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5.10. Safety Stops
Safety Stops are widely considered good diving practice for recreational diving, and are
an integral part of most dive tables. The reasons for performing a Safety Stop include:
reducing sub-clinical DCI, microbubble reduction, ascent control, and orientation before
surfacing.
The Suunto Cobra3 displays two different types of Safety Stops: Recommended Safety
Stop and Mandatory Safety Stop.
5.10.1. Recommended Safety Stops
With every dive over 10meters, thereis a three minute countdown for the Recommended
Safety Stop, to be taken in the 6 - 3 m/10 ft - 20 ft range. This is shown with the STOP
sign and athree-minute countdown inthe center window insteadof the no-decompression
time.
WHEN STOP IS DISPLAYED,
MAKE A RECOMMENDED SAFETY
STOP FOR 3 MINUTES.
NOTE
The Recommended Safety Stop, as the name implies, is
recommended. If it is ignored, there is no penalty applied to the
following surface intervals and dives.
5.10.2. Mandatory Safety Stops
When the ascentrate exceeds 10 m/33 ftper minute continuously for morethan 5 seconds,
the microbubble build-up is predicted to be more than is allowed for in the decompression
model. The Suunto RGBM calculation model responds to this by adding a Mandatory
Safety Stop to the dive. The time of this Mandatory Safety Stop depends on the severity
of the ascent rate excess.
The STOP sign appears in the display and when you reach the depth zone between 6 m
and 3 m/20 ft and 10 ft, the CEILING label, ceiling depth, and the calculated Safety Stop
time also appear in the display. You should wait until the Mandatory Safety Stop warning
disappears. The totallength of the MandatorySafety Stop time dependson the seriousness
of the ascent rate violation.
WHEN CEILING AND STOP ARE
DISPLAYED, MAKE A ONE MINUTE
MANDATORY SAFETY STOP IN THE
DEPTH ZONE BETWEEN 6 M AND 3 M.
You must not ascend shallower than 3 m/10 ft with the Mandatory Safety Stop warning
on. If you ascend above the Mandatory Safety Stop ceiling, a downward pointing arrow
will appear and acontinuous beeping starts. You should immediately descend to,or below,
the Mandatory Safety Stop ceiling depth. If you correct this situation at any time during
the dive, there are no effects on the decompression calculations for future dives.
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