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The GUE style technique though is put one lung's worth of air into the bag and release immediately. So you should maintain neutral buoyancy the whole time, which is why it needs to be done at depth or with quite a narrow DSMB because this technique doesn't put a huge amount of air in.
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Apr 11, 2017 12:42
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MrNemo posted:The GUE style technique though is put one lung's worth of air into the bag and release immediately. So you should maintain neutral buoyancy the whole time, which is why it needs to be done at depth or with quite a narrow DSMB because this technique doesn't put a huge amount of air in. Exactly, so the buoyancy change is no more than you get from normal breathing. pupdive posted:Well the point is that you can get the bag to act as your BCD buoyancy temporarily while you make sure you have the bag, the line, and your divers squared away. You can then reel out the bag however. Negative buoyancy makes sense if you're trying to kneel on the bottom. To be honest it never occurred to me that kneeling was how it was trained. Even in my first open water classes the importance of staying off the bottom was beat into my head. pupdive posted:The only way to stay neutral while inflating the bag, if you are keeping the bag in your hand, is to transfer air from the BCD into the bag. Lift from air in lungs=lift from air in BCD= lift from air in bag. If you add air to two places, you will be positive. If you just transfer air from place to place, you stay neutral. Right, and it's going from lung to bag. If I exhale into the bag my buoyancy doesn't change at all. Assume you're perfectly neutral with half filled lungs, so full lungs make you slightly positive, and empty ones slightly negative. 1. Inhale (slightly positive) 2. Exhale into the bag (no change) 3. Release bag (slightly negative, like you had just exhaled) 4. Reg back in and inhale, and you're back to normal. You're correct only if you're sitting around holding an inflated bag before releasing it. If you take a look at the video I posted you'll see all the checking for obstacles, etc happens before the bag is inflated.
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Apr 11, 2017 22:03
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I should post some pictures! These are from a night dive about a week ago. Visibility was about 3 feet, which is about the worst I've ever gone out in. We were diving under a wharf and had to use a compass to get from pillar to pillar. But there was cool stuff to see:  This (slightly out of focus) shrimp is full of eggs!  Only the second time I've seen squid in Monterey, and the first time one stuck around for a while. I think this is a Market Squid (Doryteuthis opalescens)  The squid coming very very close to being harbor seal food. I'm honestly not sure why he didn't get snatched up an instant after this picture was taken, but the seal just swam away. Maybe he was diving for it and missed, and couldn't find it again in the poo poo visibility? DeadlyMuffin fucked around with this message at 22:40 on Apr 11, 2017 |
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Apr 11, 2017 22:12
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With dive season about to start here, I just want to remind everyone to make sure your regs are serviced and tanks VIP'ed before it all goes crazy this summer  I'm scheduled for the Hyde and Markham on the 27th, and a double dip on the Hyde on the 29th that I can barely wait for! I've got a rescheduled wreck diver course floating around out there somewhere too, but that's likely to be next month. DeadlyMuffin posted:I should post some pictures! That seal giving up on the meal right in front of it is a drat fine pic! 
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Apr 11, 2017 22:47
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Icon Of Sin posted:With dive season about to start here, I just want to remind everyone to make sure your regs are serviced and tanks VIP'ed before it all goes crazy this summer Yeah, great timing! Lately I've been so spoiled by clear water that I'm not sure I could dive 3-ft vis anymore. I did it a few times off the Jersey Shore and once at Dutch springs (right after heavy rain), and it wasn't very fun.
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Apr 11, 2017 23:31
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Squashy Nipples posted:Yeah, great timing! In all honesty, I would've called it due to visibility but the buddies I was with were really gung-ho about doing the dive, plus I had the macro lens. Afterwards I was glad I did it though.
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Apr 12, 2017 02:11
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DeadlyMuffin posted:Negative buoyancy makes sense if you're trying to kneel on the bottom. To be honest it never occurred to me that kneeling was how it was trained. Even in my first open water classes the importance of staying off the bottom was beat into my head. You really haven't seen anyone perform or heard about the wing inflation method? Before crack bottle SMBs became mainstream and affordable this method was popular with rebreather divers who don't have the luxury of oral inflation without the risk of flooding their loop. I've dived with plenty of experienced divers who perform this method at depth without buoyancy issues (my brother is one of them). SMBs are normally deployed at the end of the dive so everyone is ascending and have to get rid of the BC air anyway.
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Apr 12, 2017 15:16
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Bangkero posted:Negative buoyancy for deployment also makes sense since it's safer than an uncontrolled ascent in unfavourable conditions, such as leading a dive that's gone to poo poo in an unexpected current that's sweeping you out into open ocean or a busy shipping lane (a good reason to deploy a SMB at depth). I get that you want to err towards negative, but I think anything but neutral is unsafe, or at least unsafe in some situations (I'm thinking of wall dives, or your example of getting blown away by a current). I don't think you should be changing depth during deployment. Bangkero posted:You really haven't seen anyone perform or heard about the wing inflation method? Before crack bottle SMBs became mainstream and affordable this method was popular with rebreather divers who don't have the luxury of oral inflation without the risk of flooding their loop. I've dived with plenty of experienced divers who perform this method at depth without buoyancy issues (my brother is one of them). SMBs are normally deployed at the end of the dive so everyone is ascending and have to get rid of the BC air anyway. What's a crack bottle SMB? A little CO2 tank? Never seen or heard of the wing inflation method, which is why I'm so curious. I don't dive with rebreather folks often though. I don't doubt it's possible, it just seems very foreign to me. I'll have to give it a try :-) I'll probably try with the drysuit hose first though, I think it's easier to get to, and less of a problem if I have trouble getting it back on. DeadlyMuffin fucked around with this message at 18:21 on Apr 12, 2017 |
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Apr 12, 2017 18:18
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Wing method is new to me too, not sure it's one I feel any need to try but it's interesting to learn about! Crack bottle DSMBs have a small 0.2l cylinder that can be refilled from a main cylinder. Slightly less wasteful than CO2 types. I've got one myself although I found it at 15m on a dive. It's awesome! Although bulky so not something that could go in a pocket. Actually BCDs in the UK used to have crack bottles as well as some emergency feature. It always struck me as one of those things they seemed like a better idea in theory than practice.
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Apr 12, 2017 18:39
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DeadlyMuffin posted:
My thoughts on SMB deployment is that the greater issue to address is entanglement vs. buoyancy and any method you choose is fine as long as you practice it on the regular and are comfortable with it. And anyone who teaches SMB deployment while kneeling is doing a disservice to their students. e: I should say that I favour the oral inflation method as well. The issue I have with the BC inflation method is that you can only inflate your SMB to as much air as you have in your BC - so you might not have enough air to inflate your SMB for it to be practically visible. Bangkero fucked around with this message at 20:22 on Apr 12, 2017 |
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Apr 12, 2017 20:17
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Re: Crack bottles: Short video here you can also get them in A-Clamp. Regarding neutral vs. negative buoyancy I think this is a general shift in attitude among divers partly due to better equipment and training standards being available. A lot of the idea that it's better to be slowly ascending down than up is the assumption that neutral buoyancy is something that is inherently difficult to maintain and most divers won't be able to to do it, definitely not in a situation where they are multitasking. I guess it was a way of thinking about buoyancy as a separate skill in addition to deploying a DSMB, clearing a mask or navigating. In the spirit of breaking things down to make it easier for the student, things were compartmentalised. Doing the skills kneeling was a progressive element, once students were able to do it that way they could start to incorporate buoyancy as well. I think that that's changed a lot, buoyancy is much more a necessary background position, a foundation needed for diving rather than one of the separate skills you put together as a diver. I think it's certainly a better way to dive and produces better divers, I'm not 100% sure whether it makes for safer divers. I'm not sure where they maintain diving safety records to know whether the sport is really becoming safer. I'm also not sure how good records are of training standards, that is how common the older 'kneel on the floor and do X' vs. 'do X while staying neutrally buoyant' is. I also wanted to note on the Octopus inflation method, if done correctly purging the octopus should fill the bag pretty quickly. It's quite possible to do while staying more or less neutrally buoyant, releasing the DSMB as soon as it starts to make you positively buoyant. The bigger issue with cold water is the possibility of having a freeflow, although again if it's a short burst that's probably not going to happen either. It is still fiddly as all hell if you're doing it by yourself (students are usually taught it first done in a pair, your buddy holds the DSMB while you have the reel and inflate it).
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Apr 12, 2017 22:20
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MrNemo posted:Re: Crack bottles: Short video here you can also get them in A-Clamp. Seems straightforward. Is A-Clamp ("yoke" in the states) more common than DIN? It's pretty standard in the US, although almost all tech divers use DIN. It's definitely the standard in the Caribbean and most other places I've traveled. Is BSAC a government organization? Diving here has very little to do with the government, certification is through independent agencies (PADI being the most common). I know the BSAC is headed by Prince William and recognized by the "sports council" which, to my American ears, sounds very strange.
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Apr 13, 2017 02:50
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It's definitely non governmental but has recognition in law as being a certifying body so basically outside validation. Generally this means there were some people who knew about them at the time legislation was being drawn up. Recognition by the sports council is a similar thing, basically saying they're well run and a genuine organisation with members. It's fairly common for large non profits and charities to attract royal patronage. Basically they're nominally heading it and turn up to find raisers every now and again. A clamp is fairly common but DIN is slowly becoming the standard. It's pretty much what you get on the continent, we tend to have DIN cylinders with slugs in them to be usable for yoke first stages.
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Apr 13, 2017 14:25
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Anyone ever wear a knee brace while diving? I hurt my knee two months ago, and while it's 98% healed, I'm considering wearing a brace while I dive on my upcoming vacation, more as a preventative measure then a therapeutic one. It's a neoprene sleeve with an internal metal support, so it should be waterproof. I figure that it will throw off my trim a tiny bit, but otherwise I can't think of any downsides. But will it get tighter or looser at depth when the neoprene compresses? pupdive posted:(If you are diving with a rash guard, it becomes a quick and dirty pocket for lots of stuff in a pinch!) A little late, but yeah, I love rash guards. Helps keep all my loose flab in place! Also, since I tend to spend anywhere from 4-8 hours a day out in the sun while on vacation, they save me a bundle on sun block.
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Apr 15, 2017 20:13
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No personal experience but i imagine it will get looser since it's the air bubbles in the neoprene that compresses, basically making the material thinner. No idea about the knee brace aspect.
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Apr 15, 2017 20:17
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Just found this thread. Got certified in open water just two weeks ago. I've loved every minute of it. I'm currently in south Florida for work and hoping to get a few more dives in until I leave end of June. Then working on a passport
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Apr 18, 2017 05:15
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Weebly posted:Just found this thread. Got certified in open water just two weeks ago. I've loved every minute of it. I'm currently in south Florida for work and hoping to get a few more dives in until I leave end of June. Then working on a passport Since you'll be pretty close, Bahamas and Grand Cayman would be great short diving trips. I've just left Cayman after 3 years there and there's a great diving community and the sites are well preserved. And the lionfish hasn't killed everything there yet.
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Apr 19, 2017 17:14
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No passport needed for the US Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico. The USVI has lots of Federally protected areas, too.
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Apr 19, 2017 18:32
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Finished OW today.  For FL goons, did Blue Grotto yesterday, 3 dives, and KP Hole / Rainbow River today, 1 dive. The dive today was fun, we had a boat ride up river, threw our stuff in and geared up. Drifted down for about an hour. Dried off, tore everything down and packed up, and got signed off.
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Apr 23, 2017 22:35
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The Electronaut posted:Finished OW today. Rainbow River is a fun drift, glad you got to do it! The Grotto is fun too, if the sediment isn't very kicked up it's really peaceful down with the mermaid
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Apr 23, 2017 22:42
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Has anyone done shore based diving in the Galapagos? How was it and any recommendations for an operator? I'll be in Ecuador and thinking of diving there but liveaboards are unfortunately out because my girlfriend is new to diving, OW and maybe 2 more dives by the time we plan to go, and everything I've read says that a significant number of the liveaboard dives are pretty advances and not suitable for someone new.
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Apr 24, 2017 04:02
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asur posted:Has anyone done shore based diving in the Galapagos? How was it and any recommendations for an operator? I'll be in Ecuador and thinking of diving there but liveaboards are unfortunately out because my girlfriend is new to diving, OW and maybe 2 more dives by the time we plan to go, and everything I've read says that a significant number of the liveaboard dives are pretty advances and not suitable for someone new. I only have second hand info for diving in Galapagos, one friend doing some shore-based diving, one a liveaboard to Darwin/Wolf islands. Darwin/Wolf sounds like it was more impressive - whale sharks, hammerhead congregations, good coral etc, but the shore based still sounded good - still plenty of sharks, some manta rays, seals and marine iguanas. Not sure about operators for diving. I've only done non-diving activities on the Galapagos, but it was still very impressive and interesting. From my experience, you're right about live-aboards being better suited for more advanced divers. Given, you're going to basically doing nothing apart from diving, its better that you know you're really into diving and are a bit more comfortable in the water, which takes a bit more time than just the OW classes. Plus as far as I remember, the diving liveaboards all go to Wolf/Darwin, which means you miss out on the land based activities on the southern Islands. On another track, has anyone had any experience with Raja Ampat or Komodo diving, particularly liveaboards? I've been looking at a liveaboard to one of the two next year. My preferrred time of year is Feb/March so Raja Ampat seems like the better choice, but could possible move it to mid year if Komodo was the better choice. Colourful and diverse coral is what I want to see as first priority, but wouldn't say no to Mantas/other pelagics and general fish biodiversity.
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Apr 24, 2017 08:02
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Trip report: Tulamben, Bali. It's quite nice, a bit rustic but the diving is amazing. The Liberty Wreck is huge and ten dives are not enough to see it all. The hardpan and slopes just off shore (5m-15m) are full of life. Everywhere we go, we find new things. There's a small statue garden right off shore that's always super busy with divers. Only con: It's far from everywhere and lacks in finding equipment locally easily. We've lost two masks and each time we had to walk quite a bit to find replacements - most dive resorts (and they're everywhere) have very limited stuff to sell, if anything at all. We've been at Matahari for the past two weeks and we still have ten days left. The dive staff are good and help us find macro life. I'll just post a few shots I've taken since I've been in Tulamben. I'm using an Olympus TG-4 with a YS-03 strobe.   Harlequin shrimps!  Mantis shrimp!        I love nudibranchs!
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Apr 25, 2017 05:46
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I went to the Bahamas' with the Sea explorer. For me it was like 4 years ago that I did some diving. It was fun and everything went well. One of the guys with us is actual a very good underwater photographer he is going for the world championship this year. Here are some pictures he made from this trip http://www.raymondwennekes.com/bahamas2017
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Apr 25, 2017 07:37
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Question for other divers: does anyone actually use those defogging spray/products? I just saw one of those 'tips for diving trips you never thought of' and one was that there's some plant in Hawaii you can use in place of mask defogger. Was this a joke? I ask because it's a fairly common joke in the UK that American divers all use expensive mask defogger sprays (because they're soft consumerists). I've only ever seen people spit in their mask so I assumed it was an unfair stereotype but now I'm not sure if that article was being serious.
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Apr 25, 2017 21:31
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Spotting in my mask doesn't work for me, and the shop I work for gave me a few old bottles of the gel-style defog so I just use that.
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Apr 25, 2017 22:27
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Anything that is a surfactant or water-displacing agent, and is eye-safe, will work. Anything oily, including certain plants with oily leaves, can work, as well as anything to lower the surface tension of the water, such as soap and sometimes spit (depending on how watery vs. mucusy your spit is). I've almost always gotten along with spit, but even if that doesn't work, you definitely don't need to spend a lot of money on fancy products. Just get some baby shampoo and use that. Just a tiny dab and some water, swirl that around, and don't wash the soap off too much. I met a guy once who swore by iceplant, which grows pretty much everywhere along the California coast. You just break open a leaf and rub a little in there. Not sure how well that works since I'd imagine a succulent being more watery than oily; IDK.
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Apr 26, 2017 00:51
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Baby shampoo for my wife. Some wax / spray for me because baby shampoo makes me barf. Haven't tried spit, probably won't...
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Apr 26, 2017 00:53
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Spit is the only thing that has never failed me. My current mask came with a bottle of stuff that I've never opened. American here, BTW. I've used the spray bottle on the dive boat occasionally, but I always end up spitting in it anyway.
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Apr 26, 2017 03:13
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Yeah, my understanding was it's largely a matter of simply cleaning the mask and the physical action o is the most important part. Spit, rub and rinse has always worked perfectly for me, I actually want are it didn't work for everyone. Although I do know one particularly fastidious person who insists on using baby shampoo, diluted with water in a spray bottle. It seems a lot of extra work to me though...
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Apr 26, 2017 05:13
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Senso posted:Trip report: Tulamben, Bali. Great pics! Seems you saw a lot more stuff than I did when I went there. Is that a wunderpus? Lucky you if so.
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Apr 26, 2017 07:19
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I've used spit, and it works alright, but 50/50 baby shampoo and distilled water, rinsed with seawater once in the water works better for me.
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Apr 26, 2017 16:30
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MrNemo posted:Question for other divers: does anyone actually use those defogging spray/products? I just saw one of those 'tips for diving trips you never thought of' and one was that there's some plant in Hawaii you can use in place of mask defogger. Was this a joke? I use spit, but "sea drops" or bottles of diluted soap or shampoo aren't uncommon. I think the drops are a bit silly, but I think the bottle is around $5 and lasts ages so it's hard to get too excited about. If there's a mask rinse bucket on a boat then generally people prefer you use soap or drops if you're going to rinse your mask out in the bucket, and that if you spit in your mask you either splash water into it from the bucket or do it off the back of the boat. I think it has more to do with American squeamishness than consumerism, but they're both pretty silly. DeadlyMuffin fucked around with this message at 05:33 on Apr 27, 2017 |
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Apr 27, 2017 05:27
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DeadlyMuffin posted:I use spit, but "sea drops" or bottles of diluted soap or shampoo aren't uncommon. I think the drops are a bit silly, but I think the bottle is around $5 and lasts ages so it's hard to get too excited about. If there's a mask rinse bucket on a boat then generally people prefer you use soap or drops if you're going to rinse your mask out in the bucket, and that if you spit in your mask you either splash water into it from the bucket or do it off the back of the boat. Spitting in your mask and rinsing in the bucket is extremely gross and an excellent way to never get invited on that boat again. I prefer the gel stuff but have used the spray. Both work better than spit which washes away very easily. The gel stuff can last multiple trips once you apply a coat. It leaves a milky layer when dry, but when you dip in water it clears right up and stays that way all day.
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Apr 27, 2017 15:23
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I'm heading to Blue Heron Bridge this weekend, anyone have experience there?
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Apr 27, 2017 16:04
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Considering you're swimming in an ocean filled with poo poo, piss, and cum, spit is pretty not bad on the scale of gross things about diving.
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Apr 27, 2017 16:27
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Trivia posted:Considering you're swimming in an ocean filled with poo poo, piss, and cum, spit is pretty not bad on the scale of gross things about diving. Yup. I do use both the mask bucket and spit, but I don't spit in the mask and THEN put it in the bucket... it goes in the bucket after the dive, when I've already rinsed it with salt water before and after the dive. Speaking of poo poo in the ocean, I like watching the parrot fish poo poo. It's sand being born!
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Apr 27, 2017 17:38
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Trivia posted:Considering you're swimming in an ocean filled with poo poo, piss, and cum, spit is pretty not bad on the scale of gross things about diving. I'm not worried about spit in the ocean, but the infections that can be transmitted through spit in a bucket. I get sinus and upper respiratory infections pretty easily and would rather not rinse my mask in a cesspool of other people's pathogens. Similarly I don't worry about poop in the ocean (i do it all the time  ) but I would definitely worry about a turd floating around the mask bucket.Squashy Nipples posted:Yup. I do use both the mask bucket and spit, but I don't spit in the mask and THEN put it in the bucket... it goes in the bucket after the dive, when I've already rinsed it with salt water before and after the dive. This seems OK tho.
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Apr 27, 2017 17:46
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I just got back from The Juliet sailing/diving trip out of Miami -> Bahamas last week. Had a really fun time. I would probably recommend going in June/July so it's a bit warmer, but overall it was great. Saw a ton of sharks, including one hammerhead.
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Apr 27, 2017 17:52
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Yeah, I see what you mean. Makes sense. Though I always just thought that people would scoop water into the mask then dump it on the floor. That's what I do anyway.
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Apr 27, 2017 19:56
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