How to proceed ?

[berndo]

Hovering at safety stop depth is something that for years I could only enviously watch more experienced divers do.

I find that hard to believe. Having good enough bouyancy to hold a safety stop is as basic as it gets. If this is actually true than you're way below average talent level. Not being able to learn hover with a few dives is not the norm.
The only people who seem to have a harder time with this are people who are older when they start diving and have never done any sports in their live. But even than it's not that hard and 'for years not being able to hold a stop' is not normal.

Let’s just say my experience does not coincide with yours.

Yeah... your 'experience'.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I find that hard to believe. Having good enough bouyancy to hold a safety stop is as basic as it gets. If this is actually true than you're way below average talent level. Not being able to learn hover with a few dives is not the norm.

I may have been below average in talent, and it goes without saying I'm not alone in being below whatever is the average. Nevertheless, it simply was not taught in my OW course. In the course, we were encouraged to grab onto a line at the safety stop, told to kneel on the bottom while performing skills, etc., and I believe all that is common--or at least used to be common. The more difficult part of it, though, is not just hovering but being able to perform tasks, such as deploying an SMB, while maintaining the same depth and position.

I have to admit I forgot what the original topic of this thread was. I suspect it isn't this, so that's all I have to say on the matter of skills not generally taught in OW class.

 

[berndo]

I may have been below average in talent, and it goes without saying I'm not alone in being below whatever is the average. Nevertheless, it simply was not taught in my OW course. In the course, we were encouraged to grab onto a line at the safety stop, told to kneel on the bottom while performing skills, etc., and I believe all that is common--or at least used to be common.

I've guided at least a couple of thousand rec/vacation divers. It's very rare that people's bouyancy control is so bad that they can't hold a stop. They're not in trim but than there is not point to be in trim on a safety stop.
It looks like you're basing your believes on all the PADI bashing online and on what people in you're echo chamber think.

 

[Lorenzoid]

It looks like you're basing your believes on all the PADI bashing online and on what people in you're echo chamber think.

No, I'm basing it on what I myself experienced and what I observed diving with then-new divers like myself. Keep in mind I am referring to new divers, fresh out of the OW course. No, we could not "hold a stop," as in, arrest our ascent at 3m or whatever and stay there for 3 minutes.

 

[Degenerate]

Why won't you answer my question @berndo ?
Is it because you don't like the answer?

 

[berndo]

Hovering at safety stop depth is something that for years I could only enviously watch more experienced divers do.

You said you couldn't do it 'for years'. Buoyancy with the right amount of weight is super easy. It' two buttons, there is not much to figure out.

Why won't you answer my question @berndo ?

I was adviced by a mod to ignore the really dumb questions.

 

[inquis]

It's very rare that people's bouyancy control is so bad that they can't hold a stop.

Definitely not what I've observed over a few decades of living in Hawaii where the vast majority of divers are rec/vacationers. Many have seahorse trim and their negative buoyancy is nicely countered by their kicking... until their attention wanders and they sink.

 

[berndo]

Definitely not what I've observed over a few decades of living in Hawaii where the vast majority of divers are rec/vacationers. Many have seahorse trim and their negative buoyancy is nicely countered by their kicking... until their attention wanders and they sink.

Maybe it's worse over there, idk. Most people I've seen were OK, when they don't carry way too much weight. I'm not sure I've ever even seen someone kick a coral in real life. Well, other than in a place like koh tao that is. The downward kicking is caused by too much weight usually. The ones I see that actually kick up dirt (more than ones by accident) are in the minority imho, but people like to use them as a bad example.

 

[Narked_Muffin]

Maybe it's worse over there, idk. Most people I've seen were OK, when they don't carry way too much weight. I'm not sure I've ever even seen someone kick a coral in real life. Well, other than in a place like koh tao that is. The downward kicking is caused by too much weight usually. The ones I see that actually kick up dirt (more than ones by accident) are in the minority imho, but people like to use them as a bad example.

Then consider yourself lucky, I've been diving all over the world and everywhere I go I see people, sometimes even the guides or instructors, kicking and kneeling on the reefs as they can't keep their buoyancy in check.

 

[jadairiii]

Yes but why?

Are you saying that its not reasonable to find 40% mixes? Or you don't like diving PO2 of 1.4? Or something else?

The OP is using it as a deco gas, which is not really that optimal. And that is just not me saying this, just about every recognized tech training agency agrees with me (or I agree with them). This is the kind of stuff we did in the 90's when tech may not have been in its infancy, but it was a toddler.

As for a back gas, well, I'm not here to teach a tech class.