DevonDiver
N/A
Even fish fins are always moving while hovering. ...
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Even fish fins are always moving while hovering. ...
OP needs to practice oscillating slowly around a neutral point. Proper weighting to minimize the volume of air in the bladder helps reduce the divergent forces.
Agree somewhat. Keep your BCD as empty as possible while being neutrally buoyant. In a heavy wetsuit at depth, you will need some air in your BCD to stay neutral. In a drysuit, you will need some air in your suit to avoid squeeze. No matter your exposure protection, at the beginning of your dive you will need some air in your BCD to compensate for the weight of your breathing gas.This seems to suggest that trying to keep BC almost completely empty,
Strongly disagree. Shallow breathing may very easily lead to CO2 retention, and you really don't want any of that. Breathe calmly and normally in a regular rhythm, and fit your breathing rhythm to your slight variations in depth. It's not that difficult, but it may take a bit of conscious practice. Especially if you don't have an instructor or a competent mentor available.and your lungs also almost completely empty and consciously breathing short in/out breaths
Ah, I see, I had not considered that.
This seems to suggest that trying to keep BC almost completely empty, and your lungs also almost completely empty and consciously breathing short in/out breaths, just enough to overcome the trachea/mouth "dead space / inaspirable air volume", will minimize the vertical position fluctuation.
Large, slow, deep, long breaths are not helpful, and apparently should be avoided?
Also, apparently any airspace contributes to making this harder, including air bubbles trapped in the foam of a neoprene wetsuit.
A diver in tropical waters with just a skinsuit or a lycra swimsuit will probably have an easier time than an inland temperate lake diver that must wear 7-15 mm of neoprene all year 'round.
Drysuit diving apparently makes this more difficult because of the air in the insulating undersuit, and really thick but easily compressed undersuits are also likely undesirable. (Whoops, time to sell off the Weezle Extreme?)
The best drysuit undersuit may be the least compressible, to minimize volume changes even when squeezed, such as constructed completely with small individual rigid-wall foam hexagons like is used in some performance sport padding.
No, you just needed to start with a different instructor.This was not explained in the PADI OWD course at all. Apparently the first course is just to provide basic familiarization. and to help keep you from accidentally killing yourself or your buddy in an emergency situation?
It appears that if I want to actually know how to be a proficient diver, I need to sign up for an untold number of additional courses, for a fee of course, whereupon the mysteries shall be revealed.