This past week I was fortunate enough to get to dive twice a day, every day, with my son. He has been working a bit on his buoyancy. Not diligently maybe but paying attention and working on it.
Fast forward a bit to the actual trip. Day two he forgot his boots and had to borrow some fins from the boat that wouldn't chew up his bare feet. They were slightly positive. And it completely changed his trim. He looked gooooood. Flat body. Heels up behind his tank. I don't mind saying I was a bit jealous. (working on flexibility to get my feet up comfortably)
Many of our dives were poor mans drift dives. Swim into the current from the boat. Drift back to the boat. Repeat as needed. Every stinking time we got to the top of the drift, he and two of his buddies would fold into the ever famous Buddha position and drift. At first it annoyed the heck out of me because he was taking this amazing new trim position and wrecking it. But the more I watched the more I realized that he (and the other two) was still perfecting and working on his buoyancy. I could see him inhale a bit bigger to rise up over a coral hump, or a fan. I could see him exhale to get back down closer. I watched him throw Buddha out the window to avoid a huge fan he miscalculated his ascent rate on. It was a silly game, but a game that was teaching them a lot even if they didn't realize it. I ended the week a lot closer to Buddha's zen about it all, even if I couldn't bring myself to get closer to him in my own trim position.
Just a parent bragging post. Fun to watch. Fun to get to be along for part of the ride.
Fast forward a bit to the actual trip. Day two he forgot his boots and had to borrow some fins from the boat that wouldn't chew up his bare feet. They were slightly positive. And it completely changed his trim. He looked gooooood. Flat body. Heels up behind his tank. I don't mind saying I was a bit jealous. (working on flexibility to get my feet up comfortably)
Many of our dives were poor mans drift dives. Swim into the current from the boat. Drift back to the boat. Repeat as needed. Every stinking time we got to the top of the drift, he and two of his buddies would fold into the ever famous Buddha position and drift. At first it annoyed the heck out of me because he was taking this amazing new trim position and wrecking it. But the more I watched the more I realized that he (and the other two) was still perfecting and working on his buoyancy. I could see him inhale a bit bigger to rise up over a coral hump, or a fan. I could see him exhale to get back down closer. I watched him throw Buddha out the window to avoid a huge fan he miscalculated his ascent rate on. It was a silly game, but a game that was teaching them a lot even if they didn't realize it. I ended the week a lot closer to Buddha's zen about it all, even if I couldn't bring myself to get closer to him in my own trim position.
Just a parent bragging post. Fun to watch. Fun to get to be along for part of the ride.