another newbie

[freedivernd]

Hi Hazel,<br>You might try doing the fins before the other equipment and walking out backwards of course... I like to  fill the bc with air and float it out to water just over my waist and then put it on.  Ideally , I'd rather be standing next to a dock with the bc/tank upright on the dock ... with my fins and weight belt on then just slip into the bc.  Don't hesitate to ask a buddy for help..a buddy can sure make donning all that equipment a lot easier. Sometimes just a shoulder to lean on is a big help.  Plus they can double check your setup for you. <br><br>And then there's freediving... sometimes it's just nice to leave all the equipment on the shore   ....<br><br>Fred Johnson

[lrmoll]

What I think works best for shore entry:<br>Put everything on except the gloves and fines. You and your buddy walk out until you are in waist deep water. <br>*Prepare you fins so that the foot strap is below the foot pocket.<br>*Use your buddys shoulder for support<br>* Put your leg closest to your buddy into the "figure 4 position" (resting just above your knee cap while in a slight crouch)<br>* Take the fin by the foot strap insert the foot into the foot pocket and pull the strap over the heel.<br>* Turn around and do the same thing with the other fin.<br>* Put on gloves<br>* Insert snorkel of reg, inflate BC lay down in water and swim away.<br><br>A similar thing can be done by sitting in shallower water without the buddy help. But then you have to walk a little way backwards in your fins to get to deeper water. Besides the help is a good bonding moment for you and your buddy ;D

[tcjtn0]

Hey buddy...Look at my name info...You like???<br><br>Thanks...Jean<br><br>

[hfrancois]

Hey buddy...Look at my name info...You like???<br><br>Thanks...Jean<br><br>

<br><br>You rock!!

[hfrancois]

I seem to be having a problem with my buoyancy.  I have a hard time sinking with 26 pounds of weight (I'm 5'4, 125 pounds - that should be plenty) and then once I get to about 18 feet, I have a problem trying to move without slamming into the bottom of the lake. My buoyancy issue is exhausting during dives so I tend to use up a lot of air and I get fatigued under the water. I sometimes have to hold on to a rock to recover. Any tips, please.... :-[

[SUBMERGED]

Hi Hazel,  Glad you had fun at Wazee.   If you are going to the Wednesday Fun Dive at Square it would be a good opportunity to practice your buoyancy and get a few tips.  <br>Mark N. and I are going for sure. ( assuming I get off work in time) <br>They offer 50% off on rentals.  And theres BBQ afterwards.  <br><br>for more info click on Fun Dives<br><br>www.scubadiveandtravel.com<br><br>

[freedivernd]

Hey Hazel,<br>I used to fight the bouyancy issue too and a help for me was  to remember that "hey, if you're going up.. swim down - going down.. swim up".  I'd be pushing the bc button or pulling the valve all the time and now I try to remember I can swim against sinking or floating.. and it's become easier to find that nuetral bouyancy level.<br><br>Something else I discovered is not to try and maintain a certain distance from the bottom.. if the bottom drops slightly and is still in good view.. I stay where I'm at rather than trying to make a quick adjustment for those few feet.. when the bottom drops a little further from view - then make the adjustment, slowly.  Key is.. easy on the bouyancy trigger and valve.<br><br>I haven't scuba'd a lot but I am very comfortable under  the water so I'm able to pay attention to whats happening.  Something that surprised me not to long ago was just how bouyant you can become when there is a little excitement under the water .. finding a nice boat anchor.. or seeing a huge fish.. or hitting the cold..  it's instant loss of bouyancy control because of the rapid breathing.  Have to try and stay calm. <br><br>Fred Johnson

[ccuda]

Hazel,<br><br>You really shouldn't need that much weight to get down given your body's size. I think 16 to 18 lbs should do it. (With a 7mm suit, hood, and gloves.) I think with experience you would be able to take off another 2 lbs from there as well. <br><br>Possibly a few helpful hints: Remember to lean to the right when you descend, it gets the air up toward the left shoulder and less trapped elsewhere. Be sure you are patient enough to allow ALL the air to escape your BCD (many people start to dump air then stop, sometimes it takes time). Check your BCD inflator valve to make sure it's not sticking open, filling your BCD when it's not supposed to. Point your fins downward, not straight out like your are walking, you only create drag that way. Don't kick upon descent, your only staying up, kick only to stop the descent breifely for equalization issues, etc, etc. If you are kicking to remain at the surface with air in your BCD, you are far too overweighted. Remember your breathing. Relax, don't panic, you have plenty of air, huge large breaths at the surface and upon trying to descend only keep you more buoyant. Remember a long exhalation, short-little inhation, you'll have plenty of air. Large inhalations only make you bob up and down in the water. Do not struggle and turn head first and try to kick down. You cannot equalize as easily, nor stop your descent easily if there is a problem. If anyone has to kick to get down, they need more weight, as at the end of the dive they wont be able to maintain a safety stop clamly, and they will be taking away the reason for the stop. Though there's no need to make crash landings except that you are not inflating your BCD upon descent. You add air to slow or stop your decent, the bottom shouldn't be what is doing that. I see some people who may think their BCD is on auto-pilot, it doesn't work that way. Remember add air upon going down, release air upon going up. And you gauges, will always give you reference to where you are in the water. Look at them frequently to know what depth you are at, especially with uneven contours and walls.<br><br>You can also go to a pool with snorkel gear, fins, your full suit and weights on in the shallow water. Exhale an you should sink (just be sure you can either stand up or kick up, or grap hold of the side -safety please). It would be the same as if you have no air in your BCD. Yes, you wouldn't have the weight of a full tank on, and you wouldn't have the empty tanks positive buoyancy either, but it's another thing to check.<br><br>Lastly, take a Buoyancy course, many dive centers offer them. You play games in them, fun games most of the time, and it's all about working on the very skill that every diver practicies on every dive, their buoyancy.<br><br>I'm not saying you do any or all of these, it's just some advice that I think may help you think more about what you are doing and maybe some new things to help you. How many dives do you have? Most people don't get very good control of their buoyancy until about 20 dives or so. Experience and practice will help, being calm and relaxed with your breathing will be the biggest factor in maintenance of your position in the water. You'll get to the point that you may barely touch your inflator for buoyancy control, just slight adjustments.<br><br>Hope any of this helps...  ;D<br>

[LKunze]

Fred and ccuda are right...calm deep breathing is a real key with maintaining good buoyancy.  I used to use my inflator constantly too on probably my first 10 dives mainly due to short rapid breathing but also because I was trying different amounts of weight until I found the right amount and then I started to become more comfortable.  I don't use my inflator all that much now.  I'm by no means perfect but much better than when I first started out.  Once you get more dives logged you'll have dramatically improved from where you are now, it just takes practice.  

[tbrown]

Hazel, the best way to tell if you are properly weighted is on your saftey stop at the end of your dive. At 15 ft, with 500-700 psi in your tank, you should be perfectly neutral with NO air in your BC. If you sink or float, add more or less weight. Any cold water neoprine suit is going to have compression problems, which is what I beleive you are noticing. I use 26 lbs @ 15ft, if I am diving deeper I can actually take off 8-10, provided I do my saftey stop at 20 ft instead of 15ft. Just make sure you have enough to keep you down at your saftey stop, and it will make it a little easier. The only other option is to dive in just a shorty, but that requires even more VISA card use.  <br>Remember when descending (I have to remember this myself), your instinct is to take a deep breath before going under. If you do the opposite and blow it out, it makes it much easier to go down. That's something I'm sure you learned, but might need to remind yourself. After the first few feet it should get easier, especially with a full tank. Although calm breathing was mentioned before, it can't be said enough. Your lung volume, and how you use them, makes a huge difference in bouyancy. And finally the experiece factor is the most important. It took me about 10-15 dives before I got comfortable, but in some ways I'm a little slow.  :