Satchmo72
Registered
First off, this is a great site and I have learned more in the last couple of weeks about Scuba from you all than I ever could imagine I would know.
I've taken up Scuba so i can go dive for my wife's wedding ring in the Lake of the Ozarks. I may find it, I may not but at least I will have learned how to do something I have always wanted to do.
I have been a competitive swimmer most of my life and am totally comfortable in the water whether it be a lake, river, ocean or pool. I had my first PADI cert class last Thursday and have come away with the following impressions.
1) Breathing underwater has to be one of the coolest feelings I have ever felt. After years of holding my breath it was a bit strange that first couple of breaths and then having the bubbles come up the side of your face. I had no issues with partial or total clearing of the mask. I did have some equalizing issues but I was still getting the hang of the the different methods. I felt at ease with everything we did.
2) So far this feels like it is a sport where good fitting, functioning equipment is key. I spent some time before the class started last Thurs and purchased my necessities. Mask,fins,snorkel and boots. I ended up with the Ion 4 mask in clear. It fit great, sealed well even with the long goat I had. I then found a nice set of Vipers that were a bit more than the Mares but they just seemed like they were built better. I say all this because the other girl that was in the class with me spent most of the pool time adjusting her mask, unable to stay down very long as it would fill quickly. In her defense it was borrowed and her cheekbones really never gave the mask a chance. I on the other hand had no mask issues whatsoever and loved the clarity and wide vision that the mask afforded me in comparison to my many years of swim goggle use.
3) There are not too many things down there besides regulator recovery that are going to be done very quickly. If I have a mask problem, no big deal, I'm still breathing under there. I have quickly learned "dont panic"
4) When the doctor said to me before that I have lungs like a horse, I now understand why. I did not realize how bouyant your lungs can make you. I was yo-yoing a bit and had to keep adjusting the BC, I have learned in the last week on Scubaboard that lungs can be used to fine-tune your depth control.
5) Competitive swim pools like the one we are doing our pool work in are cold!!!!!! I forgot how cold as now I am not swimming 10,000 yards. Towards the end of the night, I was on the surface listening to our next skill instruction and found myself feeling odd, teeth chattering and thought something may be wrong, it sure was, I was cold as heck. I do not have a wetsuit yet and underestimated the temp of the water and it's effects.
6) Do not use your BC to ascend when you are practicing alternative air. We were not told not to and it made sense since the 6' of water that we were in did not require decompression. If there is a problem, get up to the top quickly was my thought. Wrong. Circumstances actually dictated that we spent time in the pool before really going over the first chapter real well, I couldn't tell if the instructor was upset that I did it or if he was upset with himself that we skipped the first chapter reading and went right to the pool. With the time spent with the instructor so far, I have to think it might be that he was upset with himself for doing it but I could be wrong.
7) Having a patient, well versed instructor is very important if you are having a problem. The mask issues the other girl experienced showed me how much our instructor cared that she was comfortable.
I am psyched as my second class is tomorrow so I get to dive for my birthday!!!!!!
Just thought I would pass some of my impressions along for your entertainment.
Jeff
I've taken up Scuba so i can go dive for my wife's wedding ring in the Lake of the Ozarks. I may find it, I may not but at least I will have learned how to do something I have always wanted to do.
I have been a competitive swimmer most of my life and am totally comfortable in the water whether it be a lake, river, ocean or pool. I had my first PADI cert class last Thursday and have come away with the following impressions.
1) Breathing underwater has to be one of the coolest feelings I have ever felt. After years of holding my breath it was a bit strange that first couple of breaths and then having the bubbles come up the side of your face. I had no issues with partial or total clearing of the mask. I did have some equalizing issues but I was still getting the hang of the the different methods. I felt at ease with everything we did.
2) So far this feels like it is a sport where good fitting, functioning equipment is key. I spent some time before the class started last Thurs and purchased my necessities. Mask,fins,snorkel and boots. I ended up with the Ion 4 mask in clear. It fit great, sealed well even with the long goat I had. I then found a nice set of Vipers that were a bit more than the Mares but they just seemed like they were built better. I say all this because the other girl that was in the class with me spent most of the pool time adjusting her mask, unable to stay down very long as it would fill quickly. In her defense it was borrowed and her cheekbones really never gave the mask a chance. I on the other hand had no mask issues whatsoever and loved the clarity and wide vision that the mask afforded me in comparison to my many years of swim goggle use.
3) There are not too many things down there besides regulator recovery that are going to be done very quickly. If I have a mask problem, no big deal, I'm still breathing under there. I have quickly learned "dont panic"
4) When the doctor said to me before that I have lungs like a horse, I now understand why. I did not realize how bouyant your lungs can make you. I was yo-yoing a bit and had to keep adjusting the BC, I have learned in the last week on Scubaboard that lungs can be used to fine-tune your depth control.
5) Competitive swim pools like the one we are doing our pool work in are cold!!!!!! I forgot how cold as now I am not swimming 10,000 yards. Towards the end of the night, I was on the surface listening to our next skill instruction and found myself feeling odd, teeth chattering and thought something may be wrong, it sure was, I was cold as heck. I do not have a wetsuit yet and underestimated the temp of the water and it's effects.
6) Do not use your BC to ascend when you are practicing alternative air. We were not told not to and it made sense since the 6' of water that we were in did not require decompression. If there is a problem, get up to the top quickly was my thought. Wrong. Circumstances actually dictated that we spent time in the pool before really going over the first chapter real well, I couldn't tell if the instructor was upset that I did it or if he was upset with himself that we skipped the first chapter reading and went right to the pool. With the time spent with the instructor so far, I have to think it might be that he was upset with himself for doing it but I could be wrong.
7) Having a patient, well versed instructor is very important if you are having a problem. The mask issues the other girl experienced showed me how much our instructor cared that she was comfortable.
I am psyched as my second class is tomorrow so I get to dive for my birthday!!!!!!
Just thought I would pass some of my impressions along for your entertainment.
Jeff
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on my face!!!
