How long to master buoyancy?

[Rascally Rabbit]

My opinion of the mastery of buoyancy control may be a little different than some others.
Other may feel you never totally master the control and of course even the best of us may have moments that get a bit away from us. However you do reach a point with practice that buoyancy control becomes a skill that doesn't require a great deal of thought. It becomes second nature and you just do it like breathing. Consider it part of the Zen of diving.

I believe it happens in stages and that some people are just faster to pick it up than others (the naturals)
First you learn the physical controls and practice them as part of your OW certification experience. Next you Concentrate on the skills, Practice and Refine them until you are satisfied you can control yourself in the environments you'll be diving. Once you reach that level of satisfaction you continue to do the skills but each time you use the skills you need to put less and less concentration into acheiving a satisfactory result until it has become second nature.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

My opinion of the mastery of buoyancy control may be a little different than some others.
Other may feel you never totally master the control and of course even the best of us may have moments that get a bit away from us. However you do reach a point with practice that buoyancy control becomes a skill that doesn't require a great deal of thought. It becomes second nature and you just do it like breathing. Consider it part of the Zen of diving.

I believe it happens in stages and that some people are just faster to pick it up than others (the naturals)
First you learn the physical controls and practice them as part of your OW certification experience. Next you Concentrate on the skills, Practice and Refine them until you are satisfied you can control yourself in the environments you'll be diving. Once you reach that level of satisfaction you continue to do the skills but each time you use the skills you need to put less and less concentration into acheiving a satisfactory result until it has become second nature.

... then you add a new piece of gear, start diving a different configuration, or put yourself into an environment you're not used to and the process starts all over again. Granted, it doesn't take as much effort the next time around ... but fine control of buoyancy involves a certain amount of "memory" that you only get with practice. Change something about how you dive, and that "memory" requires reprogramming.

And you're quite correct that some folks pick it up faster than others. I'm one of those that struggles with every new thing I ever learn in scuba. I've known people who were better with their buoyancy control at 50 dives than I was at 250 ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[scubadada]

For those of you who've been diving for a while now, how many dives did you do before you felt 100% in control of your buoyancy?

100% control is quite a lofty goal, for me that would be forever. Very good control, that's another question, well addressed by many of the posters.

Good diving, Craig

 

[Darnold9999]

Had to laugh at the discussions of "never really mastering it".

Add something new or try to do something unfamiliar and pretty much all of us will look like a rank beginner pretty fast.

Was taking pictures of a school of fish in a ball - trying to get the perfect shot up through the centre while the ball swirled around. Swimming upside down under moving fish looking through a viewfinder in a mild current. Managed to totally lose my place in the water column and crash into the bottom. Never did get the shot:depressed:

 

[coolhandcarter]

Typically around 20 dives is when a diver starts to get really comfortable in the water and comes into their own in terms of buoyancy. Then around 100 dives is when a diver can really move in the water like he was born there without it being in the front of their mind thru the dive. And to get to the point where you can slip in and out of tight spaces like your instructor than happens after hundreds of dives. And lots of practice in doing stuff like that. You will never be able so move in a shallow pool like that by only diving on a 50-60 ft reef looking at pretty fish.

 

[driftwood]

Dang, I was thinking what a good idea that was but there are no scuba meetups near me. I think there may be other local dive groups though, I just need to find out by asking when I go diving. I'm sure there will be more people at the river than just me and my instructor.

By the way, love your avatar.

edit: OK, there isn't a scuba meetup in San Antonio, but there is one in Austin. It's a bit far to go for midweek socials, but for a dive trip it would be worth it, maybe.

There will be a big infestation of Texas Swamp Divers on Lake Travis at Windy Point the last weekend of April. This is the kickoff party for the '11 Swamper's dive season.

Texas Swamp Divers - ScubaBoard

New divers and a lot of very solid divers to buddy with. Great place to meet locals. The most fun dives are going to be with Robert Weiss off The Giant Stride, Welcome to Lake Travis Scuba Robert is a fantastic instructor who you can put your trust in.

 

[movieflick]

It took me about 3 days to pretty much master OW and AOW level buoyancy. It came very natural to me where as my wife is still having issues 2 years later and my daughter is just ok 5 years later. It all depends on the person I guess.

Now to master tech diving buoyancy I think is a different animal all together. Put me in a cave and I am bouncing all over the place But in all fairness I am 6'7" 290LBS so the only reason for me to go into a cave is to hibernate until the next SCUBA season

 

[TexasKaren68]

Darn it My dive shop is having a buoyancy clinic on the 19th and I can't go. I already have plans for that whole day (paid for already). I really want to go though.

I looked at the Lake Travis scuba web site. Sheesh! What's the visibility there? Two feet? The water looks so murky, and were those dry suits in the photos? How cold is that lake anyway?

 

[James R]

This is the current Lake Travis conditions site (updated constantly): Current LTTS Weather Readings

TSurf (surface temp) is a balmy 59 right now. It'll be upper 80s in a few months at the surface, and colder the deeper you go. Right now, viz down to 60' is around 10' which is good, as it's starting to open up as it warms. Summer charters are nice, and good opportunity to find money, sunglasses, etc as the party barge customers get drunk and jump in with all their stuff still in their pockets and on their faces :cool2: Viz over the summer was up to 30' some days...amazing

You will like the Comal River, I bet. It's clear, not too cold, and easy drift diving. Lots of aquatic life, too. There will probably be lots of divers out...last weekend it was pretty busy, but not crowded.

 

[k ellis]

Texas Karen if your ok with cool temp diving (60s) check out Athens Scuba Park. Reports are that visiblity is allegedy over 60 feet currently