task loading and depth changes

[Texasdivechick]

My octo began freeflowing at 70' this past weekend and it took me about a minute to get it fixed. While this in itself wasn't such a big deal (as in not stressing me out) my depth went from 70 to 30 in the amount of time it took for me to get the freeflow under control. That is a big deal. How does a new diver (40+ dives) go about learning how to task load, like u/w navigating, fixing problems, taking pics, without severe and potentially serious buoyancy issues. When I'm not doing other things my buoyancy is solid. I'm nice and trim and very relaxed. Is this something that can be taught and practiced safely?

 

[spectrum]

Practice, Experience, Reference and Teamwork.

Very rarely is ever can you afford to devote 100% of your attention to a single problem. The result can easily be what happened to you. Under stress you lung volume went up and Boyle's law explains the rest.

Devote some time to your instruments or better yet your buddy should have held a constant depth giving you a reference if natural features were no already there for you.

What did your buddy do while you went for a 40 foot excursion?

Pete

 

[boulderjohn]

When I'm not doing other things my buoyancy is solid. I'm nice and trim and very relaxed. Is this something that can be taught and practiced safely?

It's easy enough to practice if you really want to do it. Get a buddy of the same mind set. Get into a position where you can practice and take turns doing things while the buddy watches in case of trouble. Start with routine things you can do well like remove and replace your face mask. Work your way to more difficult tasks as your skill and confidence grows. A good one to be able to do while maintaining depth is remove and replace your scuba unit. If you can maintain depth while doing that, you are doing pretty well.

 

[bolantej]

You just have to learn how to multi task, and it comes with time and practice. Try not to do too much at one time. I used to float away when I was taking pictures, but I now make my buoyancy the number one priority. If I get floaty, I drop what I'm doing and deal with it. As far as free flows, I agree it's nice to have a buddy that can help keep you under control while you fix your gear, but it's good to be able to fix it on your own. I think that's why redundant 1st stages (pony, or doubles) is nice because even if you can't stop the failure, you can still take your time on ascent.

 

[Texasdivechick]

Buddy was close by and didn't see what was happening until about 20 seconds into the freeflow. I didn't signal to him at first because I wasn't that concerned about a little freeflow. I was trying to problem-solve on my own. When he saw the depth change, he pulled me back down and held my depth until I got the reg to stop free flowing. I have absolutely no issue with my buddy. He was a first class diver and I'm very grateful that he willingly accepted me, a newbie, as an instabuddy. The question I am posting here is in regard to what I can do to practice task loading without suffering severe depth changes. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Meng_Tze]

It has been said here.

The thing with issues under water (and to certain extend in normal life as well) is that issues compound and become a problem.

If your buoyancy is not absolutely spot on, a small detractor/little stress, will show you how much the buoyancy is off. Then with stress, you start to breathe faster, often more shallow.... this adds to the buoyancy problem, then you start to inflate/deflate BC to adjust.....add some more. In the mean time your reg is still freeflowing and this adds to stress ("how much gas am I loosing here"?, "can I make it to the surface").... 'Oh dang, I am 40ft above where I was just now, where is Carl, my buddy?"


It all adds up. Experience will ease minds and breathing, very good buoyancy and trim is crucial and above all a steady mindset compared with an attentive buddy will safe the day. Practice 'issues', buoyancy control and scenarios (if this happens, what to do and what does the buddy do?). There is one training I can advise that I believe is the best fundamental (hint) training any diver can have. It helps set the path for control under water and ability to manage multiple tasks while under stress. (shooting a bag, while sharing gas and loosing your mask for instance)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

What happened is fairly normal for newer divers, and something you can learn to avoid. The most likely cause of your accidental ascent was that when you attempted to problem-solve you changed your breathing rythm ... possibly even held your breath a little while concentrating on the problem. Well, I'd bet I don't have to tell you where that could lead to ... :11:

As others have suggested, try problem solving while holding a stop in the shallows. Have your buddy watch while you do so ... and use him or her for a visual reference. Pay attention to what's happening with your breathing ... and try to maintain the same relaxed breathing pattern while resolving the problem.

It definitely gets better with practice ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Learning to concentrate on tiny particles in the water column while doing anything stressful will give you feedback on vertical movement and it doesn't require you to look at guages or to use your hands. If you feel like you are floating up and your hands are "full" a rapid and complete exhalation should stop the ascent and buy yourself 4-5 seconds of time without requireing you to touch any of your gear.. at least that is what I do. Paying attention to the pressure change in your ears can also provide valuable clues, but all these things require a little experience.

 

[cowdog77]

"If you feel like you are floating up and your hands are "full" a rapid and complete exhalation should stop the ascent and buy yourself 4-5 seconds of time without requireing you to touch any of your gear."
_________________________
Good tip....whenever I am doing drills or I have any type of "issue" the first thing I do is think about my breathing. I start breathing off the "bottom" of my lungs as I have a tendency to do the floaty thing otherwise.

 

[RonFrank]

I think a lot of divers, myself included sometimes, think they have their buoyancy down, when in fact they do not.

Work on hovering. If you think you have this down, do it with your eyes closed.

A lot of divers rely on finning to maintain buoyancy. If you truly have your buoyancy together, you should be able to hang motionless while doing regular breathing without moving.

Task loading, as others have stated comes with time, experience, and practice. I certainly do not have it down 100% of the time, and I am a photographer who has grown used to dealing with my camera, my buoyancy, and keeping an eye out, so more task loading than a lot of divers do on a per dive basis.

This is where training comes in handy. Things like lift bag deployment, or rescue scenarios help a diver learn to task load.