OW test at Casino Point, freaked out, didn't pass

[AZTinman]

I've seen plenty of students and even some more experienced divers get freaked-out and have problems. Most I've seen have had difficulty with cold water and full exposure gear.

A few years ago while diving Catalina, a guy asked me to help him with his girlfriend. She had tried her first dive with him and flipped-out. Both were experienced divers who had never done any cold water diving. The cold water and hood put her right over the edge. The boyfriend didn't help much because her problems were really crimping his diving plans. She ended-up attaching herself to my arm and we did a nice shallow dive in 10-20 feet of water. Staying shallow with lots of sunlight seemed to help her relax. The boyfriend disappeared to go off and do his thing so a lot of pressure disappeared with him. I've no idea how important diving was in the relationship between these two, but things were pretty tense.

Last winter in Mexico, I watched a pretty good dive instructor work with a student who couldn't relax in a 7mil suit with a hood. His first attempt at passing the skills tests was a bust. The next day he insisted on taking another run at the skills tests. For the second go around, he opted for a 3 mil suit with no hood. Fortunately, he was carrying lots of extra insulation. He passed the tests with no problems at all.

Probably someone has already given you the best advice. We dive because it's supposed to be fun. If you want to dive, relax, proceed with the skills stuff at your own speed and enjoy yourself.

-AZTinman

 

[Agility]

pasley mentioned a very important point.
Would you go diving in cold water conditions if you were on your own?
Maybe you are a warm water diver. If you really want to dive get yourself a referral to a warm place and dive in conditions that you fell comfortable in.
After 50 dives or so you might want to try it again in cold water (and perhaps a drysuit)

 

[TSandM]

I'm so sorry to hear you had such a bad experience, especially since Casino Point is a WONDERFUL place to dive, or even snorkel.

Were you comfortable with all the skills in the pool? Nothing gets BETTER in open water.

If you were entirely comfortable and facile with the skills in the pool, did you get a chance to get your OW gear ahead of time, and try it all on at home? We have students in Puget Sound who simply have trouble coping with the thick wetsuit and the heavy weights, because it's so different from floating around in a bathing suit and a pair of fins. There's no good way to ease that transition, so sometimes it takes a little time.

And my final question is, is this something you want to do for yourself, or is it something you are doing for your husband? If you want this for yourself, you'll dig down and find what it takes to conquer your anxieties. If you are doing it with some reluctance, and for someone else, you should chalk this up as something you gave a good try but it isn't for you.

 

[drbill]

Sorry to hear of your experience at our dive park. Yours is not entirely unusual though (although not a frequent response).

Our waters have actually been unusually warm (58-62 F at moderate depth) this winter and spring, but still it is not comfortable for many divers. The vis was not good the day you were there, in part due to the number of OW students receiving training at the north end of the dive park. The suggestion of going to warm tropical waters for your certification is a good one to alleviate some of these conditions. However, keep in mind that if you reside in SoCal and plan to dive here with any frequency, you will have to eventually adjust to our water conditions. Diving our kelp forests is pretty awesome, but it is more demanding than diving the tropics.

 

[lamarpaulski]

More pool time on SCUBA...spend enough time to get bored in pool.. and spend a fair amount of time snorkeling at dive site just before next try on SCUBA. I always find a snorkel "dive" helps transition to SCUBA...just getting wet, mask and fins squared away....muscles warmed up....a view of where you will dive...all the little fishes....watch the divers and the Garibaldis..all helps a bit. Dive Park is about perfect place. Float like a sea otter. Maybe deliberately flop around in kelp to see it won't grab you like a carnivorous plant. Bring a thermos of coffee, tea or hot chocolate. Maybe keep hubby out of vicinity for a bit on dive..just you and instructor. There is psychological pressure by spouse's presence sometimes which actually can interfere with success.

So my husband and I are getting OW certified through Sport Chalet. Our instructor took us to Casino Point in Catalina this past Saturday. It couldn't of been a prettier day. Nice weather, clear skies, water temp was about 58 degrees. Viz at about 10-15 ft. My husband passed his test and all his skills no problem. I freaked out. Almost immediately upon getting in the water I freaked out and couldn't do any of the skills. Maybe it was the temp of the water, maybe there were too many people, I don't know.

Anyone else have this problem? I only ended up descending about twice. Both times I had to hang onto the rope to descend, had a little trouble equalizing but primarily okay, then when I got to the bottom (maybe 15-20ft) I freaked out and had to surface. Afterward it was mostly me hyperventilating......

Anyone else experience this before? I'm usually not afraid of the ocean....it was disappointing at the very least. I'm supposed to do it again soon but I want to make sure I don't panic again.....any tips or shared experiences?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lkws]

@gcarter - yes, I had the whole shebang!! 7mm wetsuit (yes it was tight, and yes it was uncomfortable), hood, no gloves (though I should've because my hands were freezing in 58 deg water). Yes, it could be the wetsuit. Sport Chalet had a terrible selection of sizes, and it really doesn't fit well. The first time I tried it on at the pool, I felt claustrophobic and constricted. It's difficult getting used to moving around in it too...

---------- Post added April 8th, 2014 at 09:53 AM ----------

Ok, so you have some concerns. You are mildly claustrophobic. That does not help. Was the ocean the first time you wore full gear (wetsuit, hood, gloves etc?). If so it would be understandable that you might feel uncomfortable and potentially not properly weighted. You can do this. The question is this, are you doing this because YOU want to, or because your HUSBAND WANTS you to? IF it is not because YOU want to, my best advice is, don't. But if you want to consider the video below. Two of my former students. The video is of them in Cozumel. I certified the wife (the married during the time we were teaching them both to dive), the husband, due to a pressure sore, had to sit out the ocean dives. When he was well his wife had already dove Belize so he wanted warm water. I referred him to another instructor who did his ocean dives and took the video. Did I mention the husband is Army Veteran paralyzed from the neck down?
[video=youtube;lC6YvcEaJJ8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=lC6YvcEaJJ8[/video]

My youngest daughter (the one that gave me the most sleepless nights as a teen) went all the way thru the course, jumped off the dive boat went under, came up got out and said "nope not for me.). It happens. That said, if you truly want to learn, then with a little more pool time in full gear, patience, and sticking with it you can try again. But above all, remember, the safest place is where you are in control, not out of control bolting for the surface.

@pasley - what an excellent video, thank you for sharing. and what excellent points. yes, i was wearing the whole getup, 7mm wetsuit and hood. it was freezing at casino point, even though weather in LA has been in the high 80s lately. my husband and i are going to cozumel at the end of may so we're getting certified for that. part of me is doing it for my husband as he loves water activities. part of me is doing it for myself as i love snorkeling and the ocean (loved snorkeling in maui, kauai). i would love to join him swimming in very warm waters....but yes, i would say i have lots of fears - drowning, little claustrophobia, little fear of heights....

 

[lkws]

Tell your husband to pony up and take you to Maui to finish

Pay somebody like Shaka Doug (ShakaDivers) for a private OW referral class - just you and him. In 40' of water off a beach. Then come back and do SoCal diving in baby steps. I certified in La Jolla and have dove a lot of places since, it's not one of the easier locations to start with.

Warm clear water, 200' horizontal visibility - you can see forever - or what's out there (nothing dangerous) No confining hood, wetsuit, or tons of lead required. Did I mention the 84^o water temperature part?

Topside's not too bad either....

@diversteve - yes diving in maui sounds WAY more pleasant than diving in LA.....tooo cold in SoCal. We've been to Maui twice and both times enjoyed snorkeling there tremendously. I agree with you, warm clear waters do make a big difference, both visually and mentally....

---------- Post added April 8th, 2014 at 10:12 AM ----------

Ok, so you have some concerns. You are mildly claustrophobic. That does not help. Was the ocean the first time you wore full gear (wetsuit, hood, gloves etc?). If so it would be understandable that you might feel uncomfortable and potentially not properly weighted. You can do this. The question is this, are you doing this because YOU want to, or because your HUSBAND WANTS you to? IF it is not because YOU want to, my best advice is, don't. But if you want to consider the video below. Two of my former students. The video is of them in Cozumel. I certified the wife (the married during the time we were teaching them both to dive), the husband, due to a pressure sore, had to sit out the ocean dives. When he was well his wife had already dove Belize so he wanted warm water. I referred him to another instructor who did his ocean dives and took the video. Did I mention the husband is Army Veteran paralyzed from the neck down?
[video=youtube;lC6YvcEaJJ8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=lC6YvcEaJJ8[/video]

My youngest daughter (the one that gave me the most sleepless nights as a teen) went all the way thru the course, jumped off the dive boat went under, came up got out and said "nope not for me.). It happens. That said, if you truly want to learn, then with a little more pool time in full gear, patience, and sticking with it you can try again. But above all, remember, the safest place is where you are in control, not out of control bolting for the surface.

@pasley - excellent video, thank you for sharing the video and your experiences. we are actually going to cozumel at the end of may too. part of me is thinking i should maybe get a referral and finish my OW skills over there....i think i do much better in warm waters. had no problem snorkeling in maui....

 

[jscan1]

I had a freak out on my first checkout dive at the dive park! Got down with my group, and noticed my fin had blown into three pieces, as the group swam away my anxiety skyrocketed, and two seconds later so did I! I think the combo of the hood and 7 mil, and a malfunction and it was over! : ) I look back now and have to smile, I love diving SO. Ca. and all it has to offer. My recommendation, (and What I did) is don't wait long (I was back in two hours later) get an instructor who you can tell and have them watch your eyes the whole way down, its very comforting! If you have a few weeks wear your 7 mill and hood and go swim in the surf, with someone who's a good swimmer and just get comfy with the confined feeling. Another thing is get a one on one, just you and the instructor! Again couldn't be happier I got back in the water that day, I dive weekly, and can't imagine my life today without it!

And to everyone that says go somewhere warm, I say the opposite, If this is where you live learn to dive here, then when you travel you'll appreciate it more for learning how to dive what some would say is a challenging area (its really not) So. Ca. has beautiful dive sites, and Drysuits are a great addition to staying comfortable

 

[ScubaNoey]

Thank you @Scubaba for the reassurance. I agree, pressure could have been one of the triggers. Everyone, including my husband seemed to grasp all the skills so quickly, I think part of me was worried I'm falling behind. Which then cascaded into more worries. Yes, I think I need more practice and you are so right, it feels so strangely unnatural.

I too had some troubles completing my OW certification - everyone else seemed to get it, be relaxed and having a great time. I was anxious, scared intimidated... I needed a little more one on one time and reassurance so I ended up finishing up my open water skills, etc. in a private class - extra cost but now I am an Advanced Diver with over 100 dives in less than 3 years and enjoy it very much. The extra / private help really was great! **Also - I had a male instructor first and finished with female - I think this was better too. As a woman she was more understanding and patient - plus she had a lot of girlie tips that the male instructors don't know / think of.

 

[robertarak]

I have taught MANY students right at Casino Point. Most do very well once we get to Catalina because we take the time to make sure all skills are solid and everyone's comfort level is ocean ready. Some, for whatever reason, have some troubles. It's not a big deal at all. Different people learn different skills at different rates. I have witnessed many students who just don't do well in larger group classes, do VERY well when they do private classes. This is the reason I chose to teach only private and VERY small group classes. If you have the opportunity to have some one-on-one time with a qualified instructor, it may do you a lot of good.

As for a referral to Cozumel, my very humble opinion is no. I LOVE Cozumel and I am 51 days away from being there, but learning where it is easy is not always best. It could make it all that much harder to dive elsewhere, even if you are certified. Remember, it's not about passing the skills. It's about learning to be a safe, confident and happy diver. Learning where you have a lower visibility, more thermal protection, more weight, etc, will make you a super diver in warm water places like Cozumel and a confident diver right here at home.