meloknee:
interesting thread - i'm newly certified and went diving last weekend with a friend who is a more experienced diver and noticed that i did flap around more and used a lot more air that she did
any advice on how to slow down would be appreciated
Yes ... the reason most newer divers fin a lot is because they require the motion in order to stay "neutral" in the water. Kind've like when you first learn how to ride a bike you need to maintain a certain speed in order not to fall over. In this case, learning buoyancy control is like learning how to balance yourself on a bike.
What you need first is to understand the concept that proper buoyancy control is linked to proper breathing control. Start with a weight check ... good buoyancy control requires proper weighting. There are many ways to accomplish this. The most effective one I've learned is to get your cylinder down to 500 psi, then in about 10 feet of water let all the air out of your BCD. When you breathe out you should sink ... and when you breathe in you should rise. If you cannot sink by breathing out, you are underweighted. If you cannot rise by breathing in, you are overweighted.
Once your weight is adjusted properly, practice hovering without using your fins. Learn how to control your state of buoyancy using your "fine tune" BCD ... i.e. your lungs. You should be able to sink by breathing out, and rise by breathing in, without messing with your power inflator. Start diving with your hands clasped together and your arms drawn in close to your body ... arm waving wastes a LOT of energy and only makes proper trim more difficult.
Once you've learned how to hover properly, you will be able to fin slowly and go where you want to go without excessive kicking.
The added benefit is that as you learn to slow down, you will start to notice all the cool little things you've been swimming past without ever seeing ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)