BSAC have recently launched a workshop on buoyancy. Increased emphasis on how important buoyancy is can only be a good thing, as once you’ve sorted that out, so many other things become so much easier. Diving becomes more enjoyable, more comfortable, and, above all, safer. You’re less likely to stir the silt up inside a wreck, and you’re less likely to kick lumps out of the reef with your fins. It seems to be one of the basic skills which is most difficult to master. Some people are naturals, but for the rest of us I’ve always felt that there is no real substitute for practice.
So is this workshop a substitute for practice? Well, I can’t say for sure as I’ve not participated in one. But it sounds as though it directs practice to where it gives the best results. It consists of:
- A 2 hour theory lesson covering correct weighting, position in the water, trim, breathing and gear configuration
- Minimum of 2 open water dives which cover a variety of skills including moving one metre from the bottom without stirring it up, horizontal positioning without finning, fine-tuning buoyancy control through breathing alone
To encourage a bit of healthy competition, there is also a buoyancy challenge with the following grades for staying within certain limits for 3 minutes:
- Bronze: + or – 2 metres
- Silver: + or – 1 metre
- Gold: + or – 0.5 metre
- Black: + or – 0.3 metre
Anything that improves buoyancy can only be a good thing, but I still think lots of practice are still the key.
You can read more about it from BSAC’s website.
