Juggling computer and inflator hose

[SparticleBrane]

Get a computer/bottom timer mounted on your right wrist.
Get horizontal in the water on ascents so that you're dumping air using the rear dump valve, if your BC is so equipped, instead of using your inflator hose.

 

[GA Under Water]

What I do:
Go vertical
Release air from BC
Kick to the surface (for me this helps keep my ascent slow)
all you have to watch is your computer
If you still have some air in your BC release if needed but the fumbling is not as serious because you are neutral to negative anyway.

 

[gt3073b]

What I do:
Go vertical
Release air from BC
Kick to the surface (for me this helps keep my ascent slow)
all you have to watch is your computer
If you still have some air in your BC release if needed but the fumbling is not as serious because you are neutral to negative anyway.

Between staying a bit more negative and finning up, and watching the floating junk in the water, I should have the problem solved. Sounds like I need to get over it and dive more.

Thank you all for your help!

Bryan.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Why would you want to go vertical?

 

[dbulmer]

SteveAd,

Charlie99 is right. Even in a drysuit you use the lungs for fine control and watching the particles in the water is a great help. And I dive in the UK which is not Hawaii.

 

[Quarrior]

I dive with a 7mm wetsuit, hooded vest (making the alarm VERY hard to hear), and gloves at Bluestone Quarry or off the NC/SC coast. Since the dives are rather deep, wetsuit compression is a factor, and breath control helps but doesn't eliminate venting my wing (which has no shoulder vent). I have a 7' hose and bungied backup, so moving the hp hose and computer to the right side might cause problems when clipping it off. Bryan.

Ok, your setup sounds very much like my setup diving in quarries and lakes in MO, except my computer is wrist mounted.

Here's the deal. Take some time and learn how your ears feel as you ascend. You'll be surprised how much your body will tell you about what you're doing while diving, if you'll just take the time to learn how to read the messages.

There is absolutely no reason to keep the inflator hose in your hand. Just burp it once in a while. If you are having to dump air continuously, you are ascending to fast.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Between staying a bit more negative and finning up, and watching the floating junk in the water, I should have the problem solved. Sounds like I need to get over it and dive more.

Thank you all for your help!

Bryan.

Being negative isn't the answer. Being negative is for going down, not up.

 

[JessH]

Being negative isn't the answer. Being negative is for going down, not up.

I agree. There is no need to make yourself negative. Even if you don't you shouldn't need to dump air continuously. If you find that you are having to dump a lot of air on the way up make sure that you are not overweighted. If you are overweighted that means that you will have more air in your BC when you ascend which means it will expand "quicker."

Personally when I want to ascend I just take a deep breath. As soon as I start to ascend(before my lungs are completely full) I begin to exhale. I find that I can actually make a nice slow ascent from the bottom of the 18ft pool I often work in without needing to dump any air. Of course if you are wearing a thick wetsuit or a drysuit you will need to dump air more often.

~Jess

 

[MikeFerrara]

Personally when I want to ascend I just take a deep breath. As soon as I start to ascend(before my lungs are completely full) I begin to exhale. I find that I can actually make a nice slow ascent from the bottom of the 18ft pool I often work in without needing to dump any air. Of course if you are wearing a thick wetsuit or a drysuit you will need to dump air more often.

~Jess

To start an ascent from a horizontal and neutral position, I just arch my back, pulling my shoulders and head back a little. That raises my lungs a bit and that combined with breathing starts a nice controled ascent. For the first few feet, I can control the ascent just with body position alone...a little more arch to speed up and a little less to slow down. When I find myself having to keep a lower lung volume to control my speed, I dump a little. I stay horizontal (with the minor adjustments mentioned) throughout.

The advantage to acending this way is control. First of all you can halt your ascent and hover without kicking or inflating at any time. You present more resistance to up/dpwn movment when your horizontal. You're are in the best position to control movement in all directions. A reverse kick will give a little more space between you and your buddy or one good forward kick will put you right in his face.

 

[GA Under Water]

Being negative isn't the answer. Being negative is for going down, not up.

at the surface you should have an empty BC and be able to exhale to sink. So to keep away from runaway acents making yourself Neg at depth will make you neutral at the surface. For the 3 min stop, add just a slight bit of air and you stay put. This does require good weighting though. Hard to stay put when over or under weighted.

Am I incorrect in this? I would think a runaway ascent would be far more dangerous than a little more energy to Fin up to the surface.