I am new to diving as in not even certified yet. My husband and I are going to Nassau in March to complete our cert dives. It has been about a month since my last pool session so I decided to go to the pool with the current class to pratice so I will not forget anything. I planned on doing this until our trip so everything would be fresh in my mind but now I don't even know if I want to dive after the following experience.
I went with a buddy that I trusted. I did not know the instructors. They never even bothered to introduce themselves...I had to do that. Most of the time they called me "hey girl". They barked orders like I was in boot camp again. We entered the deep end of the pool and started to pratice on our own (we were told to do this). One of the instructors (I later found out he was just a "helper") asked me to flood my mask. I have never like this but was able to finally overcome my fear of it. As we all know the gear that you use in class is not the best and never fits. This was the case for me. The BCD was too big and the regulator was also. I had to hold the regulator in my mouth or any small current would knock it out. I flooded my mask but made the mistake of taking a breath from my nose instead of my regulator. I tried to cough it out but just could not get the water out of my throat/nose. I decided it might be better if go to the surface. I admit now I was acending too fast but at the time I didn't feel that way. Out of nowhere hands grabbed me and held me where I was. I started to panic even more at this point thinking this crazy person was holding me under the water to complete what I started. He had no idea what was wrong with me. He had total control over my movements. I eventually fought my way to the surface. This persons first words were "you have to work through your problems". Not are you ok. He then told me that he was saving me from over lung expansion and the bends by "helping" me acend at a slower pace. Now, I understand that you can get over lung expansion in as shallow as 5ft but if the man had not grabbed me I would have been breathing while coughing which is the cause of over lung expansion -not breathing. Then I had to fight to get from him on the surface. I asked him to release me three times and finally when I started to raise my voice he let me go. Bottom line is what he did scared me beyond belief. If I was to dive do I have to worry about people doing that to me? Is this normal in the diving world and should this be reported to the dive shop? I don't have alot of experience yet but that is why I am going to the pool to make my mistakes instead of the ocean.
Any advise will be helpful!! Thanks!
I went with a buddy that I trusted. I did not know the instructors. They never even bothered to introduce themselves...I had to do that. Most of the time they called me "hey girl". They barked orders like I was in boot camp again. We entered the deep end of the pool and started to pratice on our own (we were told to do this). One of the instructors (I later found out he was just a "helper") asked me to flood my mask. I have never like this but was able to finally overcome my fear of it. As we all know the gear that you use in class is not the best and never fits. This was the case for me. The BCD was too big and the regulator was also. I had to hold the regulator in my mouth or any small current would knock it out. I flooded my mask but made the mistake of taking a breath from my nose instead of my regulator. I tried to cough it out but just could not get the water out of my throat/nose. I decided it might be better if go to the surface. I admit now I was acending too fast but at the time I didn't feel that way. Out of nowhere hands grabbed me and held me where I was. I started to panic even more at this point thinking this crazy person was holding me under the water to complete what I started. He had no idea what was wrong with me. He had total control over my movements. I eventually fought my way to the surface. This persons first words were "you have to work through your problems". Not are you ok. He then told me that he was saving me from over lung expansion and the bends by "helping" me acend at a slower pace. Now, I understand that you can get over lung expansion in as shallow as 5ft but if the man had not grabbed me I would have been breathing while coughing which is the cause of over lung expansion -not breathing. Then I had to fight to get from him on the surface. I asked him to release me three times and finally when I started to raise my voice he let me go. Bottom line is what he did scared me beyond belief. If I was to dive do I have to worry about people doing that to me? Is this normal in the diving world and should this be reported to the dive shop? I don't have alot of experience yet but that is why I am going to the pool to make my mistakes instead of the ocean.
Any advise will be helpful!! Thanks!
