New guys keep skipping the surface interval on air dives

I see it all the time now, guys jumping right back in after a 40 minute bottom time on air like nothing happened. Back when I started in 2004 off the coast of Galveston, we had a hard 2 hour minimum between dives, no exceptions. You're just asking for DCS if you rush it, especially in cold water where your tissues hang onto nitrogen longer. Has anyone else noticed newer divers ignoring the tables?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_butler5018d ago

Man I used to be one of those guys that thought the tables were too conservative. I'd skip surface intervals all the time back in 2010 when I was diving warm springs in Florida, figured if I felt fine then it was fine. Then a buddy of mine got bent on a third dive in one day, we were in 55 degree water and he did a 50 minute dive, surfaced for maybe 45 minutes, then jumped back in for another 45. He ended up with a type 2 hit, had to spend four hours in the chamber and missed a week of work. That scared me straight. Cold water is no joke, your body holds onto that nitrogen way longer than the tables say if you're not sitting around in warm air. These new guys think they're invincible but they're just rolling the dice.

lewis.mila18d ago

@victor_butler50 man your story hits hard because I was the same way. I used to think the tables were just covering asses for insurance purposes, figured if I felt good after 45 minutes on the surface I was fine to go again. Then I did a trip off Catalina back in 2015, three dives in one day in 52 degree water, and I got a real mild case of the bends on that third dive. Just shoulder pain and some tingling in my fingers but it scared the hell out of me. Had to sit around in O2 for a couple hours at the chamber and that was enough. Now if the water temp drops below 60 I add an extra 30 minutes to my surface interval no matter what. The tables don't account for shivering or poor circulation from cold water and these new guys just don't get that.