masterof0
Guest
In the short time I have been diving I have done a lot of research in this quest to be a better diver. In doing so, I have asked a lot of questions from various divers on how to achieve my goals. As part of this research, I have also spent countless hours on SB asking questions and following threads from divers similar to myself looking for answers. In this time, you see countless people answering a variety of questions, but there are a few that continually offer not only share a vast amount of knowledge, but do it in such a way that is non-threatening and exemplifies professionalism. More importantly, they share the information in such a way as to get the OP thinking, but not in such a way as to say "my way is the right way."
A great example of this is a recent thread started by TSandM, "The joy of flying." As I read through this thread, I realized how much I am potentially missing out by getting overly excited about getting into the water and seeing "stuff," that I have forgotten to get back to the fundamentals of trim and buoyancy control. I just purchased a new BP/W and after reading this thread realized now was the perfect time to get back to basics. So, this past weekend, I went diving in Monterey and spent my first dive focusing solely on weighting and trim. After the first dive, I was feeling good, and "it was on!" As a result of taking that time, the remaining six dives of the weekend were beyond anything I could have imagined. Not only was vis in Monterey beyond what anyone was expecting, but I found myself controlling buoyancy by breathing instead of bouncing up and down in the water column using my BC. As I floated through the water, if I needed to ascend a few feet to get over the pinnacles, I took a little breath and I was there. Now that I was past, I exhaled, and I was back at the bottom, all while not touch my inflator or the sea floor....It was the most excitement that I felt since my first day in the water. My safety stops had now become far less challenging too.
I definitely think some changes in equipment made a difference (moved to a BPW and changed out my HP80s for 100 to redistribute weight) but I think the biggest difference was the time I took on the first dive to a) be properly weighted and b) ensure the weight was properly distributed to keep me from fighting my trim in the water. I didn't solve all my problems this weekend, but these simple things "resloved" a lot of the challenges I was having underwater and made my weekend so much more enjoyable that dives in the past.
I would especially like to thank TSandM, DA, and Cool_Hardware for and all of their valued input and the methodology behind information that is shared. There are many more out there that have large amounts of knowledge that I have learned a lot from as well....Thank you!
A great example of this is a recent thread started by TSandM, "The joy of flying." As I read through this thread, I realized how much I am potentially missing out by getting overly excited about getting into the water and seeing "stuff," that I have forgotten to get back to the fundamentals of trim and buoyancy control. I just purchased a new BP/W and after reading this thread realized now was the perfect time to get back to basics. So, this past weekend, I went diving in Monterey and spent my first dive focusing solely on weighting and trim. After the first dive, I was feeling good, and "it was on!" As a result of taking that time, the remaining six dives of the weekend were beyond anything I could have imagined. Not only was vis in Monterey beyond what anyone was expecting, but I found myself controlling buoyancy by breathing instead of bouncing up and down in the water column using my BC. As I floated through the water, if I needed to ascend a few feet to get over the pinnacles, I took a little breath and I was there. Now that I was past, I exhaled, and I was back at the bottom, all while not touch my inflator or the sea floor....It was the most excitement that I felt since my first day in the water. My safety stops had now become far less challenging too.
I definitely think some changes in equipment made a difference (moved to a BPW and changed out my HP80s for 100 to redistribute weight) but I think the biggest difference was the time I took on the first dive to a) be properly weighted and b) ensure the weight was properly distributed to keep me from fighting my trim in the water. I didn't solve all my problems this weekend, but these simple things "resloved" a lot of the challenges I was having underwater and made my weekend so much more enjoyable that dives in the past.
I would especially like to thank TSandM, DA, and Cool_Hardware for and all of their valued input and the methodology behind information that is shared. There are many more out there that have large amounts of knowledge that I have learned a lot from as well....Thank you!