Finished up open water classes and I am really Bummed out.

[Helter Skelter]

I was so excited to get back under the water today in the lake instead of the pool. We hit the water early because of storms in the area and followed up after with a test. I passed but was very bummed out on the 2nd dive today. We were just mainly recovering all the drills we had done in the pool. I had not really had any issues withn any of the drills in the pool except ascending but that was more of being 6'2" with another 18+" of fins in a 9 foot pool. No room to stretch out. So all the drill are running smoothly. That is until I got to free flow reg. I had done this twice in the pool and was very comfortable with it. This time though I was not comfortable or graceful.
I begin the drill and the first 10-12 sips of air go nicely. I am not positive but I believe at that point the regulator then was not touching my mouth anymore. for some reason I had it touching my mouth than pulled it away a second and brought it back close but all I know the next 30 second was why I am bummed out.. Now I know I am learning but have always strived to be the best at what I do (Something I see lacking in the younger generation. At least with my son and his friend). Anyways I took in some water and choked a second . This shook me up into what would be a few more mistakes that could of been reel bad at a greater depth. I upon taking a small breath of what was water, or so I thought, I then shoved my regulator back in my mouth and did not purge it manually but tried to blow on empty lungs and lastly I suck in what it more water. (At least this is what I think I could have purged it but did not put my close off my mouth and blew water down my throat. I'm not sure By this time I had lost my composure.) I signaled as I bolted upward. We were in 15 foot of water and @ halfway Up I grabbed my regulator back in my right hand looked at it as I continued on up to the top to gasp for some air. I knew dang well that was wrong. I must of did the free flow drill 8 more times and twice for very log extended time periods and did not have a issue after that and I think this drill will be repeated on my next several dives (after the safety stops).

Anyways that bummed me out, but what I worry about is not the drill so much it just maybe I need to do a crap I sucked water drill. That is why I lost it. It was something I did not expect and then my training fell out the window. I am not giving up but I know at 60 ft That could have been bad bad news. I was so winded when I got up topside I easily would have out breathed my regulator.

The rest of the dive went as planned. calm and smooth and relaxing.

So I guess my question for everyone is I will be running this dive around my head forever. People say You will never forget your very first breath underwater. And I am sure I will never forget that and my very first breaths of the water:depressed:. How do I use this to become a stronger diver?

Thanks

 

[cannon fodder]

I had to do the CESA four times before the instructor passed me. I have a buddy who failed his first open water dive because he couldn't relax and breath out enough to submerge. You already answered your own question,

I know I am learning but have always strived to be the best at what I do

Its amazing how much easier it gets after some practice. Just remember that it is no a competition, it is just you relaxing and enjoying.

 

[TSandM]

When I did my OW dives, on my second dive, I went to do the mask flood and clear skill, and as I had a few times in the pool, I tilted my head too far back (kneeling, of course) and got water down my throat and I choked. I was choking and coughing and really felt as though I could not breathe. I threw the thumb at the instructor, who -- shook her head! I did again, more emphatically, and she stared me down and shook her head. I was convinced I was drowning, and the coughing was horrible, but I stayed put. I learned that I could.

About a year later, that experience saved me from bolting in a situation where I really, really wanted to.

You learned you could lose it, and you didn't like it -- but that desire to bolt lies in all of us. What differs is how much stress it takes to evoke it. Choking is a very powerful stressor -- way back in the lizard brain, we do not want to drown. You now recognize the mounting anxiety and the physical sensations that go with it, and it would be my bet that you do MUCH better in your next stressed situation.

I wouldn't recommend practicing choking. It's not really very safe. But you can practice regulator recovery, mask flood and clear, regulator exchange, air-sharing, and other exercises that require moving a regulator from one place to another, with the possibility of forgetting to purge and getting some water in your mouth. If your reg breathes wet when upside-down, that's a great way to practice dealing with breathing through water, too.

You had a bad experience, and came out of it determined to be better. That's all it takes; the rest is procedural.

 

[nato]

If anything it should be a constant reminder not to take for granted the skills that you learnt in the OW course. If there is a particular thing that causes anxiety or you have issues with Eg clearing mask, you should practice that skill until it becomes second nature. that way when a buddy kicks your mask off, no problem you can put it back on without stress.

Some may disagree but I am a big fan of running thru the skills like taking off my mask swapping to my occy ect on every dive, something to keep me entertained on a 5 min safety stop....


you shouldn't see this as a negative thou or be bummed out, its something that happened, you learnt from it and can happily move on.

Dive safe

Nath

 

[mhattenhauer]

Congratulations of finishing your class. It sucks you got choked, but it'll be a constant reminder of what not to do when your regulator leaves your mouth. As long as you learn from the mistake your on the right path. I'm still waiting on my open water dives. I work weekends but my dive shop has an instructor that lives at the lake so I'll be able to do them during the week if they ever get it scheduled.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Typical courses are often too short and they often end up blowing smoke up the student's *******; giving them a false sense of confidence. You must recognize that you have very little training and your skills and reactions are still inadequate. You've learned a valuable lesson: diving is VERY simple if all goes well and when it goes bad, it takes VERY little to put you into a panic or near panic condition.

Any diver who starts to inhale water and begins to choke is going to be THINKING of panic. Same as if you are driving a car and it starts hydro-planning at high speed -it is going to catch your attention! A very accomplished driver is going to think" Oh crap, don't panic.. hold the wheel steady."

A very accomplished diver getting water blasted into the back of their throat, is going to think: "Oh crap, cough, press the purge, inhale carefully, don't bolt, you've done this many times".. (or something like that).

Learning that your are vulnerable and how horrible it feels to have water shooting into the back of your windpipe.. even just several drops is a great lesson. You can run this scenario over in your head many times.. You need to figure a way to instinctively press the purge button if you are choking and still need to clear the regulator.

In the "old days" your basic training would have involved a lot of buddy breathing - even having 3 or 4 people all waiting in a circle sharing ONE regulator, with everyone thinking "hurry up and I'm not going to bolt". You would have had practice buddy breathing with no mask.. which if you are not careful, you will inhale a little up your nose and it will shoot down your throat and cause you to choke a little and to think of bolting.

But this type of training is not promoted and I think most people think it inappropriate and too dangerous, too hard, too impractical etc. But these types of training teach a certain level of mental mastery and airway control and a higher level of confidence.. all things that will greatly reduce a diver's propensity to bolt for the surface.

I've seen some Ow instructors, (years ago) train students to use a defective and leaking regulator in the pool. The students are very carefully briefed and given the opportunity to learn to carefully sip air from a reg that is leaking a good bit of water into the second stage. It is not that hard to learn or do, if you are calm and careful and just press the purge and sip the air... but I very much doubt the OP was ever allowed to do this drill in a pool in a modern class.

I would suggest practicing breathing from a freeflowing regulator a bunch.. until it is no more than an "oh crap" situation, not a "I want to bolt for the surface".

 

[RJP]

In many respects, it's good for a new diver to have a benign incident like this. Gives some perspective.

 

[PeterNBiddle]

You've spent a remarkably small amount of time (all things considered) in an extremely basic class. During one of your class sessions you ran into something that scared you. That's totally normal and as other posters have pointed out, probably good for you and for your diving. Knowing your limits and how you are inclined to respond to them is a positive thing.

Have you ever sprained your ankle? This is not really very different. Keep diving, keep learning and cut yourself (and maybe your son and his friends?) some slack.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

You've spent a remarkably small amount of time (all things considered) in an extremely basic class. During one of your class sessions you ran into something that scared you. That's totally normal and as other posters have pointed out, probably good for you and for your diving. Knowing your limits and how you are inclined to respond to them is a positive thing.

Have you ever sprained your ankle? This is not really very different. Keep diving, keep learning and cut yourself (and maybe your son and his friends?) some slack.

This is the basic section, so we don't want to flame anyone, but I personally view spraining your ankle while playing the sport of basketball or tennis as a somewhat acceptable risk or accident.. bolting for the surface from 15 ft while scuba diving is potentially FATAL. I think they are very different.

 

[Yoyodyne-88]

"something I did not expect and then my training fell out the window..."

Practice, practice, practice. Anytime you can,in shallow water, go through the skills that make you most nervous.

You must and can and will become confident in solving any problems where you are, not by bolting for the surface.

Stop - Breathe - Think. Then act...

You can program your safe responses to be automatic.