fnfalman
Contributor
1. Get yourself and your rig properly weighted. That's another topic that you can do research on.
2. Learn how to establish neutral buoyancy (No. 1 really helps) - this will help with flapping your arms like a chicken trying to fly as well.
3. Trim out properly (that means you swim horizontally instead of with feet down or head down swims) - hydrodynamics work just like aerodynamics.
4. Learn to how properly kick with your type of fins - this saves on wasted motion and energy.
5. Regulate your breathing - slow in, slow out.
6. Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice.
Most new divers (or those who never cared to fine hone their skills) have to swim a lot and waste a lot of energy and air in order to stay afloat. It's hard to move slowly if you keep sinking or floating up uncontrollably. Get your weighting, get your neutral buoyancy, get your trim done and you will find that it isn't hard to move slowly and methodically underwater.
BTW, you need to check yourself. This will sound harsh but if you were to run out of air at depth then something is seriously wrong with your dive plan. If you have no idea on how to calculate for air consumption rate then you need to learn how via do some search on Scubaboard (gas management had been covered a multitude of times and a quick search will pop it up) or get an air integrated dive computer that will calculate your air remaining time for you.
Also, why weren't you monitoring your air so that you wouldn't run out? Just because others can stay down longer, it doesn't mean that you can or should. You should have let your buddy/Divemaster know and returned to the surface way before you had to use somebody else's air. This is really, really, really, really bad. The next time, your dive buddy might not have enough air to share with you. DO NOT RELY ON OTHERS to check yourself. YOU CHECK YOURSELF.
2. Learn how to establish neutral buoyancy (No. 1 really helps) - this will help with flapping your arms like a chicken trying to fly as well.
3. Trim out properly (that means you swim horizontally instead of with feet down or head down swims) - hydrodynamics work just like aerodynamics.
4. Learn to how properly kick with your type of fins - this saves on wasted motion and energy.
5. Regulate your breathing - slow in, slow out.
6. Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice.
Most new divers (or those who never cared to fine hone their skills) have to swim a lot and waste a lot of energy and air in order to stay afloat. It's hard to move slowly if you keep sinking or floating up uncontrollably. Get your weighting, get your neutral buoyancy, get your trim done and you will find that it isn't hard to move slowly and methodically underwater.
BTW, you need to check yourself. This will sound harsh but if you were to run out of air at depth then something is seriously wrong with your dive plan. If you have no idea on how to calculate for air consumption rate then you need to learn how via do some search on Scubaboard (gas management had been covered a multitude of times and a quick search will pop it up) or get an air integrated dive computer that will calculate your air remaining time for you.
Also, why weren't you monitoring your air so that you wouldn't run out? Just because others can stay down longer, it doesn't mean that you can or should. You should have let your buddy/Divemaster know and returned to the surface way before you had to use somebody else's air. This is really, really, really, really bad. The next time, your dive buddy might not have enough air to share with you. DO NOT RELY ON OTHERS to check yourself. YOU CHECK YOURSELF.