Are you Hydrodynamic? BC Basics Part II
Photo: Pixabay By Fred Stratton Instructor & Repair Technician fred@bubblesornot.com Are you an underwater sports car, sleek and streamlined? Streamlining our scuba kit helps us to glide through the water (efficient and relaxing) rather than lumbering along using brute strength (inefficient and exhausting). Tucking our scuba tools and accessories into pockets or securing them close to our bodies is necessary to reduce hydrodynamic drag. Reducing our profile minimizes the likelihood of damaging (or losing) our gear or the environment. A dangling light or SPG can get caught in a coral head and snap off branches that took decades to grow. We explored the history, variety, evolution and functionality of BCs in February. Now we’ll discuss BCs as a platform for mounting a range of diving accessories in the most hydrodynamically efficient manner possible. We'll approach each section based on general groupings of dive environments we encounter. Every