Feeling discouraged after my first pool dive.

[Neilwood]

Hi all! Thank you for all your encouragement!

I was not able to finish the class. After trying to stay vertical for 20 mins (one on one) they determined that my rental suit was too bulky and big (arms/legs too long and folded, top of jumper popping up, 7mm suit for CA waters—) and was just too restricting. Im 4’10 and not the “average” butt size per the size charts.

They suggested I get a custom suit and try again in another class Instructor said he would email me deets.

Im so sad, but at least I got some pool time under my (weight) belt.

That is a shame but I would assume that it should be possible to resume the training where you left off (if you don't leave it too long).

I sucked with regards to buoyancy in my early pool sessions - I was were trying to maintain a hover at approx 3m(10ft) in the pool during confined water dives and I was moving up and down by about a metre (3ft). I was getting frustrated about it so my instructor said to take an early lunch but that it was about timing. Had lunch, got back in (I hate getting back in a wet wetsuit) and tried it again. Worked like a treat and I was down to moving by about 6 inches each way.

There are a few things to remember:
1) Relax - it is a lot harder to maintain a hover if you are stressed.
2) Get your weighting right - maintaining a hover is hard if you have too much weight as any swing up or down becomes exaggerated.
3) Remember that your breath takes a short time to have an effect both ways. Breath in and it will take a second or two for you to move up, breath out and it will take a second or two to start falling. Use this to your advantage by starting your exhale as you pass the midway on your way up and inhaling as you pass the mid point on your way down.

By playing with the timing and volume of your inhalations and exhalations, you will find that maintaining a hover becomes easier.

By virtue of the fact that you are self diagnosing your hovering problem and want to counter it, I reckon that within a few dives in open water, you will have no issues with it. There is a point at which almost all regular divers find that their buoyancy becomes subconscious and you don't even realise that you are maintaining it without effort - it is an amazing feeling when you realise that "I've got it". Mine came about dive 7 or 8 - I realised that I was more relaxed and hadn't even thought about it.

 

[wnissen]

The pool dives are humbling. I remember waiting my turn while the other students were doing their skills and deciding to unzip the pocket of my BC, just to try it. I ended up on the surface without even realizing it! Situational awareness, breath control, proprioception, it's all hard and there's no way a student can lock it all in simultaneously. There is a reason "instructor-quality buoyancy" is a thing. At the time I wondered if I'd ever get buoyancy under control. The jacket-style BCs that seem to be universal rental gear are really only good for the surface, they make it harder to be steady underwater. Hope you get equipment and weighting set up and are able to practice. Open water training is so, so not fun compared to real diving. You can do it!

 

[FinnMom]

The only swim strokes I learned as a kid were how to dog paddle and how to swim underwater. So I usually did my swimming underwater. At age 45 I did a try dive. Its start was a bit rocky :-D
It took me maybe 15 tries to just bend down and submerge my head AND CONTINUE TO BREATHE. I wasn't the least bit scared, I thought it was damn funny, but try as I might I just couldn't do it: holding my breath when my head was underwater was too strong a learned reaction.
It's a very common problem, and a very common source on anxiety. But you do get over it.

Bouyancy too is a skill that takes a lot of learning, esp. at the beginning because many people having a hard time learning how to get their BCD truely empty => so they go under with extra air in the BCD and extra weight to compensate => so they make a challenging skill for the beginner significantly more difficult.
This too will change.

So as the popular mantra says: it gets better.

 

[happy-diver]

I was not able to finish the class. After trying to stay vertical for 20 mins (one on one) they determined that my rental suit was too bulky and big (arms/legs too long and folded, top of jumper popping up, 7mm suit for CA waters—) and was just too restricting. Im 4’10 and not the “average” butt size per the size charts.


I'm so sad, but at least I got some pool time under my (weight) belt.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha that's the spirit, get yourself a suit and go for it again gemini528
It's not possible to perform under those circumstances at any level gemini528

I stayed on the boat last Sunday because my wetsuit had apparently shrunk between seasons
and was restricting my chest

and here's a for everyone video and for the near future when you get that suit


Hey I feel completely discouraged and underwhelmed every few months
when I learn a new rebreather and that's after decades of diving competence
and my gear is tailor made ha ha ha ha ha

The jacket-style BCs that seem to be universal rental gear are really only good for the surface, they make it harder to be steady underwater.

I would contend a competent diver is able to use any gear to keep suitably steady or complete any other tasks underwater, however the jacket Bcs cummerbunded and clipped sometimes twice across the chest can become quite dangerous on the surface if breathing at any rate above normal because when inflated they restrict the expansion of your chest and lungs for deep breathing and due to design continue to do so even after you unclip the straps and loosen the cummerbund which you must do if breathing heavily on the surface to permit full breaths

Go diving.


Watching more advanced videos may perhaps answer some questions the basic ones don't

 

[davehicks]

Don't worry too much about the teenagers, you won't see too many more of them! The Scuba Crowd tend to run a lot older and many (most?) divers are probably in their 30's - 60s. I know a few in their 80's. On almost any dive trip I've ever been on most of the divers are 40+.

Edit: Just found this interesting Dema fact sheet on Diver Demographics. Open Water, Advanced Training, Traveling Diver, LiveAboard, etc..
https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.dema.org/resource/resmgr/Research_Documents/Diving_Fast_Facts-2014.pdf

 

[rvojr]

I had a similar experience in the pool. Then we started playing with the weighted pool torpedoes which kinda distracted us from being self conscious. Then I realized we were underwater for 30 minutes and wasn't over analyzing it.

 

[Neilwood]

I had a similar experience in the pool. Then we started playing with the weighted pool torpedoes which kinda distracted us from being self conscious. Then I realized we were underwater for 30 minutes and wasn't over analyzing it.

There is a lot to say about getting distracted/playing games - sometimes it is enough to just let the conscious brain get out of the way enough to let you relax.

 

[Vitesse2l]

sometimes it is enough to just let the conscious brain get out of the way enough to let you relax.

I agree with this and would add that it can take a while to get there. For me it was around dive 25. The water was 8C as I recall!

 

[yle]

Hi all! Thank you for all your encouragement!


I was not able to finish the class. After trying to stay vertical for 20 mins (one on one) they determined that my rental suit was too bulky and big (arms/legs too long and folded, top of jumper popping up, 7mm suit for CA waters—) and was just too restricting. Im 4’10 and not the “average” butt size per the size charts.


They suggested I get a custom suit and try again in another class Instructor said he would email me deets.


Im so sad, but at least I got some pool time under my (weight) belt.

Gemini, there are other options you could pursue that might make diving much more accessible for you. I can tell you from direct experience: learning to dive in California is challenging for anyone. I'm in So Cal, and the water down here only requires a 7mm (and hood, gloves, boots.) I assume your class was going to dive somewhere north of Monterrey... where a 7mm suit will still leave most people freezing their *** off.

So not only would you have to deal with a thick wetsuit (a serious challenge for any new diver), but you would likely still be cold in the water anyway. And if the wetsuit doesn't even fit properly? Just another huge obstacle.

Should you get a custom wetsuit made? I wouldn't recommend that. They're not cheap and it won't be a magic solution to the obstacles you face.

Why not try skipping the wetsuit for now? If you are able to travel, there are plenty of locations around the Caribbean, either the southeast US (e.g. Florida), Cozumel, or any of the islands, that offer diving and warm, clear water. The water in the summer is usually warm enough to allow diving in just a swimsuit. Even winter in the Caribbean typically only requires a thin wetsuit.

If you like this idea, talk to your instructor about doing a "referral". This usually requires that you do the academic and pool portion of the class at home, then take your paperwork with you to warm water where a local shop will take you diving and finish your certification. This could give you the best of both worlds: plenty of pool time to work on skills and get comfortable with your buoyancy, and being able to get certified without the wetsuit issues.

THEN... after you know you like diving and you feel comfortable with all the skills and your buoyancy and such, and you want to dive closer to home, you can take the next step and consider getting a custom wetsuit made. Even better, if you really want to dive in northern Cal, go for a drysuit. They're not cheap, but they're definitely worth the money if you'll be diving in cold water.

I hope this helps. And I hope your instructor can help you explore all available options to help to become a safe and enthusiastic diver.

 

[Alekseolsen]

Dont you worry too much about Buoyancy, my last Insta-buddy had 60-70 dives, and were literally dragging himself along the bottom, except for the times he went up to the surface.
The funny part is, after surfacing, the only "complaint" he had on the dive was a leaking mask! In other words, his "digital" control in buoyancy seemed to be enough for him!
Needless to say, I gave a thumbs up with over 200 bars left on my bottle..