Questions after first dive

[dnorris]

Hi everyone,

Yesterday was our first Day in the local quarry for our check out dives. We still have another day of diving to get our certification, but I had a few questions that I wanted to see if I could get some help with.

The diving went really well, and I think I am going to like this hobby a lot. Started out with issues equalizing, but eventually got that under control, for some reason I have to go down slower than others. Other than that the only issue I had was buoyancy, and that's where my questions are related too.

First, while at a platform (around 35') I was messing with my buoyancy by trying to use my lungs to control my height. Somehow I screwed up and shot up near the surface (I didn't hit my inflator), and then not thinking about it I shot back down pretty quick (fast enough to get mask squeeze). I "think" I was breathing out on the ascent, but I am not 100% sure. I know at some point I did because I went back down. How would I know if I caused damage to my lungs? Today my chest/throat feel a little sore. Like have a little chest cold, and dry throat. No excessive coughing or anything, just kinda sore.

Secondly on the last dive we went to about 60' for a couple minutes at most, and then very slowly ascended back up (following a line). Once back in shallow waters (20') we were set to do a safety stop (no more line). Again, I screwed up and didn't deflate by BC fast enough and shot to the top. My DM's said that I'd be fine, but my question isn't about DCS. It's if you shoot past a safety stop can you still go back and do it maybe just add a couple minutes? I didn't think to ask the DM this while we were there. I was a little freaked out I missed the stop.

Any Advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[00wabbit]

You should call DAN about your scratchy chest. http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/
You may have held your breath a little when ascending that first time and slightly over expanded the lungs. It could also just be from the cool very dry air you breathe when diving.
What may have happened is that you were holding your breath to raise up, but as you raised up the air in your wetysuit/lungs expanded and caused you to raise up faster. You probably got up too high before you could realize what happened.
It's good to practice this with a platform below you and keep your eyes on the ground so you can see if you are floating away. Also it helps to have a computer that will beep at you if you start ascending too quickly and never ever hold your breath

There should also be divemasters keeping an eye on you guys to try and catch you if you start floating away.

AS for missing the safety stop it is ok. Safety stops are not mandatory only recommended. In OW training you usually arent down long or deep enough where nitrogen loading will be very high.

 

[electrix]

The air in a scuba tank is very very dry may have irritated your throat, you should be swimming up not floating up, by the time you notice you are going up too fast it is usually to late to stop. Let some air out before your start swimming up and be prepared to let more out.

 

[t-mac]

First of all, congratulations and welcome to the addiction! Buoyancy is the trickiest thing for a new diver, especially when playing marshmallow man in the quarry with all that neoprene.

Regarding your first question, it is best addressed by medical professionals. Lung overexpansion injury is bad stuff. That said, what you describe can be explained by breathing dry tank air - especially if you were huffing.

For your second, recall that under the conditions you describe that a safety stop is not required, just recommended. In recreational diving we don't create ceilings with mandatory stops preventing us from going directly to the surface. Even under decompression conditions, it is not recommended to try in-water recompression. So, no, you wouldn't go back down and make up a safety stop.

The big message here is to get your buoyancy right, which will take lots of practice.

Good luck and safe diving!

 

[dnorris]

Thanks for the responses. I might wait and see if it's any better tomorrow and if not then I'll give DAN a call. I signed us up before we went on this dive as I saw it was recommended by EVERYONE on here, lol.

It was probably more my fault than my DM's that he didn't catch me and bring me back down. We were practicing skills at the platform, and I was waiting for my turn. I didn't think I'd be able to move more than a few feet with just my lungs. I see I was grossly wrong, and maybe shouldn't have been trying it at all.

And yes, I was huffing air. A TON of it. I've gotta get that under control too. Overall they said we did very well, so hopefully it'll all get easier.

Thanks for the info about swimming up. I was told that by another diver today, and that makes a ton of sense now!

 

[DCBC]

Hopefully you are fine. I would however get some pool time practicing neutral buoyancy before going out again to open water (it would seem that it would be a prudent step). I find it unusual for any student to experience such an uncontrollable ascent, but to have it happen twice in one day tells me that your instructor isn't on-top of the situation. Such accidents do end up killing divers (both recreational and professional). I'm not being critical, but it's something you NEED to get a handle on quickly.

 

[nimoh]

first of all, welcome to diving and to scubaboard!

secondly, there is absolutely nothing wrong with asking your questions here, but I recommend you also ask your instructor these questions. It is very likely that your instructor (or DM) watched your uncontrolled ascent and watched for bubbles, indicating you were exhaling. They are also there to help you with your buoyancy.

 

[00wabbit]

All that neoprene means you really have to anticipate buoyancy changes. It's surprising how it can affect you. I spent the next 4 dives after open water just working on buoyancy. Once you get to warmer water with less or no neoprene you will see how much easier it is to control.
I popped up to the surface with a dm chasing me on my first open water dive. The water wasn't very clear and I no visual reference of depth. I wasn't watching my depth gauge and all the sudden I was staring at the sky. I had no idea I was asending. After that I really started paying attention to where I was in te water.

 

[DukeAMO]

You will get better at this

In addition to learning to recognize the feeling when you start to ascend, and getting some air out of your BCD quickly if you do start to ascend unintentionally, you'll hopefully get used to staying horizontal. When you're horizontal it's easier to control your depth. Also, your natural instinct if something surprises you is to breathe in, which makes it worse. You'll have to get used to quickly breathing out instead.

In the meantime, I agree, a computer that beeps at you if you ascend more than a few feet too quickly is a good crutch. Mine beeps if you ascend at a rate of more than 1 foot per 2 seconds, which is slower than you would think as a newbie. Mine warned me of an unintended ascent several times in those first 5-10 dives, and once I had that warning I was able to stop every one quickly.

 

[minnesnowta]

Was there a current?

I once unwittingly ascended from about 25 feet because I swam over a little ridge, then the current caught me and pushed me up to the surface. Nothing bad happened, but it freaked me out. Now I am more conscious of this though, so I guess something good came of it.

Scratchy throat: I had one too after my checkout dives and attributed it to the dry air. The dryness of the air really surprised me. If you are in freshwater, it's easy to open your mouth a little bit and take a little sip now and then when you feel your throat getting dry. Remember to drink lots of water before and after. No one can see you peeing in the water.

Some unsolicited advice regarding air consumption: Empty your lungs completely, take a big deep breath, then consciously exhale very slowly, and empty out your lungs completely. If you think your lungs are empty, try to exhale a little more until they are really empty. Doesn't really matter how you inhale, but it matters how you exhale.