Fundamentals of diving for the less than graceful Diver.
I wanted to write my diving story to share with other newer or experienced divers who may be a little on the nervous side. Take it from me; if I can do it anyone can do it.
Diving was something that I was always interested in after a trip I made to Australia about 10 years ago. I had the opportunity to snorkel which was like peeking through a window into this amazing and mysterious world. Yet, scuba diving was just out of my reach due to being fresh out of college having little money and time. I finally got the opportunity after finishing my masters degree and meeting my husband who rekindled my interest. Tom had been a diver for a number of years and told me amazing tails of scuba diving in Cozmel. So not wanting to miss out on the fun, I got certified in May of 2006.
As excited as I was to get certified I was also nervous as heck underwater. On my first dive trip to Cozmel, we bought one of those diving videos they take of you underwater. I felt like a buffoon as I watched myself nervously fumble with my gauges and equipment to try to remember what was looking at. I was so excited to see all these beautiful things underwater but at the same time I was nervous I would run into the reef because of my inexperience or that I would some how uncontrollable ascend to the surface when doing a 3 minute safety stop. At times, I probably made my husband nervous and down right frustrated as well. We survived that first trip and I continued to dive. With time my buoyancy and skills started to improve but my comfort in the water especially in a dry suit and my form needed some help.
My husband had more experience than I and actually is more addicted to the sport than I. He started looking up stuff on scuba board and other sources when he ran across GUE and read about the fundamentals of diving class. Tom started diving with a back plate and wing which at the time I thought to be a little odd. Then he mentioned this class called fundamentals of diving. I said, Go for it honey sounds technical and out of my league.
This conversation came back to haunt me. When we went on a dive vacation to Bonaire where we met this nice German Guy named Benji Schaub who did a presentation at our resort about the fundamentals of diving class with slides of how to make you a better, more competent diver. I then realized what the class was really about and learned about the GUE way of diving. What appealed to me was GUEs emphasis on the buddy system, trim, and safety. After talking with my husband and Benji, I realized this could be an opportunity to help me be a better dive partner, improve my diving, and improve my sense of well being underwater.
So in June of this year, we drove to Kentucky to meet a nice guy named Ed Gabe who instructed our course. Initially, I was intimidated because I was taking this class diving a single tank while everyone else (including my husband) was diving doubles. I also sensed they were all looking for a pass so they can take technical or cave diving which was way beyond my scope. After listening to Ed talk, I realized that this was a class for all skill levels. The first day was mainly lecture with the pool test at the end of the day. The next day was a little more lecture and off to the quarry to practice what we learned. These four days were information packed and full!
Folks, I wont be shy in saying this class was hard! There were a few times I thought I was going to chew my regulator off.
It basically took me back to the basics of diving but I was to do these skills in a neutral position while trying to maintain a depth at the same time. I learned the more you task load the more challenging it can be. This was a huge change from kneeling on a platform. I had a lot of baggage coming into this class (poor Ed had his hands full). My neurosis included 1. Fear of getting too close to the bottom, and kicking up silt, so I would often dive above my dive partner, 2. Getting air into the feet of my dry suit, 3. Uncontrollable ascending to the surface in a dry suit. In order to make me feel comfortable, Ed literally had to have me lay on the platform and help me obtain the correct position in order for me to get the feel of being in a neutral position with my knees bent and my feet up. I had to work on just getting used to hovering over the platform. After we did this, I thought Aha! This is how it works!
I also thought I knew how to swim underwater .WRONG!
I learned quickly I needed to improve my propulsion techniques and make my frog kick less jerky. The jet fins I got were a lot heavier than my aqua lungs which definitely took some getting used to. Ed also literally moved my fins to give a feel of the frog kick and the back kick. It was very helpful because all I ever used before was the flutter kick and doing a frog kick without fins is very different than with fins. By the end of the class I was starting to get a hang of these propulsion techniques.
In the end, I passed with a provisional thus order to receive the certification I would need to do check out dives within six months. (When going into this class you can either go for a recreational pass or a technical pass. I was going for the Recreational pass.) I left the class feeling like I learned a lot but needed to practice. Yet, I already noticed a remarkable improvement with my comfort level in the water when we dove some wrecks in Lake Michigan in July. We dove two of the same wrecks we dove the summer before and I was amazed! I saw so much more detail of the ships then I did the summer before. I was so much more relaxed and confident. In fact I felt giddy (No I wasnt experiencing narcosis) as we swam through the open cargo bay of the Willie.
I was determined to improve my skills so I dove in my dry suit all summer (even in 90 degree heat in August). I decided that if I could master diving in a dry suit and do all my skills, everything else would be cake afterwards. So off we went to the Dive stop and Mermet springs to practice repetitions of S (safety gas sharing drills) drills, valve drills, and the basic five (1.taking the regulator in and out of your mouth.) 2. Taking your primary regulator out of your mouth, switching to your back up and clipping off your primary. 3. handing off your primary regulator to your partner and switch to your back up regulator. 4 Mask flooding and clear. 5. Taking your mask off and replacing it.) SMB bag shooting with a controlled ascent. I also practiced how to do the back kick by going to local YMCA and trying to do laps using the back kick. I think the lifeguard thought I was nuts trying to swim backwards.
Well all my hard work paid off because I passed!arty:arty: This past weekend I did my check out Dives with Ed Gabe at Mermet springs. The drills went well. The challenges I had was the valve drill and the SMB buoy shooting. I just bought new undergarment which was a little more restrictive as far as reaching my tank valve. This evoked a few underwater curse words on my part. Ed patiently reviewed with me what I needed to do to move that tank up so I could reach it. I also had some challenges with the SMB shooting. I didnt practice this quite as much as I was more focused on the basic skills. Trying to multitask and ascend the last 10 feet over 30 seconds and maintain neutral trim was very challenging. This too evoked a few underwater curse words and regulator chewing. Ed noticed that I was not efficiently dumping my primary dump on the back of my wing. After reviewing that, things improved. I still have work to do but definitely have more control while doing this activity.
The most important thing I took away from this class is that successful diving is all about attitude. When I am not aggravated with myself or frustrated that I am not performing at the level I would like to be, I actually dive with great competence. As soon as I let my neurosis or aggravation level get the best of me, my skills deteriorate. It is almost like one has to have Zen while they are diving. The more relaxed one is, the easier things just fall in place.
At any rate, I am ecstatic about the progress I made this summer. I owe a lot of the credit to Ed whom is a very patient and skilled instructor. He was able to help me to calm down and help me acquire skills that perhaps didnt come to me as naturally as they would to others. Ultimately, I think I accomplished what I set out to do and that was to become a better diver, improve my situational awareness, and a better dive buddy. Furthermore, after learning these new skills, diving is so much easier and relaxing! My husband and I are going back to Bonaire for two weeks in November. I am looking forward to putting these new skills to use. Mucho kudos to my husband, Ed, and Benji.
Best wishes Kathy (wife of b1country)
I wanted to write my diving story to share with other newer or experienced divers who may be a little on the nervous side. Take it from me; if I can do it anyone can do it.
Diving was something that I was always interested in after a trip I made to Australia about 10 years ago. I had the opportunity to snorkel which was like peeking through a window into this amazing and mysterious world. Yet, scuba diving was just out of my reach due to being fresh out of college having little money and time. I finally got the opportunity after finishing my masters degree and meeting my husband who rekindled my interest. Tom had been a diver for a number of years and told me amazing tails of scuba diving in Cozmel. So not wanting to miss out on the fun, I got certified in May of 2006.
As excited as I was to get certified I was also nervous as heck underwater. On my first dive trip to Cozmel, we bought one of those diving videos they take of you underwater. I felt like a buffoon as I watched myself nervously fumble with my gauges and equipment to try to remember what was looking at. I was so excited to see all these beautiful things underwater but at the same time I was nervous I would run into the reef because of my inexperience or that I would some how uncontrollable ascend to the surface when doing a 3 minute safety stop. At times, I probably made my husband nervous and down right frustrated as well. We survived that first trip and I continued to dive. With time my buoyancy and skills started to improve but my comfort in the water especially in a dry suit and my form needed some help.
My husband had more experience than I and actually is more addicted to the sport than I. He started looking up stuff on scuba board and other sources when he ran across GUE and read about the fundamentals of diving class. Tom started diving with a back plate and wing which at the time I thought to be a little odd. Then he mentioned this class called fundamentals of diving. I said, Go for it honey sounds technical and out of my league.
This conversation came back to haunt me. When we went on a dive vacation to Bonaire where we met this nice German Guy named Benji Schaub who did a presentation at our resort about the fundamentals of diving class with slides of how to make you a better, more competent diver. I then realized what the class was really about and learned about the GUE way of diving. What appealed to me was GUEs emphasis on the buddy system, trim, and safety. After talking with my husband and Benji, I realized this could be an opportunity to help me be a better dive partner, improve my diving, and improve my sense of well being underwater.
So in June of this year, we drove to Kentucky to meet a nice guy named Ed Gabe who instructed our course. Initially, I was intimidated because I was taking this class diving a single tank while everyone else (including my husband) was diving doubles. I also sensed they were all looking for a pass so they can take technical or cave diving which was way beyond my scope. After listening to Ed talk, I realized that this was a class for all skill levels. The first day was mainly lecture with the pool test at the end of the day. The next day was a little more lecture and off to the quarry to practice what we learned. These four days were information packed and full!
Folks, I wont be shy in saying this class was hard! There were a few times I thought I was going to chew my regulator off.
It basically took me back to the basics of diving but I was to do these skills in a neutral position while trying to maintain a depth at the same time. I learned the more you task load the more challenging it can be. This was a huge change from kneeling on a platform. I had a lot of baggage coming into this class (poor Ed had his hands full). My neurosis included 1. Fear of getting too close to the bottom, and kicking up silt, so I would often dive above my dive partner, 2. Getting air into the feet of my dry suit, 3. Uncontrollable ascending to the surface in a dry suit. In order to make me feel comfortable, Ed literally had to have me lay on the platform and help me obtain the correct position in order for me to get the feel of being in a neutral position with my knees bent and my feet up. I had to work on just getting used to hovering over the platform. After we did this, I thought Aha! This is how it works! I also thought I knew how to swim underwater .WRONG!
I learned quickly I needed to improve my propulsion techniques and make my frog kick less jerky. The jet fins I got were a lot heavier than my aqua lungs which definitely took some getting used to. Ed also literally moved my fins to give a feel of the frog kick and the back kick. It was very helpful because all I ever used before was the flutter kick and doing a frog kick without fins is very different than with fins. By the end of the class I was starting to get a hang of these propulsion techniques. In the end, I passed with a provisional thus order to receive the certification I would need to do check out dives within six months. (When going into this class you can either go for a recreational pass or a technical pass. I was going for the Recreational pass.) I left the class feeling like I learned a lot but needed to practice. Yet, I already noticed a remarkable improvement with my comfort level in the water when we dove some wrecks in Lake Michigan in July. We dove two of the same wrecks we dove the summer before and I was amazed! I saw so much more detail of the ships then I did the summer before. I was so much more relaxed and confident. In fact I felt giddy (No I wasnt experiencing narcosis) as we swam through the open cargo bay of the Willie.
I was determined to improve my skills so I dove in my dry suit all summer (even in 90 degree heat in August). I decided that if I could master diving in a dry suit and do all my skills, everything else would be cake afterwards. So off we went to the Dive stop and Mermet springs to practice repetitions of S (safety gas sharing drills) drills, valve drills, and the basic five (1.taking the regulator in and out of your mouth.) 2. Taking your primary regulator out of your mouth, switching to your back up and clipping off your primary. 3. handing off your primary regulator to your partner and switch to your back up regulator. 4 Mask flooding and clear. 5. Taking your mask off and replacing it.) SMB bag shooting with a controlled ascent. I also practiced how to do the back kick by going to local YMCA and trying to do laps using the back kick. I think the lifeguard thought I was nuts trying to swim backwards.
Well all my hard work paid off because I passed!
arty:arty: This past weekend I did my check out Dives with Ed Gabe at Mermet springs. The drills went well. The challenges I had was the valve drill and the SMB buoy shooting. I just bought new undergarment which was a little more restrictive as far as reaching my tank valve. This evoked a few underwater curse words on my part. Ed patiently reviewed with me what I needed to do to move that tank up so I could reach it. I also had some challenges with the SMB shooting. I didnt practice this quite as much as I was more focused on the basic skills. Trying to multitask and ascend the last 10 feet over 30 seconds and maintain neutral trim was very challenging. This too evoked a few underwater curse words and regulator chewing. Ed noticed that I was not efficiently dumping my primary dump on the back of my wing. After reviewing that, things improved. I still have work to do but definitely have more control while doing this activity. The most important thing I took away from this class is that successful diving is all about attitude. When I am not aggravated with myself or frustrated that I am not performing at the level I would like to be, I actually dive with great competence. As soon as I let my neurosis or aggravation level get the best of me, my skills deteriorate. It is almost like one has to have Zen while they are diving. The more relaxed one is, the easier things just fall in place.
At any rate, I am ecstatic about the progress I made this summer. I owe a lot of the credit to Ed whom is a very patient and skilled instructor. He was able to help me to calm down and help me acquire skills that perhaps didnt come to me as naturally as they would to others. Ultimately, I think I accomplished what I set out to do and that was to become a better diver, improve my situational awareness, and a better dive buddy. Furthermore, after learning these new skills, diving is so much easier and relaxing! My husband and I are going back to Bonaire for two weeks in November. I am looking forward to putting these new skills to use. Mucho kudos to my husband, Ed, and Benji.
Best wishes Kathy (wife of b1country)
