Don Quixote
Registered
After diving for three years now, there are some things we (I and my buddy) learned from experience (or trial and error). Here are some of them that might help others:
Neutral Buoyancy:
- I have little buoyancy problem from start but my buddy struggled early on. After trying to deduce the differences, realize that I will automatically stop and adjust my buoyancy before continuing to fin. However, my buddy will kick (fin) to compensate for the upward or downward tendency. Actually, this amplifies the problem. Kicking will only result in floating or sinking faster. When asked to stop and adjust buoyancy before continuing to fin, my buddy's buoyancy problem disappeared.
- You will know you are over-weighted if you need to add a lot of air to become neutral. 'Stop and adjust' your buoyancy and understand where your proper weighting should be.
Mask Flooding:
- Many of us learned to expel through the nose when swimming. Doing the same thing with a mask results in flooding. So, this habit has to be worked out early on. Be aware and learn to breath only through the mouth.
- We finally permanently fixed the strap position using nylon ties. The straps will shift during diving for unknown reason. Setting it permanently put an end to the constant flooding.
Mask Fogging:
- Mask fogs even with de-fogger. Learned to clean our masks every night after a dive with dishwasher detergent. It appears facial oil is the culprit. Problem disappears after cleaning the oil off.
Shore Entry and Exit:
- Actually, entry is always the easy part. It is exiting that is difficult with the wave knocking you down repeatedly. A tactic that works for us is to remove the fins when about chest deep; either frog-kick or sink to the bottom and crawl to shallow water and stand up. I actually use a fin keeper hook to free my hands. Due to this, adding a kilo (or a couple of pound) more weight will help when shore diving.
Back Roll Entry:
- After experiencing or having dive buddies getting hit by others during rollback entries, we now always make it a point to take notice of the divers sitting both to the left and right. Make sure they are not still fidgeting with their gear or suit. If they are, do not hesitate to interrupt the dive master and stop the countdown. So far, shouting either 'wait' or 'chottomatte' out loud always works.
Solving these nuances have made dive-sightseeing quite enjoyable. ScubaBoard is a good resource for tips and problem solving. Enjoy!
- Don Quixote
Neutral Buoyancy:
- I have little buoyancy problem from start but my buddy struggled early on. After trying to deduce the differences, realize that I will automatically stop and adjust my buoyancy before continuing to fin. However, my buddy will kick (fin) to compensate for the upward or downward tendency. Actually, this amplifies the problem. Kicking will only result in floating or sinking faster. When asked to stop and adjust buoyancy before continuing to fin, my buddy's buoyancy problem disappeared.
- You will know you are over-weighted if you need to add a lot of air to become neutral. 'Stop and adjust' your buoyancy and understand where your proper weighting should be.
Mask Flooding:
- Many of us learned to expel through the nose when swimming. Doing the same thing with a mask results in flooding. So, this habit has to be worked out early on. Be aware and learn to breath only through the mouth.
- We finally permanently fixed the strap position using nylon ties. The straps will shift during diving for unknown reason. Setting it permanently put an end to the constant flooding.
Mask Fogging:
- Mask fogs even with de-fogger. Learned to clean our masks every night after a dive with dishwasher detergent. It appears facial oil is the culprit. Problem disappears after cleaning the oil off.
Shore Entry and Exit:
- Actually, entry is always the easy part. It is exiting that is difficult with the wave knocking you down repeatedly. A tactic that works for us is to remove the fins when about chest deep; either frog-kick or sink to the bottom and crawl to shallow water and stand up. I actually use a fin keeper hook to free my hands. Due to this, adding a kilo (or a couple of pound) more weight will help when shore diving.
Back Roll Entry:
- After experiencing or having dive buddies getting hit by others during rollback entries, we now always make it a point to take notice of the divers sitting both to the left and right. Make sure they are not still fidgeting with their gear or suit. If they are, do not hesitate to interrupt the dive master and stop the countdown. So far, shouting either 'wait' or 'chottomatte' out loud always works.
Solving these nuances have made dive-sightseeing quite enjoyable. ScubaBoard is a good resource for tips and problem solving. Enjoy!
- Don Quixote