Decending

[BlowHole]

Hi gang, I just completed my final confined water dive last night and will complete, god willing, my OW dive tomorrow and Sunday. I need a tip or something on decending the fist 10 ft. or so. I'm properly weighted, but my instructor told me a was to tense and that was prevending me from decending . Once I'm down I'm fine, it just the first 10 or so ft. My buoncy is good once I'm down too. My instructor told me to think as though I'm a rock. Any other helpful suggestions would be very appreciated.

Thanks folks!

Jim

 

[kelpmermaid]

not like the movie, but sometimes when you are tense, it is hard to let go of the air in your lungs. Be concious of your breathing. Try taking a deep breath as you start letting the air out of you bc, then, when your head is under the surface, exhale and see what happens. Where is Belmont?

 

[NJdiver85]

Make sure you are squeezing all the air out of the bc while on the surface. With a jacket bc, you may need use your free arm to squeeze the bc sides to expel the additional air. Also, try exhaling to get yourself underwater. Once totally submerged, it is easier to expel the air with the inflator.

 

[Starfish]

Here is something I learned about my jacket BC.
I have an inflator valve assembly with Rapid Exhaust (you have to pull the inflator valve to dump air as it was the only dump on the vest). Because of this sytem, I was never completely emptying my BC of air, and I struggle getting down the first 10 feet.

I would attempt to dump the air by putting the inflator valve straight up while depressing the button. Air would come out, but not all.

I actually have to pull down and out so that the inflator hose come out perpendicular to my body :doctor: ------}
with the oral inflation pointed up.

I found this by trial and error as I bought the BC used.
I just saw it diagramed in a BC owners manual and wished I had seen the diagram when I was struggling with the used BC as a new owner.

Give it a try.

 

[O-ring]

tbg and Starfish make a good point...some BCs also have a release you can pull separately and dump all the air (I think Cressis are on the right shoulder, but it varies).

Another good point about the tension...I know the first few times I jumped off the boat I had a million things running through my head (am I going to sink, am I going to do something dumb in front of everyone, am I doing this right, etc.) which can be complicated if conditions are bad. Over time you will relax significantly (also easier to relax once you don't have an instructor looming over you watching you like a hawk). I got significantly more comfortable after my first 5-10 OW dives.

 

[landlocked]

If you are properly weighted, if the BC is deflated and if you exhale and hold it just for a touch, you start to sink. If it doesn't work like that, it has to be one of these 3 things. Incidently, I married a girl from across the bay. Concord to be exact. Go forth with confidence and have a great time.

 

[miked]

Blowhole,
The other replies contain some good advice:
Relax, take a moment before you head down; watch your technique with the BC; it will get easier with experience.These are all excellent tips.
If I might add one more thing to consider, but it depends on the type of exposure suit you are wearing. If you wear a wetsuit, you may want to "burp" the air out of the suit at the surface-or during the first couple of feet under the surface. Any air trapped in the suit (not a lot, if the suit fits properly) will add buoyancy-and should be gotten rid of. The method I use is to stay vertical and the air rises to the neck area, then "flatten" the suit against my chest by rubbing in an upward direction-pushing the air past the neck seal. This is hard to describe, and sounds weird, but it is easy to do, and seems to help. [Again- my experience is with a 3 mm wetsuit, and may not apply in your case.]
Good luck with your dives,
MikeD

 

[herman]

Hi Jim,

All of the suggestions you have gotten so far are good and well worth trying, but are you SURE you are properly weighted? You should actually be 4 or 5 lbs neg at the start of a dive to compensate for the weight you are going to loose from the tank during the dive. If I had to guess, I would say you are actually a little under weighted and the reason you are ok at depth is due to your wetsuit compressing. My suggestion, add a couple of pounds and do a good bouyancy check at the END of your next dive. At worst, you end the dive a couple of pounds heavy and have to take them back out to adjust your bouyancy. Given an option, I would rather be a little overweighted than under weighted any day. A little over weighted you can compensate for but if you are under weighted....well you are out of luck..I have seen rocks being carried, however. This is not to say you should accept poor weighting but it does take a while to learn whats correct for you.
Oh, and be sure to log the dive including all the gear and weight you were using. Make sure you include a note to yourself reguarding how you felt about your weighting, too heavy-too light or just right, it sure helps as a reference for future dives.

 

[Scubaroo]

Hi Jim,

I find a headfirst descent (kind of like a duckdive), while using the lower dumpvalve on the BC, helps me if I can't get down - this is only for the first 15 feet or so, at which point wetsuit compression reduces any positive bouyancy and you can regain your normal posture. The weight of your legs pushes you under the surface, and once you're going down, you should find it easier. Also, if you're using rental gear for your course, see if you can get some negatively bouyant fins as well (usually black) - sometimes a positive bouyant fin (almost any other colour) can be just enough to be a pain, and make you feel like your legs will never get under, because they are floating up by the feet.

good luck!

Oh yeah and try a backplate and wings at your first opportunity after certification - they will definitely help with your bouyancy! :bang:

Ben

 

[cougar]

Been reading through thread adn wondering what my problems is. The BC I have been using is a tattered old rented Mares.

If I were any more relaxed I'd be comatose. When I get in the water..shore..boat..pier...I raise the deflater on the BC and blow all the air outta my lungs...and sink a few feet adn just hang there. Everyone else is dropping like a stone...feet first. My solution has been to stand on my head and fin down. Once I'm down...no problems...but I have never been able to do a feet first decent.

Reading this thread has me wondering if I am underweighted. Don't think so...since once I'm down alles en ordenen. Back when I was a size 8 (many many moons ago and in extremely hard athletic shape)...I was always rediculously bouyant. I have always been able to float on my back in pool water with half my body above the surface (must be made out of soap).

Are some people permantly stuck with having to fin down...or is there another trick...should I point my toes, have heavy thoughts? It always feels like I am standing on my fins like you stand on snow skies in deep snow. I'm not pure enough to be walking on wate at this point in my evolutionr:flusher: