Time of ascending from a dive

Ascending is the most important phase of a dive. Moreover, it is the most dangerous part of it, for it is during the ascent that the condition called decompression sickness (or "the bends") normally develops.

It is very important to realize that chances of development of decompression sickness in the course of dive can't be eliminated totally, they only can be reduced by following the proper procedure of the dive in general and of the ascent from the dive in particular.

In fact, the decompression sickness can develop after any dive, even if a diver follow the procedure closely in strict conformity with all safety rules. Again, this is what any responsible scuba diver must remember.

What many recreational divers fail to realize, but what any technical divel will tell you, is that any dive by its nature is a decompression dive for that simple reason that ascending means coming out from under increased pressure.

To minimize the risks of decompression illness a diver should follow the rule of thumb that the ascending must be performed at a slow enough rate. Rushing to the surface means not allowing nitrogen bubbles enough time to get re-absorbed by diver's blood.

Another important point is that at least 2-3 minutes safety stop at the depth of 15 feet is recommended even if it is a short time shallow water dive.

As for ascending time in scuba diving, the slower you ascend the safer you are. The universally accepted ascent rate in the USA is 60' per minute. The standards of the other countries differ - 33 feet per minute (10 meters/minnute) is common. The US Navy divers ascent rate is currently defined as 30 feet per minute.

To put it briefly, ascending from a dive is recommended with controlling rate of the ascent so that if wouldn't be faster than one foot per second, which makes 10 seconds to ascend 10 feet. It is much slower than many novice divers would imagine. Ascend slowly, dive safely!

* * *

DCI * time of ascending from a dive * ascent rate * air embolism * decompression stop * recreational scuba divers * tech * nostop dive * recreational diver *