E-bay is your friend!Bicster:
Terror in the water
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Hey Bicster, welcome to ScubaBoard, and make sure you buy top notch equipment, I hate buying crap on e-bay Just kidding. Some people just don't know how to relax breathing and floating underwater, it is not natural and your brain is fighting it. Don't fight it, meditate in it, get in that zen state, you can enjoy it.
David
Just kidding. Some people just don't know how to relax breathing and floating underwater, it is not natural and your brain is fighting it. Don't fight it, meditate in it, get in that zen state, you can enjoy it.David
divergalinla
Contributor
Hi ! What they said...! Let me also encourage you not to give up. When my daughter and I took our scuba lessons, the first time we went under in the YMCA pool, she panicked. We had to sit on the bottom of the pool and just breathe. I was a little uncomfortable, but as we got settled, she suddenly stood up. (we were in about 4' of water. I stood to see if something was wrong. She said she had just had an attack of claustrophopbia, and to give her a minute. A few minutes later, she sat back down, and was fine after that. Our brain tells us we can't breathe underwater...we have to retrain it! That being said, I would insist on equipment that is in good working order. You can't enjoy the experience when you are having constant difficulty with equipment. Having loved to snorkel, I felt like I would be able to dive, so I took the plunge and bought the regs, bcd,etc. I have never regretted it. I have a dive skin that fits...the one the dive shop put me in was 3 mil and too small - once I got into something less restrictive I was fine. My first open water dive in the gulf was great..my second in Utila this summer was amazing. Don't quit..it is the most wonderful experience you'll ever have! :diver:
OP
Bicster
Contributor
NauticalbutNice:
I have no choice but obey someone who uses Domo-Kun as their avatar!
OP
Bicster
Contributor
Doc Intrepid:E-bay is your friend!
You should see the stack of stuff I have at home waiting to be e-bayed
Probably enough stuff to pay for a set of scuba gear!
Fortunately one of my credit cards has some kind of 'insurance' policy on it, so that any item I don't like and the vendor won't take back is still refundable. They make you return it to them and I guess they auction it off. The limit for that is around $300 or $400 per item, though, with annual restrictions, and I've never tried to use it so I don't know how annoying they will be!
Hi Bicster,
welcome (Scub)aBoard!
Laurens
welcome (Scub)aBoard!
Laurens
Moved from Introductions & Greets forum.
lrh626
Guest
It looks like you need a new dive instructor and equipment. Fun 2 Dive scuba in Sanford FL changes out their rental equipment every year. I have my OW and will be taking my Advanced Scuba with Capt. Joseph Derrick. Can't ask for a better instructor. Larry
Spoon
Contributor
Mr. Brown/Scuba:
i totally agree with you. here they sell you aow after 5 dives.
Bicster,
Sorry I missed this first pass.
My wife had a hard time getting comfortable yo I can relate to some of what you're going through. I dive a prescription mask as well.
First the gear. What you went through with regarding your air delivery system is deplorable and makes me wonder about the quality of the over all training. Even your safe second should breathe fine, it will be a little stiffer to initiate the air flow but that should be the only noticable difference. You do want to make sure it's right side up since that can cause problems with nearly any regulator. Buying yout own gear just to make the class tolerable is unacceptable. Speak to the owner and firmly request (demand poiltely) safe gear representative of properly serviced novice dive gear. If they won't comply make noise all the way to the certifying agency of the shop. It may not help you but it may prevent a repeat offense.
My wife got several evenings of 1:1 instruction to get he over the hump. We qualified assistants/instructors available to offer special attention? This is not uncommon so don't feel bad about it. A good third of our class had hurdles to jump. We the jumped in with the next class and spent a few more nights working on our own getting comforatble with each other as a buddy pair while her confidence grew. We made our ocean dives without incident.
To say more without being there is hard to do but let me offer this message. Diving for me has been a life long dream, one that this year at 48 I finally got to fulfill. Today I enjoyed dives 48 and 49. We have met some great friends and have enjoyed exploring our local waters. We are looking forward to travel to warm waters at some future dates. This is a wondeful sport and please don't let some slip-shod operation rob you of this enjoyment. There are shops that take the high road and others that take the low road. You can find one that will offer 1:1 instruction, they will spend the time, whatever it takes and get you there. They will work with you on the fitting of your gear, from their instructional stock and as you purchase yours if you desire. This does not need to be a painful experience however there are some shops that just don't get it.
As for your masks, after identifying the mask model that suits you it should be as simple as shipping it out to an optician specializing in dive masks along with your prescription. If anything needs to be allowed for they will do it.
Feel free to PM me if there's anything else I can relate.
Pete
Sorry I missed this first pass.
My wife had a hard time getting comfortable yo I can relate to some of what you're going through. I dive a prescription mask as well.
First the gear. What you went through with regarding your air delivery system is deplorable and makes me wonder about the quality of the over all training. Even your safe second should breathe fine, it will be a little stiffer to initiate the air flow but that should be the only noticable difference. You do want to make sure it's right side up since that can cause problems with nearly any regulator. Buying yout own gear just to make the class tolerable is unacceptable. Speak to the owner and firmly request (demand poiltely) safe gear representative of properly serviced novice dive gear. If they won't comply make noise all the way to the certifying agency of the shop. It may not help you but it may prevent a repeat offense.
My wife got several evenings of 1:1 instruction to get he over the hump. We qualified assistants/instructors available to offer special attention? This is not uncommon so don't feel bad about it. A good third of our class had hurdles to jump. We the jumped in with the next class and spent a few more nights working on our own getting comforatble with each other as a buddy pair while her confidence grew. We made our ocean dives without incident.
To say more without being there is hard to do but let me offer this message. Diving for me has been a life long dream, one that this year at 48 I finally got to fulfill. Today I enjoyed dives 48 and 49. We have met some great friends and have enjoyed exploring our local waters. We are looking forward to travel to warm waters at some future dates. This is a wondeful sport and please don't let some slip-shod operation rob you of this enjoyment. There are shops that take the high road and others that take the low road. You can find one that will offer 1:1 instruction, they will spend the time, whatever it takes and get you there. They will work with you on the fitting of your gear, from their instructional stock and as you purchase yours if you desire. This does not need to be a painful experience however there are some shops that just don't get it.
As for your masks, after identifying the mask model that suits you it should be as simple as shipping it out to an optician specializing in dive masks along with your prescription. If anything needs to be allowed for they will do it.
Feel free to PM me if there's anything else I can relate.
Pete
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