DOING things underwater.

[lavachickie]

This may sound silly, but here goes. I'm a cold water diver who takes trips to warm water a few times a year. I'm OW (January) and AOW (April), only up to about 35 dives, but had a recent revelation...

I was in Maui this past weekend and dove Black Rock [night dive], Wash Rock, Cathedrals 1, Molikini and Red Hill. On the last two dives, my DM/guide was very interactive. He would pick items up and hand them to me (not delicate life, but shells, rocks, etc.... okay there was that one little starfish but in general not life) and really SHOW things. We did a lot of resting on the ground to watch eels and other little dudes, and really wiggled around into spaces to look into cravases, etc.

When he reached out toward me with the first large shell, I realized with a sudden dawning that I have been so inwardly focused on my body and all its systems, in an attempt to keep a tight control on my diving. What this really means is that I totally overthink everything (and as a result tend to overcorrect), a create quite the stress vibe in myself.

Participating in these simple activities got me out of my head, out into my whole body, more connected with my fellow divers, and certainly much more fully INTO my environment. At the same time, my diving improved immensely! It was quite an amazing shocker to realize I was thinking (ok, obsessing) less but doing better. Buoyancy was as close to perfect as I've ever seen in myself. My desire to hover or land somewhere was simply one seamless reality with my breathing. Air usage was markedly lower. I was the LAST on the boat for both dives, and got a darn good extended tour with him at the end of one. We went all the way to my no deco limit and I still had air left (ahhhh... warm water!).

SO... going back to cold water now, I'm trying to think outside the box for things that can be DONE underwater to help further my comfort and skills. Games? Activities? Suggestions? Criticisms?

 

[spectrum]

Cold water diving is more intense from the skills perspective. What you experienced was the freeing up of some of your bandwidth. The fact that the DM facillitated by being interactive really amplified it all.

To run with another computer metaphor you are still largely focused on debugging your operating system. Bit by bit, dive by dive you will be able to run more applications.

The key is to bring on the applications at the right times to avoid crashing due to excessive task loading.

A common blunder is photography. New divers are so jazzed with wanting to capture what they see that they start toting a camera before they have the requisite skills including buoyancy control.

Activities can be little incremental things like carrying a catch bag to carry litter, golfballs or your catch if you decide to be a hunter. Have you been navigating any of your own dives? Navigation can keep you occupied while diving.

Pete

 

[gcbryan]

I agree with the above comments. You are going from warm water where you are being led on your dives to cold water. There is plenty for you to do without having to invent games.

Be responsible for your dives as far as planning, navigating, being a good buddy, communicating underwater. You will have to deal with limited viz, currents, cold water and dealing with "what if's" You also won't be laying on the bottom and will have to be mindful of silt and kicking techniques. You are now where you have much of the mechanics of diving down and now the real diving begins.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Here's my recommendation: Dedicate an entire dive to looking for hard to find macro critters (nudibranchs, blennies, small shrimp, etc.) -- this lends itself well to low vis, temperate water diving. I'm not sure what you have in your area, but there are spots at some of my local dive sites where I can spend tens of minutes just hovering and looking at things. Most divers tend to move too quickly. I prefer to find a place on a wall about 50 fsw or shallower and just hover there for a while. I'm always surprised by the life that comes out to "play" when I slow down.

Focus on taking normal breaths (usual volume, rate, and rhythm). To minimize vertical movement, it can help to sync your breathing so that as you move slightly up you are exhaling and as you move slightly down you are inhaling. Once you sync things up, forget about the breathing and start looking for critters.

Have fun out there...

 

[orm]

Sorry, still don't advocate picking up marine life and passing them back and forth. But I get your point. It's bad role model behaviour by the DM.

If your profile's correct, you're still on the learning curve and don't beat yourself up so much - over-thinking is natural, it will take a while to get completely comfortable in water and be able to fully enjoy your environment.

 

[scottsax]

Like you, I'm a cold water diver, and like you, my first trip to Bonaire was around the 50 dive mark. I spent my "checkout" dive flooding my mask because I was laughing so hard at the incredible visibility and at how easy it was to dive there. All the practice you've done at home working on skills and buoyancy and gas management and trim and etc... all add up to being a rock star in the tropics. When I got home and back into cold water, I discovered that while I wasn't as solid as I was in Bonaire, I was far more comfortable than when I left.

On my next trip to Bonaire, 6 months and 50 dives later, I started working on skills that I struggled with in cold water. Mask removal/switch, air shares, etc... and I found that when I got back, those skills were easier to do, and they're part of almost every dive now.

I love warm water diving, but I can't WAIT to get back home to my cold, green water!

 

[TSandM]

I completely understand what you are talking about, lavachickie. Doc Intrepid told me years ago that buoyancy is 80% mental, and he's SO right. Get into an anxiety spiral about how you are doing, and you'll be far less stable. Peter has found that his students who have trouble hovering when asked to do it as a skill, are much more able to do it when they have to because he is showing them some kind of animal, which is just what you're describing!

As far as doing something to get yourself out of your head, you might consider getting involved in REEF. This is an organization that collects survey data from divers on the sea life they see on their dives. A Level 1 REEF surveyor doesn't need any specific training -- if you can identify a ling cod, you're good to go. You carry a slate with a survey form on it, and mark down what you see. It will keep your attention on the sea life, and the act of writing on the slate will be a little task loading, as well.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

This may sound silly, but here goes.....Participating in these simple activities got me out of my head, out into my whole body, more connected with my fellow divers, and certainly much more fully INTO my environment. At the same time, my diving improved immensely!

Not silly at all, and thanks for posting this!

I think most (all?) of us have experienced exactly what you are talking about.... at least I have

When I relax and get my "head out of the way", my diving improves.

If I try to over-think some aspect of my diving, then I seem to do worse.

Best wishes.

 

[lavachickie]

Thanks for the input, all!

I enjoy diving trips that are more than a day or two because of the repetition. By the end it's all so comfortable and familiar. Back home, I only get to dive cold water maybe once a month, taking a Sat/Sun up in Washington. I hope to increase that to perhaps twice a month... who knows!