Help with descending slowly on first OW dive?

[Lulunew2scub]

Hi Everyone..I'm a newbie diver and just completed my OW pool dives and will be doing my first OW dive this Sat, Aug 21. I am really nervous about descending too rapidly and not being able to equalize my ears fast enough as I'm going down. We never practiced in the pool how to slow your descent in case this happens. Help..I don't want to get over anxious on Sat and not be able to do this!!

 

[The Kraken]

Slightly fin upwards, take a large breath, slightly inflate your BC or a combination of all three.
Go with taking a deeper breath first.
Hopefully you will be weighted correctly and can control your descent simply by taking a deeper breath and letting it out.

 

[ShakaZulu]

If you have this fear now, talk to your instructor and ask him to give you some pointers. Just use your BC to slow down the descend rate by adding squirts of air as you go deeper, remember, you can also use your fins to slow yourself down, you're not going to drop like a stone. There should be a float with a line for reference.

 

[Xanthro]

Unless you are overweighted, you shouldn't be sinking too fast.

Remember, at the surface, you'll have air in your BCD, you have to let this out and relax to sink. Just let out a little air at a time, relax, you'll sink very slowly. Once you start to sink, you should be ok.

Descend feet first, and if you feel your are going too fast, kick just a little. It will greatly slow you down.

If you still feel you are going too fast, give the BCD a little air. Remember, it compresses as you descend.

Good luck, you'll have lots of fun.

Xanthro

 

[mstudley]

Most importantly, be weighted properly.

You also don't have to let all your air out of the BC at once. Relaxe, breathe and slowly let the air out of your BC. It takes a few tries to get it right (it also depends on how deep your descent will be) but I can usually let just enough air out to descend and not have to add any/much to get neutral at depth.

Again it depends on how deep you are going to start. If you do need to add air, do it in small bursts rather than one long burst. It takes a second for your buoyancy to adjust so give each burst a second or two to "take effect" so to speak. Remember to use your fins to slow you down if needed.

Have fun and good luck!

 

[scuba_frog]

Lulunew2scub, I am also a newbie. As long as you don't dump all the air from your BC at once and you are weighted properly, you should be ok. I have the opposite problem, I refuse to sink. Next dive I'm bringing an anchor with me just in case.

 

[baltimoron]

it really is not hard.... dont worry too much about it. usually if there site is one of thoses quarries or a spot where many a new diver come, i bet there will be a line that you can use for referance.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Hi Everyone..I'm a newbie diver and just completed my OW pool dives and will be doing my first OW dive this Sat, Aug 21. I am really nervous about descending too rapidly and not being able to equalize my ears fast enough as I'm going down. We never practiced in the pool how to slow your descent in case this happens. Help..I don't want to get over anxious on Sat and not be able to do this!!

Only let enough air out of the bc so that you can exhale and become slightly negative. Then add air as needed as you descend.

Please talk to your instructor about this ahead of time. IMO, you should have lots of practice at this before going to open water.

I really hate to hear stuff like this. I think it's because the instructor doesn't know how.

 

[ShakaZulu]

Lulunew2scub, I am also a newbie. As long as you don't dump all the air from your BC at once and you are weighted properly, you should be ok. I have the opposite problem, I refuse to sink. Next dive I'm bringing an anchor with me just in case.

That's why you don't descend, you have to dump all the air from your BC, check your bouyency.......

 

[mstudley]

That's why you don't descend, you have to dump all the air from your BC, check your bouyency.......

I'd bet the issue is weight rather than fully defating the BC. If someone is weighted correctly enough air should be let out to exhale and become negative. You won't drop immediatly but I think that's the point.