Struggling in midwater

[Thalassamania]

One thing I did get from my Rec 2 class with Joe Talavera was the idea that there is a buoyancy "window" of correction with breath, and once you are out of that window, you MUST use other means of correction. In other words, if you've gone up more than a foot or so, you will HAVE to dump air from the wing or the drysuit; breath alone will not stop you fast enough to prevent further ascent. This has helped with buoyancy in general, but I need to get much better at KEEPING myself within the "breath" window.

You can also do the old BC "elevator thing:"

As you exhale put short bursts into the vest. When you just start to move up hold the vest inflator hose as far down (deep) as you are able. Now hold the oral inflation button open. Bring the hose up till air starts to flow out of the mouthpiece, then lower it till it just stops. You know have an air siphon from your vest that you can use to control your level. The only problem is that the direction is counterintuitive, raise the mouthpiece up to descend and lower it to ascend. Remember to keep it OPEN ALL THE TIME.

We once built a mechanical "stay here" buoyancy compensator for a small ROV that could be easily adapted to mount between a set of doubles. I'll describe it some time later.

 

[matjo1]

Here are a few tips I give when teaching PPB.
-Force yourself not to use your fins or hands on safety stops, you then have to fine tune the air in your BC and ONLY use your lungs.
-Once the Zen state it reached, pay close attention to the peach fuzz on your cheeks (the ones under your eyes!:mooner: . ) You should be able to feel the water go past them if you start going up or down.
-I don't care how clear the water is, there will always be plankton. Look at one of those little specks that ruins the viz. and put it to good use. Pick one about 2 feet in front of your face and try to stay level with it. Current rarely goes up or down, so as long as you're not using your hands and fins to stay neutral (which stirs them up) you have a pretty reliable visual refference.
Hope it helps

 

[Cacia]

pay close attention to the peach fuzz on your cheeks

oooohhh, good one, I like that. Which is probably why that fuzz is there...

 

[Thalassamania]

Here are a few tips

That's a good list.

 

[TSandM]

Rob, I love you . . . You always write things that absolutely hit home.

Kirk is completely still, but often facing me and shining his light on what I'm doing, which makes him almost impossible to see. Maybe we need to position ourselves differently.

And I have NEVER forgotten that link . . . That thread is printed out and pasted in my scuba notebook!

 

[wedivebc]

In our waters you are never deprived of visual reference. The plankton and bio-clutter floating in the water is a great depth locator. Focus on the small particles in the brine. If they are floating up, you are going down. I learned that one from Uncle Pug.
The hardest skill I had to do on my cave course was to illuminate my buddy who was tying off a jump in a middle of a line, that was hanging in space in a big room. My buddy was moving up and down a bit and he was the only obvious visual reference. I thought we looked OK but I don't think the instructor did.

 

[tedj01]

I agree and if I don't have to read I can use hunter eyes...not focusing on anything specific. For instance, You can do a fine job of shooting a bag or clipping off a bottle whout ever taking your "gaze" off your surroundings.

"Hunter eyes". I say "look without looking" when getting people started juggling. Basically trying to tell them to see all 3 balls without looking at just one ball. Most people try to watch a single ball and drop all three.

I learned the same concept from my father while hunting and shooting.

 

[TSandM]

Sally Swift calls it "soft eyes" in writing about riding. It's another thing I'll have to think about tomorrow.

 

[Bryan]

One of these?

 

[tedj01]

Sally Swift calls it "soft eyes" in writing about riding. It's another thing I'll have to think about tomorrow.

If you have to think about it, it will not work! You just have to do it.

Since you ride horses - do you ever ride w/o anything on the horse besides you? No saddle, blanket, bridle, halter, not nuthin'.

I used to be able to herd cattle that way. In riding I used to call it being the horse. It seemed like the horse would start a cut before I began the move with pressed knee and slight body lean. If you try to think about the ride and what you are doing I guarntee it will be a short ride.

Sometimes our biggest obstacle is ourself.


Another way to visualize it - do basketball players dribbling the ball down the court at a full run watch the ball?