Do I have a problem? Tell me if there's a problem. =-)

[Interceptor121]

When student divers will use dry suits during Open Water Training Dives, they must complete a confined water dry suit orientation session prior to any open water training.
This is not an opinion this is a standard. You already have a lot to take on during the first open water dive you definitely don't want to add the drysuit to your list of potential issues.
Besides the instructor should have trained you in the pool on at least one technique to avoid a feet up runaway ascent especially important if your OW conditions were difficult
You should go back to the shop and pretend to have proper dry suit training and then try again to complete the course. You are nearly there no point giving up as the reason for your failure is your instructor breaching standards.
I don't care if he had some form of justification your course could have gone much worst and completely put you off diving because of one person taking short cuts

I agree with DCBC about a PADI QA unfortunately you will be given the questionnaire only when you get certified and you have a student number, you need to do something before that time

The story of the tank closed and so on is a minor issue in the general context and I would think you now know that you check with your buddy and yourself before entering the water...

 

[DCBC]

The story of the tank closed and so on is a minor issue in the general context and I would think you now know that you check with your buddy and yourself before entering the water...

I'm not trying to be argumentative Interceptor, but if it resulted in some level of panic at 25', I wouldn't call it a minor issue. Nevertheless, this should never have occurred. Where was the predive inspection? What were the Buddy, DM and Instructor doing? Obviously not their jobs...

 

[SkimFisher]

you should look into getting a BP/W.................

To the OP -

That class sounds like it was a real cluster****. It sounds like you had more than a few bad experiences your first time around - so way to stick with it.

As it pertains to your tank valve being closed - I always check my own valve. Even after I ask my buddy to check it, I recheck it. I'm always the last person to touch my valve. Think about how many times in everyday life someone doesn't know how to unscrew a lightbulb or loosen a bolt...am I really going to put my life in the hands of "rightsy-tightsy, lefty-loosey"? Your instructors and DM's should have been on top of this though being that you were/are a new diver in her first class. I won't fault you for it. But now you see how the buddy system can fail!

Being that it wasn't fully closed it sounds like someone might have thought they were opening it and then turned it half a turn back as is common practice.

 

[lavachickie]

Good luck with everything, now & in the future, but honestly why did you not do all this about 6 months ago OR 6 months from now??

Money, scheduling, and the knowledge that if I did it in more challenging conditions, I'd appreciate the good times even more. =-)

Where are you traveling to in another month??

Cozumel. I'm in no mood to challenge mother nature, I'll take what she gives me and deal with it. It's a vacation, baby, and that's good enough for me!

 

[RJP]

Anybody who says their goal is to become a skilled diver is somebody I want to go diving with!

You should make that your sig line...

Hell, we ALL should!

 

[lavachickie]

Thanks for the great suggestions and directions to resources. I'll take 'em!

Lastly . . . MOVE SOMEWHERE WARM, WOMAN! Diving in the 30's -- are you nuts?!?!?!? I don't even go outside if it's below 50!

Maybe someday when I get all old and feeble. ;-) But I love it here! And it's not usually THAT cold; it's been unseasonably cool here this fall/winter.

I will say this: I'm glad I did it! Previously, I would have totally wussed out if someone had said, "Hey, wanna go stand out in a parking lot in 30 degree temps, wind, and strip down half naked, struggle into a huge cold suit, and walk carrying 100 lb on your back?" No freaking way! But not only did I do it, but I survived, met some cool people AND had fun... and reminded myself that often you have the most fun pushing your (perceived) limits. I don't mean to say that I'm an "edge" person, but rather I have for so long not even gotten CLOSE to anything I didn't already know I was darn good at that taking on such a challenge really cleared my head and put me in a new mindset!

 

[lavachickie]

I'm not trying to be argumentative Interceptor, but if it resulted in some level of panic at 25', I wouldn't call it a minor issue. Nevertheless, this should never have occurred. Where was the predive inspection? What were the Buddy, DM and Instructor doing? Obviously not their jobs...

I had switched tanks myself, my buddy watched, the gear was carried to the waters edge and, I believe, moved by someone else. During the moves, it might have been picked up wrong, and the knob rotated. Why the issue didn't arise until we got down to the bottom, I don't know. Regardless, I didn't check once more time before strapping it on and, as people have pointed out, no DM or instructor was overseeing it. (After reading, this class was WAY more unstructured than many, and that goes in line with one element I felt was missing: tight control, organization and oversight.) My bad, and no one to point it out. But I figured it out!

All things considered, I'm glad a challenge like that happened in a less dangerous environment. It impressed upon me that no one but ME is ultimately responsible for... everything. In the class environment, I think most people (myself included) will at some point face a challenge, fail, and and push responsibility for "fixing" the situation on to the instructor. Or, we'll discount our own instincts in deference to someone else's experience. (For example, I had mentioned the hood felt tight at fitting, but was assured it was okay by the instructor.)

That experience, however, made it very clear to me that 1)any loss of focus and calmness never helps a situation and 2)all fingers point back to yourself, ultimately. Uncomfortable with something? Fix it. Question? Find an answer. Something doesn't feel right... trust your instincts! And never, ever, trust anyone else's checking. Do it yourself. If all people have that same attitude, you're backing each other up well.

 

[gypsyjim]

You learn quick! You will be a diver others enjoy diving with, I think.

Ultimately we are the ones responsible for ourselves, and relying on others to take care of us, is only asking for trouble.

 

[RJP]

Why the issue didn't arise until we got down to the bottom, I don't know.

This should have been covered in your class.

The air in the tank has to overcome the pressure outside the tank in order to exit the tank. The opening on the mostly closed valve was sufficient to allow air to be drawn from the tank at the surface given the low surrounding ambient pressure. At depth, the greatly increased pressure from the surrounding water must be overcome, making it much more difficult to draw a breath through the same small opening in the tank valve.

This is one of the reasons you keep your reg in your mouth if you are doing a CESA from depth in an OOA situation - as you ascend (thusly reducing the ambient pressure) you might be able to draw another breath or two as you get shallower.

 

[scubafanatic]

From reading (which I've been doing on here since mid-class), I know that means (I think) backplate w/ wings, but I have no idea in hell what that actually is. =-)

......I saw one of those things in a recent BATMAN movie......black, leathery, it looked pretty awesome !