Paul,
With regards to the post by Big-T, by Exp protection he means exposure suit, and definately don't worry about asking questions, Questions are honestly never stupid, especially where diving is concerned!
Now with regards to your breathing rate, basically you will find that your rate of consumption decreases over time as you become more confident in the water. Although you don't feel stressed, there is always the anxiety and thrill of diving that could increase your consumption rate.
That said, maybe you just have big lungs, your not exactly a small person and maybe you need a lot of air. I dive frequently with someone who is about 110Kilos and he can suck a 15ltr tank dry and I mean near to completion and I will still have between 50 and 75 bar remaining on a 12ltr. My consumption isn't brilliant, it's just the fact he gets through a lot of air.
Regarding the level of exposure suit you are wearing, how thick is it?
Now the positioning in the water, I think it's simply a matter of preferance and experience with regards to how you float mid water after you stop finning.
Do you choose the vertical positioning over the horizontal position, or do you have difficulty maintaining a horizontal position?
If the later, think about your weights and their distribution :- are you using a weight belt, by the sounds of it, probably so. When you are in the UK think about investing in a good weight integrated BCD, for example a Sea Quest Pro QD. The weights can be nicely placed in either the quick release retainers or in pockets towards the at the back top of the BCD and the BCD itself is very good!
Do you find you descend quicker than the other divers? Basically although I know people who like to descend like a lump of lead, personally I prefer to just manage the descent with completely emplty lungs, think about binning 1 kilo to start with and see if you can still get under. By loosing just 1 Kilo you don't have to worry about it too much, if you can descend then for this once go head first, and re-adjust your weights later to suit. But I think you will probably manage it.
Also using 8 Kilos is easier for the weght distribution.
Now regarding diving in the UK. It is actually suprisingly good, colder yes, but good and diving in the UK and in not so pampered conditions will improve your dive ten fold if you return to the Red Sea. I have found that the worse your general diving conditions are, the better adapted you become, and when you then dive in luxury conditions, such as the red sea, it is the most relaxing dive experience you could imagine.
I hope this helps, and i hope I don't offend anyone by recommending the head down approach to getting under the surface, but it works and you don't have to mess around changing your weight mid water.
Paul
