Buoyancy skills

[Patoux01]

Now I struggle with buoyancy but am working on it every chance I get to splash. I even decided to put on my fins and BCD complete with tank and regs and laid in the driveway on a towel working on finning, finding my SMB to unclip and clip back on, etc. Working skills so I slow down, can do them blindfolded and as I become more comfortable with these skills my buoyancy will surely improve.

Doing that with a twinset would get you crushed though.

 

[txgoose]

Ascending because a new skill is being introduced, is a sign of stress. It's normal.

I got the feeling that you were still mostly vertical rather than horizontal. I take care that my students are almost always horizontal.

Which should be done in trim. HOWEVER, why would you let them run out of air in the first place? Buddy's should know what their buddy's air supply is throughout the dive. A couple of checks with lots of extrapolation in between and you should know. Your buddy is your responsibility as much as they are your redundant air, fins, eyes and most importantly: your redundant BRAIN. You have failed as a buddy if either of you runs out. You both failed and you should identify how it happened and rectify that. Since I've been diving with an SPG, I've never ever run out of air and neither has my buddy.

I was very pleased, that while in no way rigorous, the boys checked their gauges twice during our first solo dive. Only to say that I didn't say out of air. But we train for mechanical and other non-empty scenarios, right?
EDIT: It was a twenty eight minute dive. The oldest son and biggest breather finished with over 1300PSI.

 

[txgoose]

It's ironic to me that one of the main reasons people get into diving is to be weightless underwater and swim like and with the fish. They are then never shown / never ask how to act do that...

Another newbie perspective. We feel so incredibly weightless as it is. At least compared to on land. Even if out of trim and porpoising vertically. We don't yet understand about air shift in the BC bladder, etc, etc. For us it is all such a cool, new, fun roller coaster. I felt like a fish early on when I was working on rudimentary buoyancy skills. Granted, I knew I needed to be getting better. Not everyone will recognize that. The corollary to that is in support of @The Chairman 's approach. I now understand the value of a near weightless dive. His students, to his credit, might not get to appreciate that as much because they are starting out already closer to an ideal state. It is those divers that don't know to be neutral and in control, or those that don't care to try that will be wrecking the reefs/corals.

 

[Bogtrotter]

I even decided to put on my fins and BCD complete with tank and regs and laid in the driveway on a towel working on finning, finding my SMB to unclip and clip back on, etc. Working skills so I slow down, can do them blindfolded and as I become more comfortable with these skills my buoyancy will surely improve.

That's just hardcore freaky weird kick-arse cool. You gotta have the Ramones cranking out too.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

PLEASE post a video of you doing skills in the driveway, priceless!

Kudos to you for seeing your limitations and taking them head on.

.

I am shocked my roommate didn't video me doing it but could be because she was laughing so hard. But it is a long weekend for us so maybe I will do it just to tickle your fancy.

And thank you. I know where I am terrible and what I feel comfortable doing and right now the terrible list is longer than the comfortable list but knowing is half the battle.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

That's just hardcore freaky weird kick-arse cool. You gotta have the Ramones cranking out too.

What can I say, I am a weird one and determined to be a good diver that people feel safe diving with. Oh and you are close, I had Rancid and The Distillers playing!!

 

[txgoose]

I was very pleased, that while in no way rigorous, the boys checked their gauges twice during our first solo dive. Only to say that I didn't say out of air. But we train for mechanical and other non-empty scenarios, right?

Ascending because a new skill is being introduced, is a sign of stress. It's normal.

I got the feeling that you were still mostly vertical rather than horizontal. I take care that my students are almost always horizontal.

I also meant to comment on this part. I agree that it is a stress response. I didn't think of it that way, but it is accurate. Later when clearing masks, etc, as normal operating procedures I don't take bigger breaths. Or at least not noticeably bigger.

I think (newbie caveat) that he did okay with having us laying down-ish. We were belly down, but as I said, pivoting with most every breath.

 

[The Chairman]

The only time spent on buoyancy was when we did fin pivots.

Do fin pivots in my class, and I'll cut your feet off! I hate them because it means your legs are heavy. Trim first, then neutral buoyancy. If a student is too heavy in the pool, they can support their entire weight on one finger. They can even do one finger pushups. I ask them to imagine a dead spot on the reef when they do so. They stop completely, get their neutral buoyancy back and then we continue the class.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

Do fin pivots in my class, and I'll cut your feet off! I hate them because it means your legs are heavy. Trim first, then neutral buoyancy. If a student is too heavy in the pool, they can support their entire weight on one finger. They can even do one finger pushups. I ask them to imagine a dead spot on the reef when they do so. They stop completely, get their neutral buoyancy back and then we continue the class.

Well if I get the chance to take it, I will be sure to never do a fin pivot. I despise feet in general but I happen to be attached to mine.

I like that you have them imagine a dead spot on a reef while using just one finger. Gives me something new to try the next time I get the chance to dive.

 

[RainPilot]

I think Pete meant to imagine they had just created a dead spot by pushing that finger down.