Problems with initial descent can be due to mild anxiety. If your last dive was a while ago it’s normal to be a bit apprehensive. Also, you may be using rental equipment which is unfamiliar to you. Your divemaster may be rushing you to descend quickly before the current catches you. All these things add to the nerves. When we are nervous our heart rate rises and we breathe more heavily. Breaths become shallow and the lungs fill with air. This is all natural instinct taking over in the face of what is the very unnatural act of breathing underwater. The other natural instinct on the surface of the water is to kick the legs to stay afloat. I often see divers trying to descend while at the same time bicycle kicking with their legs. They don’t realize that they are doing it and of course they can’t get down.

Removing the stressors can be done in several ways. Having your own equipment which is all familiar to you will help a lot. So will diving regularly. How often have you looked at your pressure gauge just 5 minutes into the first dive of a dive vacation and been amazed that nearly half your air has gone already? You wonder if there is a leak somewhere and spend the rest of the dive stressing about it which probably uses even more air. Subsequent dives are better because you are back in the swing of diving again and not stressed at the start of the dive. This is one reason why DM’s have better air consumption, they dive every day and are relaxed from the second that they enter the water.  Every time you dive in a new location you need at least one dive to sort your weighting out, especially if you are using a different thickness of wetsuit than usual.

Not kicking as you start to descend will obviously help you to get down. It’s easier to descend feet first. Stiffening the body and raising both arms above the head as you take a long breath out should get you under. Once you get about a metre below, the descent will become easier. Now that you are not over weighted you should find that you need to put little, if any, air in your BCD to achieve neutral buoyancy.

Equipment and Trim:

We’ve already mentioned the benefit of having your own equipment that you are familiar with. It will mean that you have a good idea how much weight you should wear and it should mean that your gear is well maintained with no annoying little bubbles coming from inflator hoses or free flowing octopuses. A well serviced second stage will require less effort to suck in the air. A balanced regulator will have less resistance at depth.

Your BCD should fit correctly and you should have the necessary clips to keep gauges streamlined underwater. Dangling equipment causes resistance so only carry what you need.

Continued >>

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