astromattical
Registered
Almost that time! I start my OW class this Saturday! My intentions for this thread are to keep it updated with my progress through the class with detailed accounts of what goes on. I hope it will be useful for people who will take the class in the future - I know it often helps to know as much as possible, especially if you're nervous about the class for any reason. Anything I can do to help!
The class dates are 10/6, 10/7, 10/13, 10/14. The first half of the 6th will be going over knowledge reviews in the PADI Open Water Diver Manual, and quizzes the instructor has provided. The second half will be spent in the pool, along with pool time for all of the 7th. The 13th and 14th are dives at Lake Rawlings.
My fiancee and I are doing the class together. We paid our deposit which allowed us to receive out PADI packet and class materials about 2-3 weeks ago, and shortly after we paid our remaining balance for the class. It was important to get the materials so far in advance because it does take quite some time to go through it all and complete the knowledge reviews and quizzes, if that is the format your instructor takes. Working full-time and going to school doesn't help. Don't procrastinate!
My fiancee and I are borrowing some snorkeling gear from my dad for the class - mask, snorkel, and fins. Key words there are "snorkeling gear." The class requires us to have boots, fins, mask, and snorkel. We took our fins to the LDS (local dive shop, if you're new around here) to purchase the boots. This is a text book example of why you need to wear boots and fins together before making your purchase. We put the boots on and wouldn't you know it...the boots don't even begin to fit into the fins that came in the snorkeling package that was designed for warm water. Oops.
So that settles that. We purchased new fins. While we were at it, we went ahead and purchased our own snorkels along with the boots that fit inside the fins. We're all set now with our equipment necessary for the class. The masks are fine, and we'll soon be purchasing our own with prescription lenses.
My fiancee also purchased ear plugs designed for diving - she usually gets an ear infection if too much water gets in them. Personally, I think I was a fish in my past life and never have any issues in the water, and feel best while in it, actually!
So here we are, a few days before our class. We're just about done with our class material. It wasn't hard, and a lot of it is common sense once you understand the basic concepts of scuba diving and the "physics" of it. We both feel excited - not nervous at all. We both can swim (I was a competitive swimmer for a while), and we've both done the whole snorkel thing in the past a few times.
I was fortunate enough to have been able to go to a pool 2 weeks ago and practice snorkel and mask clearing. Snorkel clearing is extremely easy, and mask clearing wasn't bad at all. The worst part was opening my eyes with highly chlorinated water in the mask...stupid me. It usually takes 2-3 attempts to fully clear the mask, the first try usually brings the water to just below eye-level. I'm glad I got to try it ahead of time though - I will definitely not be intimidated when it comes time to do it in the pool or Lake Rawlings!
That's enough rambling for now I suppose - I will keep this thread updated as we make our way through the class. Ask any questions and I will do my best to answer them.
The class dates are 10/6, 10/7, 10/13, 10/14. The first half of the 6th will be going over knowledge reviews in the PADI Open Water Diver Manual, and quizzes the instructor has provided. The second half will be spent in the pool, along with pool time for all of the 7th. The 13th and 14th are dives at Lake Rawlings.
My fiancee and I are doing the class together. We paid our deposit which allowed us to receive out PADI packet and class materials about 2-3 weeks ago, and shortly after we paid our remaining balance for the class. It was important to get the materials so far in advance because it does take quite some time to go through it all and complete the knowledge reviews and quizzes, if that is the format your instructor takes. Working full-time and going to school doesn't help. Don't procrastinate!
My fiancee and I are borrowing some snorkeling gear from my dad for the class - mask, snorkel, and fins. Key words there are "snorkeling gear." The class requires us to have boots, fins, mask, and snorkel. We took our fins to the LDS (local dive shop, if you're new around here) to purchase the boots. This is a text book example of why you need to wear boots and fins together before making your purchase. We put the boots on and wouldn't you know it...the boots don't even begin to fit into the fins that came in the snorkeling package that was designed for warm water. Oops.
So that settles that. We purchased new fins. While we were at it, we went ahead and purchased our own snorkels along with the boots that fit inside the fins. We're all set now with our equipment necessary for the class. The masks are fine, and we'll soon be purchasing our own with prescription lenses.
My fiancee also purchased ear plugs designed for diving - she usually gets an ear infection if too much water gets in them. Personally, I think I was a fish in my past life and never have any issues in the water, and feel best while in it, actually!
So here we are, a few days before our class. We're just about done with our class material. It wasn't hard, and a lot of it is common sense once you understand the basic concepts of scuba diving and the "physics" of it. We both feel excited - not nervous at all. We both can swim (I was a competitive swimmer for a while), and we've both done the whole snorkel thing in the past a few times.
I was fortunate enough to have been able to go to a pool 2 weeks ago and practice snorkel and mask clearing. Snorkel clearing is extremely easy, and mask clearing wasn't bad at all. The worst part was opening my eyes with highly chlorinated water in the mask...stupid me. It usually takes 2-3 attempts to fully clear the mask, the first try usually brings the water to just below eye-level. I'm glad I got to try it ahead of time though - I will definitely not be intimidated when it comes time to do it in the pool or Lake Rawlings!
That's enough rambling for now I suppose - I will keep this thread updated as we make our way through the class. Ask any questions and I will do my best to answer them.
