Day 2 with Rick Simon: Diving Skills
My second day with Rick we dove at familiar dive site, Fort Wetherill. This day was dedicated to practicing new skills such as fin maneuvers, properly using my new reel, and deploying surface marker buoys. I learned how to use my fins to frog kick and even move in reverse. These techniques can be useful when a diver wants to minimize fin movement and silt stir-up. I also learned the best way to tie off a reel, keep it from dragging on the bottom, and use it to navigate underwater. We also practiced using surface marker buoys. It took me a few tries to get a feel for how much air the bladders should hold before releasing, but shooting the buoys to the surface was lots of fun. Finally, we calculated my underwater breathing rate known more formally as a Surface Air Consumption (SAC) rate. We calculated this rate both in a standard swimming situation and in a case of full exertion. These rates are important to know when planning a dive, for you can determine how quickly you will consume your air depending on the expected conditions. I learned a lot from diving with Rick and I thank him for both his time and investment in me as a diver.
