Late 40s here, I grew up on the Atlantic Coast and did water safety and rescue courses when I was younger.
So this is how it went for me. I suppose it would be good to communicate it with people here to share how it was.
PADI OPEN WATER.
Helped by instructors to correct problems along the way, so everything was fine there.
Pool 1 - 200M swim was a struggle. Duck dives, breathing holds on the surface, underwater retrieval, all fine.
Pool 2 - Deflated BCD and still buoyant. Add weight and still buoyant. Pivot fail. Hovering fail. Mask cleaning is fine.
At this point, at night, for some reason, I developed a sense of the possibility of failing somehow. My body was also feeling the effects of Pool 2.
Dive 1 - Another weight fail. Pivot and hovering don’t work. Add more weight. Wetsuit 3XL is too long, but we will work with it. Pivot and hovering work. Skills fine.
Dive 2 - Surface interval heat nearly wipes me out. I am dehydrated and weak. Instructors suggest the water to cool down. I do. I feel better. Swimming fin skills need work, so some recreational dive time is done.
At night the sense of failing is now stronger. My body also feels what it is like going in and out of diving sessions. It does make me weaker. At this point, I question my whole decision to do Open Water. I came close to phoning in a quitter. However, in water, I don't panic or even come close to feeling I can't solve something rationally and logically with the skills if something goes wrong. I failed to retrieve my regulator several times on Dive 3 when it was under my chin. I was doing the arm sweep maneuver and finding nothing. I didn't feel like panicking, even when breathing in a bit of water during slip-ups like this.
Even if I got a jump, I don’t think I would panic. You got an octopus. You got a buddy. You got a BCD that will inflate if you fin up, and do that never quicker than your bubbles. You can inflate orally at the surface. If you ever suddenly fly up, you can emergency dump air from the BCD with the rip cords to slow down. However, I still get anyone can potentially still go into full-blown panic, no matter who they are, so always a buddy, never alone. Those are just the sort of thoughts in my head during the dives.
Dive 3 - Lots of bottled water and a better hat. Dive much better. Skills much better. Nearly all skills are done. So some recreational dive time.
Dive 4 - Cooled off at the surface interval in water. Emergency ascent with a buddy out of air and sharing skill, tried a few times.
Passed PADI OPEN WATER and so some recreational dive time.
It took me the best part of 4 days to recover to how I was before PADI Open Water.
Okay, I learned I am more of a holiday recreational diver looking at fish than a deep diver, cave diver, or adrenaline rush junkie. I did not enjoy the deeper, colder parts of the dive and was shaking physically for up to a few minutes when we went in and out of them. The instructor just wanted me to know what it feels like. The best part of the dive was when he showed me fish. That was what made it worth it.
I did enjoy myself. So don't get me wrong when I say that I also didn't have loads of fun as, for the majority of the time, I had that self-awareness of learning and following instructions going on. Like a billion things other than, 'Hey look, you are underwater for ages deeper than you have been before, seeing fish in a new way'. Maybe I wasn't relaxing enough because my mind was constantly on learning the skills?
My wetsuit was not fitted well, way too long, as the zip went out past my knuckles and some bunching of air pockets. I am hobbit sized with a hobbit belly. The instructor suggested I look into a custom wetsuit because the 3XL was the best they could do. I think they can do custom gear. I bought the wet shoes from them as I will use them again even just swimming on a beach and got a pair of Cressi big eye evolution. A mesh bag for drying out. That's about the sum of my scuba investment on top of the course.
So is scuba for me? I should have judged the stresses involved better. It is the most stressful thing I have done physically and possibly mentally. It is not some advanced snorkeling and going a little deeper. It is an entirely different set of rules, mindset, responsibility, and prep, both mental and physical. However, in my group, there were all ages and types of people, and I believe that nearly anyone can pass if they want it and have good instructors. Attempt the skills and with their help you work it out.
I think I get scuba is not about certifications but more about who you are with on any given dive, what you talk about, and doing what you say you will do. I am a slow coach and have no plan to do any hard finning down to the bottom kind of bravado. I will enjoy safety stops, staying near a buddy, and staying near lines. Lots of nose and jaw wiggling. No Superman ascents. Look at fish. Try to save some energy for getting out of a wetsuit, carrying a BCD, and tank up a hill to a car. There my mind on thoughts like that, stays in my comfy zone.
I haven’t given much thought to advanced or nitrox. All I can think about is recovering.
Maybe what I need to do next is go diving without all the extra pressure on the pressure? No course. Just pay for a recreational dive? Same instructors, probably if that happens.
Anyway, I filed the 4 logs a few days ago, and they got approved, so hopefully, my PADI cert will appear soon. Guess it takes awhile for stuff to get processed.
Thanks for reading.
So this is how it went for me. I suppose it would be good to communicate it with people here to share how it was.
PADI OPEN WATER.
Helped by instructors to correct problems along the way, so everything was fine there.
Pool 1 - 200M swim was a struggle. Duck dives, breathing holds on the surface, underwater retrieval, all fine.
Pool 2 - Deflated BCD and still buoyant. Add weight and still buoyant. Pivot fail. Hovering fail. Mask cleaning is fine.
At this point, at night, for some reason, I developed a sense of the possibility of failing somehow. My body was also feeling the effects of Pool 2.
Dive 1 - Another weight fail. Pivot and hovering don’t work. Add more weight. Wetsuit 3XL is too long, but we will work with it. Pivot and hovering work. Skills fine.
Dive 2 - Surface interval heat nearly wipes me out. I am dehydrated and weak. Instructors suggest the water to cool down. I do. I feel better. Swimming fin skills need work, so some recreational dive time is done.
At night the sense of failing is now stronger. My body also feels what it is like going in and out of diving sessions. It does make me weaker. At this point, I question my whole decision to do Open Water. I came close to phoning in a quitter. However, in water, I don't panic or even come close to feeling I can't solve something rationally and logically with the skills if something goes wrong. I failed to retrieve my regulator several times on Dive 3 when it was under my chin. I was doing the arm sweep maneuver and finding nothing. I didn't feel like panicking, even when breathing in a bit of water during slip-ups like this.
Even if I got a jump, I don’t think I would panic. You got an octopus. You got a buddy. You got a BCD that will inflate if you fin up, and do that never quicker than your bubbles. You can inflate orally at the surface. If you ever suddenly fly up, you can emergency dump air from the BCD with the rip cords to slow down. However, I still get anyone can potentially still go into full-blown panic, no matter who they are, so always a buddy, never alone. Those are just the sort of thoughts in my head during the dives.
Dive 3 - Lots of bottled water and a better hat. Dive much better. Skills much better. Nearly all skills are done. So some recreational dive time.
Dive 4 - Cooled off at the surface interval in water. Emergency ascent with a buddy out of air and sharing skill, tried a few times.
Passed PADI OPEN WATER and so some recreational dive time.
It took me the best part of 4 days to recover to how I was before PADI Open Water.
Okay, I learned I am more of a holiday recreational diver looking at fish than a deep diver, cave diver, or adrenaline rush junkie. I did not enjoy the deeper, colder parts of the dive and was shaking physically for up to a few minutes when we went in and out of them. The instructor just wanted me to know what it feels like. The best part of the dive was when he showed me fish. That was what made it worth it.
I did enjoy myself. So don't get me wrong when I say that I also didn't have loads of fun as, for the majority of the time, I had that self-awareness of learning and following instructions going on. Like a billion things other than, 'Hey look, you are underwater for ages deeper than you have been before, seeing fish in a new way'. Maybe I wasn't relaxing enough because my mind was constantly on learning the skills?
My wetsuit was not fitted well, way too long, as the zip went out past my knuckles and some bunching of air pockets. I am hobbit sized with a hobbit belly. The instructor suggested I look into a custom wetsuit because the 3XL was the best they could do. I think they can do custom gear. I bought the wet shoes from them as I will use them again even just swimming on a beach and got a pair of Cressi big eye evolution. A mesh bag for drying out. That's about the sum of my scuba investment on top of the course.
So is scuba for me? I should have judged the stresses involved better. It is the most stressful thing I have done physically and possibly mentally. It is not some advanced snorkeling and going a little deeper. It is an entirely different set of rules, mindset, responsibility, and prep, both mental and physical. However, in my group, there were all ages and types of people, and I believe that nearly anyone can pass if they want it and have good instructors. Attempt the skills and with their help you work it out.
I think I get scuba is not about certifications but more about who you are with on any given dive, what you talk about, and doing what you say you will do. I am a slow coach and have no plan to do any hard finning down to the bottom kind of bravado. I will enjoy safety stops, staying near a buddy, and staying near lines. Lots of nose and jaw wiggling. No Superman ascents. Look at fish. Try to save some energy for getting out of a wetsuit, carrying a BCD, and tank up a hill to a car. There my mind on thoughts like that, stays in my comfy zone.
I haven’t given much thought to advanced or nitrox. All I can think about is recovering.
Maybe what I need to do next is go diving without all the extra pressure on the pressure? No course. Just pay for a recreational dive? Same instructors, probably if that happens.
Anyway, I filed the 4 logs a few days ago, and they got approved, so hopefully, my PADI cert will appear soon. Guess it takes awhile for stuff to get processed.
Thanks for reading.