Night Ascents

[lamont]

practice.

go out at night and do 10 foot 1 minute stops down to the bottom and 10 foot and 1 minute stops on the way up. do one or two of those with your buddy and then go for a fun dive.

for a different practice, on another dive, try staying at 10 feet and doing an OOA exchange without losing more than 5 feet of buoyancy control (then go for another fun dive).

try to find a buddy that doesn't mind spending 10-15 minutes doing drills before doing a fun dive.

 

[DwayneJ]

Thanks!

The particles are a great idea - I realized this on a dive tonight. I certainly will try the drills. My VR3 HD is wrist mounted so I can see it clearly while holding my inflator (deflator) hose.

As my favorite folk singer David Roth sings - Practice makes... Progress.

 

[damage]

I just keep watching my computer and keep paying attention on my ascent speed, also bubbles are a good reference, just light them!

 

[wedivebc]

Plankton is your friend. If you shine your light at across your field of vision you will illuminate all sorts of small particles in the water column. If the particles are going down you are going up. If they are not moving up or down then either are you. Make small ascent steps watching the plankton then stop, look at your depth gauge. Then make another ascent step. Repeat as necessary and you will soon get the hang of it.

 

[Offgassing]

Plankton is your friend. If you shine your light at across your field of vision you will illuminate all sorts of small particles in the water column. If the particles are going down you are going up. If they are not moving up or down then either are you. Make small ascent steps watching the plankton then stop, look at your depth gauge. Then make another ascent step. Repeat as necessary and you will soon get the hang of it.

I found this to be the absolute key to doing a safe free ascent. Even in the clearest water you've got little stuff hanging in the water all around you. They stay at roughly the same depth. Once you get the hang of it, it's just as good as having a reference line. You can use it day or night. Good stuff.

 

[DwayneJ]

I found this to be the absolute key to doing a safe free ascent. Even in the clearest water you've got little stuff hanging in the water all around you. They stay at roughly the same depth. Once you get the hang of it, it's just as good as having a reference line. You can use it day or night. Good stuff.

My very next night dive I focused on the stuff in the water - Absolutely no issue at all.

Amazing that you can track the smallest particle for a very long time!

Dwayne

 

[TSandM]

Yes, Uncle Pug once built himself an underwater magnifying glass so he could actually look and SEE what those particles are -- apparently they're pretty fascinating creatures a lot of the time.

 

[Offgassing]

Yes, Uncle Pug once built himself an underwater magnifying glass so he could actually look and SEE what those particles are -- apparently they're pretty fascinating creatures a lot of the time.

They are! If you want a real thrill get a small plankton net and hang it behind the boat during a small current for a few hours. pour it into a petri dish and look at it with the magnifying glass (a dissecting scope is even better). Very cool stuff. I always liked the diatoms the best.