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Chapter 3- Diving Skills Diving Skills 55 You perform the displacement clear by using the following steps: 1. Tilt your head back so you are looking straight up when you are ready to ascend from your dive. 2. Swim to the surface, keeping your head tilted back. 3. Exhale slowly into your snorkel as you approach the surface. The air displaces the water as you ascend. 4. Tilt your head forward to look face down into the water as your head breaks the surface. 5. Inhale. You should not have any water left in your snorkel. Verify What You Have Learned Review the following questions about using your mask, snorkel, and fins: 1. If you must walk in fins, you must walk ______________________________. 2. To prevent losing your balance when donning fins, you can ___________________ or ____________________________. 3. Two recommended methods of clearing your snorkel are ______________________ and __________________________. 4. The _________________ clear of your snorkel requires the least amount of energy. ASSEMBLING SCUBA EQUIPMENT You must know how to assemble your own gear for diving. Your gear includes your cylinder, buoyancy compensator (BC), and regulator as well as your weight belt. Remember that as a responsible diver, no one is responsible for the proper assembly and operation of your equipment except you. Assembling Your Scuba Unit Your scuba unit consists of your cylinder, BC, and regulator. By using the following steps, you will soon be able to set up your scuba unit correctly and efficiently. An instructor or divemaster can easily tell whether someone is an experienced diver just from the way they set up their gear. To assemble your scuba unit, use the following steps: 1. Place your cylinder in front of you with the on/ off knob to your right, and the opening where the air comes out of the valve facing away from you. 2. Pull the dust cap off of the scuba cylinder valve and check for the presence of the O-ring in the cylinder valve. 3. Wet the tank strap of your BC if water is easily accessible. 4. Pick up your BC with the shoulder straps in your hands and the tank strap facing you. 5. Slip the tank strap over the cylinder and move it down the cylinder until it is at the correct height. Your instructor will show you the correct placement for your BC’s tank strap (figure 3-18). If the strap is too low, your first stage will hit your head during your dive. If the strap is too high, the cylinder will be too low on your back. This position might throw you off balance, and it will be difficult for you to reach your second stage hose at the first stage to recover a lost regulator. 6. Tighten the tank strap and secure it. Your instructor will show you the correct operation of your tank strap fastener. FIGURE 3-17. THE DISPLACEMENT CLEAR REPLACES THE WATER IN THE SNORKEL WITH AIR, IN PART, BECAUSE THE AIR EXPANDS AS YOU ASCEND.


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