Posted by Wayne on December 03, 2001 at 16:58:21:
In Reply to: Re: entry procedures posted by George Austin on December 03, 2001 at 12:49:13:
You said:
"A properly weighted diver is positive at the surface. Without a drop of air in the BC. "
Here is why I disagree. During the dive I will breath several pounds of air and be several pounds lighter by the end of he dive. I want to be neutral for a safety stop at the end of the dive -- not actively swimming down or hanging on to kelp or an anchor line.
This means that at the beginning of the dive I will be slightly negative with an empty BC. (ignoring the contribution of the lungs for this explanation)
Granted far too many divers have enough lead to sink themself and their buddy, but I strongly believe it is best to optimize weighting for the end of the dive and therefore guarantee that a final stop at 15-20 is always convenient and possible.
Also I always keep my reg in and encourage others to do the same. I do not fear the embolism from waves for two main reasons. First, if the waves are large enough to do damage, I am not doing a surf entry. Second, when ducking under a wave it is important to stay against the sand and this means I exhale when I duck under.
Rich and his group do an interesting hand paddle on the back that works better than I would have expected. I dove with them at Deadmans last spring and hope to get a chance to dive with them again. I just prefer to do boats since all those stairs in gear kills by old beat up knees.
Wayne