Trouble underwater for a newbie...my story

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Great thread. I too am a new diver, still waiting to to my OW check out dives. It is nice to know that I am not the only one having these problems. I will be trying out these suggestions next time I get wet. Buoyancy is definately more difficult than it looks.
 
I finished my OW check out dives a couple of weeks ago. My fiance' and I went diving again a week after I completed them so I can continue to work on my skills and the whole buoyancy thing. I have found that buoyancy control has been the most challenging for me. I am finally gaining control of it. We are getting married in Jamaica later this year, so I definitely want to get lots of practice before we leave. Like you Cooper, I don't want to crash into the beautiful reef. I do keep a little distance from it and admire it from a few feet further away.

I didn't grow up around water or diving, so I do have a little bit of fear of water in me. My mother is totally afraid of the water and freaks out when she gets too close on the beach. However, my fiance' grew up in FL, on the water, so he is very comfortable with everything.

Cooper, I have to say that you sound to have a great attitude and will probably be a great diver. Don't get discouraged. Keep working on the skills, they'll be like second nature to you before too long. Good Luck.
 
First off, I'm so happy to see the posts here. There is alot of great information, and it sounds like its helping more people than just me!

Firebrand,

I agree, the 7 mil wetsuit was definitely overkill, but that is all they offer at ATI Divers in Lake Atitlan. I think I was over-weighted too, after reading some of these posts.

I know you are supposed to just let a little air in our out at a time, go slowly with it, and wait for it to take effect. My issue was, I kept putting air in, a little burst at a time, again and again and again. Yet, I would still sink. I never really had the problem of being out of control ascending, I just kept crashing into the bottom. You should have seen the silt I raised. Single-handedly. If there had been a contest for silt-raising, I would have placed first.

Eventually the DI came to my rescue and put a good 5-6 second burst of air in. I was shocked. I thought I would rush to the surface like a rocket, but I just kind of slowly lifted, and I was better after that. But I remember in Malaysia (in a shortie), giving tinier bursts for larger effect. Is it because of the wetsuit?

Anyway, it sounds like I was too heavy, eh?

A question: Everyone says to just give a little air at a time, and wait for the effect.
How much is a little? Do you mean like 1 second? 2 seconds? 6 seconds? To me, so new to this, I really don't know what "a little" means.

Thank you!!!
 
L Cooper:
A question: Everyone says to just give a little air at a time, and wait for the effect.
How much is a little? Do you mean like 1 second? 2 seconds? 6 seconds? To me, so new to this, I really don't know what "a little" means.

Thank you!!!

This a tough question to answer in absolute terms. There are lots of variables. You will need to adjust the length of each burst based on your depth and experience you gain by diving.

The deeper you are the longer the burst you can get away with because of the compression of the air at depth (Boyle's Law). The ambient water pressure will compress the same amount of air into a smaller volume, this will displace a smaller amount of water and have less of an effect on your bouyancy. When you are shallow you need to be more precise as each burst will displace a relatively larger amount of water, having the effect of changing your bouyancy more rapidly. This makes a difference if you are putting air into or letting air out of your BC. But remember, when you are shallow seemingly small changes in depth will allow the air to expand or compress quickly, so you need to pay attention closely during your safety stop. Learn to use the little clues, like do you feel your ears popping. This may be a sign that you are ascending. Or the other way, do you feel an unexpected pressure on your air spaces. This could be a sign that you are descending unexpectedly. Look at the small particulate matter in the water, it usually stays relatively close to the same depth. If those little particles are moving up or down, it could be you moving and not the little particles.

The other major factor in deciding how long a burst to use is knowing just how far out of neutral you are. If you are really heavy, because you have just descended from the surface and did not add any air to your BC on the way down, you will need to add a larger amount of air than you would if you arrived at the bottom having added small amounts all along the way. Remember, the total amount of air in your BC would be the same in either of the two scenarios, you would be adding air in a more controlled manner using more frequent smaller burst in the second example though. Adding air while you descend using frequent small bursts is also a good way to prevent runaway descents that have you slamming into the bottom. Especially if you are diving a wall and the bottom is really, really, really, really deep.

Mark Vlahos
 
L Cooper:
Anyway, it sounds like I was too heavy, eh?

A question: Everyone says to just give a little air at a time, and wait for the effect.
How much is a little? Do you mean like 1 second? 2 seconds? 6 seconds? To me, so new to this, I really don't know what "a little" means.

Thank you!!!
Nice reply from Mark Vlahos(post # 24 ). To expand just a bit on what he said. Determining how much air to air at anyone time requires that you are aware of your rate of descent. If you are "plummeting" to the dpeths then tiny bursts with 2or 3 second pauses between bursts just isn't going to cut it. In this case you need longer inputs and less time time between bursts. If you are drifting down slowly then tiny bursts with longer pauses will suffice. Even so, as you descend you are loosing volume continuously and without proper inputs of air into the BC you will gain speed. If you don't keep up with this, you will loose control of the descent. Maintaining control means you must be completely aware of you rate of descent.

As MArk noted there are too many variables to say conclusively 1 second or 2 seconds etc, etc. You simply have to develope a feel for it. Developing the feel comes from focused practice and diving frequently.
 
It sounds like you are on your way to becoming a good diver, who will eventually learn what feels right and what feels natural in the water. Mask clearing will take a little time and practice, and unless you do a lot of diving, buoyancy control will take even a little longer to master. The key is to dive, dive, practice, practice. I think you are on the right path. My students have had very similar problems, especially with mask clearing, and most especially with buoyancy control. Hang in there!
 
ctmax:
Great thread. I too am a new diver, still waiting to to my OW check out dives. It is nice to know that I am not the only one having these problems. I will be trying out these suggestions next time I get wet. Buoyancy is definately more difficult than it looks.

Best advice would be to just relax. It'll take around 10-20 dives before most of the basic stuff settles in. Relaxing reduces anxiety, which lessens your chance of panic, which is about the worst thing you can do UW aside from bitting your instructor's rear :)
 
Oh wow, these are great posts. I am just sitting here now, running through a descent in my mind, and the logic of adding a little bit of air as I descend is so clear. I don't think I was doing that. That explains why I needed such a long burst when I was sitting on the bottom (when I meant to be hovering above the bottom).

I didn't keep up with how much more compressed the air was becoming. Giving little bursts along the way should make the descent much more controlled. I can't wait to get out there this weekend and try it!

I just can't believe how much I forgot in 2 years. Very humbling.

I hope this is helping others too!
 
Until you've done it a lot, I think it's very hard for people to learn how to adjust their buoyancy correctly while their momentum is carrying them up or down; you're almost inevitably going to be overcorrecting in both directions, and yanking yourself around like a yo-yo.

In other words, if you're sinking and you try to stop sinking by adding air to your BC, you will find it hard to resist the temptation to keep on adding air until you stop sinking, by which time you are overinflated and are about to start flying toward the surface. And then you'll start dumping air until you stop ascending and feel yourself about to sink, by which time you are getting ready to plummet back to the bottom.

Until you reach the point where you really know the answer to this question - how much air do you need in your BC and how should you add or subtract it - I think it helps to slow or even stop your up or down momentum *first* by swimming or by changing your posture in the water, and *then* adjust your buoyancy in small increments when your body is relatively still. Otherwise, you're going to go on yanking yourself around and never getting any closer to the point where you know how much air to add or dump, and how much is too much.
 
First off, I'm so happy to see the posts here. There is alot of great information, and it sounds like its helping more people than just me!

Firebrand,

I agree, the 7 mil wetsuit was definitely overkill, but that is all they offer at ATI Divers in Lake Atitlan. I think I was over-weighted too, after reading some of these posts.

I know you are supposed to just let a little air in our out at a time, go slowly with it, and wait for it to take effect. My issue was, I kept putting air in, a little burst at a time, again and again and again. Yet, I would still sink. I never really had the problem of being out of control ascending, I just kept crashing into the bottom. You should have seen the silt I raised. Single-handedly. If there had been a contest for silt-raising, I would have placed first.

Eventually the DI came to my rescue and put a good 5-6 second burst of air in. I was shocked. I thought I would rush to the surface like a rocket, but I just kind of slowly lifted, and I was better after that. But I remember in Malaysia (in a shortie), giving tinier bursts for larger effect. Is it because of the wetsuit?

Anyway, it sounds like I was too heavy, eh?

A question: Everyone says to just give a little air at a time, and wait for the effect.
How much is a little? Do you mean like 1 second? 2 seconds? 6 seconds? To me, so new to this, I really don't know what "a little" means.

Thank you!!!

hey everyone,

This is my first post/comment here on SB and I'm only 4 dives in. Literally got my certification yesterday at ATI, so I'm on here using that as a starting point and came across this thread.

The dive instructor was telling me that one of the factors that plays into this in Atitlan is the altitude. you're diving at over 5,000ft which makes it hard to descend. That's why with the thick suit and a lot of weight, it seems excessive. He was explaining to me that at 50' depth, you don't need any weight, but to get to that depth, you need a lot. Also, freshwater dives are more tricky at controlling buoyancy...moreso than salt water (I did a DSD dive in Australia about 10 years ago).

I just wanted to add this in for anyone else coming across this thread as a newbie like myself.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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