The problem dive students have with the CESA is between their ears. So much about it when it is first explained is counter-intuitive: What do you mean, ascend from 30 feet without taking a breath? At a 1 foot per second ascent, that means 30 seconds- I know I'll run out of air! and so on. Simulating the CESA in a surface swim or horizontal swim in a pool is much more difficult that doing one as an actual ascent. The fact is that due to decreasing pressure as you ascend you have the use of about two full breaths, not one. When I am asked to remediate with a student having an issue with this, I remove the fear factors, which are the problems, by telling them that they will have plenty of air, that they need to need to decide on a method to keep their air way open- like a hum or a jaw forward position. We do the exercise with reg in moth, instructor watching for the continuous exhalation. On this skill, I think instructors often contribute to stress in their presentation. They speak of EMERGENCY in stead of speaking of it as one of many alternatives if you ever do encounter an out of air situation. As noted above, practice it anywhere. If you can do a 15 second controlled exhale on land you can do a 30 second one on a real CESA. This skill, unlike many others, cannot routinely be practiced on every dive, but can be practiced at the end of dives on a regular basis. Good for you if you practice it, but please practice it with your reg in your mouth!
DivemasterDennis
DivemasterDennis
