Decent Descent

[Myke green]

Hello every!!

Firstly if this is not right thread please move or advise. With that said...

New diver here, recently completing my 17 dive. Mostly all shore dives in La Jolla with beach entry. The one skill that currently is subpar and needs work is descending at a controlled pace into more than 20 fsw. Have done weight check and grasp how to become neutral and breath your way down, but in execution it's pretty lacking. I find myself sinking 2 ft and then very nearly either bobbing up and down or having to dump all air and dropping like a rock.

Any advice or tips on practicing. There arent many dive buddies who want to spend a decent amount of time descending and ascending over and over again I think I may just be over thinking the process. Any thoughts and ideas would help. Thanks y'all.

 

[Divectionist]

If you are correctly weighted and dump all the air when descending (this is what I do), you would not drop like a rock near the surface. You'd only be approx. the weight of the air you will consume heavier than neutral. Any chance you might still be overweighted?

If you get the weight right, dump all air, and exhale your way through the first couple of metres by breathing at the bottom of your lungs, you should start to sink without trouble. If you bob back up pay extra attention to your body and make sure it is still and not subconsciously finning. Only start adding puffs of air to the BCD when you are getting near your depth, and when doing so give it a moment to affect your buoyancy before adding more.

 

[Compressor]

Welcome to SB Myke. I assume you did your neutral buoyancy check not with a full tank but with one that has ~500 psi.
You do NOT want to plummet to depth like an anchor.
You want a smooth controlled descent. Raise the power inflator hose all the way up and may have to turn your body so as to allow air to escape from the hose and not be trapped in BC or Wing. Then exhale completely. You should go down slowly. Then your suit will compress and you will become more negative.

If you have to add weight, do so in small increments: 2 lbs at a time.

Hope this helps.

 

[jlyle]

In addition to the above pointers:

1. Look down.

2. Bend your knees and point them towards the bottom.

DSAO (dive safely, dive often)

 

[scubadada]

Hi @Myke green

It was not until I started doing a proper weight check that I got good control of both my ascent and descent. As per @Compressor, you want to be able to hold your safety stop with no air in your BC, about 500 psi in your tank, and then be able to make a slow, controlled ascent to the surface.

Start your descent with no air in your BC and a full exhale. I do a duck dive and use my butt dump to ensure all the air is out of my BC, works very well for me. As you gain speed in your descent, gradually add air to your BC, aiming to be approximately neutral when you hit your bottom depth.

 

[Esprise Me]

Also a new diver here; I'm always looking for buddies who want to work on getting it right, and I'd be down to come dive at La Jolla sometime.

I've also struggled with getting down when properly weighted. (I weigh about 160-165 and use 20 lbs of lead in the ocean with a 7mm, hood and booties.) One of my open water instructors gave me a tip that I could use my hands to push myself down, sort of like a shrug gesture: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That actually worked pretty well; I just needed something to get my head past about 2-3 feet of depth without bobbing back up, and then I'd keep sinking slowly from there. But then when I took AOW recently, my instructor said I shouldn't need to do that; I should instead empty my BCD and my lungs simultaneously, and keep trying to exhale until I was past that 2-3 foot depth. Then take just the smallest breath in and quickly exhale all the way, repeat until deep enough that a normal breath won't pop me back to the surface. I've only done a couple dives since but I was able to do that and get down each time without using my hands.

 

[Compressor]

Kudos to @Esprise Me & @Myke green for wanting to get better at diving. Keep working on it keeping in mind that some of your buoyancy is related to the equipment configuartion you wearing. Some BCs are more buoyant than others. Newer wetsuits the same. Keep a log of what you are wearing, your weight and how much was on your weight belt for future reference.

 

[Divectionist]

But then when I took AOW recently, my instructor said I shouldn't need to do that; I should instead empty my BCD and my lungs simultaneously, and keep trying to exhale until I was past that 2-3 foot depth. Then take just the smallest breath in and quickly exhale all the way, repeat until deep enough that a normal breath won't pop me back to the surface. I've only done a couple dives since but I was able to do that and get down each time without using my hands.

Yes that would be right. I would deflate the wing on the surface and then as you start going down, take a full breath in and then start breathing out slowly but fully as soon as your head goes down. This should take you the first bit below the surface, then just take a quick sip of air and immediately exhale it slowly as you proceed further down. After doing this once or twice you will likely be deep enough to start a normal breathing rhythm.

I dive with an absolute minimum of lead and generally descend much slower than what appears to be average using the above technique, meaning that most of my insta-buddy teams on dive boats are often way below me as I dip below the 5m mark. In fact some sink so rapidly that I really question their weight. Don't worry about that, relaxed descends take longer if you are correctly weighted, however, on some occasions, where the drop location is critical with strong currents at work, I tend to just fin my way down head first to get down quickly so as not to separate. I guess the same would hold true for low visibility locations.

One more note - if you decide to fin your way down due to the circumstances, make a point of getting back into a relaxed and low-SAC mindset as soon as you arrive at depth, as a high exertion start to the dive can leave you in the wrong mindset with elevated air consumption for a number of minutes if you don't catch it. Another reason why I prefer a relaxed descent.

 

[Myke green]

Thank you ever one for your advice so far!! Really helps with visualizing before I can get back in the water. I usually dive with a tusa x wing and 5mm wetsuit boots gloves hood. I'll probably do another weight check with the new gear as the first time I was using my lds/instructor's rental gear mostly. If anyone is ever in La Jolla area I'd love to dive and practice and get in a good learning from vets day lol. My work keeps me locked up on the weekends so usually it's a bit of work to find a buddy free on wednesdays and thursdays( my free days every week).

So far so good y'all.

 

[Graeme Fraser]

In addition to the above pointers:

1. Look down.

2. Bend your knees and point them towards the bottom.

DSAO (dive safely, dive often)

So true. Often the main issue for new divers is their trim when starting a descent. By all means start vertical on the surface but as soon as you're under the surface start looking below you (where you're going) as well as looking at your buddy. This will tip your body forward into a more natural descent position with much more control. This way you'll be able to anticipate changes to buoyancy rather than react to it.

With regards to weighting, please don't flail your hands to help you sink. This is not correct weighting. If you're too light to start with, what will happen when you ascend after the dive with a 3lb lighter cylinder?

Oh, and trust in the power of your lungs. People underestimate how much tidal flow they actually have and how little they need to adjust the BC when they're at their chosen depth.

It will come though, especially with the positive attitude you clearly have to improving your skills.