Switched from riding the basket down to free descent for cleanup dives and holy efficiency

For years I used to hang on the basket all the way down to the bottom on shallow cleanup jobs, thinking it was safer. About 6 months ago on a dock inspection in Port Hueneme, the tender was taking forever and I got antsy. Just did a controlled free descent and hit bottom 40 seconds faster. Now for anything under 100 feet with good viz I never ride the basket down unless the current is ripping. Has anyone else found free descent saves that much time on repetitive shallow work or am I the only one who was late to this?

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1 Comment

gavinperez1mo ago

Riding the basket down is a pain (the worst is when it snags on something halfway) but free descent on shallow work is how guys get bent. Every safety manual I've read says controlled descent on a line is better for your nitrogen loading, especially if you're doing multiple dives in a day. I had a buddy who rushed a 90 foot cleanout and ended up with skin bends because he was winging it on ascent too, getting all excited about time savings. There's a reason commercial outfits write "ride the basket" into their procedures, it's not just about being slow for fun. And if the current does start ripping (which can happen out of nowhere on a dock), you'll be wishing you had that basket to hang onto rather than fighting to get back to the line.