Staring Lesson next Monday

[Dxtreme]

$250 for the whole thing including the OW test ( Equipments during the test is seperate as well as the trip to the test site , Huntsville, AL). Is this a decent price to pay for 5 classroom, 5 pool (incl all equipments) and cost for certification (officer only, have to rent equipment).

Also. I have 2 concerns before the class next monday

1) I wear very high powered contacts and technically blind without my glasses or contacts. Can i do the underwater mask removal test and finally Can i scuba with this handicap ?

2) I cant TREAD WATER !!!! Its funny, i learned how to swim by myself int he pool 3 years ago. I can do countless laps (slowly) without a problem but i have no CLUE on how to tread water and staying afloat !!!

I can however lie on my back and let my face outof the water. Is this good enough for the 10 minutes treading water test part ?

I am always being a tech geek. The more tech the better. Where can i start learning about all the basics of Scuba ?? Equipments ...etc online.

Also how much for an "AVERAGE" cost for full SCUBA equpiment ? I plan to dive on warm tropical Ocean water only


Thank YOu and i will keep everyone updated on my progress

 

[kelpmermaid]

What type are they? If they are disposables, no problem - do the skills with your eyes closed. You can always replace any contacts you contaminate. I wear disposables when I dive - and I am very nearsighted. (As in, "What boat? Where?")
If they are hard contacts, you wouldn't want to risk losing them, so you might want to go without for those skills. If you decide you like this, then you might want to get a prescription mask.

 

[ERP]

My eyesight is not actually that bad and quite honestly given the vis around here I could probably dive without my contacts and not miss much

I do wear my contacts for diving and have yet to loose one (eyes open or shut), but one student in one of our pool sessions managed to pop out and loose both his contacts while clearing his mask.

I'd certainly make sure that you have a spare set of contacts with you, and it may be worth considering a prescription mask. Most two lens masks seem to offer prescription lens as an option. A dive shop quoted me $40 for a standard precription lens (available in 0.5 diopter increments) and $80 for a custom ground lens.

 

[A. J. Shark]

I have contacts and I always have them in when diving, they wont pop out of your eyes even if you do open them for the skills in class
good luck and have fun!!
- A J

 

[chrispete]

As far as treading water, the trick to that is to relax - the more you move around, the harder it will be. When I was certified, I did most of my "treading" part either in the dead-man's position (face down) or on my back, with a little upright treading for good measure; the instructor didn't seem to have a problem with it.

 

[dotyj]

I'm lucky, I won't likely need corrective lenses.

As far as treading water goes though, I was told by my instructor to tread water in any way I felt comfortable with.

I just floated vertical. As my friend Tim says "He's a cork."

 

[o2 clean]

Dxtreme once bubbled...
2) I cant TREAD WATER !!!! Its funny, i learned how to swim by myself int he pool 3 years ago. I can do countless laps (slowly) without a problem but i have no CLUE on how to tread water and staying afloat !!!

I can however lie on my back and let my face outof the water. Is this good enough for the 10 minutes treading water test part ?

Even if you can't float, they allow you to swim back and forth for 10 minutes. They just want to prove that you won't drown if the emergency arrises.

 

[DiverBuoy]

EVERYONE floats, even if your like me and you sink at first then slowly bob up with only the back part of your head barely above water and your face down. Then every 10-20 seconds come up for a big breath. The least amount of movement you make the faster the 10 minutes will go by. However, if you must kick to stay up, that's ok too but 10 minutes will seem much longer the harder you work at it.

The key is really REALLY relaxing - feel comfortable in the water without having to grab the sides of the pool (or whatever sides your confined water has) - it is your state of anxiety or non anxiety that the instructor is really looking for during the 10 minutes.