Worries when diving

[cool79]

Hi all
My wife has a few issue when she is diving, she will also be scare that her mask will be pushed away by the current. And she keep complaining that her mask is loose.

While diving with her, I have realised that is she blowing bubble out of the top of her mask and she keeps holding on her mask.

She is still scare of clearing mask in the open sea too.

What would be the best solution?
She is currently an open water diver with 11 dives.

 

[japan-diver]

First if she is that uncomfortable in the water she should not have been certified. I would find an instructor who will work with her on this- and not the one who you did the class with.

 

[cool79]

she was ok during her open water. it was an one to one training.
after her OW, we went for 2 shore dives in Bali and she is ok.

after a mth, we went to tioman for 5 dives, and she got freaked out during her 1st dive, as she did not learn giant strike before in Bali.
once after her failure of giant strike, her mask flew off and she get panic.

after that dive trip, i trained her in the pool for 3 sessions. it's on giant strike, mask clearing, fining and also breathing.

last weekend, we went for LOB and she did 5 dives, but during the 3rd and 4th dive, the group was like keep fining and fining to the destination. and after the dive, i told her to move at your own pace, i will be behind her. but she keep fining against the current... ended up, i lost her and she was under my friend care during that dive, and i was left alone.

after that dive, i enjoyed solo dive!!!

---------- Post Merged at 09:32 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:27 PM ----------

how do i train her on how to breathe in the water without breathing out through the nose?

 

[japan-diver]

With just a couple dives and no experience teaching scuba - you are not the one who should be working with her. Fear of clearing the mask normally does not happen suddenly - I am sure she was never truly comfortable with this skill when she got "certified". Losing your buddy on a dive also shows you may need a bit more training also.

 

[adutto]

i told her to move at your own pace, i will be behind her. but she keep fining against the current... ended up, i lost her and she was under my friend care during that dive, and i was left alone.

If you don't mind the comment...

You should never leave your dive buddy alone because she/he was lost. There are specific procedures you should follow in those cases, but definitely you should not leave the other person behind. (more than anything if you promise her that you will be behind, for sure she expected you'll be there).

my 0.02

Regards!

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I join others in suggesting remedial training with a competent instructor before she heads out to dive again. Clearly there are several skills she needs to learn, or re-learn, correctly.
DivemasterDennis

 

[SangP]

she was ok during her open water. it was an one to one training.
after her OW, we went for 2 shore dives in Bali and she is ok.

after a mth, we went to tioman for 5 dives, and she got freaked out during her 1st dive, as she did not learn giant strike before in Bali.
once after her failure of giant strike, her mask flew off and she get panic.

after that dive trip, i trained her in the pool for 3 sessions. it's on giant strike, mask clearing, fining and also breathing.

last weekend, we went for LOB and she did 5 dives, but during the 3rd and 4th dive, the group was like keep fining and fining to the destination. and after the dive, i told her to move at your own pace, i will be behind her. but she keep fining against the current... ended up, i lost her and she was under my friend care during that dive, and i was left alone.

after that dive, i enjoyed solo dive!!!

---------- Post Merged at 09:32 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:27 PM ----------

how do i train her on how to breathe in the water without breathing out through the nose?

Honestly, I wouldn't take such a cavalier attitude about enjoying a solo dive...

A lot of what you've describe does not sound that she is ok. The fact that a couple of hick-ups can lead up to some rather strange habits makes me wonder if she is really ready for scuba in the first place.

Breathing through her nose, fear of the mask coming off and constant fining sounds like a person very uncomfortable in the water.

If you want to train her in the pool about breathing through the mouth you could try to let her use a snorkel an mask in the pool first.

If she is able to do it, remove the mask and just breath through the snorkel while her face is down in the water.

Most importantly get a competent trainer, perhaps more pool sessions would be advisable before her next dive too.

 

[TMHeimer]

I join others in suggesting remedial training with a competent instructor before she heads out to dive again. Clearly there are several skills she needs to learn, or re-learn, correctly.
DivemasterDennis

Agree. A simple thing like holding mask (and regulator) in place during Giant Stride (or backroll) off a boat solves that. I haven't ever had my mask come off (even descending through very strong current), but it shouldn't be a cause to worry. She needs to be much more comfortable in the water.

 

[endurodog]

Doing scuba reviews I had one lady that had an issue with clearing her mask to the point I couldn't get her to complete the mask clear. She advised that when she was certified she had no problem with it and wasn't sure why she developed the problem. So it does happen.

The solutions is to have her work with a certified instructor to be able to accomplish this improtant skill. There are somethings that can be done to get her past this as long as she has the desire. I wouldn't want her to dive until she overcomes the issue. Good luck with it.

 

[cool79]

how do i make her comfortable in the water?