Safety stop w/o anchor-line

[SeaJay]

Unbelievable!

A post saying something positive about PADI that also recommends DIR.

Do mine eyes deceive me?

Shhhhh... Don't tell anyone.

One of (the abrasive) GI3's DIR videos starts out with, "If we could just get everyone to go back and read the first few pages of the PADI Open Water One manual..." He goes pretty in-depth about "the basics," and yeah, they pretty much are in line with PADI's idea of "the basics."

By the way... While he helped JJ to develop the DIR program (and I believe actually coined the phrase "DIR"), GI3 himself is not a GUE representative... He's the head of the WKPP, a group which even some DIR guys consider to be "extremist." Sure, the WKPP had a lot to do with the development of the DIR program, but they aren't officially affiliated. The point is... What you've got there in that video is the head of the extreme of the extreme effectively agreeing with PADI on what, exactly, the basics are and what should be mastered in terms of skills.

...But I don't want to hijack this thread, and this isn't about DIR... This is about a diver who found it really tough to do a free ascent safely and was wondering what sort of recommendations we had to help. I know I brought up the DIR acronymn, but this isn't about that... This is about the mastery of this one basic skill... The skill of being so perfect in his buoyancy that doing a free ascent is not only possible, but fun and enjoyable.

...And I'm simply suggesting - as others here have - that he focus on the mastery of the skill and not count on simply avoiding the situation again... 'Cause that ain't always going to happen. The only reason I bring up the Fundamentals book is because it focuses quite a bit on this one particular skill... So it may be a good resource for him.

...Which really is the focus of the program. It's got much less to do with gear, and nothing to do with dressing in black (which reminds me... I need to change my avitar ), Kool-Aid, secret handshakes or fraternal organizations.

...But I'm off-topic again. Let's not cloud yet another thread with DIR vs. anti-DIR drivel. I won't mention it if you won't.

Let's just talk about that ONE skill... And that can be gotten from anywhere... Even from PADI. (It's where I learned proper weighting, it was just never a focus.)

 

[SeaJay]

DA Aquamaster once bubbled...


I agree with Sea Jay on this with the exception that the emphasis should be on focusing on the little particles in the water column to determine trend and rate of movement while referring to the gauges occassionally to ensure you are maintaining the correct average depth.

I've never really found the particles to be that reliable.

...But the truth is that I've never really tried that method to any serious degree... I think it comes from diving zero-vis stuff. It's pointless to focus on a particle that's 1/2" from your mask, as it tends to move with you rather than be a reliable source of information. But I'm often in "better vis" stuff... With 5 or 10 feet of vis... And so I think I should try your method out a little more and master that skill. It sounds like another "tool" which could come in handy in the right conditions.

...Thanks for the idea. Any recommendations for mastering this one?

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Good point that in really low viz, the stuff just in front of your mask gets sucked along with your mask.

The normal viz in the fresh water where I normally dive is 5 to 10 ft. near the surface with maybe 30-40 at depth on really good days. There are nearly always small suspended particles in the water and all it really takes is the effort to focus on them.

I also normally do what amounts to the same thing on ascent and regulate my ascent by looking at the smallest exhaust bubbles I can see. The really small ones ascend at about 30 fpm and if you keep pace with one your ascent rate will be very close to that rate. Watching the bubbles gives a much smoother ascent and they have no lag like the ascent indicator on a computer.

Again, like a depth gauge, you can reference the ascent rate indicator on your computer to verify that the overall ascent rate in in the ball park, but it is much harder to use to maintain a steady ascent rate due to the lag time involved.

Of course the bubble you are watching gets bigger and speeds up as it rises so you have to switch to smaller bubbles on the way up. But when you get to the stop depth you are already focused at the correct distance and just need to note the suspended particles in the water to aide you in hovering.

It's obvious to most divers with experience and good bouyancy control but worth mentioning for everyone else that the ability to stop and hover at a saftey or deco stop starts with a slow and controlled ascent where you are aware of your depth and ascent rate and then lead things enough to come to a stop at the required depth.

You still have mass and momentum so the thing about adjusting bouyancy is to make small adjustments, never get too far from neutral bouyancy and develop a feel for how much change is required and how long it takes for the change to take effect when you make a bouyancy change.

 

[String]

It'll come with practice.
Diving over here you nearly never end up back at the shot/anchor line due to low vis and/or currents so ascents are either made via a DSMB and reel or "free".

Just looking at your depth gauge and/or computer is the only reference you really need - try not to follow your buddy because he may be wobbling about too. Eventually you'll manage to hold the stops with just the volume of air in your lungs to fine tune but its something that only comes with practice. You have to anticipate changes and make adjustments before the actual event otherwise you'll end up yo-ing. Remeber buoyancy changes take a few seconds to filter through.

Your ears can sometimes be a good indicator of a depth change too.

We usually use 6m (just under 20ft) for a safety stop depth as if theres any sort of swell its easier to hold than the 5m PADI (?) recommended stop depth.

 

[ScubaSky]

Another factor you might want to consider is, If the surface conditions aren't very good the waves can affect your depth. If you are under the trough of the wave you may only have 12' of water above you, if you are under the crest of the wave you may have 15 - 20' of water above you. it takes practice.

 

[zeN||]

Thanks Seajay, I also found your post useful (except the reference to DIR) zeN

 

[Genesis]

are something that NO agency emphasizes or makes a requirement for an OW cert, yet they are an absolutely essential skill to master.

Some day you WILL lose the upline. When you do, the difference between being annoyed and possibly getting in trouble is being able to make a controlled, safe ascent with all requisite stops (including the safety stop) and most importantly, a very slow final ascent from there to the surface.

Now yes, in current this has its own separate problems (can you say being WAY off the boat!!) but in that situation hopefully the boat knows you're there, you've got a sausage or marker, you can deploy it, they can come get you, etc.

The key is practice. Your gauges will tell you where you are, and the particles in the water tell you which way you're moving. As SeaJay noted, being horizontal helps a lot, in that it makes your resistance to vertical movement much higher than if you're vertical.

This is something you should work on - its important, and you wont' get it in class - unfortunately - because it simply isn't taught.

 

[SeaJay]

zeN|| once bubbled...
Thanks Seajay, I also found your post useful (except the reference to DIR)

Lol... Funny.

are something that NO agency emphasizes or makes a requirement for an OW cert, yet they are an absolutely essential skill to master.

I completely agree.

I mean, sure... If you're diving in 30' of crystal-clear Caribbean water, then perhaps the skill is less useful than it is to the diver who has no vertical reference... But it's amazing to me that someone can get a "license" to dive when they really aren't prepared for that common situation. It's like giving someone a driver's license without first teaching them what a STOP sign looks like.

Now yes, in current this has its own separate problems (can you say being WAY off the boat!!) but in that situation hopefully the boat knows you're there, you've got a sausage or marker, you can deploy it, they can come get you, etc.

I agree.

...And you know, waving a fin, or at least holding it up in the water, is often times just as effective as actually using a surface marker to establish position. This sounds terrible, but after seeing how effective it was for myself, I put my SMB back in my dive bag and left it there. I haven't used it since.

Of course, I dive with a set of super-bright freakin' Quattros... When I switch to Jets I might go back to the SMB... No, wait... That's not gonna happen... I have a huge orange lift bag in my backplate...

The key is practice.

Lol... You sure you ain't DIR?

...being horizontal helps a lot, in that it makes your resistance to vertical movement much higher than if you're vertical.

Hm. Smells DIR... Looks DIR... Might be... Naaaah. Hey, Gen, you aren't gonna tell me that you're "90% DIR" now, are you? :lol:

Just teasin', man.

This is something you should work on - its important, and you wont' get it in class - unfortunately - because it simply isn't taught.

Ack! Okay, there's proof that he's not DIR, ladies and gentlemen. Y'all can go on home now... Nothin' to see here...

Gen... Uhhhh... It is taught in class.

Care for some Kool-Aid?

 

[Genesis]

OW class.... at least not yet

 

[SeaJay]

That's true.

I see your point.