1st confined Water Dives

[Helter Skelter]

Well I have been so eager to finally take my 1st breaths underwater and finally had my first water dives for my Open water certification. I don't really know how to explain this but we went threw checking and rigging our gear and how to dawn it in the water. We were still floating and breathing from the regulators and then we just descended maybe 2 ft in 4 ft of water at the shallow end of pool. I think I maybe had 6-8 very shallow breaths and thought to myself there is no way I can put sixty feet of water over my head and do this. My instructor said for the first 2 mins I stared at the side of the pool straight pass him and my eyes were wide but I was still giving a okay signal. He said I looked deep in thought. I figured out right away I wasn't taking full breaths but really had, and it was hard, to make myself breath fully. As I was think I couldn't do this and trying to make myself take slow deep breaths I figured what the heck I am going to get this if it take 40 grand and 3 years to pass. So I simple let more air out of my bcd and headed a little deeper so I was all the way underwater. My instructor said that was about the time that he signaled me again and it was if I was a total different person I signal back with a grin from ear to ear. Needless to say If I was not real determined and maybe had been peer pressured into it I would of got out then. But I relaxed and by the end I could not get that grin of my face. And that is coming from the guy that didn't smile 5 hrs earlier when he took his photo for his Padi file. I told him then I am pretty simple guy and not much more than my wife or kids really make me smile and that's not real often.

My favorite part was taking my mask all the way off again I had a second I thought breath idiot and poof my body just closed my naval passage and boom It was easy. My instructor said that its still hard for him to keep the water from his nose from time to time but I made it look really easy. Only bad part is I wear contacts and I really would have loved to have my eyes open while doing it. but instead I just sit there enjoying it in till it tapped me and tapped my mask on my arm a couple times. He said I was grinning the whole time.

Hardest part for me was oral inflation. There was a few things I told him might make that easier in the lake. One I am 6'2" tall add flippers and the fact I am in a 9ft deep pool and it seem like Id come up and get a puff or two then sink hit my fins on the pool bottom , killing the power and rise of my kicks, and I struggle to get back above the water. Add that to the fact That I really felt my inflator hose was too short and where the vest straps held it in place was too low on the vest. I think I prefer either 6 more inches in length on the hoses strap be at the top of my shoulder like on my instructors wing bcd. Come to think of it now I really had to tug to get it over sealed in my mouth it seem like and I may have been releasing air some times cause pull on it would release air too. Ill have to rethink this one.

Lastly I used a atomic venom mask which I liked but the snorkel seemed to pull on the mask, or hit me in the face or neck every time I moved my head and leak water unless I tighten the straps up a bit . And before I really new it the area in between my eye brows was contacting the frame to the lenses. I really could not feel this or was distracted until it started to hurt. I had no bruising but 3 days later its still tender but should be gone in the next 24-48 hours.

Overall I think I could easily dive 2 days a week the rest of my life. It is truly a amazing feeling I told my wife that after I am done I WANT her and my son to take the discovery scuba course. If they can hang in It will be a day to never forget there whole life and Ill have a close buddy cause one of them will like it so much they will feel like they have to get certified.

Some more thoughts id like to pass on. I would have been very disappointed with my mask and snorkel if I would have bought that brand or size. I am thinking I want to try a flex snorkel, winged bcd (But not sure about a crouch strap). split fins. And I am no so sure I want a computer on a cord now. Even though I don't like watches One on my wrist is something Id like to try. I have 4 dive shops close and 8-10 in a 2 hr radius. I plan On renting everything in ever brand around here before I buy anything. Lets say about the only thing I could buy right now and be happy with for sure Would be wet suit boots. But I took a size 11 in the brand I used and I wear a size 12 in everything else on land.

Scott
Helter Skelter

 

[TSandM]

Love the description of you smiling!

I hate a snorkel flapping around my face, too.

Don't be too quick to decide you like split fins.

 

[Yoyodyne-88]

I still remember the amazing feeling of my first underwater breath, and that was 40 years ago.

Don't worry about the mask, snorkle, fins, etcetera - everyone is hyper-conscious of their gear at first, but try to relax about it - after a while you will be much better able to tell what is normal and what needs fixing.

 

[mhattenhauer]

Congrats! I just finished my confined dives and now waiting on the OW dives. I also had a problem with my mask pushing against my head right between my eyebrows. My dive shop let me trade it for a different model and the second fit great with no touching.

 

[TSandM]

Mask fit is intensely personal. I think I went through three or four when I started diving, before I found one that really fit right and didn't leak at all. And then, several years later, I broke it -- and couldn't remember what brand it was, and the shop had gone out of business! Glad your shop was good about letting you trade for one that worked better.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

You only need the snorkel for the pool. Get a simple j tube model that is cheap and you won't mind if it gets lost in the bottom of your gear bag or in the bottom of the lake or ocean. Once you are certified you don't need the snorkel. It's a snorkel. You'll be scuba diving. Underwater the snorkel is useless so why even have it on your mask? I take one when I have to as in teaching a class. But it is not on my mask. It's bungeed to one of my tanks or stuffed in a pocket. It might be shoved into the waist belt also. But underwater? It's sure as heck not on my mask.

 

[dmaziuk]

You only need the snorkel for the pool. Get a simple j tube model that is cheap and you won't mind if it gets lost in the bottom of your gear bag or in the bottom of the lake or ocean. Once you are certified you don't need the snorkel. It's a snorkel. You'll be scuba diving. Underwater the snorkel is useless so why even have it on your mask? I take one when I have to as in teaching a class. But it is not on my mask. It's bungeed to one of my tanks or stuffed in a pocket. It might be shoved into the waist belt also. But underwater? It's sure as heck not on my mask.

... and you always get in the water at the deepest point of your dive and never ever need to swim up top without wasting your tank air.

Seriousy, though, Jim's right: you're not going to use it very much. Spend an extra $10 on a snorkel with flexible bit and a purge valve in a bit of a tube below the mouthpiece, it's a one-off expense and it makes life easier if/when you do get to use it. Have some fish tank-type silicone for when the flexible bit gets loose and starts leaking. I don't like "dry" ones, I feel like they're trying to choke me, but YMMV. Here's mine: IST Silicone Soft Flex Tube Snorkel at SwimOutlet.com -- last I looked they sold replacement mouthbits and valves for these separately, too.

 

[Helter Skelter]

Thanks for all the replies guys There is so much to take in on the diving that the gear choices are overwhelming. My dive shop insisted on not selling me anything till after I had my course completed, and even suggested get a few dives in on other brand gear too. Monday should finish the owd pool, then we will jump right back in the pool with a dry suit. Then on to the lake to there training platform I think in @ 18' of water. I cannot wait.

I also think I like the idea of maybe a quick connect on my snorkel to as the dive started it could be removed and put in a pocket then say at the last safety stop it could be easily put back on. Anyone heard of something like that? But I think for sure Ill look at using a flex snorkel on next pool session.

Also any thoughts on the wing bcd? My instructor has one and to me it looked a lot easier to help get your trim in a superman position. Just not sure how in would work with a dry suit. Most of my dives to start will be on my lake (Table Rock Lake, Branson,MO). And I have been told once you past the thermocline your in @ mid 40F year round except small periods when the lake flips. Wet suit will be for my Florida trip next spring to celebrate my 20th anniversary. I just don't think my wife know yet I want to dive at least 3 days while were there. And If I get to go to Nome AK. this winter to dive under the ice for gold I would be using a wetsuit there too

---------- Post added April 17th, 2015 at 12:18 AM ----------

Congrats! I just finished my confined dives and now waiting on the OW dives. I also had a problem with my mask pushing against my head right between my eyebrows. My dive shop let me trade it for a different model and the second fit great with no touching.

Congrats to you too. Any idea on where your ow dives are going to be?

 

[dmaziuk]

I also think I like the idea of maybe a quick connect on my snorkel to as the dive started it could be removed and put in a pocket then say at the last safety stop it could be easily put back on. Anyone heard of something like that?

The one I linked to has a "quick" clip but I never bothered to dis/reconnect it underwater so I won't comment on its utility. The tube slides up and down in a holder, I just slide it up to where it's not catching my shoulder and leave it there. You should be able to find something similar in a local sports shop (if your LDS doesn't have 'em) to take a closer look.

I never detach the clip from the mask strap, though. I detach the snorkel when there's no chop or I'm packing etc. So it's marginally handier than the basic 2-rings silicone loop.

 

[Belzelbub]

Congratulations. Good to hear that the breathing underwater thing clicked. That's a struggle for a lot of new divers. Never an issue for me, luckily. But I pretty much grew up in the water.

The snorkel thing is also pretty common. I used a snorkel through my required dives, and shortly afterwards. I don't use one anymore, so don't worry about it. If I'm doing a shoredive with a long surface swim, I'll use a folding one in a pocket during the dive. I'm not in agreement with the standards of attaching the snorkel to the mask. As you felt, it can pull on your mask. If the snorkel were to get entangled, it could easily result in mask removal.

On masks, get one that fits you. That's the most important thing. I prefer a low-profile mask (easier to clear) with a black skirt (less glare). The simpler the better. When I first started, I tried one of those tri-view masks for better peripheral vision. It worked great above the water, but was disorienting below the water. The refraction angle left a blind spot between the front lens and the side lenses. When something were to move from front to sides, there would be a period where it would disappear.

Good idea on the renting before you buy.

FWIW, my first computer was AI hose mount. I've since gone to AI hoseless wrist-mount. I prefer wrist mount much better, as I always know where it is. With a hose-mount, even clipped off, I had to grasp for it on a few occasions.