I tapped my contents gauge, thinking it must be faulty. My buddy had 50 bar left in his 12 litre cylinder. It was obvious that my gear configuration had been wrong for the past few years. If they look carefully at their gear they will probably become gas misers rather than air pigs. With my new configuration I have also managed to drop 4lb from my weightbelt, which proves that even older, experienced ex-commercial divers can still learn.
Diving is a constant learning curve.
He expresses disappointment that such techniques are not mentioned in the manuals. A diver who becomes accustomed to a raised level of CO2 with repeated exposure to higher levels can become more hypercapnoeic in the future. Hypercapnia can result in disorientation, dizziness, unsteadiness, sweaty forehead and palms, flushing, muscular twitching, inco-ordination and confusion. Headaches can occur during the dive and remain for several hours after. These symptoms might be noticeable on dry land but not necessarily during a dive in the cooling environment of the water, with the diver working hard and concentrating on other things.