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photo: john noftall

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PATCHES:

Successful Buoyancy Control
begins with:
"A Symbolic Amputation of the HANDS!"

Using hands "for propulsion or stability" is the....
HALLMARK of a Substandard Diver!

We mentor fundamental skills; buoyancy control and frog kick. Those are the skills we do best. Those are the skills that we share with other divers.
When we see someone sculling it isn't about us finding a GOTCHA Moment!

But we still know what that diver doesn't know.

He/she....just told us with HAND SIGNALS!

More than just a GOTCHA!

"LOOK....NO HANDS!" has been our motto since we can't remember when. Now we read more and more stuff about not using hands while diving. This is a new phenomenon! Some of the explanations, that we have read, are quite imaginative; like how "dangerous" your hands are to others i.e. "you might knock someone's mask off" or "the fish won't like you" if you are always waving your hands around.
We don't post on the message boards and seldom visit there unless we are following a trail of a specific subject. We do know there is a debate. A few people believe, as we do, that any amount of Sculling should be TABOO. Others get really offended because they feel like "a little bit" of sculling or sculling "once in a while" should be permitted.

HERE'S WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER SCULL: Not because you offend the fish and not because you could disrupt your buddy's gear. AND not for the plethora of other reasons that we read about on the internet. Yes it does waste energy and gas but experts who feel the need to index a longer list in order to make it appear that they know more about the subject are all wet. You shouldn't SCULL because it forces you to learn different and more productive methods of negotiating , what is for us, an alien world. Learn to use your breathing and exploit the full potential of your fins.

These are the componants that identify a truly skilled diver. SCULLING is a crutch! A crutch that is not very efficient. It is wasted effort...IT'S THAT SIMPLE and if you are trying for multiple creative reasons to explain or index why hands shouldn't be employed for swimming while diving, you may have missed the point?

We know, when we see someone scull, that they don't know what we know about Buoyancy Control! We don't know it so that we can shame them or blow a whistle or a horn and declare A FOUL!

"THE BICYCLE & UNICYCLE ANALOGY"

The guy on the unicycle (right) is a much better Buoyancy MENTOR than he is a unicycle rider. He was already old when he started teaching himself to ride. The bad news is that the falls numbered in four figures. The good news is that most falls end with the "would be" rider on his/her feet. SO....this "geriatric dive instructor" persisted and, although it wasn't always pretty he became a unicycle rider. His longest ride (ever) was 900 feet. Staying up for 50 feet qualifies as a ride.
The point is, of course, that in order to make an educated comparison of two different activities it is best to have some experience with both. We believe that standard has been met.
SO....Learning to ride a unicycle is not easy. It is much more difficult than learning to ride a bicycle. When the guy to the right was learning to ride a bicycle, his father's 1951 De Soto was in the driveway so it is possible that he might have trouble recalling that task. The point is: Learning Exceptional Buoyancy Control SKILLS: IS NOT EASY! Learning to ride a unicycle: IS NOT EASY!

THE DIFFERENCE: Most people, even people who can't ride a bicycle and more people who can ride a bicycle have no trouble recognizing the difference in skill level that is required to ride on just one wheel. "Almost Everyone" understands unicycle skills when they see them.
NOT SO: With Buoyancy Control! FIRST there are few examples, of good buoyancy skills, within the current SCUBA Instructor Corps, because substandard SCUBA Fundamental Skills are common in Recreational Diving! Most divers want to believe that their Buoyancy Control Skills are: "GOOD ENOUGH" for them to be able to pursue any path to glory that they choose.

OF COURSE THE TRUTH IS:

There's no such thing as Buoyancy Control SKILLS that are: "GOOD ENOUGH"