Blue water trouble

[MaxPower]

Having trouble maintaining a stable depth on ascents (on safety stops) when I can't see the bottom, the surface, or some sort of fixed object so as to judge my possition. I find I will start ascending, then to compensate, I dump air, then start rapidily descending, and back and forth. Any tips or techniques that may assist me here?

 

[mwhities]

My first drift dive in Cozumel was my first blue water dive. I am a gas hog so, the DM sent me up, told me to get ascend slowly and at 15', to stay there till he got there. I just kept my eyes locked on my depth gauge. I to went up a little; down a little but, I eventually figured it out and was able to maintain a 1 - 2 feet window at 15". Just takes practice and more practice. Eventually, after a lot of practice and a little more practice, you will get it spot on.

Also, I wish I could remember who said this, when you add air, do a "pst pst" not a psssssssssssssst", samething with dumping air. Small releases, not full "D?UMPS".

 

[dwaters]

Max, you brought up a very common problem... it's part of the learning curve and same as mwhities, when I learned to relax and just stare at my guage at the begining of my learning curve it helped greatly. Though, at 80+ dives I'm still learning alot, I found myself learning faster by going slower and relaxing. Practice, practice, then practice more.

 

[mwhities]

I might add something that has really (and still is) helped me. I get into my sister-in-laws 8' pool and maintain my buoyancy there. Everyone has told me that anything above 15' is the hardest to maintain proper buoyancy. So I get in there as often as I can and try to maintain a 1' - 2' window in the pool at 5' to 6' depths. Good thing about that, being a gas hog, I can last a LONG time with my al100s in an 8' pool. Lots of time to practice. Did I mention that before?

 

[Doc Harry]

200+ dives and I'm still working on this skill too..... I've been practicing precision ascents in poor viz without visual references, and here's what I've found:

If you don't have any outward visual references, then all you've got is your depth gauge and sinuses.

I think that there are three major points:
(1) You'll need to pay close attention to both your depth gauge and changes in your sinus pressure. I find that I feel changes in my sinues before I see changes on my depth gauge.
(2) Do everything in slow motion and in small steps., i.e., no big dumps from the BC.
(3) First get stabilized at depth where it is easier to get yourself in control. That way as you ascend past 30 feet you won't have runaway gas expansion and a runaway ascent.

So consider leveling off at say 40 or 50 feet, and geting stable there before making your final ascent. Get your breathing under control. Concentrate on taking regular, consistent breaths. Your breaths should not be too deep, nor too shallow. Consistency is the key. This will help keep you from fooling around with your BC too much. Yes, this takes practice.

At this point, if your weighting is correct, you should be able to ascend with just your breath control. You may have to vent you BC a bit on the way up, but you shouldn't have to be constantly venting and filling.

Once you have stabilized, start taking slightly deeper breaths and watch your depth gauge closely. You will start ascending. Vent your BC in tiny bursts as needed to keep your speed under control.

When you get to your 15-18 foot safety stop, go back to your regular, consistent breaths to remain at 15-18 feet. Stare at your depth gauge and start paying attention to the changes in your sinuses. You can often make a slight correction in your breathing before you see the numbers change on your depth gauge.

This takes a lot of practice. Good luck.

 

[cowdog77]

It helps to look at the particulate in the water too...pick something about 3 feet away at eye level when you're at the depth you want. Then hold your position and learn to get in tune with your ears and sinuses.

 

[spt29970]

The biggest tip is to use your breathing for buoyancy control. If you start rising, breathe out and breathe in very slowly. If you start to sink, do the opposite. Your lungs have around 10lb of buoyancy control and you don't need any buttons to control it )

 

[Jim Kerr]

You can also get a computer that has an ascent rate indicator with an alarm that goes off if you exceed the 30 fpm ascent rate. Watch the indicator as you ascend and release a little air when you see it start to climb above the halfway mark. This will allow you to maintain control and a nice steady slow ascent. Don't forget to stop at 15 fsw.

 

[TSandM]

MaxPower, I SO empathize. I'm still working on this issue, with over 450 dives now.

Here are a couple of ideas: You have a buoyancy "window", that you can control with your breath. Once you are outside of that window, you need to use your BC because your lungs don't have enough volume. The window's probably about 2 feet in each direction. Beyond that, don't persist in trying to fix the problem with your breathing.

You have to key in very intently to tiny clues about buoyancy. In a dry suit, this is actually somewhat easier, because the degree of squeeze gives you a lot of information about your depth. In a wetsuit, you have to pay more attention to your BC and your head. My ears tell me about small changes downward, but tell me nothing about getting too shallow; for that, I have to feel the amount of pressure my gear puts on my back, and recognize when it's starting to feel too light.

If you have a buddy (and you should) your buddy can be a nice source of visual reference. That works well if he's stable, and poorly if he's not.

Ascents in very clear, deep water are one of the best places to make use of an SMB. It gives you a reference for depth AND for vertical.

And the biggest thing is practice -- Practice, practice, practice. The first couple of times I did ascent drills, I yoyoed ten feet. Now I'm grousing about two or three, and trying to get it down to one. But that's taken over a year's diligent work.

 

[Twiddles]

I get a bit of vertigo when I cant see a fixed object of some sort. Really bugs me still. I am assuming no anchor line so I would say, stay horizontal and try circling, movement helps maintain depth for me. Be forewarned though, at 15' depth being horizontal caused me to surface before I got used to the difference.