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Buoyancy is one of the most critical skills in a Scuba divers’ training regimen. It is more art than science. Continuing to build on the skills with the right training is essential. Following are ten tips to help you develop better buoyancy!
The OC1 is an all-in-one dive computer featuring a precision digital compass, dot matrix display, wireless Buddy Pressure Check and so much more. SmartGlo backlighting and audible alarms keep you current when every second counts.
• Precision Digital Compass including North, reference modes and declination adjustment
(See a much better picture of the Oceanic OC1 Dive Computer and sign up for our pre launch newsletter here)
• Titanium Housing
• Dot Matrix Display provides superior readability and intuitive user interface
• Digital Watch, Air, Nitrox, Gauge and Free Dive Modes
• Switch between up to 3 independent wireless transmitters, tracking 3 Nitrox mixes or buddy’s tank pressure with Buddy Pressure CheckTM
• Audible Alarms with User Acknowledgment
• SmartGlo® Backlighting
• Includes OceanLog® PC Download and Settings Upload Software and USB cable
Sport Divers Magazine - Editor’s Pick – March 2009
COOL FACTOR
Enough functionality to make 007′s gadget man, Q, raise an eyebrow in approval.
KEY FEATURES
This do-everything machine includes a digital compass, dot-matrix display and functionality to switch among three wireless transmitters. The latter allows for a buddy pressure-check function. Four dive modes handle air, nitrox, gauge and free-dive duties, and the dot-matrix display is crisp and easy on the eyes. All of this comes wrapped in a strong, lightweight titanium housing. SmartGlo backlighting works great in low-light conditions and at night, and the system includes Oceanic’s software along with a USB cable for integration with a PC.
Any other retailer that is offering this for presale is selling “vaporware.” Oceanic will be well stocked and inside word is that there is no definitive launch date set. Maybe the end of March, maybe the middle of April. . but rest assured that EVERY authorized Oceanic Dealer will have ample stock to sell, so dont believe the hype!
This is a slick ol computer tho’ and Oceanic’s Research and Development has set the standard. . .and spanked the competition. . .again!
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. . . and when they are released we will share with you!
. . . and since we guarantee deliverablility with the K2 Difference, you WILL still be the koolest kid on the block when the launch happens.
No hype, just guaranteed quality service, and treatment as if you were a friend. Welcome to K2, welcome home!
Practicing skills does not need to be a massive endeavor. In fact, you can incorporate many key skills into your every day pleasure dive. There is no reason you can’t work with your dive buddy on every dive to drill on five skills over a 45 minute dive. One of the skills I would love to see everyone practice is orally inflating your BCD at the surface.
Practicing skills does not need to be a massive endeavor. In fact, you can incorporate many key skills into your every day pleasure dive. There is no reason you can’t work with your dive buddy on every dive to drill on five skills over a 45 minute dive. One of the skills I would love to see everyone practice is orally inflating your BCD at the surface.
In an out of air or low on air situation, orally inflating your BCD is a critical skill. Especially, if you are in a current or choppy seas. A little bit of water down the windpipe and a negatively buoyant BCD could mean sinking below the surface, with no air in your tank. This could lead to a very dangerous situation. This is a skill you can practice, easily, on every dive. In fact, after a few dive days of doing this, it will become routine. On your next dive outing, at the end of every dive, come to the surface and orally inflate your BCD. You’ll be a better diver because of it. More importantly, in the unlikely event that you came to the surface short on air, you will have the motorskills, muscle memory and confidence that you can attain positive buoyancy in short order.
A great diver is not only always learning … they are always practicing!
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Diving at altitude has inherent risks and requires special procedures. Following are a few tips for divers planning at diving depths that are over 1000 feet above sea level. I did a lecture on Altitude Diving last night and it made me thing about putting a “Tip Sheet” together. Following is a list of tips to remember when Altitude Diving.
1. Any dive between 1000 feet and 10,000 feet is an Altitude Dive
2. There is relatively little test data for altitude diving, flying after diving or driving to altitude after diving.
3. At sea level, the diver is surrounded by one atmosphere of pressure. At 10,000 feet, the pressure is .714 atmospheres (a 30% decrease in pressure). This is the same pressure change as 10 feet of seawater, which we know makes a big difference in our no-decompression limits. As we’ll see, this must be accounted for when using the RDP or any other dive table or dive computer.
4. Besides decompression sickness, there are heightened concerns for Hypoxia and Hypothermia when divng at Altitude.
5. Unless the actual depth is converted to a theoretical depth for table use and special procedures are followed, at altitude the pressure ratio can exceed the maximum limit intended by the table or dive computer, increasing the possibility of decompression sickness.
6. There are several equipment considerations when diving at altitude: (1) Air, trapped inside the cells of a wetsuit, expands at altitude, possibly making you more buoyant. Do a buoyancy check. (2) Different Gauges act differently at altitude, check with your gauge manufacturer and know what kind of gauge you have and how altitude effects it. (3) Computers either automatically adjust for altitude, need to be manually adjusted for altitude or have no adjustment for altitude. Know your computer!
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This Post was written by, and seeded from Duane Johnson of Precision Diving On February – 26 – 2009
I recently had a conversation with a potential student about how I teach team diving techniques compared to what is taught in traditional diving classes. It occurred to me that many divers do not know the difference between team diving and buddy diving. They feel that if they stay with their buddy and can air share in an emergency, that is team diving. It is not, team diving is much more than sticking with your buddy and helping out in an emergency.
First, let’s define buddy diving as it is taught in traditional diving classes. When people go through these classes, they are taught to stick with your buddy, do air shares, and some basic buddy rescue skills. While these skills are important, it does not take the place of working as a team. Buddy diving, is simply looking after each other. The buddy is just there. It doesn’t do much for the safety of the team nor the objectives of the dive. One of the biggest areas where buddy diving fails is in the pre-dive planning stage. In traditional PADI diving classes, students are normally taught BWRAF as their pre-dive plan. That is an acronym for: BCD, Weights, Releases, Air, Final OK. There is no discussion as to how they will descend, swim around, communicate, when to thumb the dive and ascend. This is where buddy diving breaks down.
So, what is team diving? Let’s use the analogy of a football team. US football, not soccer that is. In football, the team works together to work their way down the field to score a touchdown. Everyone on the field has a job to do in order to ensure success. If one area of the team fails, then the quarterback gets sacked, the running back fumbles the ball, or the team must punt away the ball. If an offensive lineman does not do his job effectively, then the quarterback or running back can, potentially, get hurt. The same is true for team diving. The team must work together to ensure the safety of all members of the team. Next time you watch a NFL game, watch the offensive linemen. They are always pointing to something, shouting at each other, etc. The quarterback reads the defense and may change the play at the line of scrimmage (i.e. call an audible). This is an excellent demonstration of constant team communication. Each member of the team knows where other teammates are at at all times. Just as in diving, we must be able to effectively communicate to let the team know where we are at, what to look out for, etc. We do this with passive and active light communication.
To ensure team success, the entire team must be on the same page. Not just in knowing what is expected, but in skill and experience level. Inexperienced divers can learn a great deal from experienced divers, but they must learn it at their current experience level before moving on to something more aggressive and out of their level. This is one aspect of diving where people get into trouble. They simply try to do dives, or take classes, that are above what they are really capable of handling. The problem is they don’t know when to put the brakes on their diving and say, I need to get better before moving on. They don’t do a honest assessment of their diving skills. I had to learn this the hard way, see here.
As part of the pre-dive plan, the team must get together and determine how the dive will get done. They must determine what the goal of the dive will be, who will lead, what the gas plan is, etc. For shallow reef dives, this can be very simple and take only a few minutes. For complex decompression dives, it can take days.
The Team that Descends Together, Stays Together
The majority of diving problems occur during the initial descent of the dive. As a team, it is important to stay together during the descent. There are multiple team descent techniques that can be employed, depending on the water conditions. This is where you need to have learned team diving from a good instructor to knows team diving protocols, not reading off the internet.
A good number of diving accidents have occurred when diving alone. Now, that doesn’t only mean solo diving. It includes when buddies lose contact and separate from one another. If the team descends together and gets to the target depth, then the leader can communicate to the team the direction to swim. This helps keep the team together and swimming off in the right direction. In other words, everybody starts the dive together.
Lending a Helping Hand, or Two, or Three
When the proverbial crap hits the fan, I want my team members there to help me out. This shouldn’t be confused with being self-sufficient. If I’m having a problem with a gas leak, my teammates can see my valves where I cannot. They can tell me which one to shut down, or just do it for me if I am dealing with another problem. They are there to provide me gas, if for some reason I need it. In other words, my teammates must be on the same page as me so that we can prevent small issues/problems from becoming larger (i.e. the incident pit). When diving as a team, all resources become team resources. This includes equipment, gas, etc. But it also includes that person’s experience. This is where solo diving courses fail because the diver solely relies on their own, possibly limited, experience. When I’m diving with less experienced divers, I’m able to prevent or foresee potential problems they may have based on my past diving experiences. A diver’s education and experience level is a big resource one can bring to the table in the team environment.
The bottom line is that divers shouldn’t be fooled by instructors/dive stores who are claiming to teach team diving. Nine times out of ten, they are only talking about buddy diving and not team diving. Do your homework and ask the all important question, “How?”. An instructor who truly teaches team diving will be able to teach more than just the “buddy system” and teach how the team can achieve it’s goals, including teams with more than 2 or 3 people.
If what you read here is even .01% meaningful to you, please Digg us, Stumble us, or save us to Del.icio.us using the icons following each post. Be sure to subscribe to this blog’s RSS Feed and our newsletter too, if so inclined, deposit your email address by using the form to the right or click here! Thanks for visiting and dive safe out there, will you?
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