Rory the Water Cat's Tips & Tricks
Hi, I'm Rory the Water Cat!
Like you, I like to be wet. Here I am, dripping wet, fresh out of the tub. I had this great idea today when I fell in the tub to offer tips and tricks for staying safe and mastering your skills in the water. (Rule 1: Don't jump on the side of a slippery bath tub - you might fall in! )
Today's tips come from my human friend Chaela's recent dive with her friend Grant Ausk of Townsend Bay Dive Shop in Pt Townsend. Chaela had been having some problems lately with buoyancy. She'd be at between 20' and 30', get a bubble trapped in her dry suit and could not clear it out fast enough before she'd pop to the surface. The first couple of times this happened, she just dealt with it. The last few she just up and panicked. Diving had become UN-FUN! Here are some of the great tips Grant gave her:
Be Aware of the Stories you Tell Yourself: Chaela had set herself up before she even entered the water. Since she started having the buoyancy issues, she'd enter the water scared and anxious. Grant got her to see that she was already amped up before the dive, and, as a result, she was breathing shallow and way to fast. His advice? This is supposed to be fun. Just relax.
Make sure your BC is COMPLETELY EMPTY when descending: A lot of times divers don't get their BCs completely empty at the bottom. Grant had Chaela empty her BC totally before going under.
A Few Key Skills: Grant told Chaela that a technical diver instructed him to use one finger as an assist in current, when performing a safety stop, or to empty air upon ascent. How does this work? At the bottom of their dive, Grant had Chaela put one finger in the sand and swim in a circle around the finger. This was just a little practice in using the fins to control direction. Next, they both began an ascent up the hill. Every few feet Grant would place the tip of his finger in the sand and dump air. He instructed Chaela to do the same. They did this up to about 20 feet then turned around and descended again. They did not go straight down but went at an angle. Grant said he rarely goes straight down head first when going down a slope. If you stay at an angle, your feet are not above your head gathering air in the boots or legs, causing buoyancy problems.
They started up the slope again. Again, it was kick, kick, finger down, right leg down, dump air....kick, kick, finger down, right leg down, dump air. Easy, right?
The simple exercises made a huge difference in Chaela's attitude about diving. She realized that she had not been dumping air frequently enough when descending, plus, this little finger trick gave her a new skill to practice and help her feel safe and in control. Simple but effective.
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