Bubble path of other divers

[Doc]

Depends on which end of the diver the bubbles are coming from. Avoid any problems- do not bite at them.

Aside from the photo problems that Doubler mentioned, there is one huge problem in some specific cases...

If you are running along shallow on a vertical wall and others below are in front of you- there will be cascading plumes of silt/sand loosened by their exhaust. They will never see it- unless they turn around and look upwards. You will be immersed in it. Makes pictures even more difficult.

I tend to stay shallower than most, so if you train yourself to recognize bubble streams of others, it makes it easier to keep track of them- even if they are "over the edge" on a wall dive.

 

[herman]

Not exactly something I would recommend to a new diver but being directly over a bunch of divers on a night dive with your lights off is way cool. Between the effect of their lights on their bubbles and the glow from phosphorescence that the bubbles cause as they rise, it is an amazing sight. Otherwise, it’s mostly an annoyance

 

[drl]

It tickles!
I find the sensation peculiar, but harmless.

 

[BabyDuck]

i like to play with them, grabbing at them & letting them come apart in my hands.

 

[ligersandtions]

The bubbles shouldn't do anything to you....but they can be disorienting. I vividly remember a dive in crappy visibility with no visual references, where I was descending above some other divers. Their bubbles were coming up as I was going "down"....I thought I was going down because the bubbles were coming up, but in reality, I was pretty neutral (or maybe slightly positive). I ended up having to really focus on my depth gauge to continue my descent.

The bubbles can be kind of fun to play with, but can really mess with you if you have no other visual references and are not prepared for it. But otherwise, they are not bad for you to be in or anything like that!

 

[iztok]

I was once hovering about 30ft above a group awaiting with my buddy at 60ft nicely neutral in a horizontal position. When a stream of bubbles from several divers hit my fins. It was enough to spin me around and get me struggling a bit to regain my neutral buoyancy and horizontal position. Other then that it is cool to watch

 

[Crowley]

Bubbles from below are usually fine and as several people have described above - lots of fun to play with. I spent ages trying to capture my reflection in one... with (very) limited success!! - see below!

I don't mind when the bubbles are big - what sooooper annoys me though, is bubbles from a large group of divers who are significantly deeper than I am, so they are all broken up and tiny. Then it's like driving through a snowstorm, and I really hate it. It doesn't happen like that very often, but I have to stop my group and either wait or move in a different direction because regardless of my experience I find it very disorienting.

Safe diving,

C.