How to Tell a Good Diver from a Bad Diver
Buoyancy! Having the proper buoyancy is the definition of being a good diver. When you go on a dive the Divemasters are watching you as you glide over the reef. If you ‘re having a problem gliding and look like a human yo-yo chances are the rest of the dive sites won’t be that great. Divemasters don’t want to take divers who are smashing into the reef, or kicking up bottom, to pristine dive sites. This is why Peak Performance Buoyancy (PPB) is so important. Learning the fundamentals of diving so you can explore the underwater world is a good start. However, learning to be a good diver so you can explore the best of the underwater world should be your goal.
How Your Peak Performance Buoyancy Course Works
You will begin your Peak Performance Buoyancy course by determining how much weight you really need. Most new divers are over-weighted. Being over-weighted requires you to compensate more with your BCD. In turn, you will create more drag which takes more energy to get through the water. Subsequently, this will cause you to breathe the air in your tank down faster and make for shorter dives. Once you have figured out the correct weight you will work on trim. Distributing your weight properly allows you to be perfectly balanced in the water. The goal is to streamline, produce less drag and increase efficiency for better air consumption and maintaining those fragile reefs!
Diving Devil's Throat in Cozumel? You're going to need perfect buoyancy. What about going into the wreck of the Kittiwake in Grand Cayman? You'll probably want better buoyancy for that too.Better buoyancy control not only reduces your air consumption, it gets you to better dive sites!
Dive Training Magazine's article, DEFYING GRAVITY: THE NUANCES OF NEUTRAL BUOYANCY, touches on the hows and whys of great buoyancy that you will master during your PPB class.
Peak performance Buoyancy is a great addition to the Open Water Scuba Diver course. Why not come out of the gates being a good diver with perfect buoyancy?
