Deep and Safety Stops, including Ascent Speed and Gradient Factors Quotes

“From the tests it showed that the best ascent speed was 30 ft/minute, with the best stop depth at ½ the distance for a 2½ minute deep stop and a safety stop at 20 ft for three to five minutes. Ascent rates slower than 20 ft/minute would add significantly to the overall decompression time.”
― Anton Swanepoel, Deep and Safety Stops, including Ascent Speed and Gradient Factors

“The hood had a clear see-through sheet that allowed you to see (like a mask) and allowed the person to breathe and talk on ascent due to the air released from the expanding jacket. To make sure the trainees did not hold their breath (one could not be sure if the bubbles where from the jacket or trainees breathing) they had to sing (normally go ho ho ho) on the way up. Early Santa Clause practice. The Steinke hood replaced the Momsen lung and was later replaced by escape suits, called Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment.”
― Anton Swanepoel, Deep and Safety Stops, including Ascent Speed and Gradient Factors

“Breath-hold divers doing many repetitive dives over 100 ft are at great risk of developing DCS and so too breath-hold divers practicing for long durations (around three to five hours) even in shallower waters.”
― Anton Swanepoel, Deep and Safety Stops, including Ascent Speed and Gradient Factors

“Clearly making a slow ascent by following your smallest bubble and making a slow ascent without the aid of a beeping dive computer is very hard to do.”
― Anton Swanepoel, Deep and Safety Stops, including Ascent Speed and Gradient Factors

“It is then seen that the sensitivity of blood protein complimentary activation plays a major role in individual DCS susceptibility.”
― Anton Swanepoel, Deep and Safety Stops, including Ascent Speed and Gradient Factors

“If the internal pressure in the lungs compared to the ambient pressure exceeds 80 mm Hg (equivalent to around 2 to 3 ft water pressure), the lungs may be damaged and gas bubbles can be forced directly into the arterial side. This can be from holding one's breath when there is a pressure change (ascending) to ascending so fast that normal exhaling is not fast enough (run away ascent).”
― Anton Swanepoel, Deep and Safety Stops, including Ascent Speed and Gradient Factors

“Note, caffeine constricts cerebral blood vessels that in turn reduce cerebral blood flow and can trap silent bubbles.”
― Anton Swanepoel, Deep and Safety Stops, including Ascent Speed and Gradient Factors

“to reduce the diameter of a sphere bubble by half the pressure needs to be increased by ten times.”
― Anton Swanepoel, Deep and Safety Stops, including Ascent Speed and Gradient Factors

“From the tests done, it is clear that being warm on the bottom and cold on the decompression is not ideal for decompression. It is suggested not to do work on the bottom that will exert you, and not to stay still and get cold on decompression. By doing slight exercise (light finning) may help circulation and help keep your muscles warm.”
― Anton Swanepoel, Deep and Safety Stops, including Ascent Speed and Gradient Factors