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In my open water class I had a really hard time doing the tank lift method of regulator recovery. I didn't much care as the sweep works well for me.
Over the last two days I have been watching open water classes learning the technique, and it doesn't seem to work for many people, at least not as taught. I also tried a few more times, on the surface and kneeling in five feet, and found I had problems. I'm interested in hearing the thoughts of experienced people, especially instructors.
First, with my BCD tightened at the surface, I can't really lift the tank at all. It is locked to me. Once I'm at depth and the wetsuit has compressed I am sure that will change (I will try next time I dive for real,) but in the pool there isn't enough slack to lift. The best I can do is rock it a bit.
Second, as I reach back with my left hand I am moving my right shoulder forward. That few inches of movement makes it much harder to reach the base of the hose.
If I don't lift the tank, I can reach the hose without a problem. But if I try to reach back with my left hand, I can barely reach the hose in a 3mm suit. I don't think I could do it in a 7mm.
This was really driven home with my student yesterday. He had no trouble reaching the hose as long as he didn't try to lift the tank, so I didn't say anything when his left hand was floating. He performed the skill perfectly. One of the other TAs swam over, brought him to the surface, and told him to be sure to lift the tank. "It is, after all, called the Tank Lift Method." He went down (on his knees in 7 feet) to do the skill again. He got the reg in his mouth eventually, but he struggled and flailed a lot. He ended up turtled on the surface and knocked tanks with another student on his way up. Without the lift he did the skill flawlessly. With the lift, it was a mess.
So what am I missing? Is it important to lift the tank at depth once your wetsuit has compressed? Something else? How do you teach it?
TIA.
Over the last two days I have been watching open water classes learning the technique, and it doesn't seem to work for many people, at least not as taught. I also tried a few more times, on the surface and kneeling in five feet, and found I had problems. I'm interested in hearing the thoughts of experienced people, especially instructors.
First, with my BCD tightened at the surface, I can't really lift the tank at all. It is locked to me. Once I'm at depth and the wetsuit has compressed I am sure that will change (I will try next time I dive for real,) but in the pool there isn't enough slack to lift. The best I can do is rock it a bit.
Second, as I reach back with my left hand I am moving my right shoulder forward. That few inches of movement makes it much harder to reach the base of the hose.
If I don't lift the tank, I can reach the hose without a problem. But if I try to reach back with my left hand, I can barely reach the hose in a 3mm suit. I don't think I could do it in a 7mm.
This was really driven home with my student yesterday. He had no trouble reaching the hose as long as he didn't try to lift the tank, so I didn't say anything when his left hand was floating. He performed the skill perfectly. One of the other TAs swam over, brought him to the surface, and told him to be sure to lift the tank. "It is, after all, called the Tank Lift Method." He went down (on his knees in 7 feet) to do the skill again. He got the reg in his mouth eventually, but he struggled and flailed a lot. He ended up turtled on the surface and knocked tanks with another student on his way up. Without the lift he did the skill flawlessly. With the lift, it was a mess.
So what am I missing? Is it important to lift the tank at depth once your wetsuit has compressed? Something else? How do you teach it?
TIA.