I took a private class because my work schedule made it impossible to take the regular 5-week class. My instructor was very patient and encouraging and I did quite well in the theory and pool work portion of the course. Then I went to the open water dive weekend at the end of October. Things did not go well there.
My instructor was not there. . . . The day of the first dive it was raining heavily. We had to descend to the beach, carrying our gear, over a fairly challenging (for me, at least) "stair" of very slippery rocks. By the time I got all my gear down, which took three trips, I was exhausted, soaked and cold.
I then put on all the gear for the very first time. . . . The 7ml farmer jane, gloves and hood were not only uncomfortable, but made it nearly impossible for me to do things I had done easily in the pool. I couldn't even get my fins on. . . . This produced a great deal of anxiety. The unfamiliar gear, the extra weight (lots of extra weight), the rain - I was just overwhelmed. I felt clumsy. I tried to soldier on, but one of the instructors finally called it. I packed up, carried my gear back up the damned rocks and went home. . . . Any thoughts? Does this just happen sometimes? Is the shop being reasonable? Should I just suck it up, complete the extra pool sessions and head for warm water? Any suggestions for alternatives?
I think there is a pretty clear consensus, among other posters, on your experience, and I will probably just add to it, and may not offer uniquely new perspectives.
1. Your experience with the gear is unfortunately not all that uncommon. Too often, new(er) divers are put in, or buy and use, new / unfamiliar gear for the first time during dives at the end of the course. I see this often in AOW - divers find AOW to be a great time to buy their first set of gear and show up ready to dive in gear they have only put on in the shop when they bought it. That doesn't work well in many cases. But, not infrequently, OW students do their Confined Water training in a warm, comfortable pool. then head out to do their OW dives in cold water and have to don thick neoprene, which requires LOTS of weight, for the first time. That happens with our early season OW classes, where we put OW students in the full Famer John/Jane rig with shorty on top to get in the 60 dgeree quarry in May, when they have been in a warm pool right up to that point. Usually, I try to have them use thick neoprene for the last CW session, just so they don't encounter what you did - environmental shock. The thick neoprene can be a real bear. When you pay for private instruction, you have a reason to expect a little more advance planning, and help in becoming acclimated to the difference. Your comments don't suggest you are a bad, or weak, or inadequate diver. Rather, you were abruptly thrust into an unfamiliiar, somewhat unpleasant, environment. Some people can adapt quickly, others may not. It is not a sign of weakness or inadequacy to feel less than confident at first.
2. I tend to agree with those who questioned the absence of your instructor. You paid for private instruction and that should (and usually does) include private OW dives. Yet, it sounds like you were put into a large group for your OW dives (and without your instructor). Unless there is something else to the story that we are missing (e.g. you absolutely HAD to finsh by a certain date, and those OW dives were your only option, and your instructor simply was not available), that should not have happened. And, I don't get the impression that you were pushing the timeline.
3. You learned a valuable lesson (unplanned, but nonetheless valuable) - any diver can call any dive, at any time, for any reason. It sounds like the dive was called not just for you but for the others as well. That is suggestive that the conditions were seen as not reasonable for OW diving instruction. I appreciate the shop's desire to proceed, despite the rain, etc. Here in NC, unless there is lightening, we will go ahead with planned weekend dives, for OW, AOW, Rescue, whatever (and, even then, we just stay out of the water untill the lightening stops). To paraphrase Herodotus, '"Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous scuba instructors and students from the swift completion of their appointed rounds". Well, maybe 'gloom of night', for new diver OW dives.
4. The shop's offer of extra pool sessions suggest they perceive the problem to be your skills, or your anxiety level. They were there, we were not, so I must defer to first-hand observations. But, if you only got as far as floating on the water, it is difficult to see how any determination of skills could be the issue. And, you have already said you were anxious by the time you got the gear down to the entry, and got the thick neoprene on. I am not sure how two extra pool sessions, NOT IN FULL NEOPRENE, will help that. You need to be in the gear you will dive in.
5. It sounds, from your commentary AND from another poster, that the site was perhaps not optimal, and that another local site would be better. A $20 entry fee - who cares?
So, I would:
1. Discuss the experience with your instructor, who should be familiar with your skills. He should also be your advocate with the shop. Be courteous, but firm and direct about what you expect in the way of private instruction.
2. Get into the pool again, but insist that you have a chance to work in the full neoprene (you can probably leave the hood and gloves off much of the time). Yes, it will probably be a bit warm, but if you stay in the water, that should be OK. Use that opportunity to get used to the neoprene, AND get your weight optimized (for fresh water), AND figure out how to use your BCD with the neoprene, etc. Go over your skills again, in that rig. Wearing thick neoprene takes some getting used to.
3. Thank the shop for their helpful suggestion that you go someplace warm for your OW dives. But, indicate that you would rather go someplace local, AND APPROPRIATE, for your OW dives, since that is the environment in which you plan to dive.
