Just finished "Discover Scuba" - where do I sign?

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jtpwils

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Location
NJ
# of dives
25 - 49
My daughter(12) and I just finished the discover scuba class we took to make sure that we're comfortable breathing underwater. It was the two of us and another woman. It went great, so we're going to sign up for private OW classes.

We started with some poolside discussion covering things I read about here; like don't stop breathing and what can happen if you do, some hand signals, and then went over the gear - things like what's what and which buttons mean what on the BCD.

Then we got in the pool, put on the gear and had a discussion on the reg and putting it back into your mouth after it's full of water, then we did some skills:
1.)remove your reg, keep blowing out and then put it back in
2.)"lose" your reg, tilt to the side, hand sweep and put it back in
3.)half flood your mask and clear it

All of it went really well. My daughter stood up once when she did the "lose" your reg because she didn't find it fast enough for her comfort - even though the instructor was almost pushing his reg into her mouth. She got it together though and went on comfortably - accomplishing it twice. She also got a little freaked the first time she flooded her mask - she completely flooded it and stood up. Again, she recovered quickly and accomplished it twice. She actually did better than the other woman. I had no problems except I'm sure I used a lot of air to clear my mask - I blew some big bubbles!!!

Then we checked our weights / buoyancy. I floated with my head just out of water with no air in my BCD and breath out and then sank when I exhaled. Then we went on a small cruise in the shallow end and came up for a discussion on how everyone felt and equalizing out ears.

We then went out on a deep end cruise and played catch with a torpedo. I was amazed at how much I could change my buoyancy with deep breaths in or out. I was also pretty foot heavy - not that I was expecting to have good trim. LOL! After that we did some cruising through hula hoops. Again, the biggest thing for me was controlling my breathing so I didn't go too far up or down - mostly up.

After that the other woman decided to go home because we covered the basic class and she had her 14 y/o daughter watching her other kids. We wanted to ekpp playing so the instructor had my daughter and I practice staying close to each other as we cruised around and played some more torpedo games.

I was thrilled to be able to experience what I've been reading about here. The only down side was that I found out how disgusting the floor of the pool is freakin' disgusting!

Soon we'll buy some equipment and then start our OW class.
 
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Soon we'll buy some equipment and then start our OW class.

Welcome to diving - there's no turning back now!

:D
 
Congrats on your discovery to bliss. I am glad that you and your daughter were comfortable (even if it took her a minute to get the skills). Diving is Nirvana to me and I hope you find it to be the same.

I would suggest holding off on gear until after you are certified (unless it is your personal gear masks, fins, booties, snorkel) since it is hard to say what is best for you until you kind of know what you are looking for. After certification rent some stuff for a bit so you know what you like.

Anyway, have a great time learning about scuba and once you get certified, enjoy your dives and make lots of bubbles.
 
Thanks all, we appreciate the warm welcome.

LuckyDays - yes, I was referring to our personal gear. The other will come later.

Gen San Chris - LOL, yeah I think we'll move to Fiji and train there. Or else maybe we can come live with you? I can mix concrete for your dome project (very cool!) in exchange for food and lodging.
 
Glad to hear that you've caught the bug. Make good decisions on your gear (basically, if you buy, you don't need to buy extra crap in my opinion, like I was talked into: tablets, tank bangers, extra mask strap and extra fin strap (to "save a dive" if you're traveling)...what a sucker I was! :chicken:).

My wife and I really wish, looking back, that we had just purchased regs, comps, bcd, and the mask/fin/snorkel. I'm sure you've read some of the gear discussions here so you know that not all dive shops are created equal...go in with your eyes open, and hopefully support one that's great.
 
That is awesome and welcome to diving!

I'm a very new diver myself. Just wait until you finish that open water class... the hook will be firmly set then!

I second the comments on rushing out to buy a bunch of equipment before you really have a chance to think about it and look at other folks gear. Rent some different gear from your LDS, go on a dive trip, do a lot of research on SB, ask a lot of questions, then you'll be ready and have a better grasp of exactly what you want. While you want to support your LDS, you usually can find MUCH better deals from the internet companies. Don't get ripped off like I did even on your initial personal gear purchases. I paid almost double what I could have paid on those of those items.

There is also a great, long thread on SB "What gear did you buy that you regret". It is VERY long and i spent 2-3 hours going through every post since it was started in 2006. There is also a shorter threat about "What gear did you buy that you love". The regret thread is awesome for a newbie as it has years of info from SB'ers on bad purchases. It helped me a lot.

Believe me, you're going to love it and the urge to buy will be strong.

That is really neat you're able to experience it with your daughter too.

Y'all are going to have a blast!
 
Glad to hear we have another diver, or soon will, joining us!

Centexbear is completely right about wanting to rush out and buy all your at once, at least thats exactly how was once I started my OW class.

A few words of advice:

Even for your personal gear, talk to as many people who've had hands on experience with said gear...this forum is a great place for just that.

Shop around! Don't be tied down to once place. If you can find better deal at another store, or online, go for it. Don't be suckered into buying something just because its the first time you see it.

If at all possible, try to assess where you can to take your diving, as in how far in training do you want to go. This will help a great deal in making purchases, since some gear is great for strictly the occasional diver, and not so great for someone who plans on living in their dive gear.

Most importantly, have fun! This is an incredibly exciting time, and you don't wan to remember your gear hunt as a stressful endeavor, but as something fun in where you leave with not only great gear, but with a much better understanding of why you picked the gear you picked.

Good luck, and feel free to PM with any questions you may have now or in the future!
 
Welcome to our world :D

You and your daughter are doing well :)
I would read this post by Walter about how to go about finding a good instructor from the New Divers forum ... http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...ng/287780-how-find-excellent-scuba-class.html

One thing, don't be surprised that you have to go through a couple of masks before you find one that seals really well to your face, somehow the in the store "suck" test does not mean that it will work that well under water (my mask I have now does not leak and most dives I do not clear it) the place you get the mask should be able to exchange it for another if it doesnt work as it should
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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