An eye opening experience

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cobaltbabe

Diva of the Deep
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I wanted to share with the members of OFWF something that happened this weekend. I was invited by a member to sit in and observe a class regarding DECO. Now as most of you know, I believe there is alot of theory and logic behind diving and I know we could argue about that for days but I sat in this class room and watched 4 men discussing theories and physics. These men were talking way over my head and alot of it didn't soak in to be honest but I did walk away with a little.

Next we went to the water and as I stayed close to the bottom, I watch in utter aw as these two men came down the line. They hovered and then descended, hovered and descended. The ability involved to perform these skills take years to master. Impressed doesn't even come close to how I felt. Once they had finished their skills they were debriefed and suggestions were made and equipment was tweaked.

I want to tell you guys, if I didn't want to be a wreck diver/tech diver before, I sure as heck want to be one now. I know that I have along way to go. I have skills that need to be worked on over and over again and I need to know what the depths can do to my body and what my body does to protect itself. I want to be so comfortable with my gear that in times of stress it will be second nature and I will be able to be a good dive buddy but be my own best friend instead of my own enemy. I want to be able to at depth to have my reg free flow and the first thing that comes to mind is sh*t this is going to cost me some money.
Again, not everyone is into this and that's cool, but I wanted to thank the people in the class and the instructor for inviting me to share in their training. The dedication and love of their sport is incredible. You can see and hear it in their stories.

I wish them all the best of luck and hope to stay intouch.

Thank you again.

Marie
 
cobaltbabe,

You lost me. What skills amazed you? Alternately hovering and descneding? That's something my OW students work on. We do the same on ascent. Control of your position in the water is important at any level. Did I miss something?
 
MikeFerrara once bubbled...
You lost me. What skills amazed you? Alternately hovering and descneding? That's something my OW students work on. We do the same on ascent. Control of your position in the water is important at any level. Did I miss something?

I think what Marie is referring to was the fact that these experienced divers were able to hover in the water perfectly horizontal, and maintain position in relation to the downline without having to fin to stay there. These guys had bouyancy and trim down COLD. ;)

Your'e right that bouyancy is something that is important for everybody, but I think that a lot of students come out of basic OW with less than perfect control of bouyancy and trim. Your course may be different, but it is something that I have observed frequently.
 
Skills aside, being a new diver and sitting listening to these men talk about the experiences they have had on wreck penetrations and the marine life they have seen is just incredible.
 
Give the boys over at NTD a call, you all know where they are, Best start you'll ever get.

JB
 
I'm sure there good but this kind of skill only comes from years of experience. It's almost graceful. I could have sat there for hours watching them.
 
It is actually not years of experience , but the correct training with someone like Dan MacKay and time in the water making dive after dive after dive . I too was amazed when i saw what these guys could do ...every time I dive with them I am still fascinated ....

:) ;)
 
The men I was watching looked like they had been diving together for years, and they may have, all I know is that as a newbie, I was very impressed with first off, the level of skill these people displayed and the knowledge they had about their sport.
 
You're absolutely right, these skills do take years of intense diving to master. Unless, of course, you find an agency or instructor who is able to teach the skills properly from the beginning. Get some perspective on yor awe and go for a dive off Kingston with some of the DIR-F grads, or if you really want to be amazed, dive off a boat with sisters J and R who truely exemplify what a good dive team looks like. It really doesn't take that long with the right training, it's just that most instructors aren't teaching it right.

One of the guys I dive with has 2 years experience, 50 dives total, his PADI OW, PDIC nitrox and most important, the DIR-F course and he can do all of those things.

Kevin
 
I don't think that's a skill that takes years to learn... It should come pretty quickly with a bit of practice.. hovering motionless next ot a line is not that tough.. when properly weighed and with properly rigged gear its no big deal... I am not a tech diver by any means, but I think bouyancy is a skill every diver should have.
As for doing it perfectly horizontal, keep in mind that most tech divers dive with a backplate and wings.. I dive a TransPac (also with wings) and staying perfectly horizontal is easy.. The design of the BC makes it almost automatic.
If you have a visual reference (like a line, wall, whatever..) its a little easier.. if you really want a challange, try doing it with out a visual reference (imagine you are in a silt cloud in a confined space and can't see anything.. ascending or descending is not an option). All divers should have half descent bouyancy control.. I was down south in the spring and I saw a few people plow feet first into the sand.. not a good way to dive (or stop a descent). We did wall dives at the continental shelf.. The bottom is at 5000ft.. bouyancy control is imperative if you don't want to overshoot your target depth. Its not hard, or amazing.. like any skill it just takes practice. I've been diving for less than a year.. just under 80 dives total..if I can do it anybody can.. I'm the most uncoordinated person I know :) I can fall up the stairs..
 

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