Slowing down wouldn't be a problem for me. Our DM swims sooooo slow
that I hardly need to fin to catch up to her. She loved the frog kick -
kick then glide for a long long time before kicking again. But I liked it,
it gave me time to really look around the spot before moving on again.
   For the weights, I plan to reduce it to just 6 pounds on my next trip. I
used 8 pounds in the recent one and I needed to pump up my BCD about 2 - 3
times to stay neutral (at times for some reason I need 4 'pumps'). At the
end of the dive (about 60 bars left) I think I needed 1 - 2 pumps to keep
from sinking.


- Angelo





                    Michael Levy
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                    09/05/01 09:03
                    PM
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  . On Wed, 5 Sep 2001 17:29:29 +0800 Angelo Pardinas
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Many other good comments have already been made about taking slow deep
breaths...

>    The second problem was my air consumption - I was going in with about
> 200 bar and coming out with only 40-60 bar while the others still had 150
> bar left !! Well I have some ideas on why this is happening to me
(shallow
> and rapid breathing, kept on adjusting my buoyancy using the BCD).
Anyway,

The need to keep adjusting your BCD may suggest you are carrying too much
weight on your belt.... check to see if at the end of your dive with a low
tank you can remain stationary at 15 feet [5 m] safety stop with no air in
your BCD... if you sink or need to fin to stay there take off some lead.

> can you guys comment on this suggestion from Rodale's Scuba Diving :
>
> http://www.scubadiving.com/training/instruction/saveair.shtml
>
> The first suggestion was for a breathing pattern of exhale, inhale, hold,
> exhale, inhale, hold .... I know I asked something similar like this
before
> : Is this ok - to hold the breath ? I mean since I'm not rising or
anything
> I assume it's okay - I just want to hear your opinions before I consider
> trying this on my next dive trip.

The above has some value, though I find that often new divers tend to
extend
the pause too long by concentrating on it *only* and end up worse off than
if
they had done nothing.
The key is to slow all your processes down while diving and this only comes
with time and true mental relaxation from one's internal confidence....
strive
to be the slowest diver in the pack! Then all the critters will be looking
out
again just as you arrive at their space.  ;-)
Till you get to that stage Angelo, which may take you another 20 dives or
so,
you can try the technique of exhaling by making a humming sound as you
exhale
[the act of humming will slow down your exhalation rate and your inhalation
rate may follow too]... not too loud now as you may annoy nearby divers. :
-)

Michael
--
Divers know the true meaning of peace of mind.