where it really matters. Running multiple gases without proper planning is just asking for trouble.

michael6691mo ago

jade517, you mentioned getting a mild hit an hour later, and that timing always makes me wonder about how many divers confuse mild DCS with just being tired or dehydrated. Maybe more of us have had close calls we didn't even recognize.