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ccuda · 06-25-2002, 06:18 AM,

Hazel, 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Hope any of this helps... ;D