Help with descending slowly on first OW dive?

[Lulunew2scub]

I actually wore my wet suit for all the confined water dives in the pool. I was very warm in it though, because I am very warm blooded. My instructor said that mostly all the divers use a 3 mil full suit for diving off of Charleston right now. I know the water is still about really warm at the surface, but I'm not sure how it will be at 40 ft.

 

[Xanthro]

We did most of our pool work without a wetsuit, except for using a hood and gloves for part of it to get used to those.

Well, you were certainly less hot than I was. I had to stay in the water to keep from overheating.

Though, I'd think I prefer it that way. To learn in the pool with exactly the equipment you'll use in the open water.

Xanthro

 

[Sideband]

Good point, but like I said it depends on depth. Sometimes the depth to which I initially descend isn't necessarily the max depth of the dive and frequently isn't.

Don't get me wrong, I still have to add air when I get to the bottom/depth but not much. My main point was you don't have to let -all- the air out to descend.

Got ya. I'll go with that answer. I have my weight close to as low as i can get and I do have to dump it all and exhale in order to get negative on the surface.

Joe

 

[jbd]

IMO, you should have lots of practice at this before going to open water.

Amen!! IMHO.

This should have been drilled in the pool.

 

[jbd]

...but does the feeling in your body at 40 ft, feel any different than 12 ft???

No you feel anything different at 40 than at 12 in regards to pressure as long as you equalize properly. What you may feel the temperature of the water might be cooler. It may be a little darker or it could be quite a bit darker. Stay relaxed and calm. Pay attention to your buddy and your instructor. If you feel like you are getting somewhat wigged out about the dive in progress indicate that to you buddy and instructor and end the dive by making a slow controlled ascent. At the surface establish sufficient bouyancy to be comfortable and then discuss the situation with your instructor.

One of the "issues" with diving in really clear water is that some people lose track of how deep they are because they don't feel anything different.

 

[jbd]

Yes, I agree with you Redhatmamma...I really appreciate all the help I've received from the experienced divers on here. It has helped to ease my nervousness for this first dive. I have my own wetsuit, thank goodness (3 mil Henderson Hyperstretch) and it is wonderful. I have never felt the feeling of wetsuit compression yet?? Thanks again to everyone for all the tips!

Once you start descending, if you remain completly motionless and if you have enough distance to descend you will notice that you will descend faster the deeper you go. This is due to compression of the wetsuit and IMHO the abdomen. This changes your volume as a unit(decreases) and therefore increases your density. This makes you more negatively bouyant.

Lets say you held this motionless freefall to 55 fsw and you wanted to stop at 60fsw. At 55 fsw you would have to add a lot of air to the BC to stop and you would over shoot the 60 foot mark because you would not be able to reach neutral bouyancy quick enough. Once you stopped at say 75 fsw and checked your depth guage you might decide to swim back up to the 60 foot mark. As you ascend the air in the BC expands as does the other things that were compressed and you would now become signifcantly positively bouyant. You wouldn't be able to stop at 60 feet and would over shoot and maybe rise to 50 fsw Then dump air to get back down etc,etc,etc. Next thing you know the dive is over and all you did was try to get to the correct depth.

The key is to be aware of your descent rate and keep it slow and controlled by frequently adding small(really small) bursts of air to the BC on the way down so that you can stop precisely at the planned 60fsw in this example with a simple inhale or final really small burst of air into the BC.

 

[Lulunew2scub]

Thanks JBD for reading my mind about yo-yoing up and down in feet and not being able to establish neutral buoyancy. I now realize one of the problems I had in the pool...I didn't wait long enough after a short burst of air in my BC for it to take effect. I just kept adding more bursts of air and then had to release some and so on and so on. I was also trying to rush things, when I needed to just slow down. Thanks for the tips!! LuAnn

 

[Tampabay]

I would dump most of your Air and use your breathing to control your descent. Follow the kracken method. It works for me .... Bouyency control it a must in order to be a good Diver. Practice all you can... Good Luck

 

[jbd]

Thanks JBD for reading my mind about yo-yoing up and down in feet and not being able to establish neutral buoyancy. I now realize one of the problems I had in the pool...I didn't wait long enough after a short burst of air in my BC for it to take effect. I just kept adding more bursts of air and then had to release some and so on and so on. I was also trying to rush things, when I needed to just slow down. Thanks for the tips!! LuAnn

That bit you now realize will serve you well. Have fun and post a report on your OW cert dives.

 

[The Kraken]

This may be a dumb question, but how deep do you have to go to feel wetsuit compression? Our pool is 15 deep and I'm not sure when that happens. I do feel that after the first 5 feet I can sink faster.

I can equalize my ears by holding my nose and swallowing. At first I was so concerned about not holding my breath that I couldn't do it. Until I realized that I was sinking and the air in my lungs was compressing and holding my breath for 5 seconds on the way down was not going to cause my lungs to rupture. Duh.

This board is a great source of comfort and inspiration for us divers in training!

Like so many other variables in diving, the compression varies among wetsuits. The thicker the wetsuit, the more the apparent compression one experiences.

I don't feel it very much in my 2/3mm, but in cold water with my 6.5 farmer john/jacket, the buoyancy loss due to compression is very, very noticeable at about16-18 feet.