Holding deco stops in low vis

[PfcAJ]

you right, lol

 

[rongoodman]

I can relate. I just got back from a couple of dives in Lake George in BM doubles and drysuit--very different feel after mostly sidemount wet suit dives in Mexico over the last year! Mostly I was thinking "Maybe I'm not quite ready for another run at Fundies after all."

 

[TSandM]

I thought it would be amusing to link to it, but now I can't find the thread rjack321 started way back about what to do when one's buddy loses buoyancy control . . . it was about ME, yo-yoing and eventually corking while trying to do ascent drills. So I've been there, publicly!

 

[decompression]

As noted its a very challenging skill and sadly one that doesn't have a short cut other than practice. If you have access to a pool, practice the 5' stops with your eyes closed to try to feel the pressure. It's ok to strictly focus on your gauge as well, ignoring the other references. Best of luck.

 

[elan]

Like PfcAJ said look at the particles, gauges have delays, if you use gauges as a reference ypu will be bouncing. I find it is actually easier to ascend and gauge depth changes in low vis. Low vis is created by particles and they are the best reference and precise reference. Look at the beam of your light as it will light up the biggest ones and use them as a reference.

Look at your gauge only for understanding roughly where you are.

 

[ajtoady]

If it's a digital or electronic gauge you may be able to increase the update rate. A shorter update time increases the accuracy and that may be what you need.

 

[Griffo]

I was suprised after doing Fundies that my SAC had gone up. I mean, I was now in trim, kicking more effectively, but seemed to be blowing through my air. I also had trouble holding stops without a visual reference. While I won't say I've now mastered it at all, I did find reading Garf's articles helpful, maybe they could help you too? In my case I think I was diving negative and over-using my lungs to compensate, so once I lost a reference, I was all over the shop. (well, compared to experienced GUE divers, still a million times better than pre-fundies)

Fine Tuning Buoyancy | Articles | Resources is his first one, then he has a heap of other articles with exercises to practice.

 

[TSandM]

Great link, OzGriffo -- Gareth's site is one of the absolute best I've found in the whole net for training tips.

 

[Dive the World]

With no other visual reference available, you need to focus on the gauge. With experience, you learn to preempt minor fluctuations with slight variations in your breathing. However, breathing should remain relaxed and natural without.

It's a hard skill, especially without visual or tactile reference. Don't expect miracles overnight - it takes time in the water. A lot of time.

I am not GUE - but I do exactly as mentioned by Devon.

You are right the gauge has a slight delay but that is only because it takes time in for the air in your lungs to lift you up.

What works for me is breathe in for 5 seconds and breathe out for 5 seconds - staring at the gauge this turns out to be breathe in for .3 meters and breathe out for .3 meters. Not sure if that is good enough for GUE standards.

Experiment and see what works for you.

 

[Mike2Fst]

Very hard to do with no/no vis or without visual reference in good vis. Practice with no deco obligation near a line and turn away so it is out of your visual field, try to maintain depth using your guage only, turn back to line and see how you're doing. With a deco obligation, shoot your bag and deco on the line for safety sake. I've done safety stops without a line for practice but always have a line on deco.