What's the hardest class you have taken, and what made it hard?

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The hardest (i.e., most humbling) class that I ever took was decompression procedures.

It was difficult because I did the course while cave diving. The combination was overwhelming. Coming up from 150 feet in the dark without visual references, managing ascent rates, switching to the deco bottles on the fly, all overwhelming.

Should have done it in open water instead. During the day.
 
Wow, you people are really giving this guy who learned how to swim a hard time. I applaud him for learning how to swim through diving and being honest about it. I'd much rather dive with someone who is honest about their capabilities then someone who feels they are the best at everything. Be nice people. Diving is supposed to be fun and you are supposed to learn from your experiences.

Its ok honestly. People are entitled to their opinions. I have been in more places then alot of people and seen alot worse then alot of people. I work in law enforcement so they really dont bother me when they bash either me or the agency for giving me a chance.

I am proud of where I came from and how I learned to swim. I used to be deathly afraid of water I could not touch the bottom in. LOL now I have been in the water that drops off reportedly to over 1,000 feet deep. (Cayman wall)

And I agree with you. Id rather take a dive with an honest person then one who thinks he invented the sport.

Thanks for the kind words :)
 
...//.... I work in law enforcement so they really dont bother me when they bash either me or the agency for giving me a chance.

I am proud of where I came from and how I learned to swim. ...//...

Throwing in on your side, :support:

-funny, no emoticon for that...

OMG, there IS a "Support" emoticon!!!
 
We did that with every class untill the AIDS scare. It is a worth-while exercise.

I am more worried about herpes and other diseases you can get from mouth to mouth contact (unlike HIV). I am uncomfortable sharing regulators for that reason (other than with my boyfriend of course!) I would not do mouth to mouth in a class.

Says who? Never know what orientation the dude youre practicing on has :p

Oh please, don't flatter yourself.
 
I am more worried about herpes and other diseases you can get from mouth to mouth contact (unlike HIV). I am uncomfortable sharing regulators for that reason (other than with my boyfriend of course!) I would not do mouth to mouth in a class.

I've wondered about that as well. How do you handle primary donate with (non-boyfriend) buddies? I'm not sure I can convince myself that a .08-second swish in the open water will suffice for "sterilization." Do you have a conversation about it with anyone you are going to buddy with? Or?
 
Lets just say that if I have to choose between herpes and drowning, I preferr herpes...
 
I've wondered about that as well. How do you handle primary donate with (non-boyfriend) buddies? I'm not sure I can convince myself that a .08-second swish in the open water will suffice for "sterilization." Do you have a conversation about it with anyone you are going to buddy with? Or?

In a swimming pool it would not be a major problem since the Chlorine will kill the bacteria and viruses that it comes in to contact with. In Open water there is more concern especially since diseases such as HIV, Herpes, Hep C and so on need fluids to live. Though this is very rare one would catch anything simply being in the water it is in fact supplying the bacteria with what it needs to survive. Fluids.

Keep in mind though some diseases are fragile such as HIV and will die fairly quickly once outside the body and placed in a sudden temperature change with the fluid.
 
Lets just say that if I have to choose between herpes and drowning, I preferr herpes...

Obviously. But practicing mouth to mouth doesn't require that choice, only doing it in real life. You can use barriers in practice.

Blue Sparkle, in my cave class we had to do a lot of buddy breathing but other than that it has not been an issue really (I did have to donate air to an OOA diver once with about four cold sores but it was my octopus and I disinfected it before using it again). It was actually my cave buddy who came up to me and said 'ok this is a weird question but do you have herpes?' before we did the buddy breathing exercises as he didn't want to share regulators with someone who had herpes. I am quite happy to share regulators with him and my boyfriend, and I do 99% of my diving with them anyway. In a real life emergency I would share gas with anyone, though I see no point in taking on that risk in practice scenarios.
 
My hardest class was OW because we also got Drysuit certified at the same time - in March - in the midwest. Cold water. Cold air. And while I was in fine physical shape I wasn't in optimal shape to carry that gear from the staging area to the dock. I'm still amazed that I wanted to dive AT ALL after that open water weekend! There are a couple of things I really wish the instructors would have warned me about - the fact that this gear was going to be SO heavy, and the fact that the water would be SO cold that it would literally feel shocking when I did my mask removal/flooding skills test. I honestly think I would have dealt with it better if I had been forewarned - but I went in to that weekend fairly ignorant. If it's at all possible to avoid it I would recommend a new OW candidate not get drysuit certified at the same time.
 
We are sort of diverging here but... A drowning vicitm is likely to be spitting up or foaming up a bloody sputum... I wouldn't risk getting a mouthful of blood doing mouth-to-mouth on anyone unless I have regularly been swapping spit with that personal already...

As far as donating regulators, the risk of disease transmission is a lot lower...
 

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