Reasons to take a propulsion/trim/buoyancy class...

[The Chairman]

Your trim is acceptable in that picture, but it does not represent my ideal with your feet so low. Not everyone would benefit from such a course. If you are happy with your current trim, then there is no need for you to change. Go and have fun. This class is for the divers out there who aren't satisfied with their diving and want to improve. I listed a number of reasons in the first post and they may or may not strike a chord with you.

I think it's important to assess each diver individually and that includes not only their expertise in the water but also their goals and aspirations. Last summer I had a family of three come in to take the class. They didn't need it. They needed only some confidence. So we played games that morning with the daughter being the lead in follow the leader. I had fun, they had fun and I don't believe that we charged them for the session. I think they insisted on paying anyway because they felt they got a lot out of it. I leave the billing and such to Elena. I'm interested only in the divers and getting them comfortable in the water. Their confidence increased dramatically during the class.

Correction: to stay neutrally buoyant WHILE FINNING.

No correction needed, I stand behind my description. Too many people go through oodles of air adjusting for their stop and go. Add gas when they stop, vent it when they start to swim. If you want to set it and forget it, then you need to get your propulsion straight behind you and your fluid dynamics horizontal as well. If you look at the pelagics of the ocean, they are perfectly horizontal in the water. Why is that? It gives them the best economy for energy spent, especially when dealing with currents. There is no crime in diving like a seahorse either. I just hope I'm not around you when you're near the bottom. There's a process to setting your BCD at the beginning of the dive and then only using your breathing to control the rest.

 

[Foxfish]

Your trim is acceptable in that picture, but it does not represent my ideal with your feet so low.

That was one of the Balinese dive guides. When moving he was more or less horizontal.

Your main reason for having fins up high seems to be to avoid damage to marine life on the ocean bed and avoid stirring up silt. I'd agree that in many cases this is important and I'm guilty of both on occasions, mostly when I'm not thinking about what I'm doing or when there is a lot of surge around. In many of our caves with marine growth on the roof and sandy floors having feet low when you're near the roof is an advantage.

How do you teach moving away from the ocean floor to avoid stirring up silt?

 

[The Chairman]

My typical session starts with gear inspection and adjustment. I can't stress how important this is for the student's success. We discuss why they want to take the class and what their future aspirations may be. We also discuss the concepts of buoyancy, trim, propulsion and situational awareness. Of course, we also discuss safety a good bit and what they can expect during our sessions. I also stress the second rule of diving: you can call a dive at any time, for any reason, no questions asked and no repercussions. It's not unusual for this to take a couple of hours or more. I like to do this the night before so we can have a fresh start in the morning.

The pool session starts with nothing more than swimming around for a few minutes while I observe the students and adjust their weight to acheive perfect trim. Every student is different and has different things they need to work on. During this time I will simulate an OOA diver as well as ask them to R&R their mask. How they manage these two situations shows me a lot. Then we progress to them doing a blind hover in 6 foot of water. This assessment is usually accomplished within the first half hour of class unless there are huge issues. We stop, discuss my observations and create a strategy to correct their issues if any.

Then we progress to focusing on their kicks, especially the frog kick and turning without the use of hands. As they become more comfortable, I add tasks to do midwater including OOA, No mask swim, gear replacement, buddy breathing a lap or two, swimming with only one fin and anything else they cited as a problem during their OW diving. If they progress nicely, they learn how to set their BC and practice descents and ascents using only their breathing. Once this is mastered we move on to picking up weights on the bottom and maintaining their neutral buoyancy with only their breath.

This might take more than one session. We stop if the students show any signs of fatigue or coldness and move only at their pace. After the pool, we head over to Cannon Beach to negotiate some very silty areas as well as negotiate natural height variations. We practice compass navigation, buddy skills and shooting an SMB from depth. We also spend a lot of time looking for critters under ledges as this develops the process of using breathing to go up or down in the water column. If they want, we also go on a boat dive on our pristine reefs. It's almost always a critter hunt with the emphasis on using your breathing to fine tune your control.

I mentioned that signs of fatigue and cold end the session and I forgot to mention that lack of fun is another contraindication. If at any point the student stops having fun, then we have to immediately regroup and figure out what's stealing it from them. Fun is the means as well as the goal of our diving. If we're not having fun, then we are not accomplishing our major goal for diving.

 

[The Chairman]

A clarification: one of my former students reminded me that she uses a jacket style BC. It's not the equipment as much as it's the fit of the equipment and the combined skills and attitude of the diver. The reason why I love the Express Tech BC is that it is the closest thing to a universal fit BCD that I have ever seen.

 

[LostPatriot]

BTW, the best part of the video for me was the lack of silt. Bravo. BTW, are those geoducks? I've never seen that kind of bottom before and it looks intriguing.

This is for you Pete -


The Geoduck Fight Song

Words and music by Malcolm Stilson, 1971
Go, Geoducks go,
Through the mud and the sand,
let’s go.
Siphon high, squirt it out,
swivel all about, let it all hang out.
Go, Geoducks go,
Stretch your necks when the tide
is low
Siphon high, squirt it out,
swivel all about, let it all hang out.

f your really bored, you may find some fun facts and a variety of unusual commentary regarding Geoducks at It?s Speedy the Geoduck | The Evergreen State College

As a soldier, I attended this institution of higher education as it was near my post (Ft. Lewis, Wa). TESC is certainly the liberal of liberal art institutions. I learned to dive in the Sound of Pt. Defiance back in the 80's and still believe it is some of the finest water available.......

Now on to other issues - Thank you for the thread and commentary provided by so many. Yes, SB has become a clearing house of knowledge which has directly impact me as a diver, a dive partner, and how I look at my avocation. From NetDoc, TSandM, PeterGuy, BoulderJohn, Devon Diver, Capt Bill, and the list goes on, I am able to gather ideas, concepts and knowledge that enhances my ability, but also drives me to be a proficient, self aware, low impact, safe, efficient, and efficient diver.

I'm intrigued by some of the exercises described, and am incorporating them in my pool sessions. This thread motivated me to sign up for the PP class with my LDS mainly to have the critique and film analysis. As was quoted earlier, perfect practice makes perfection, which is only achievable by being certain one does not reinforce poor routine and procedures. But, then again, you all knew that.

Regards,
Rob