Matsya
Contributor
Leejnd:............................
Now, first allow me to request that no one bash me for whatever I did wrong. (I've seen a lot of that around this board.)
LeeAnne
I was struck by the comment that you see a lot of bashing on this Board. I have seen quite a few other posts that amount to saying the same thing. This Board is intended to attract divers and be a learning forum for new and experienced divers. Are people who have genuine questions being scared off by the attitude and responses of a few people on this Board? Is this a wake-up call to the Board?
Leejnd:So you use the string to vent whenever you are below the surface? How about when you are ascending...I'm supposed to be purging my BCD as I ascend, right? In my class they taught us to ascend by holding the hose above our heads and mashing down on that purge button. Is it better to be pulling the string instead? But then, that would only work if I was fully horizontal during ascent, right?
I was also taught to ascend vertically until I came to this Board and learnt that a horizontal ascent & descent is not only possible but even recommended by some !!! I tried it and became a convert. I do a hroizontal ascent to the safety stop at which point I have a completely empty BC and am more or less neutrally buoyant (working on it !!!) After the stop I do an angular ascent or vertical (depending on mood, distance from boat etc.).
And I use my kidney dump when ascending or for that matter descending
I am curious to know what kind of BC you were using. Most BCs have the deflate button at the top of the inflator hose and the inflate to the side. A few brands (and the one that I use) have both buttons on the side and adjacent to each other. I also went through this period of confusion and used to hit the inflate button by mistake. Now I have learnt. Is it possible that this might have happened to you?