how to ascend/ descend

[TatianaSilva]

i know, silly question , but ive just got my OP and im thinking of becoming an instructor in some years so i want to do things right.

is it better to ascend and descent vertically up / down or maybe is better to keep diving forward and ascend at same same in a horizontal way ?

thank you !

 

[Jim Lapenta]

It depends entirely on the dive and conditions. Some dives require you to be vertical at least for the first few feet on the way down or last few on the way up. If there is boat traffic for example. But in general I teach after that to get horizontal for the descent and do all but the last few feet that way on the ascent. Easier to control, you can see what's below you. And for new divers and students it's less stressful than trying to stay vertical. Other than the initial weight check my students first descent on scuba is in a horizontal position.

 

[Rich Keller]

I always make my ascents and descents vertically by swimming and not using the BCD. I feel I have more control that way and waist less air going into the BCD. I weight myself so that I can do the whole dive without a BCD so I am only using it to make minor adjustments when on the bottom and when I get back to the surface if needed. This allows me to use a much smaller, lower profile BCD, extends the dive by waisting less air and I am not dependent on the BCD so if it fails I am not in trouble.

 

[TatianaSilva]

so i guess its more of a personal decision? i mean theres no rule in diving that says completely vertical ?
i dont use bcd when ascending either, i guess thats ok?
thanks

 

[Searcaigh]

Depends on the environment and the visibility but most of the time I prefer to descend and ascend horizontally, in particular ascending as you want to decompress the whole body equally, but usually after the safety / deco stop, ascending head up is preferential.

Sometimes I feel like I am in free fall when descending horizontally in great visibility over a wreck ….. love that feeling

 

[divad]

 

[rongoodman]

Horizontal for the most part. Among other things, being horizontal at the same level as your buddy, and only a few feet away, lets you get to him with just a kick or two in case of an issue.

 

[TatianaSilva]

so basically doing both things horizontal most of the way and when youre a few feet from surface after safety stop, keep vertical . I am not ready to do descent with head first , straight down... and ive read here before its not great for equalise either ?

 

[TSandM]

You will find that there are few rules in diving, other than the one that says you have to be on the surface before you run out of gas.

Beginning divers are often taught to do a vertical, swimming ascent. It is my belief that this is because you can execute such an ascent while remaining at all times slightly negative, which reduces the likelihood of a loss of control. However, this approach makes it somewhat difficult to stop, because to do so, you must titrate the amount of kicking you are doing precisely to how negative you are -- or, you get neutral, and if you move your fins at all (since they are below you) you will begin to move up in the water column.

Horizontal ascents, on the other hand, are executed by using breath control to move up, with the goal being never to be more than a good exhale away from neutral. This means it is quite easy to stop at any time and remain stopped, once one has control of one's breathing. It's easy to move forward and back, for example to assist a buddy (which is more difficult if you are vertical). Another advantage of a horizontal ascent is that, if you are going up a line, your fins are not aimed at the divers ascending below you!

However, when you are horizontal, it is difficult to see well what is above you. For this reason, even if I execute a horizontal ascent, I will turn vertical in the last few feet if I think there is any risk of anything being on the surface (eg. boats).

For descents, going down vertical and fins down is horrid. You can't see beneath you nearly as well as you can if you are horizontal, and your fins are aimed at whatever is on the bottom, be that silt or delicate corals. A vertical, head-down descent is favored by people who want to accelerate their downward movement (for example, when doing hot drops onto wrecks in current) but reportedly can make equalizing a bit more difficult. In most cases, I prefer a gentle horizontal drift downward, again because it allows me to stop quickly if one of us has a problem that requires a pause, like difficulty with ears, or the discovery of an equipment problem that wasn't picked up during the buddy check.

 

[Akimbo]

I’m with Rich, swimming head-down descents and head-up ascents, even in a drysuit. The last 20' is a slow descent when vis is under 5'. The only exception is when there is a downline on a surface supplied dive because often fins aren’t worn.