TIL I had been breathing wrong for 8 years of diving

Was reading a dive physics paper last night and realized I was finning against my own airflow on ascents. Took a dive buddy in Port Fourchon pointing out my tank pressure dropping 300 psi faster than his for that to click. Has anyone else had a basic skill suddenly make way more sense years in?

2 comments

2 Comments

faith_lopez4814h ago

Started finning way too hard on a safety stop once and my air just vanished. Buddy grabbed my fin and shook his head, then showed me how slow and steady finning actually lets you rise with less effort. Turned out I was basically fighting myself to stay down while pulling myself up at the same time. That little fix saved me almost 500 psi on a deep dive. Did you trim your fins differently after that?

johns1811h ago

Yeah @faith_lopez48 that little finning tweak was a game changer for sure. Slowed way down after watching some videos of seals just casually floating around and realized I looked like a drowning octopus all churning and going nowhere. Trimmed my fins by actually switching to split fins for a while but went back to paddle fins once I just learned to relax. Funny how the harder you work the less you actually move, kind of like trying to push a rope. Buddy of mine still calls me "The Human Eggbeater" when I forget and start thrashing on deco stops.