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Someone asked in another thread about tips on descent technique. Here's mine ... I'm going to describe it in a lot of detail, so you can visualize the descent while I'm describing it.
I'll start out by pointing out what I've noticed to be the most common problems newer divers have when trying to descend.
- breathing
- inadvertent fin kicking
Both of these problems will have a tendency to hold you up while you're trying to go down, and so you won't be able to descend. The most common resolution most people will try is simply adding more weight. OK, so that'll get you down ... but then you'll be doing the whole dive with too much weight, and that tends to make you work harder and burn through the air in your cylinder faster.
So let's focus on a better solution ... which involves better breathing techniques, and avoiding kicking or sculling actions that inhibit the descent.
Let's say you're descending down a buoy line. You're at the buoy, you make eye contact with your dive buddy and you give each other the descend (thumbs down) signal. You raise your inflator, preparing to vent your BCD and begin your ascent. Now what?
My suggestion at that point is that as you are letting air out of your BCD, take a deep breath and hold it for a moment. Go ahead and keep venting your BCD, but don't start breathing out until you are about eye level with the water. Then start a looooong, slow exhale. And just about the time you think you've exhaled fully, exhale some more. Most folks are surprised at how much air they still have in their lungs. Think of your lungs as just another BCD ... you want to vent ALL the air out of it on the descent.
By doing this, you'll find yourself several feet beneath the surface before it's time to inhale again. By then, the water pressure around you will be compressing your exposure gear, and you won't need to compensate for all the buoyancy of the suit (if you inhale too close to the surface, this tends to send you back up again).
Now, while all that's happening, what are you doing with your feet? Newer divers tend to kick when descending ... most times they don't even realize they're doing it. That's the "hard-wired" part of your brain telling you that you're doing something you weren't designed to do (go underwater) and taking appropriate action to rectify the situation. You need to rearrange your wiring so your brain doesn't give that response. The best way to do that is to cross your feet at the ankles. It won't stop that unconscious part of your brain from making your feet flutter ... but it WILL make it so that you notice when it starts to happen, and the conscious part of your brain can take control of your body and stop doing it.
Once you've gotten down a few feet and taken that first breath, you can uncross your ankles. That's a good time to think about getting horizontal for the remainder of the descent. The easiest way to do that is to simply extend your legs and point your fins back (think ballerina). As you descend, the motion of your body in the water will push on the tops of your fins and naturally start rotating your body. Go with the flow ... you'll almost "fall" into a nice, horizontal position. So what does this do for you? Well, for one thing, it helps you see where you're going ... you can more easily see the bottom as you approach it. Also, being in this "skydiver's" position helps control the speed of your descent. Keep your hand on your inflator hose and add short "puffs" into your BCD to regulate the speed of your descent.
As you approach the bottom, make use of your "built-in BCD" once again by taking a nice, deep inhale. That'll slow you down and help you come to a stop without having to use your inflator button (or the bottom) as a hard brake. Once you've inhaled, slowly exhale while adding a few more "puffs" to your BCD to maintain your position.
Using this technique will have a few advantages ... it'll make it possible for you to descend with the minimal weight you need to control your dive ... it'll help you maintain a regulated speed and eye contact with your dive buddy on the descent ... it'll help you learn to control your depth without using your BCD inflator as an "elevator" button ... and it'll keep you from plowing into the bottom at the end of the descent.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
I'll start out by pointing out what I've noticed to be the most common problems newer divers have when trying to descend.
- breathing
- inadvertent fin kicking
Both of these problems will have a tendency to hold you up while you're trying to go down, and so you won't be able to descend. The most common resolution most people will try is simply adding more weight. OK, so that'll get you down ... but then you'll be doing the whole dive with too much weight, and that tends to make you work harder and burn through the air in your cylinder faster.
So let's focus on a better solution ... which involves better breathing techniques, and avoiding kicking or sculling actions that inhibit the descent.
Let's say you're descending down a buoy line. You're at the buoy, you make eye contact with your dive buddy and you give each other the descend (thumbs down) signal. You raise your inflator, preparing to vent your BCD and begin your ascent. Now what?
My suggestion at that point is that as you are letting air out of your BCD, take a deep breath and hold it for a moment. Go ahead and keep venting your BCD, but don't start breathing out until you are about eye level with the water. Then start a looooong, slow exhale. And just about the time you think you've exhaled fully, exhale some more. Most folks are surprised at how much air they still have in their lungs. Think of your lungs as just another BCD ... you want to vent ALL the air out of it on the descent.
By doing this, you'll find yourself several feet beneath the surface before it's time to inhale again. By then, the water pressure around you will be compressing your exposure gear, and you won't need to compensate for all the buoyancy of the suit (if you inhale too close to the surface, this tends to send you back up again).
Now, while all that's happening, what are you doing with your feet? Newer divers tend to kick when descending ... most times they don't even realize they're doing it. That's the "hard-wired" part of your brain telling you that you're doing something you weren't designed to do (go underwater) and taking appropriate action to rectify the situation. You need to rearrange your wiring so your brain doesn't give that response. The best way to do that is to cross your feet at the ankles. It won't stop that unconscious part of your brain from making your feet flutter ... but it WILL make it so that you notice when it starts to happen, and the conscious part of your brain can take control of your body and stop doing it.
Once you've gotten down a few feet and taken that first breath, you can uncross your ankles. That's a good time to think about getting horizontal for the remainder of the descent. The easiest way to do that is to simply extend your legs and point your fins back (think ballerina). As you descend, the motion of your body in the water will push on the tops of your fins and naturally start rotating your body. Go with the flow ... you'll almost "fall" into a nice, horizontal position. So what does this do for you? Well, for one thing, it helps you see where you're going ... you can more easily see the bottom as you approach it. Also, being in this "skydiver's" position helps control the speed of your descent. Keep your hand on your inflator hose and add short "puffs" into your BCD to regulate the speed of your descent.
As you approach the bottom, make use of your "built-in BCD" once again by taking a nice, deep inhale. That'll slow you down and help you come to a stop without having to use your inflator button (or the bottom) as a hard brake. Once you've inhaled, slowly exhale while adding a few more "puffs" to your BCD to maintain your position.
Using this technique will have a few advantages ... it'll make it possible for you to descend with the minimal weight you need to control your dive ... it'll help you maintain a regulated speed and eye contact with your dive buddy on the descent ... it'll help you learn to control your depth without using your BCD inflator as an "elevator" button ... and it'll keep you from plowing into the bottom at the end of the descent.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)