OW Class #4 went very well

[EFB]

I went to class this week feeling yucky from the cold, but better than before. Classrom part went fine. We get to the pool. Skills for this evening are:

2 skin dive exercises
Gear up and BWRAF
Rear entry roll
Fin pivot at bottom of deep end (ears don't fail me now)
Simulated Controlled Emergency Ascent
Mask removal and swim
Hovering like Budha

I asked our instructor if I could be the first to to the rear entry since I knew it would take me longer than everyone else to descend because of my ears. He said sure...he made my buddy come in second and then we went down together. I went SUPER slow and just kept praying that my ear would not give me the problems I had on Tuesday. My buddy was great and very suportive (I liked her from when I first met her) and as it turns out, it didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. I kept clearing and moving my head side to side (my instructor told me to do that) and I settled at the bottom and calmed down. I had been stressing for two days. I knew that these activities would have to be done in the deep end.

No issues with any of the skills. My instructor looked at me when he was talking about doing the swim without a mask and I told him in all honesty that this skill didn't bother me. I had already removed my mask twice...swimming wasn't going to be a issue. Especially when he told me that he would be right beside me since my eyes were closed and then he tapped me when I could stop swimming.

The floating in mid-water..that is challenging...the instructor made it look easy..I watched the others and tried to keep track of what they were doing "wrong"...I did just OK with that. I know this is a skill that will help me be a good diver, but I also know you get there with practice.

I should buy stock in OJ. That and sinus rinse. I am trying to take care of myself in a big way to get ready for the 4 dives next weekend. I am also going over the quizzes and looking for RDP Table problems in prep for the final quiz on Tuesday.

It is so very close now...I am a combination of excitment and nerves..but I know I can do it...I have done all the skills already.

Thanks for reading

 

[TSandM]

Glad your ears cooperated!

About the hover . . . This is the core skill of diving, IMO. But not in a Buddha position, necessarily -- what you really want to be able to do is hover in a horizontal, normal diving position. If you can, it means you can stop and look at things. If you can't, you have to do what I did when I was a new diver, and swim constant circles because you can't stay still. Hovering requires breath control, but it also requires balancing your equipment. The rental gear that students are put in is often out of balance, and makes life more difficult.

HERE is an article you might enjoy reading, that goes into some of this, and how balance and trim and the ability to maintain depth are interrelated.

Here's wishing you great fun for your open water dives!

 

[cruzandiver1]

Thank you TSandM for the great link.

Jon

 

[smorneau]

Glad your ears cooperated!

About the hover . . . This is the core skill of diving, IMO. But not in a Buddha position, necessarily -- what you really want to be able to do is hover in a horizontal, normal diving position. If you can, it means you can stop and look at things. If you can't, you have to do what I did when I was a new diver, and swim constant circles because you can't stay still. Hovering requires breath control, but it also requires balancing your equipment. The rental gear that students are put in is often out of balance, and makes life more difficult.

HERE is an article you might enjoy reading, that goes into some of this, and how balance and trim and the ability to maintain depth are interrelated.

Here's wishing you great fun for your open water dives!

I Just finished my OW a few weeks ago and have been diving 3 or 4 day a week and now have a few dives under my belt. It all gets easyier with practice. Once you can hover everything else goes more smoothly in the horizontal position. Try using/renting a back inflation BC. They are much more stable in the horizontal position than the jacket type most LDS use. Good luck

 

[scubadiveilat]

Make the best out of it!!!

Have fund and enjoy the course and everything in it.

 

[Frosty]

NOW the real fun begins. getting out there in water deep enough that the skills you practiced start to mean something