You don't need much gear to practice...

[fresh_fish]

I've come up with a genius way to practice things like SAC rate, mask clearing, and keeping stillness.

I'm grabbing my snorkel gear and sitting at the bottom of a 3' pool. I'm using work out weights to keep me there. Just my snorkel is sticking out of the water. I focus on breathing, try not to move too much (if I tip, my snorkel will flood!), and I can flood my mask and clear it as many times as I want! All you really need is a mask, snorkel and some kind of weight, but you can add fins and see how a tiny movement with a fin can easily knock you to the side.

The more comfortable you are breathing under water, the less air you will use, longer dives, etc. Not something that gets taught up front too much, but wow. you WILL notice a difference when you're not the one to call the dive.

Just a simple thing I thought I'd share with the new divers, since I'm still pretty new myself.

 

[nikwho]

good call. mask clearing is the biggest challange for many new divers. it was for me. I was 16 when i got certified and I failed my first check dive because i kept panicking when i would flood my mask. I felt like i could not exhale. I wanted to keep breathing in. Practice, practice, practice any skill that gives you trouble. you will be happy you do.

 

[it_mike]

Comfort in the water is a HUGE factor in diving success. It will reduce stress, air consumption, movement, and increase safety.

Training used to require a fair amount of confidence and skill in the water.
//we should go back to tossing all the gear to the bottom... :thinking:

 

[spectrum]

Absolutely!

Now take it another step to actually slimming about especially along the shore in open water. There you will learn to control your every movement with a flick of you fins and voila no more sculling.

Using the snorkel to breathe in the water prepares you do dive in a few ways. the dead air space will drive you to a slow and especially deep breathing pattern while toning your diaphragm. meanwhile breathing poraly with a wet masked face becomes second nature.

Here's the whole story.

Pete