Recently Certified Ow's: What Do You Most Wish To Brush Up On Or Learn?

[WrmBluH2O]

Hi All,

I recently completed OW last Dec. For those of you who recently completed OW, I am curious which skills do you most feel the desire or need to practice?

Ideally we should be practicing all the skills covered, but I have some I'm more eager to get cracking on than others. Some of the below were not covered during my particular training, while others I passed but feel there is room for improvement.

There are many skills that were practiced repeatedly that are not included here. For example, we practiced equipment setup, buddy checks, back roll entry, hand signal communication, 5-point descent, regulator removal & retrieval, mask flooding, mask removal & replace, buddy swim w/o mask, fin pivot neutral buoyancy, Buddha pose buoyancy test (useless, I know), vertical test of buoyancy w/crossed fins (over wall @ 60 feet), both planned and surprise buddy OOA with ascent while holding one another, surprise air checks to be within 100 psi, navigation skills on surface, navigation skills underwater, 5-point ascent, as well as others I'm not recalling at the moment. Mixed in here is a shopping list of things I need to get or do:

Need to:

Learn how to reach back & turn on air valve while underwater. not performed
Deploy a SMB & DSMB had neither been purchased nor performed (SMB purchased; my better half currently thinks a DSMB is overkill for the type of diving we plan to do; I'm working on him)
Make buddy-assisted controlled ascent w/o mask on not performed
Make controlled ascent w/o mask on. not performed
Practice removing and replacing kit underwater performed
Learn & practice how to turn off low inflation hose, then manually fill BCD with air underwater as needed. not performed
Get weights sorted so that I can hover horizontally, neutrally buoyant for 60 seconds not performed
Learn frog and other proper finning techniques not performed (not part of PADI OW curriculum?, but I want lo learn them!)
Figure out optimal place to affix back-up computer to BCD not performed
Get retractor type cord or other solution for affixing primary computer to reduce neck strain completed
Get neoprene-type backing for original mask strap completed
Get & figure where to store two small flashlights completed
Get whistle, mirror. completed
Put my initials on all gear. need to do

Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Happy diving!

 

[Skulmoski]

Congrats! Buoyancy and Trim would be my immediate goals after OW.

Best wishes

GJS

 

[WrmBluH2O]

Congrats! Buoyancy and Trim would be my immediate goals after OW.

Best wishes

GJS

Hi Skulmoski,

Thanks, and you read my mind. I have been looking for a truly good Peak Performane Buoyancy-type instructor who teaches in warm water. (I am a wimp and dive a 5mm in 80-86F.)

 

[DiverDownD3]

Buoyancy and trim
Deploying SMB

 

[Hawkwood]

Hi All,

I recently completed OW last Dec. For those of you who recently completed OW, I am curious which skills do you most feel the desire or need to practice?

...Happy diving!

What a great Thread. I'm "biting my tongue" holding back ideas, because I'd like to see the Thread continue as you have asked "For those of you who recently completed OW...". It's going to be interesting to see their perspectives on things, especially as an Instructor. I'm willing to bet that some of the items are not what the "experienced" folk would suggest.

 

[WrmBluH2O]

Buoyancy and trim
Deploying SMB

Hi DiverDown3,

Not to bias folks too much, but those are my top two if I had to prioritize them. Thanks for commenting! Air valve for my comfort level is #3, even though I should never need to turn it on if all checks have been done correctly and I've watched carefully to see no one else has touched it. I believe knowing how to reach back and turn it off is helpful in certain rare types of free flow situations.

Buoyancy and trim
Deploying SMB

 

[WrmBluH2O]

What a great Thread. I'm "biting my tongue" holding back ideas, because I'd like to see the Thread continue as you have asked "For those of you who recently completed OW...". It's going to be interesting to see their perspectives on things, especially as an Instructor. I'm willing to bet that some of the items are not what the "experienced" folk would suggest.

Thank you for the support, Hawkwood! I'm going to hold back any more comments so that other recent OW's may do. Of course I too look forward to hearing from the experienced and instructors once the newbies have had their go.

 

[Hawkwood]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Hey folks, can we try to respect the OP's wishes and let "those of you who recently completed OW" have some free reign in the thread? This is just a simple request.

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[admikar]

Things I need to improve: buoyancy while task loading, reverse kick, SMB deployment (this one I never did).
Things I think I'm proficient with: mask removal, reg swap, swim w/o mask, rig removal, but I do it anyway.
One thing I would like to try is valve on/off breathing (unstoppable free flow), but I don't want to damage regs by holding purge on unpressurized system.

 

[gryffin]

I just got my open water certification this month, here is my list:

Bouyancy and trim

Smoother descent - I have trouble getting down in the beginning- probably bouyancy in my wetsuit

Figuring out how to fit my mask and keep it sealed - my mask strap slips and I get some leaking- it gets worse when I get near the surface on ascent, it almost pops off. I've gotten pretty proficient at clearing my mask at depth, but I don't think I should have to do it as often as I do.

Compass navigation - did it in OW dive 4 and practiced on another dive

Slower movement underwater

BCD inflate under water (did not do)

BCD inflate at surface (did this, but struggled with it in rougher water)

Practice buddy air swaps with my buddy (did this with instructor, but not my buddy)

One more to add: Boat dives - all my dives were shore dives