Leejnd
Contributor
Hi,
I have to say that the people on this board are SO friendly and helpful to all the newbies! This has got to be one of the friendliest boards I've seen (and I'm a prolific poster on some other boards, especially those related to cruising).
So, I just started my PADI OW course. I decided to do this because I did a Discover Scuba while on a cruise ship in Costa Rica in March. I did two dives, including one that was supposed to just be for the certified divers, but only a couple folks signed up so the DM asked me if I wanted to join them, and he stayed with me througout the dive.
From the moment I got underwater I felt completely at home -- I knew I was meant to be there! I had zippo trouble with any of the basic skills. Equalizing came totally naturally -- I didn't even think about it, it just happened. Clearing my mask was a piece of cake. I felt no cloistrophobia at all. The DM said that I was one of his best students, and seemed to be a natural, and he encouraged me to get certfied and keep diving.
So, based on how much I loved it, and how confident he was that I would pick it up very quickly, I signed up for this class and have scheduled a bunch of dives over the next few months, at various places around the world. I started the OW class a couple days ago. We haven't been in the pool yet -- just one classroom session so far -- we go in the pool tomorrow. But now with all this stuff that I've been reading on this board I'm starting to wonder if it's going to be tougher than I thought.
Here are my concerns:
1. Removing the mask -- in the DS class we only had to clear our masks, not remove them. I wear contact lenses. Will this be a problem? I really don't want to have to get prescription glass for my mask, because then I won't be able to see when my mask is OFF! Also, I've read several posts in here about folks feeling panicky when they removed their masks. Is that common?
2. Descending -- I've been reading the threads about difficulties descending, and I didn't recall having any trouble -- but then I remembered that they dropped a line with knots on it and we just pulled ourselves down it. How difficult is it to learn to descend?
3. Bouyancy control -- is this as difficult as I'm reading in here? I don't think we even discussed this in the DS class. I just remember being able to hang out where I wanted. We went down to 50 ft. on the second dive, and I don't recall having any troubles whatsoever in controlling where I was. I didn't play with air in my BCD or anything like that.
4. OW dives -- we're leaving for a Caribbean cruise in two weeks. I will have finished all of the classroom and pool work, and will then only need the four OW dives to finish my certification. I've scheduled these dives with LDS's in St. Thomas and St. Marteen. Is there any problem with doing it this way? Is there anything I should be aware of, or I should tell the OW instructors?
For my final question, I'm not sure if I should be posting it here, or in the geographical board, but I'll try it here first. I'm taking another cruise in November, from Auckland, NZ through Tahiti to Los Angeles. I've booked a number of dives on that cruise. One of the islands we'll be visiting is Rangiroa, and there are two dives listed: the Outer Reef, for "experienced certified divers", and Tiputa Pass Current Drift, for "active advanced divers". I've been reading that Tiputa Pass is supposed to be phenomenal. I've been thinking about signing up for the AOW class between now and Nov., but now I'm wondering if I'm trying to go too fast? Okay, so I might instead sign up for the Outer Reef dive, but that one says for "experienced" certified divers. How many dives do I need to do before I'm considered "experienced" enough to do that dive?
One final question about Rangiroa -- the Outer Reef dive mentions a "deep blue water ascent". I've seen reference to that in a couple threads -- can someone tell me what that is, and how it differs from a regular ascent?
Thanks so much for any help you all can give me!
LeeAnne
I have to say that the people on this board are SO friendly and helpful to all the newbies! This has got to be one of the friendliest boards I've seen (and I'm a prolific poster on some other boards, especially those related to cruising).
So, I just started my PADI OW course. I decided to do this because I did a Discover Scuba while on a cruise ship in Costa Rica in March. I did two dives, including one that was supposed to just be for the certified divers, but only a couple folks signed up so the DM asked me if I wanted to join them, and he stayed with me througout the dive.
From the moment I got underwater I felt completely at home -- I knew I was meant to be there! I had zippo trouble with any of the basic skills. Equalizing came totally naturally -- I didn't even think about it, it just happened. Clearing my mask was a piece of cake. I felt no cloistrophobia at all. The DM said that I was one of his best students, and seemed to be a natural, and he encouraged me to get certfied and keep diving.
So, based on how much I loved it, and how confident he was that I would pick it up very quickly, I signed up for this class and have scheduled a bunch of dives over the next few months, at various places around the world. I started the OW class a couple days ago. We haven't been in the pool yet -- just one classroom session so far -- we go in the pool tomorrow. But now with all this stuff that I've been reading on this board I'm starting to wonder if it's going to be tougher than I thought.
Here are my concerns:
1. Removing the mask -- in the DS class we only had to clear our masks, not remove them. I wear contact lenses. Will this be a problem? I really don't want to have to get prescription glass for my mask, because then I won't be able to see when my mask is OFF! Also, I've read several posts in here about folks feeling panicky when they removed their masks. Is that common?
2. Descending -- I've been reading the threads about difficulties descending, and I didn't recall having any trouble -- but then I remembered that they dropped a line with knots on it and we just pulled ourselves down it. How difficult is it to learn to descend?
3. Bouyancy control -- is this as difficult as I'm reading in here? I don't think we even discussed this in the DS class. I just remember being able to hang out where I wanted. We went down to 50 ft. on the second dive, and I don't recall having any troubles whatsoever in controlling where I was. I didn't play with air in my BCD or anything like that.
4. OW dives -- we're leaving for a Caribbean cruise in two weeks. I will have finished all of the classroom and pool work, and will then only need the four OW dives to finish my certification. I've scheduled these dives with LDS's in St. Thomas and St. Marteen. Is there any problem with doing it this way? Is there anything I should be aware of, or I should tell the OW instructors?
For my final question, I'm not sure if I should be posting it here, or in the geographical board, but I'll try it here first. I'm taking another cruise in November, from Auckland, NZ through Tahiti to Los Angeles. I've booked a number of dives on that cruise. One of the islands we'll be visiting is Rangiroa, and there are two dives listed: the Outer Reef, for "experienced certified divers", and Tiputa Pass Current Drift, for "active advanced divers". I've been reading that Tiputa Pass is supposed to be phenomenal. I've been thinking about signing up for the AOW class between now and Nov., but now I'm wondering if I'm trying to go too fast? Okay, so I might instead sign up for the Outer Reef dive, but that one says for "experienced" certified divers. How many dives do I need to do before I'm considered "experienced" enough to do that dive?
One final question about Rangiroa -- the Outer Reef dive mentions a "deep blue water ascent". I've seen reference to that in a couple threads -- can someone tell me what that is, and how it differs from a regular ascent?
Thanks so much for any help you all can give me!
LeeAnne