GUE Fundies For New Diver

[Lobzilla]

I am taking fundamentals, and my bigest problem is Buoyancy. I wish I had good buoyancy, it would made things so much easier.

One key to buoyancy control is to be diligent about correct weighing. Every pound that you carry above the weight needed to hold a safety stop with (nearly) empty tank(s) will reduce the height of the water column you can control with just your lungs.

There is a worksheet in the Fundies training files but you have to find some of your personal numbers that depend on the degree of exposure protection. The fewer weight (to offset compressible volume) the better. During the Christmas vacation I dove in a 3mil shorty with no additional weight and was amazed about the depth window I could control - compared to diving dry with 12# of lead.

Once you have stacked the physics in your favor, you 'only' have to control your mind to not change the breathing pattern when you get task loaded.

In Summary:

• Slow is Smooth and Smooth is Fast
• Less (weight) is More (control)

 

[Toshas79]

thanks Lobzilla, I'll try that tomorrow. Yes my rig was over weighted, I bought steel 100 for my dui which is coming soon, but till then I am diving in my wet suit, I did buoyancy check and I was over weighted. I'll try to correct that and will see. I did try to balance my rig when I was diving last summer also in 3 mil with no addition weight and felt like feather.

 

[DiverLaura]

another thing to do, as you get rid of the extra weight that will help is going out sometime on a no stress "play in the shallow end of the pool" dive. Go play in 10-15' of water. tell your buddy that you are gonna do it (or at the end of a dive and it can double as tank weighting time) and just relax. remember in the pool when you were just 'getting it' and found neutral for the first time? aim for that. relaaaax. doing fundies, doing any class is stressful, as is diving with a bunch of divers who you wanna look like but don't yet. take a dive 'off'. go poke in the sand... go SEE what happens when you do this or that with buoyancy devices. put gas in suit, put no gas in suit, gas in wing, dump from wing, etc... i actually like doing this in 5' of water sometimes and look at the reflection of the rocks on the mirror surface of the water. you'll be amazed at what relaxing does for your buoyancy... suddenly you are breathing normally and not off the top of your lungs, CO2 is reduced, yada yada yada.

if you've seen the movie CONTACT with Jodie Foster, there is the scene where the dad is teaching a young Foster how to tune in the radio. he says "Small moves Ellie, Small moves" i think of this every time i'm trying to fine tune my gear or buoyancy. I hear that in my head and it's a reminder to make the moves (inflation/deflation/etc..) 'smaller'.

even clipping your bolt snaps is easier if you think "small moves...."

 

[Mayor]

Anytime spent with Sherwood in or out of the water is a learning experience. Can't wait for my next class with him....

 

[Toshas79]

Thanks LauraJ, I'll try that

 

[Toshas79]

Mayor, Yes Bob is great instructor, liked the way he teach