Tassie_Rohan
Contributor
How long have you been married?
Rule number one: the husband is always wrong.
It's not that she's too slow, it's always that you're too fast.
Now go apologise to her and buy yourself a camera to slow yourself down.
My wife is the first Mongolian woman to ever be certified. She had to learn how to swim and snorkel first but now is a very skilled diver. Its normal to worry about your spouse during the early dives: it will take time for her to become proficient - but be patient as over time she will get there. It's great that my best friend and wife is now also the best dive buddy I've ever dived with. Relax and enjoy helping her and watching her grow, at her own speed, as a diver.
I haven't read all the posts but one thing that really helped was getting my wifes weight and trim sorted very early on: with a streamlined bc, suitable fins and streamlined/horizontal trim my wife found it a lot easier to get through the water. Note that with <25 dives you may also benefit by working on your trim and weighting: it really helps when diving into currents.
It also takes time for your leg muscles to adjust to kicking. If she's not physically active topside then that will also extend the time it takes to become a proficient kicker.
If diving currents then get down to a few inches off the bottom: the water speed is a lot slower close to the bottom. rest in the lee of rocks and bommies.
Her drifting off is probably just a lack of good situational awareness - most divers don't really develop that till 50-100 dives.
if this becomes a relationship issue then let her do some skill building courses with an instructor.
Lastly - as others have said, slow down. A dive isn't a race to get to some other location. The slower you go the more you will see. To build her confidence let her lead a few dives at her own pace.
cheers
rohan.
Rule number one: the husband is always wrong.
It's not that she's too slow, it's always that you're too fast.
Now go apologise to her and buy yourself a camera to slow yourself down.
My wife is the first Mongolian woman to ever be certified. She had to learn how to swim and snorkel first but now is a very skilled diver. Its normal to worry about your spouse during the early dives: it will take time for her to become proficient - but be patient as over time she will get there. It's great that my best friend and wife is now also the best dive buddy I've ever dived with. Relax and enjoy helping her and watching her grow, at her own speed, as a diver.
I haven't read all the posts but one thing that really helped was getting my wifes weight and trim sorted very early on: with a streamlined bc, suitable fins and streamlined/horizontal trim my wife found it a lot easier to get through the water. Note that with <25 dives you may also benefit by working on your trim and weighting: it really helps when diving into currents.
It also takes time for your leg muscles to adjust to kicking. If she's not physically active topside then that will also extend the time it takes to become a proficient kicker.
If diving currents then get down to a few inches off the bottom: the water speed is a lot slower close to the bottom. rest in the lee of rocks and bommies.
Her drifting off is probably just a lack of good situational awareness - most divers don't really develop that till 50-100 dives.
if this becomes a relationship issue then let her do some skill building courses with an instructor.
Lastly - as others have said, slow down. A dive isn't a race to get to some other location. The slower you go the more you will see. To build her confidence let her lead a few dives at her own pace.
cheers
rohan.
Last edited: