Fin pivots during first 2 lessons.

[Wadey]

I've just started my training and have had a try dive (which was basically the first lesson of ocean diver) and one propper training session covering all the stuff I did in my first dive.

During both lessons I struggled a little with doing fin pivots not because i cant get neaurtally bouyant but because i found it very unnatural to be taking a deep breath to go up and holding it and then having to breath all the way out again to go back down.
I'm very confident underwater and have no problems adjusting my buyancy with the BCD and dont tend to go floating off or sink straight to the bottom.

any ideas what might make this drill a bit easier and more natural to me? its pretty much the only thing the instructor said needs working on. before I am ready for open water dives to deeper depths. but i dont understand why I'd need to be doing fin pivots in a real world situation as breathing this way ends up using more air than needed and also its almost hyperventilating which i understand can cause a few issues at depth.

Cheers
Andrew

[Nigel Hewitt]

but i dont understand why I'd need to be doing fin pivots in a real world situation as breathing this way ends up using more air than needed and also its almost hyperventilating which i understand can cause a few issues at depth.Sorry no.

Until you can relax and control your breathing you are not ready for open water.

Diver's don't swim: they fly. You control your buoyancy moment by moment by what air there is in your lungs. This is your fine control while your BCD and your suit are clunky tools.

Doing a fin pivot involves breathing slowly and feeling yourself go up and down. Then switch to the hover and hold depth by breath control. Until you are breathing slowly and under control you will run through air and have no control of where you are in the water.

You instructor is doing just fine.

[TerryH]

any ideas what might make this drill a bit easier and more natural to me?

Depends on the depth of pool, but try this.

Pick a scuff mark, edge of ladder, light tile etc. anything that is about 1m
below surface. Stick your hand out flat (palms down) and try and point level
with the mark. If you are sculling to keep there, you have not enough air
in the BC. If you are fighting to keep down you have too much air. Once you
have it just right breath in a little deeper to go up, out more than usual to go
down.

The main bit about this is that with a point of reference, you can gauge
what is/ isnt right.

T.

[Wadey]

I can use my breathing for ups and down when I'm swimming along its just a case of breathing in and not breathing out as much as went in till I get to the depth i want and then breathing normally again or vice vera. It doesnt seem to work for fin pivots though it takes ages for anything to happen when I'm practicing this particular drill, should i just be patient and wait for me to start going up or down?

Hmm i think i've just answered my own question. but any other tips would be appreciated. and anything else i might want to try out for myself during my training session tonight.

[Edward]

I can use my breathing for ups and down when I'm swimming along its just a case of breathing in and not breathing out as much as went in till I get to the depth i want and then breathing normally again or vice vera. It doesnt seem to work for fin pivots though it takes ages for anything to happen when I'm practicing this particular drill, should i just be patient and wait for me to start going up or down?

Hmm i think i've just answered my own question. but any other tips would be appreciated. and anything else i might want to try out for myself during my training session tonight.

Hi,

Holding a depth whilst moving through the water is easy, but if your buoyancy isn't right you will use more gas than you need to. That's what these buoyancy exercises are all about.

Be patient, remember it most probably took more than two days for you to learn how to walk.

Regards

Edward

[PeteM]

Depends on the depth of pool, but try this.

Pick a scuff mark, edge of ladder, light tile etc. anything that is about 1m
below surface. Stick your hand out flat (palms down) and try and point level
with the mark. If you are sculling to keep there, you have not enough air
in the BC. If you are fighting to keep down you have too much air. Once you
have it just right breath in a little deeper to go up, out more than usual to go
down.

The main bit about this is that with a point of reference, you can gauge
what is/ isnt right.

T.

And whilst you are doing this think about if you are finning or not (most people fin to stay in place). If you think you are not finning cross your ankle to make sure you are not. You need to aim to be able to hold position on the mark with no input apart from breathing

[Wadey]

OK I'll try the looking at a point on the pool and crossing me arms in front and ankles as well.

I think I'm getting my buoyancy right but I think the breathing is the problem.

The pool its not particularly deep, 6 foot 6 at the deepest point, but this particular pool has a diving pit which i think is about 15 feet deep and I may end up in there tonight.

Thank you all very much for your comments much appreciated. will probably be back for some more pointers after tonights session. that is if our clubhouse hasn't been flooded as its right next to the Thames in Reading

[Adrian Kelland]

Thank you all very much for your comments much appreciated. will probably be back for some more pointers after tonights session. That is if our clubhouse hasn't been flooded as its right next to the Thames in Reading
Ah, Kings Meadow eh? Yep, I've seen that flooded a couple of times. Should top off that pool nicely. :D

Adrian

PS I know you don't use the club house pool, or at least didn't.

[tony J]

I think I'm getting my buoyancy right but I think the breathing is the problem.

Interesting statement.

Breathing is buoyancy control.

By adjusting buyoancy with your breathing you do not need to inflate / deflate the BCD unless the change of depth is a few metres.
You also do not need to fin if you use breathing.

master breathing based buyancy control and you will master good air consumption !

The BCD has a place in diving for fine buoyancy control - but only when you dive a rebreather (when I did a rebreather course I kept hitting the sea bed as breathing in did not help, duh !)

Tony

ps http://www.twiki.plus.com/diving/air_usage.html.htm

[Wadey]

yeah when i said getting buoyancy i meant the air in my BCD.
cam back from the training session today and found that by breathing I could get from the bottom of the diving pit (4m deep) all the way to the top simply by having more air in my lungs and breathing smaller shallower breaths. only when I got near the top did I need to put any air into my BCD. Also did a controlled lift and found that by looking to see when my buddy was breathing out and me breathing in and vice vers I had a bit more control over the accent simply by controlling the amount of air in his BCD.

Saying that though you said the i'll master good air consumption I went through nearly 100 bar in an hour session in a pool. which I thought was quite alot of air to use. But using myself to do fine bouyancy was alot easier then constantly having to top up / empty My BCD. I did end up burping alot though which makes a good noise underwater.

Thanks for all the advice Guys.

And yes kings meadow, it wasnt flooded it was fine it was flooded further down