Free ascents and buoyancy skills.

[Kim]

First off I have to say I'm a warm water diver. This means at least two things - I don't use a dry suit, and the worst visibility that I've ever had was probably still 3 feet or so. One thing that has surprised me since joining SB though is the number of people that don't seem to practice free ascents/descents - or very rarely. Most people seem to be using lines of some form. I can understand that in certain types of water conditions this is necessary for safety reasons but in many warm water locations it's not. More to the point I have been in some locations where no line at all was used or available. When this is the case the diver needs the skills to free ascend slowly to 15 feet and then hang there for their safety stop, with no reference except their gauge. This is the way that I was taught to dive right from the beginning - right from my first OW dive ascent (although on that one the instructor probably helped me a bit to really stay at the stop). It always makes it a bit hard for me to understand some of the discussions about buoyancy skills(or lack of them) that we have here on SB. Surely if you have the skills to maintain a 15 feet stop for three minutes - every dive - you shouldn't really have problems with buoyancy anywhere else?
It was only when I came to live in Japan that I first saw DM's using lift bags and ascent lines at the end of the dive. I was completely surprised when after he/she shot the bag every one automatically swam to the line marker and grabbed hold! Even here though they only normally do that if the boat is not at anchor and therefore moving. So what I wonder is, how many people feel truly comfortable with free ascents and if (as I suspect) many new divers aren't - wouldn't getting people to do them more improve their basic buoyancy skills as well as training people to pay generally more attention to their gauges?

 

[munkispank]

Some good comments Kim.
I agree that free ascents should be taught/used more often. I had done free ascents quite often on various dives, choosing to avoid the anchor line even when it was tehre. However, wehn diving in coz I was using a larger tank than usual, and of differnt composition than I was used to, and had virtually emtied it for the first time, so I found the free ascent in the current very difficult to mainatin. I truly needed more adjustments to have safely made that ascent.

 

[Xanthro]

Nearly every dive I've been on was a free descent and ascent. My first dive, we went down the anchor line, but I think you have to do that once as a test.

A couple other times, I've used the anchor line, because the current was strong, and the dive master specifically requested people use the anchor line in order to not get separated.

My brother just finished his Open Water on Sunday. I did his first post cert dive with him, both free ascent and descent, including a 3 minute safety stop, no problems at all.

 

[Kim]

Yes, I realize that it is not always possible with currents, although I have also done drift dives with a free ascent at the end and the boat just pacing the divers. There are a few different dives where lines would be best. I'm talking more about the easy vacation type reef dives though - low/no currents, good vis etc. At the very least it would cause more people who don't dive so often to at least practice their skills when they did and might help their general buoyancy when it comes to reef soccer and other malpractices!

 

[Xanthro]

Kim, I've never been on a dive where the standard wasn't free descends and ascends, even on cattle boat dives. I agree, that it has to be taking place, especially with the thread where a DM wasn't used to doing free ascends. I can't imagine how you even pass open water without this skill, but it appears some do.

 

[Knight1989]

Honestly, I'd never done a dive that wasnt a free ascent untill here recently. I do agree though that it is a skill that I have noticed some straying away from. It is something that we do continually need to practice and think about.

 

[H2Andy]

while diving springs/caverns/caves all our ascents are free ascents, but
we do have (usually) a wall or a ledge as visual reference, so they're
easy.

on the other hand, around my bit of the ocean, a free ascent is somebody's mistake. we normally ascend on the
anchor line due to currents.

if we do a free ascent, we're gonna be quite a ways from the boat when we come up.

if you have good bouyancy control, it should be laughably easy to do a free ascent.

when i dove off the Caymans (no currents at all... weird), i delighted in doing free
ascents. it was awesome to just be able to float and not have people bumping into
your coming up or down the line.

 

[Kim]

What I have noticed in Japan is that many of the divers who rely on lines to hold onto also seem to be the divers with poor buoyancy skills and I wonder if they could do the stops otherwise. Maybe I'm wrong but on SB I have read many threads (as Xanthro said) where people don't seem to use free ascents so much. It surprises me a bit - hence this thread!

 

[Knight1989]

on the other hand, around my bit of the ocean, a free ascent is somebody's mistake. we normally ascend on the
anchor line due to currents.

I certainly wouldnt say that a free ascent is a mistake. There are plenty of times when a a free ascent is not only preferable, but nessecary. Like you had said, its nice not to have everyone all clustered together. There are many times that an anchor or drop line are not feasable or nessecary. I will deffintly agree with you that there are manytime though that it is essential to use them.

 

[tkrock]

I believe it's all where you come from. For instance I'm used to very low vis, rarely over 30ft and most times current. So something to hang onto is a often needed Divers just get used to what they do at home. I would gladly do a free ascent if possible. But I think it might be more of a security blanket for most in the long run. I would call it routine!