Update on OW dive worries (long...)

[Suunto Old]

Hehe, ya know, when I think back to it, it really doesn't make any sense why we wanted to use the wetsuits. Maybe we thought that the drysuit rent (20eur for a weekend) was too high or something, but, as my DM said: "If you could handle these conditions on your first dive, you should do fine when diving in normal conditions."

But yes, I had an exelent instructor ( I even got a job as a Summer trainee from my local divestore he runs!!) and I'm thinking of getting a AOWD certification as soon as possible, altough I don't have any real dives under my belt, but hey, extra skills are always handy.=-)

 

[Firefly]

I had a really bad OW experience as well, it was 36 degrees, my hood was too big, my suit too small and I quit in the middle of my 3rd dive....I was sure I would never go back, it felt wierd under the water and I was very panicky, I had had no problem in the warm pool...anyway I persisted, waited a few months, finished my certification, and now I love diving...it is amazing what a difference it makes to dive and not be in a class, worried about haivng to do the skills and all the other people around....I am glad I kept it up, otherwise I would be misssing out on alot of fun times....you already have the desire to see neat stuff, you just need to have the chance to relax and enjoy it! I hope you are able to get through the tough part and make it to the fun stuff!

 

[Manatee Lover]

Hi,
I was certified last weekend. I thought the hardest part for me was going to be using a compass(I have some kind of idiot mental block with it). It didnt turn out to be my problem. My problem ended up being Mask removal and putting back on. I should have been practicing this close to the surface first instead of doing it at 30ft for the first time in 3 months since my pool classes . The instructor signaled to me to remove my mask and what did I do?....breathed in with my nose. Of course I started choking and began to panic. But I kept my eyes closed and began to visualize just breathing with the regulator. I got myself under control and then put my mask back on.My instructor had hold of me just in case I decided to dart to the surface. When I completed the task I signaled I was ok and he was like are you sure. I said ok again and then he signaled OK and that I was now a certified diver I then gave a big thumbs up and we continued to swim around. When we got to the surface I said I was worried about how I did. He said that it wasnt smooth,but the best thing I did was not try and rush it. I got myself back under control on my own and finished the task at hand. Even though he knew I wanted to rush to the surface I kept my cool. Im glad to know that I thought things through before I did something rash. This gives me confidence that next time I'll be a lttle more comfortable but still very alert and that everytime I dive, I'll learn something new and be more confident.Its like everyone says on this board the more you dive the more comfortable you'll be and more addicted to it.Oh Boy What an addiction! Good Luck with diving.
Colleen

 

[TheDarknessLord]

Hi IndigoEve, you are a lucky guy! You have a good instructor! Doesn't matter which agency are you using to get your certification, the must important thing is having a good instructor! And some one that you can trust in a difficult situation.
Don't worry about next dive, it will be better, I'm sure about it!!! Try to stay calm and go for it!

 

[gold4]

I am so glad that someone feels the same way I do , when it comes to being I call it reverse clastrophobic.. you know your ok but you swear you cant breath. The same thing happened to me I was terrififed when my instructor told me to flood and clear i was scared to open my eyes thinking there was still water in my mask but there wasnt.. and the low vis thing I can relate to as well since i could not see I swore that I was going to bump into something or some fish would come straight toward me with no warning. I finally learned to meditiate and think good thoughts so my mind wont have time to give me wrong signals. so if I am in a situation and my mind trys to give me bad signals I counter act them with positives..it helps( i know i missed spelled some words sorry)

 

[Arnaud]

Considering the circumstances, I think you handled yourself really well. Nobody likes to remove their mask in a 50° water! You were also right to call the dive if something was bothering you. You should not have any remorse about it. Regardless of experience, anyone has the right to call a dive.

As to your reg, some do breathe harder as you go deep, and rental equipment is usually not of the best kind. You should make sure you discuss this with your instructor as well.

You seem to have really enjoyed what you saw down below, experiencing first hand one of the main reasons why we like to dive so much. I don't know anybody who enjoys poor viz either.

Learning in difficult conditions is the best way to learn. Hang in there.