Question How to practice deco ascents?

[Imla]

I find it a bit disheartening to see that people who want to do specific tasks to improve control under water are being told "they're not having fun". Different people have fun in different ways. Personally, I am not a very gifted person when it comes to motor-skills, however, I am one of those with a very nicely developed dopamine system for "the feeling of mastery". This means that performing a task, to my own standards, while feeling mastery can be just as rewarding as other activities. It also means that if I feel buoyancy needs work for me to get good nudibranch photographs, then I will work on buoyancy first, then add the camera. Then work on both.
In this setting, i do believe to OP might be just one of those people. Without people who thrive on the process from new concept to mastery, there would not be artists, dancers, musicians or explorers. This forum has a propensity for complaining about people not wanting to dive safely (no matter which way they dive) (Read: not wanting to put in time and effort to be skilled divers) and in the same breath hack down on those who do! Get a grip! Stop it.
The concept of control of the water column and surplus mental capacity while diving/working/doing other things will never be a detriment to safety under water. The OP has identified certain aspects of his diving that he wants to improve upon, and were looking for ways to do that.

 

[Raphus]

Hey, didn't write a post in a long time. But I have to give my opinion here:

Kicking up to the next stop is not best practices.
You should practise with the end goal in your mind. If this might be diving deep tech with multiple stages, then kicking up is not gonna work. Stay in trim all the time, except(!) There is a reason not to. Going up to the next stop is not a reason to loose trim.

You can start your ascent be deep inhale. And keep the 10m/min speed, while releasing air from the drysuit/wing. (Of course don't forget to exhale on the way up..). If you get shallower, ascent speed gets way slower! You will learn the ascent speeds and techniques to control the ascent in a fundamental course.

If you are in trim while task loaded, you have a good habit. If you get in trouble, then you will most likely stay in trim, which helps with bouyancy and prevents more issues.

If you don't have fun doing this, you don't have to.. but if you want to start your tech adventure, this is the way to go.

And please get proper training. You can get bad habits if self trained, which can be hard to "forget" later on. And it's safer to be in a class with an experienced Instructor. You don't know, what you don't know

 

[steinbil]

@steinbil , you sound like you're very hard on yourself. I'm guessing you haven't updated the dive count on your SB profile (it still says "50-99") but even if you have done 200 dives by now it is normal not to have yet mastered the art of keeping the fins still while task loaded. At well over 600 dives, I still find myself moving my fins unconsciously when task loaded. Every time I am working with an instructor in a course or a coaching session they try to help me correct this, and I am concentrating as hard as I can, but it is still incredibly difficult for me. You are probably more talented than I am. Just give yourself time. Time and practice--as you clearly intend to do.

Don't worry, I'm not that hard on myself, just trying to be honest about my weaknesses so I can get better, and I'm definitely ambitious to the point of being a perfectionist. Maybe even a tad obsessive. I'm still pretty fresh at less than 70 dives, so I have a way to go before im ready for Tech 1.

 

[BlueTrin]

OP, by the way, during ascent, you will have to move out of trim to release from drysuit/wing.

Venting from drysuit, roll so left side is up, shoulder and arm up, legs downish and hold to accumulate air under the drysuit dump.

Then switch to venting from the butt dump.

When you are shallow, you have to exaggerate the movement a bit, maybe picture a seesaw.

Or at least that’s how I do it

 

[steinbil]

OP, by the way, during ascent, you will have to move out of trim to release from drysuit/wing.

Venting from drysuit, roll so left side is up, shoulder and arm up, legs downish and hold to accumulate air under the drysuit dump.

Then switch to venting from the butt dump.

When you are shallow, you have to exaggerate the movement a bit, maybe picture a seesaw.

Or at least that’s how I do it

Yep. Especially with the thick undergarments we wear this time of year, it takes some effort to vent the suit... I like Dorota's (GUE youtube) description of a falling leaf, only in reverse.

 

[ChuckP]

In no way am I trying to bash or belittle the OP. Dive how you want and simply enjoy yourself is all I can suggest. My opinion of GUE is what it is and I do not intend to make this a bashing fest. I'm certain that methods I was taught and methods I use are not within their practices but I don't know that for sure. Learning a skill has nothing to do with any agency, the agency may define the skill but there are many ways to learn that skill, many ways to practice.

I just simply try to say relax, get the basic little step simple tasks to be non thinking. Enjoy diving however that might be for you!!!

 

[inquis]

How do you do your initial ascent breathe yourself from 70m to 30m? There is no way, you will be way to slow getting off the bottom.

The additional buoyancy with a larger breath is identical regardless of depth, so the time to accelerate to a 30 fpm ascent rate is the same. I can see your point if you're shooting for a faster ascent when deeper.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I like Dorota's (GUE youtube) description of a falling leaf, only in reverse.

Can you post the link to that Youtube? I don't think I've seen it. Thanks.

 

[BlueTrin]

Can you post the link to that Youtube? I don't think I've seen it. Thanks.

You can now be like the leaf

 

[steinbil]

Can you post the link to that Youtube? I don't think I've seen it. Thanks.

Sorry, I got it mixed up, it's not one of the YouTube vids, it's on GUE TV: link here