Learning to be a fish

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Azel

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Location
Seattle, WA
# of dives
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Hello Everyone,

My OW class will start in 6 days. I've read most of the materials and already finished watching the video. As of this time the only thing that makes me nervous is the fit test on day one.

I'm hoping that I will enjoy diving. My open water dive will be in Puget Sound, WA (it does not look appealing versus the tropics).

-Azel
 
Welcome to the addiction! Just one note, don't be disappointed if your first pool session doesn't go very well. Some people take to Scuba like a fish, others don't....and it's pretty independent of your comfort in the water without Scuba gear. I worked for my LDS so I got to see a lot of new divers under water for the first time. Let me just say that make sure you're patient, make sure that you keep calm, and remember that training is very safe. Take the time to get comfortable with all of the drills underwater in the pool....and if you'll be diving with a hood in the OW, make sure to try it in the pool first.

Most importantly, ENJOY IT!
 
Thanks for the encouragement Victorzamora.

I went for a swim at the community pool just few hours ago and practice the fit test. I used goggles since I'm not sure if using the mask, snorkel, and fins would be cheating. Sad to say I was unable to tread in the water for 10 mins. (I got tired too quickly). Now I'm starting to worry that I might be jumping on this class too soon. Maybe I should wait until I can effectively accomplish the fit test.

Have you witness others failing the fit test?
 
Azel, where are you getting certified?

If you can't do the ten minute tread, you will have problems. But some of it is technique -- did you float as much as you could? Do you swim comfortably?

As far as doing your certification dives in Puget Sound, I'll tell you this: I have been diving now for eight years. I have gone to Indonesia, and Australia, and Tahiti and a lot of the rest of the South Pacific. I have made two trips to the Red Sea, and I have dived Cozumel and made multiple trips to Hawaii. I have dived off the Baja Peninsula. And for my money, the best diving in the WORLD is up and down the West Coast of North America. The biodiversity, density of life, and amount of color we have in the Pacific Northwest is awfully hard to beat. Here's a video of the San Juan Islands that shows you how marvelous it can be:

[video=vimeo;63207811]http://vimeo.com/63207811#[/video]
 
TSandM, I signed up with Underwater Sports at Aurora for the weekend class.

The plan is to get certified prior to our (my husband is already certified with Advance OW) trip to Hawaii this November. After watching the video I could see why there are plenty of divers even at Alki Beach on regular basis. One of the advantages with this class was the option to do a dry suit certification at the same time.

I was pretty relaxed when I was swimming today and practicing treading in the water (I was able to carry a conversation with my husband while he timed me). Since I am out of practice for several years my endurance was pretty low. I believe if I've used my fins it would have been pretty easy. But since I was not sure what the test would be like I did not use any gear. To answer your question about floating, no I was not. From what I understood, I am supposed to actively tread water the whole 10 minutes, not be floating. Is this incorrect? Can I do some floating as well as actual treading?

I used to snorkel at Cabilao Island, Philippines every summer when I was studying there too bad I was not really interested then to try out scuba diving.
 
The tread is done without any fins or suit, so you were practicing perfectly. What your instructor considers acceptable may differ, but we view it as a drownproofing exercise, so anything you do to stay on top of the water is fine. But I will say that diving can involve a fair amount of physical work -- surface swimming at Edmonds, for example, or getting back to the dive boat in current or wind -- so if you are that out of shape, starting an exercise program of some kind might not be a bad idea.

We encourage all of our students to choose the dry suit option for class, even though it costs more. It reduces the student stress when they are warmer, and if you intend to dive in Puget Sound at all (and it's a VERY good idea, because the more you dive, the better you get at it) you will almost certainly end up in a dry suit eventually.
 
Thanks for the input. I'll be practicing more this week. I guess all I can do is try and try again if I don't pass this Friday.

-Azel :fish:
 
I will second that my instructor allowed us to float as well as tread water.

I got certified in southern california. IMO treading water wasn't as physically stressful as lugging all your gear down to the beach in a 7mm wetsuit, gloves, boots, and hood.

On another note, wearing all that exposure protection with all that weight can be a bit intimidating. Don't let that influence your opinion of diving though. The first time I dove in tropical water with no wetsuit at all and only 8 lbs of lead was so liberating. My point is only that diving can really vary and there's something for everyone.

I suspect you will be fine. Enjoy the experience!
 
Thank you Lopez116.

I'm excited and at the same time nervous to start the class. If my instructor will let me float and tread water then I am likely to pass the fit test.

I have been preparing for a while and will be watching the video again today and finish all the reading materials afterward. My goal was to review everything this week while practicing my swimming and water treading in the pool each night if possible.

This forum is a good source of information and I have been reading and gathering as much information as I can.

I have no clue about my instructor and after reading several post here I hope that he/she will be competent and patient in introducing me to the underwater world.

:fish:
 

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