Do you consistently
run through your gas supply faster than other divers on the boat? Do you
frequently have to end the dive before the rest of the group?
Here
stretchers to try, starting with the obvious first step.
Fix the Small Leaks
Even a tiny stream of
bubbles from an O-ring swivel adds up over 40 minutes, and may
be a sign of more serious trouble ahead anyway. Ask your buddy to look behind
you to be sure. A mask that doesn't seal is another kind of leak in that you
have to constantly blow air into it to clear out the water. It's also a source
of stress, which needlessly elevates your breathing rate and thereby reduces
your breathing efficiency.
Dive More
Inexperienced divers
are famous for burning through their air supply at a furious rate. The reason
is anxiety. A new diver is understandably nervous, and his body's automatic
response to danger is to raise his metabolism, his heart rate and his breathing
rate. It's hard-wired, the body revving its engine to be ready for fight or
flight, though the result is a lot of air cycled through his lungs but never
used, just dumped into the ocean.
Take a Class
Any class, almost,
will reduce your gas consumption just by making you feel more accomplished and
therefore more comfortable. But the best bet is probably a class to improve
your weighting and buoyancy control. When you get that dialed in, you can
control your altitude mostly with your lungs, so you're not squirting that
valuable gas into your BC and then venting it to the ocean. Most important, you
can now forget (nearly) about the mechanics of diving, drift like a fish, and
relax.
Swim Slowly
The energy cost of
speed is even more than you might think because it's an exponential function
proportional to the square of the speed. So swimming twice as fast requires
four times as much energy and air. But the reverse is true, too: Swim half as
fast as you do now, and you'll use only one-fourth as much air.
Minimize the Lead
If you're over weighted,
you have to put more air into your BC to float it and be neutral. The inflated
BC is larger and requires more energy and oxygen to push it through the water.
An extra eight pounds
of lead means your BC is one gallon bigger when inflated enough to make you
neutral. Imagine the extra effort of having to push a gallon-sized water jug
through the water.
Adjust Your Trim
If your body is
horizontal in the water, when you swim forward, your legs and fins will pass
through the "hole" in the water made by your head and shoulders.
You'll disturb less water and expend less energy and air. Adjust your trim by
moving some lead from your hips to your back--to trim pockets on your BC or to
your tank.
Seek Neutral Buoyancy
Always being exactly
neutral is the key. If you're not, if you're slightly heavy or light, you're
constantly using fin power (and air) to maintain a constant depth. If you're
not neutral, you can't glide between fin strokes and you can't hang
effortlessly.
Streamline Your Gear
All fast-swimming
fish have smooth skins with few or no protuberances. That minimizes drag so
they can swim with the least energy and oxygen consumption. Divers, by
contrast, have rough, convoluted surfaces with all sorts of attachments from
scuba tanks to whistles. Anything disturbing the flow of water past your body
creates drag and wastes air.
Streamline Your
Movements
Keep your arms close
to your body. Straighten your legs and keep them as close together as your fins
will allow. Kick with short strokes so your fins stay within the slipstream of
your body. Some fins do require a wider stroke so you have to compromise between
efficient propulsion and streamlining. But usually you're better off finning
faster instead of wider.
Get in Shape
Diving can be
surprisingly strenuous because water is so much denser than air. Swimming into
a current, it's not difficult to elevate your breathing to the very wasteful
rate of huffing and puffing. But even much lower levels of exertion will cause
your breathing rate to rise. How much it rises and how soon depends mostly on
your aerobic conditioning. A diver in better condition will have less increase
when the workload goes up, so he will use less air. The other part of getting
in shape is to lose fat and achieve a more streamlined shape.
About Author- The author of this blog has done research on diving in goa.
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