Photo of the Week (10/03/2012): Safety Stop

For the beginner diver this is one of the most discomfiting times of a dive, the safety stop, 3 minutes at 5 meters with the aim of eliminating microbubbles which are the cause of the dreaded decompression sickness or the ‘bends’. This can be an embarrassing time and as a beginner I used to flail around sometimes and I’ve even been dragged down by exasperated divemaster.



The pro’s make this look effortless, motionless in the water, maintaining their near constant depth sometimes even checking out their photographs from the dive. The trick to getting this perfected is to always check your depth and attune yourself to how your breathing affects your speed of ascent and descent. Being perfectly weighted especially with your empty tank in mind is also essential and with some practice being uber cool during the safety stop is well within reach.