WrmBluH2O
Contributor
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!
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!