dive #: 27

Es Cucó

Back in Sóller for our second day of diving. This time with better weighting and trying nitrox for the first time!

Weighting

I dove the 12l a steel tank, 7m wetsuit, in the salt water with six kg lead. My buoyancy was smooth. Unlike diving with 5kgs I was able to stay negativity buoyant near the end of the dive. Much more comfortable safety stop then the previous day.

Having the correct amount of weight meant I could stay at a given depth and hover okay. Unfortunately, I was unable to easily hold good diving posture. My legs kept sinking and my torso rising. I was diving a configuration of four kg on the belt and two kg in the trim pocket on the tank cam band. Perhaps this configuration with weights on the back just does not work for me.

This time Masha dove with four kgs and had less issues descending at the start of the dive. Still once down she thinks three kg would be more comfortable.

Nitrox impressions

We both took the PADI enriched air diver course on our trip to Greece earlier this year. Funny enough the nitrox compressor of the the dive shop we took the course at was out of order. So this was our first time preparing and breathing nitrox.

While loading the boat up we were handed cylinders labeled Nitrox 32. One of the guides showed us how to use the portable gas checker. First one scoops normal air and calibrates the device to it to 0.21. Then with the cap on and pressed firmly into the cylinder nozzle you turn the valve letting a small air stream press against the device. The numbers slowly climb 0.21, 0.25, 0.32. Upon reaching 0.32 and not going over you know the gas is correct and safe to breath. We checked our next cylinders ourselves.

Nitrox 32 is air with 32% oxygen instead of the normal 21%. In theory it should make the work of breathing underwater easier and allow for longer no deco times. I couldn’t tell the difference. If fact if anything I got a headache. Masha reported feeling she used it up faster.

The dive log export from my dive computer states as max PO2 level of ~1.2. Maybe my body is just not use to this. Will try nitrox again. It may become important if in the future we get into deco diving.