Terror in the water

[DandyDon]

hiya. Just wanted to let you (all) know how helpful i've found my half hour in your forum. Thank you for having me, and hello! I realise this is an old thread, but perhaps you're still here...

Am new to diving - planning to take a course in a few weeks and get my very first dunk, but i realised there'd be some breathing issues. A swimming teacher basically nearly drowned me as a kid 20yrs ago (they had to fish me out with a hook and all that), and though i've taught myself to swim very well since, can go under and all that, i'm not totally happy about this idea of breathing with a nose full of water. I don't generally even swim with my head under. Your advice(s) about relaxing, choosing your own pace and so on are really great. Thank you for being here. I think i can sort it with practice, but i want to try things out before i have to do it with other people around. I can't handle being totally crap in front of a class of people, and i'm good at relaxing into problems if i can practise in private. Finding my zen, as i think one of you put it. I do a fair bit of yoga, and can control my breathing (a bit).

So i guess i've got a practical question you can help me with, if you don't mind - if i'm going to practice in the bath, how much difference does head angle make to all this? Cos gravity's quite important to that whole drowning thing, but having NO experience of this at all, i'm not sure how best to try. Lying on my back (which'd be the obvious thing for a simple tube snorkel) seems like a very bad idea, just intuitively. Water'll go right down my throat? MAybe i'm wrong. Which head angle/s am i best to try to get comfortable with it? How do you practice in teh bath, basically?

Thanks so much, guys (of both genders). Here's to the seas of Cornwall...

Glad you found some help here, but many of us would like to help more. Stick with us...

Do you have a snorkel, mask and fins? You'll need those in training, and practicing with those now and along will help you a lot with the skills you need to learn.

And drop in on our Intros fourm. We'd love to welcome you appropriately there...

 

[spectrum]

I can't believe I'm answering this in public but it's for a good cause. In a regular tub, down on your belly bend you knees so your feet are in the air, knees at the drain. I went that route to get over opening my eyes underwater. Start in some nice hot bath water and if and when you want you can add come cold for realism, actually it cools quite quick on it's own.

Furthermore I urge you to be upfront with your instructor and to find one that will give you some serious skin-diving time before letting you near a regulator to "take a dunk". This should include at least 1 open water skin dive and you should feel comfortable with going on your own at your convenience thereafter. Then begin actual scuba training.

Many many dive students who have not been traumatized have difficulty trusting the gear those first times I urge you not to skip skin-diving proficiency.

Good luck and keep in touch.

Pete

hiya. Just wanted to let you (all) know how helpful i've found my half hour in your forum. Thank you for having me, and hello! I realise this is an old thread, but perhaps you're still here...

Am new to diving - planning to take a course in a few weeks and get my very first dunk, but i realised there'd be some breathing issues. A swimming teacher basically nearly drowned me as a kid 20yrs ago (they had to fish me out with a hook and all that), and though i've taught myself to swim very well since, can go under and all that, i'm not totally happy about this idea of breathing with a nose full of water. I don't generally even swim with my head under. Your advice(s) about relaxing, choosing your own pace and so on are really great. Thank you for being here. I think i can sort it with practice, but i want to try things out before i have to do it with other people around. I can't handle being totally crap in front of a class of people, and i'm good at relaxing into problems if i can practise in private. Finding my zen, as i think one of you put it. I do a fair bit of yoga, and can control my breathing (a bit).

So i guess i've got a practical question you can help me with, if you don't mind - if i'm going to practice in the bath, how much difference does head angle make to all this? Cos gravity's quite important to that whole drowning thing, but having NO experience of this at all, i'm not sure how best to try. Lying on my back (which'd be the obvious thing for a simple tube snorkel) seems like a very bad idea, just intuitively. Water'll go right down my throat? MAybe i'm wrong. Which head angle/s am i best to try to get comfortable with it? How do you practice in teh bath, basically?

Thanks so much, guys (of both genders). Here's to the seas of Cornwall...

 

[Bicster]

I'm the one guilty of starting this thread. This weekend I finally got to redo my pool sessions and it went great. What a difference an instructor and properly functioning equipment makes!

Hanamizu: I cannot over-emphasize the importance of finding a good instructor. You may want to go as far as asking for references of the person(s) who will be teaching the class, and I suggest a small class--no more than 4-5 people, or possibly even private lessons. Our LDS offers private lessons for $65/person per class over the normal fees. That's only about $20/hr and you can go at your own pace and on your own schedule.

You won't get water in your nose. You wear a mask that covers your nose. Underwater your mask may flood, or it might come off, and you'll practice those things in a swimming pool. It's really no big deal at all. It seems hard, even scary, until you try it once or twice. You can easily replace your mask and purge the water out.

If you want to try a snorkel in the tub, get mask that fits well (and covers your nose), and just lie face-down in the water. I actually practiced the same thing, but face-up, using a scuba regulator. (You might find it hard to use a snorkel while face-up underwater.) Head orientation doesn't matter much with scuba gear; you can breathe underwater in any position.

In yesterday's pool session, our instructor had us stand in the shallow end of the pool, hold onto the side, and put our face down in the water to get used to breathing from the regulator. As a student, that was a big help. In my first (aborted) class, the instructor just rushed us out to the middle of the pool and had us go down.

Best of luck! I'm loving this now and I can't wait to go to the lake next weekend! We already booked a trip to Cozumel in November and it's gonna be great!

 

[TheDivingBear]

I'm the one guilty of starting this thread. This weekend I finally got to redo my pool sessions and it went great. What a difference an instructor and properly functioning equipment makes!

Hanamizu: I cannot over-emphasize the importance of finding a good instructor. You may want to go as far as asking for references of the person(s) who will be teaching the class, and I suggest a small class--no more than 4-5 people, or possibly even private lessons. Our LDS offers private lessons for $65/person per class over the normal fees. That's only about $20/hr and you can go at your own pace and on your own schedule.

You won't get water in your nose. You wear a mask that covers your nose. Underwater your mask may flood, or it might come off, and you'll practice those things in a swimming pool. It's really no big deal at all. It seems hard, even scary, until you try it once or twice. You can easily replace your mask and purge the water out.

If you want to try a snorkel in the tub, get mask that fits well (and covers your nose), and just lie face-down in the water. I actually practiced the same thing, but face-up, using a scuba regulator. (You might find it hard to use a snorkel while face-up underwater.) Head orientation doesn't matter much with scuba gear; you can breathe underwater in any position.

In yesterday's pool session, our instructor had us stand in the shallow end of the pool, hold onto the side, and put our face down in the water to get used to breathing from the regulator. As a student, that was a big help. In my first (aborted) class, the instructor just rushed us out to the middle of the pool and had us go down.

Best of luck! I'm loving this now and I can't wait to go to the lake next weekend! We already booked a trip to Cozumel in November and it's gonna be great!

I will second that... a dive instructor that iyou are comfortable with can make all the difference. I tried to certifiy in 2002 and the DI seemed rather, well, militaristic to me. It made me nervouse and I had alot of trouble. The ones this year were patient, and I needed that and I got through it (took me 3 OW attempts, but I made it). We just went out for our first solo dives this last weekend and had a BLAST!

Holding on to the side of the pool when you take your first breath or standing (without fins) in 3 feet of water and then dropping to your knees is definately the way to start. One of the DIs (in the first LDS we went to) let us sit for as long as we wanted on the bottom. It was to get us comfortable with the regulators. He said, "Remember that the closest air to you is not on the top, but on your back." I don't know why that stuck, but it did. And, when I had problems during demonstrating a skill, instead of popping to the surface (mask/nose/mounth full of water), I stopped for a second, thought about that, and with a single finger, pushed the purge button on my regulator and blew the water out of my mouth. I still coughed and gagged while clearing my mask and nose, but I did it through my regulator and was soon breathing well.

Peace,

Bear

 

[spectrum]

I'm the one guilty of starting this thread. This weekend I finally got to redo my pool sessions and it went great.

..................

What a difference an instructor and properly functioning equipment makes!

Wonderful news Bickster, thanks for reporting back and continue with the updates!

 

[ChrisA]

I'm the one guilty of starting this thread. This weekend I finally got to redo my pool sessions and it went great. What a difference an instructor and properly functioning equipment makes!

I've been reading this thread, not much to add after the first few posts. Just gett better equipment and an instructor you can relate to.

Aso I was thinking that your experiance with poor quality rental gear may be a "Good Thing". Now you know why if you go someplace on vacation why you want to bring your own gear.

One other thing. Be sure and DIVE. When your class is done join a dive club or two or three and get to know other divers. Those c-cards you will get are really "learners permits" and while the twoof you could learn togetter it would be better to dive with others so thier experiance can rub off on you. After a few dozen dives breathingunderwateris begin to seem natural

 

[CheddarChick]

A little fear is a good thing. If you would like to rent your own gear for the class I am sure they have a better setup than the normal class stuff. You could see if they would let you test it out on your own before the class. Don't let a little fear keep you from a great experience. It is the most wonderful feeling in the world once you get past the first stage. In the ocean there are so many things to see you quickly forget about the fear.
Cheddar

 

[asaara]

I too am a new diver who felt anxious ("if man were meant to breath under water..."

"...they'd have invented snorkels and scuba gear."

Oh, wait, they did. Well, then... ;-)

But seriously, don't you ever dream that you can breathe underwater (without any type of equipment) just fine? (and when you're in the dream, doesn't it usually seem perfectly normal to be breathing underwater?) Of course, I've had a few dreams where I end up in the water and panic slightly before I realize I can breathe down there, but usually it's like flying (without a plane) in dreams. And the coyote chasing the roadrunner off a cliff, who can walk on air until he looks down and remembers that he can't...the roadrunner doesn't look down and so doesn't have a problem.

 

[spectrum]

I've had a few dreams where I end up in the water and panic slightly before I realize I can breathe down there, but usually it's like flying (without a plane) in dreams.

Holly cow I'm not the only one who has that recurring dream! Spread my arms run a bit and soar off above the city streets.

Maybe it was a metaphor for the 3 dimensional freedom of diving that I wanted to do all of my life. Now that I'm certified I don't get that dream anymore.

Pete

 

[asaara]

About my third dive in the AOW class, I finally achieved neutral buoyancy and found out what it was to be weightless and effortless underwater. I haven't looked back since. I've logged 32 dives in two months, and it's not enough. This is, without a doubt, the most worrisomely addicting thing I have ever done.

They should take people who keep going in and out of rehab places diving, and then see which addiction they check in with the next time around...is there a diagnostic code for "nitrox"?

Seems (to me, not having been a dive instructor or watched very many classes) like an unusually long time before you got to the neutral buoyancy stage, if you were into your AOW class then (if that wasn't a typo). I'm pretty sure in my OW class we were all staying there pretty consistently (except for the "rocket points" when you're ascending and your buoyancy changes drastically in a very short distance, that takes somewhat longer...) by our third time in the water, possibly due to having an instructor who was damned good at eyeballing BCD sizes and proper weighting, erring a bit on the light side if anything and tossing a rock or two in the BCD pockets the first dive until we figured out how to dump more air from the things than we were...

Maybe I'm putting too high expectations on OW instructors here, but isn't buoyancy one of the first things you're supposed to learn in the water, after breathing?