A Newbie Ascends

[chillyinCanada]

I make sure there's no air in my bcd at around 30' and breathe up from there. By this I mean inhaling and exhaling. I've been known to say that I "think" up. Reach my stop, might double check to ensure bcd is still empty. Hold the stop and when ready to ascend to surface, do my best to do the slowest ascent ever.

 

[ben_wilson3301]

Use your fins to swim up. Use your lungs and BCD to keep your buoyancy neutral. Neutral buoyancy will make it easier to swim up and stay at 15'.

 

[holdfast]

I just wanted to say thanks for all the excellent feedback! I came away with good insight into things I can focus on to be safer and more controlled. I also appreciate the additional information on lung overexpansion and the importance of an open airway.

I didn't have time to write a proper response yesterday, but I was able to read through them and put them to use straight away on my afternoon dives!

 

[Michael Guerrero]

Hey all,

Got a newbie question for you. I'm a pretty new diver, and initially, ascending and maintaining a safety stop was a pretty damn clumsy affair. I've made improvements in my buoyancy control and that has changed the way I ascend.

On my past few dives, I've essentially breathed my way to the surface. Breath in, rise a bit. Breath out to slow or stop ascent. Breath in, rise a little more, let some air out of BC, and so on and so forth. I've never felt more controlled on my ascent. I got to thinking about lung overexpansion and whatnot, and I just wanted to check in and see if there was anything objectively wrong with my approach and see if there is a better approach to the controlled ascent.

Also, happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate. Happy Thursday if you don't.

Perfect! Until your ascent rate really makes a difference for gas planning, this is the right way. Kudos on figuring this out so quickly. Sometimes the things that are most intuitive and seem right actually are right. I encourage you not to swim up but to stay horizontal and continue to use the method you described.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Perfect! Until your ascent rate really makes a difference for gas planning, this is the right way. Kudos on figuring this out so quickly. Sometimes the things that are most intuitive and seem right actually are right. I encourage you not to swim up but to stay horizontal and continue to use the method you described.

what does that mean?

 

[Michael Guerrero]

what does that mean?

That if your plan depends on a certain ft/min ascent rate (e.g., 30), to and between deco stops, you may not always be able to achieve this simply with breathing.

But I forgot this was the beginners forum, so really not pertinent.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

That if your plan depends on a certain ft/min ascent rate (e.g., 30), to and between deco stops, you may not always be able to achieve this simply with breathing.

But I forgot this was the beginners forum, so really not pertinent.

There is no reason to change the method of ascent. If you are going too slow, you take a kick or let the BC expand a little and ride it up a few feet before venting. Keeping a precise control of your buoyancy by using breath control is a very reliable means to regulate the ascent rate.