Is this a crazy idea or am I over reacting?

[trsills]

Fresh off getting my OW cert, but I feel like going back to Casino Point and doing like a dozen descents/ascents to work on controlled ascents.

On my last dive, I was watching the computer and it didn't seem like it took much variance during the ascent to cause it to go from green to yellow or even tickle red. It seemed like even the surge could make it go from green to red.

I felt like I had very good buoyancy control during my cert. I'd done resort dives in the past so I've had the gear on before, but I felt like at times it was a lot of work as it seemed like I was over managing the vest.

Or do I just roll with it knowing that more experience will make it more natural?

 

[Scubatude]

More experience will not be the answer. More experience doing it correctly will be a great help. Working on skills like controlled ascents is a great thing to do. We do skills dives at Casino Point all the time. Working with a mentor or instructor is usually a big help, if the instructor is skilled. Every dive is a skills dive and you can always improve...just remember to have fun too.

---------- Post added September 24th, 2014 at 06:46 PM ----------

By the way, CONGRATS on getting certified!

 

[spectrum]

You want to take the ascent warnings with a grain of salt. As you seem to have observed a passing wave or you moving the computer vertically can boost the immediate depth change and cause it to throw an alarm. It's nothing more than a pressure garage indicating depth and it can get fooled.

Diving with a spirit of continuous improvement is the key. You can do a few modest extra ascents, like from 15 feet if you feel the need to practice. I would not do it from deeper as to many cycles could throw you into sub-clinical DCS leaving you profoundly tired.

Just stick with what you have been doing with an eye on betterment. Excellence will come with time and experience.

Pete

 

[trsills]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Scubatude nailed it though in that I was so busy processing everything that I forgot to have fun. After the debriefing I was like, oh, there were fish down there!?

 

[DukeAMO]

I recently did a manta ray dive where we were literally holding onto heavy rocks to stay in one place despite the surge that was trying to push us around. One lady's computer kept beeping at her. We eventually figured out it was her fast ascent warning. She wasn't moving, but the water column above her was getting deeper and shallower! I've set mine off by reaching up to grab something too quickly. So yes, a grain of salt is good here.

Is there somewhere you can work on controlled ascents with a good visual reference? Even a mooring line works. You want something that's attached to the bottom, not the surface, because the surface moves.

 

[Steve_C]

Where is your computer? Mine is a wrist mount. I have noticed that if I raise my arm it can suddenly get excited even though I have not changed my depth. I go up an anchor line very slow. Frequent stops to look around, etc. But it is still easy to make it blink especially if, as noted, there is any wave action.

 

[KeithG]

Fresh off getting my OW cert, but I feel like going back to Casino Point and doing like a dozen descents/ascents to work on controlled ascents.

On my last dive, I was watching the computer and it didn't seem like it took much variance during the ascent to cause it to go from green to yellow or even tickle red. It seemed like even the surge could make it go from green to red.

I felt like I had very good buoyancy control during my cert. I'd done resort dives in the past so I've had the gear on before, but I felt like at times it was a lot of work as it seemed like I was over managing the vest.

Or do I just roll with it knowing that more experience will make it more natural?

Nope. Flip your brain. STOP staring at your computer. Do not lay back and react to it. Too late!

Plan your life and use the computer to confirm that life is as you planned.

You should have already created a dive plan before you splashed. You should now be using your dive computer to verify that you are following your plan.

 

[Skittl1321]

I agree with others who say that even moving your arm too quickly can cause an ascent warning, but as a beginner- I can also say, I really didn't have a good grasp on just HOW SLOW my computer wants me to ascend.

It has taken a lot of practice for me to be able to get from my safety stop to the surface without getting into the yellow or red. I can barely kick at all during my ascent. You really have to go very very slow, and sometimes for me, those last 5 feet, even if I don't kick at all, and have dumped all the air in my BC, I just find myself on the surface as if by magic- I have no idea how I got there that quick.

So it is a good idea to practice very very slow ascents. But not need to just practice them, going up and down. Just practice it at the end of each dive.

---------- Post added September 25th, 2014 at 08:24 AM ----------

Nope. Flip your brain. STOP staring at your computer. Do not lay back and react to it. Too late!

Plan your life and use the computer to confirm that life is as you planned.

You should have already created a dive plan before you splashed. You should now be using your dive computer to verify that you are following your plan.

Using a computer to verify your ascent rate only make sense while you are ascending. You SHOULD react to the alarms it sets off, and slow yourself. What's the use of getting back home, downloading the data and saying "nope, went up too fast." Just having the computer later verify you did it wrong seems pointless.

 

[diver 85]

" I was watching the computer ".......So this how some 'new divers' do an ascent??..ie watching their computer???...........Practice staying below your smallest bubble---if you want/need a guide/gauge---& it's colorless.................

 

[RJP]

Congrats on your OW certification, and welcome to the underwater world! As you've correctly realized, getting that cert card is really just the BEGINNING of a lifetime of continual learning and improvement of skills.

The ability to control where you are in the water column with pin-point accuracy - at ALL times, not just during ascents/descents - is one of the most critical skills in diving. When you think about it, it's not just key to safety but it's actually fundamental to your enjoyment of the underwater realm. Everything from improving gas consumption and decreasing fatigue to not frightening fish away or being able to remain motionless while waiting to snap that once-in-a-lifetime photo is enhanced by effective buoyancy control.

This can be achieved through a combination of training and experience. Being more comfortable in the water as you dive more will certainly help. However I highly recommend finding a great instructor and taking a Peak Performance Buoyancy course. This will help you get closer to mastering things such as weighting (how much weight and where to put it) trim (your horizontal position in the water) and propulsion techniques (how to move most efficiently.)

During my tech training courses, my instructors held students to the criteria of being able to maintain any depth +/- one foot - with a mask, without a mask; sharing air with another diver; without a computer; shooting a bag; while carrying/donning/doffing multiple stage bottles; with BCD and/or drysuit failure; while switching gases; with double steel 119s or double AL80s; at 185ft, 100ft, 50ft, 20ft, 10ft, and even 5ft. But the amazing thing is - as rigorous as that training was - the principles are exactly the same for a recreational diver looking at pretty fishies at 40ft with an AL80 on their back.

And once you get your buoyancy control dialed in - there's nothing you can't do underwater!

Best regards,

Ray Purkis