Open Water entry level has been a disaster so far

[TSandM]

Congratulations, lexir! Glad you stayed the course.

Grabbing the snorkel instead of the inflator hose is common. It's one of the reasons I think carrying a rolled-up snorkel is better than having one clipped to your mask. Another way to deal with the problem is to learn to use one of the other dump valves on your BC. Many have them on the right shoulder, and virtually ALL BC's will have a dump valve on the bottom of the BC somewhere. If you are horizontal in the water, all you have to do is push your butt up in the air a little to vent through the bottom dump. All divers should know where all the dumps on their equipment are -- that's an important safety idea that is often overlooked in certification classes.

 

[SubMariner]

So, update.

I went on my four dives. Considering how much I struggled during the class, things went fairly well (not perfect). I performed all the skills, but on one of the dives I had trouble descending, even though my BC was deflated. When I finally did start descending, I had equalization problems (pain) and had to stop the descent. I was even told I had to come on another dive if I couldn't do it on the final scheduled dive, but I fixed that and equalized with no problem on the final dive. I had no idea what went wrong, but at least I took care of that issue later.
Log book was signed, written exam passed with flying colors, and all skills completed, but, my instructor strongly recommended I go on a quick refresher dive for practice (which I am, BTW) because my ascent is a bit too fast and I still fumble a bit when reaching for my BC hose (I tend to mistakenly grab the snorkel tube).
It's been a bumpy road getting my certification, but hopefully it's almost here!

Most of the issues you described come from not yet being comfortable with yourself in the water & with your gear. The only way to help alleviate some of the stress is to spend more time in the water. Despite getting your OW certification from this one particular Instructor, it would seem that you are not exactly a good fit. So if you would like to do more work with an Instructor or DM, I suggest doing some "shopping" first to find someone who will give you the type of training & pace that you need.

Remember, this is only the first step in your "dive education". Slow down & let yourself learn.

Bonne chance,

 

[lexir]

Most of the issues you described come from not yet being comfortable with yourself in the water & with your gear. The only way to help alleviate some of the stress is to spend more time in the water. Despite getting your OW certification from this one particular Instructor, it would seem that you are not exactly a good fit. So if you would like to do more work with an Instructor or DM, I suggest doing some "shopping" first to find someone who will give you the type of training & pace that you need.

Remember, this is only the first step in your "dive education". Slow down & let yourself learn.

Bonne chance,

Well, I'm going on another dive soon to fine tune some of the skills. And I said I finished the course, I didn't say I was certified. I'll say I'm certified when the card comes in!
And even though I seem like I'm not a good fit, I'm determined to work at it to make myself a good fit. That was the point of another thread I started: there seems to be little patience for people who are not 100% comfortable in the water. Please understand that this is a brand spanking new experience for me and I would call myself a "survival" swimmer (meaning I swim well enough to not drown). Despite my struggles, I think the fact that I remained calm in 60 feet of water was an achievement. Don't we all have to start somewhere?
And yes, for my next level of training, I'm strongly considering one on one. I think it's the best thing for a slow learner like me.