The benefits of controlling buoyancy have a great positive effect on the enjoyment a diver has in the water. Good buoyancy control helps with a divers confidence, air consumption, and is overall better the marine environment.
Who this course is for:
- The certified diver looking to improve and/or fine-tune their buoyancy to prevent damage to the underwater world.
Course prerequisites:
- This is not an agency offered specialty certification course, it is an instructor lead refinement of skills. Its purpose is to help divers fine tune buoyancy and achieve confidence in their diving skills.
What you can expect to learn:
By refining buoyancy a diver can expect to learn:
- About the positive affects of good buoyancy such as:
- Don’t touch the aquatic life, save the environment
- Less fatigue, less effort required, more fun
- Reduced air consumption = more bottom time
- Able to control buoyancy = better pictures or video
- When must a buoyancy check be performed?
- When equipment is changed
- When diving environment is changed
- Have not been diving for a while
- During every dive
- Buoyancy factors
- Additional equipment; photo, video, extra cylinder, extra equipment, dive lights, etc
- Cylinder weight changes during a dive as air is consumed from the cylinder, dependent on cylinder size
- Using lungs vs. BCD.
- Staying physically fit
- Breathing patterns and technique
- Compression of suit due to water pressure
- Weights – position and distribution and what impact that may have
- Streamlining equipment
- Efficient kicking style
- Practicing your skills
- How to perform a standard buoyancy check; with an almost empty cylinder
Some of the skills you will cover include:
- Assembling of dive equipment
- Pre-dive check
- Perform a pre-dive buoyancy check with almost empty cylinder
- Adjust weight to achieve correct buoyancy
- Change cylinder and use a full cylinder
- Do a pre-dive buoyancy check with full cylinder
- Controlled descent
- Hovering exercises
- Fine-tune with breath control
- Fine-tune with BCD or dry suit
- Close to bottom exercises, no touch
- Swimming exercises
- Ascent that includes a safety stop hovering; simulate safety stop if in pool
- Log dive, noting the amount of weight used
- Change to a full cylinder
- Do a pre-dive buoyancy check with the full cylinder
- Controlled descent
- Hovering exercises
- Fine-tune with breath control
- Fine-tune with BCD or dry suit
- Close to bottom exercises, no touch
- Ascent that includes a safety stop hovering; simulate safety stop if in pool
- Log dive, noting the amount of weight used