Need Encouragement

[topspot]

:oAny of you divers need more than one attempt to do the check out dives???? DH,DD and I took classes, I aced the written test, but wimped out during the dives. Dive shop we went with allows you to retake the dives as often as necessary and are giving me extra pool time at no extra cost. I'll be redoing my dives in a few weeks.

 

(DH and DD both passed:D)

[Capt_BJ]

you doing this in PA?????

 

I remember my first check out in a lake in Wisconson .... WHY DID I START THIS????

 

On the other hand ... the Keys or a Car' Island is a TOTALLY DIFFERENT THING.

 

You CAN do your checkout down here where the water is warm and you can see WELL past your face mask. If you are comfortable in the pool at home you can do a checkout in a place with warm water and GOOD VIZ down here ....

[M&MOkies]

I just got my card in the mail today! I am not a swimmer and my biggest fear is drowing.:o We did it in Oklahoma...not the best visability. If I can do it, anyone can....including you. Good luck and I'll say an extra prayer for ya.;)

[divinmule]

You will be able to do it. Just take your time and get comfortable. Some of us take longer than others (I am in that cat.) to train our brain that this is all ok. I haven't been certified very long so I definately remember spending time just sitting in my living room wearing a mask full of water and breathing thru my snorkel. After all I was born an air breathing mammal and my mind just knows I am not a fish. But I'm working hard to convince it otherwise. :)

 

Now I am in love with diving. We are going every chance we get and it was worth every second of getting my mind reconditioned.

 

Good Luck!!!!

[topspot]

Thanks!!! I knew someone would know how I felt.:)

[scubaran]

:oAny of you divers need more than one attempt to do the check out dives???? DH,DD and I took classes, I aced the written test, but wimped out during the dives. Dive shop we went with allows you to retake the dives as often as necessary and are giving me extra pool time at no extra cost. I'll be redoing my dives in a few weeks.

 

(DH and DD both passed:D)

 

Remember DH and DD don't breath for you. Take as many pool dives as necessary until you feel comfortable. I know it can be overwhelming putting on all the gear, having to "think" underwater while your dive instructor is constantly waving their hands in front of you while you have to perform tasks you've just learned. If you get pool time, what I might suggest is to ask your instructor if you can take some time before the lesson (with supervision of course), just to swim around the pool with your gear on and enjoy the sensation of being underwater. I know my instructor always gave us "play time" in the pool and it really helped a lot of people in the group.

 

In addition, try to remember they're going over all the "safety procedures" and actually scuba diving is 99.99% of the time safe with no incidences so once you complete your open water checkouts it's a breeze after that. I did my check out dives in Lake George, NY where the vis was 0 and I just relaxed checking out how my fingers disappeared in front of my face so quickly. I know it's tough but keep at it until YOU feel comfortable. I'm sure your instructor wouldn't want you in conditions you're uncomfortable in (believe me, if you're uncomfortable, they're doubily uncomfortable and in "possible rescue" mode which no instructor likes). I'm sure once you get some pool practice you'll be fine. It's like boot camp, the training's a lot worst than the activities you'll do. Have fun, get wet, and let us all know WHEN, not if, you get certified. :)

 

Randall

[BuzzF117]

MY DW suffers from mega claustraphobia and after a bad experience doing a discover scuba she talked herself out of the class then was disappointed when I showed her the pictures from my dives while on our cruise. She set her mind to it and got certified in in Northern IN the next summer and is now my dive buddy we are doing a Western caribbean cruise in Dec and she hopes to do 1-2 dives.

[scubadiver888]

:oAny of you divers need more than one attempt to do the check out dives???? DH,DD and I took classes, I aced the written test, but wimped out during the dives. Dive shop we went with allows you to retake the dives as often as necessary and are giving me extra pool time at no extra cost. I'll be redoing my dives in a few weeks.

 

(DH and DD both passed:D)

 

First, the open water dives aren't a pass/fail thing. This is not a test. They take you out to make sure you are okay with everything you learned. This is why they'll let you try as often as necessary.

 

Think about what is causing you to 'wimp out'. Talk to people about it. If you can, post here about how you feel and why you don't feel okay.

 

You need to feel okay. If you work on that you'll have no problem with the open water exercises.

 

We're here to help. :)

[BuzzF117]

If you can do the skilz in a pool you can do them on your open water. Another thing diving lakes around N Indiana makes me appreciate how awesome the caribbean is.

[scubadiver888]

If you can do the skilz in a pool you can do them on your open water. Another thing diving lakes around N Indiana makes me appreciate how awesome the caribbean is.

 

Although this should be true, there are often additional factors to deal with in the open water. In a pool you have no waves or current. There is no rocky or slippery bottom. You can put your fins on at the side of the pool then giant stride into the pool or at least slip in from a seated position.

 

What I found was, you need to be 100% comfortable with the exercises in the pool. When you get to the open water you want to take your time and have your buddy help you. They hold on to you as you put your fins on and you return the favour. Once you are in the water and ready to go down, if you are a little winded, take a moment and relax. Just float on the water surface and catch your breath. When you let the air out of the BCD you should just sink. You should not struggle to go down. Empty the lungs as much as possible and envision yourself sinking below the surface. You don't need to do this in a pool but for many divers you need to do this in a lake or flooded quarry.

[topspot]

. You should not struggle to go down.

 

This was a big part of my problem. We descended using a rope as a guide. I was not descending, and I had to pull myself down to the bottom. On the wayI was clearing my mask, eqalizing my ears, all while pulling myself headfirst to the bottom. Once I got down there (on the second try) I calmed down. The instructor called me up to do my skills, and as soon as I moved, I started to ascend. He actually had to hold me down, gave me more weights, but at that point I couldn't get myself calm enough to continue.

 

Thanks for all of your thoughts and suggestions. I know I can do this with a little more time.;)

[scubadiver888]

This was a big part of my problem. We descended using a rope as a guide. I was not descending, and I had to pull myself down to the bottom. On the wayI was clearing my mask, eqalizing my ears, all while pulling myself headfirst to the bottom. Once I got down there (on the second try) I calmed down. The instructor called me up to do my skills, and as soon as I moved, I started to ascend. He actually had to hold me down, gave me more weights, but at that point I couldn't get myself calm enough to continue.

 

Thanks for all of your thoughts and suggestions. I know I can do this with a little more time.;)

 

I can imagine how it went. It is important you take your time. Even now when I have new gear and need to adjust my weight I feel like I'm holding everyone up. I used to rush and then my dive would go badly. I'd pull myself down the line, too worried to go back up and get more weight.

 

You paid good money for this. Take your time. Don't pull yourself down the line. If you cannot sink by exhaling then see if you can get more air out of your BCD (it is best to try this first). Relax and shut out everything around you. If you still cannot get down, add some more weight.

 

Once you can get down and everything goes okay do one more thing. At the end of the dive, when you have only 500 PSI left in the cylinder, take a few pounds of weight off and see if you can still sink.

 

What I do is carry four 2 lb weights in my BCD pockets. At the end of a dive I'll go to the dive platform, take out 2 lbs, put it on the dive platform of the boat (tell the boat master what I'm doing), swim away from the boat a few feet and try to sink. If I can, I repeat the procedure.

 

When I cannot sink under the water by exhaling I know I need to add back 2 lbs. Now I know my perfect weight for the gear I'm using.

[CaribKng]

. You should not struggle to go down.

 

This was a big part of my problem. We descended using a rope as a guide. I was not descending, and I had to pull myself down to the bottom. On the wayI was clearing my mask, eqalizing my ears, all while pulling myself headfirst to the bottom. Once I got down there (on the second try) I calmed down. The instructor called me up to do my skills, and as soon as I moved, I started to ascend. He actually had to hold me down, gave me more weights, but at that point I couldn't get myself calm enough to continue.

 

Thanks for all of your thoughts and suggestions. I know I can do this with a little more time.;)

 

My wife and I are in the process now of getting certified. We will be completeing our open water dives next weekend. She had a problem getting down to the bottom and it was a combination of multiple factors. She could not get all the air out her BCD, so I would pull on the purge valve and get air bubbles out of the BCD. She needed to add a little bit of weight into her bcd, and then the most important was relaxing. When she would get nervous, she would hold air in her lungs and she would stay bouyant. Once she got relaxed and let all the air out of her lungs when exhaling, she started to go down.

 

There were times when she would inhale at the bottom of the pool and start to ascend....the primary reason was holding to much air in her lungs. Once she realized this and relaxed, she was able to stay at the bottom without problems.

 

Hope this helps.

[topspot]

Thanks, it does help. One of the instructors talked to me about this. I'm sure it was part of my problem. (that and since I play a wind instrument gives me great lung capacity). I start back for some extra pool time on the 16th of Sept. Can't wait to get "back on the horse".

 

Thanks to everyone for support and suggestions. I will post WHEN NOT IF I PASS;)

[CaribQween]

Thanks!!! I knew someone would know how I felt.:)

 

You're NOT alone :). I've struggled through the whole process from the minute my husband and I decided we wanted to take scuba lessons. My husband took to it so quickly, and I've been terrified by it all. It has been so embarassing at times that I just wanted to quit. But I didn't. It's like others have said, we paid good money for this. And more than anything, I really wanted to do it together with my husband. If you have a chance, read through my post "Wannabe Scuba Divers". It's been a very long road and some of it might sound familiar to you. And I was given a huge amount of great advice over there. As my husband posted, we're going this weekend to Gilboa Quarry near Ottawa, Ohio, for our Open Water Dives. I'm sort of scared that I won't be able to do it under pressure. But, I won't give up. I've come too far.

 

I can honestly say that one of my biggest problems has been not having "pool" time to just practice the skills. We have a large class and only one instructor with one assistant. We've been so hard pressed to get everything in that the instructor is just flying through everything. I had never even used fins or a snorkel before so I was really green when we started. I felt like I couldn't even swim properly with the equipment. We asked for an extra session with the teacher because I felt that I was holding up the class and needed more help because I was terrified under the water and kept bolting to the surface. During the extra session, I realized that a large part of my fear came from being so rushed and not having the time to understand exactly what we were supposed to do in each exercise. Once I really made them go through it all step by step and repeat it if needed, I was so much less scared and I made it through the exercises with little trouble. We got ahead by having the extra session so when we got to the next class period, the instructor said we could just go practice while everybody else did what we had done in the extra session. I'll tell you, I felt myself improving by leaps and bounds as I just practiced swimming under water using the scuba. The more we swam around, the more I could feel myself getting better with the fins and figuring out that slow long kicks from the hip took you much further than faster kicks at the knees.

 

I was able to practice my buoyancy skills on my own too. I had previously had so much trouble in that area. They couldn't get my weights correct and they wouldn't give us any time to work on it to figure out what weight was right for us. Scubadiver888 had given me so much advice (thanks again Scub;)!!), but I just didn't have the opportunity to work on it. It was horrible. I just couldn't go down on my own no matter what I did. And the more nervous I got, the worse it was. The assistant had to pull me down and my husband had to hold onto my hand in order to keep me down or I would just go right back up. But, once they actually got my weights right, and I was able to work on the breathing part, I finally figured out how to go down on my own and just sort of float up and down by pushing out a big breath and/or hitting the inflat then deflat buttons just a quick tap.

 

I finally got to a point where I felt somewhat comfortable using the scuba. But, it was all due to having the pool time to just practice. As Scubaran said, you have to do it over and over until YOU feel comfortable. I feel pretty comfortable in the pool now, but it's not going to be the pool this weekend. It's going to be much deeper. It's going to be fish, sunken helicopters, a plane, a school bus (hopefully that stuff is all in the much deeper area where we won't be near it), platforms, plants and other stuff on the bottom, low visability, etc. Everything will be so completely different than the pool. So I don't know what to expect out of myself. But I'm going to give it my best and if I just can't get through it this time, I'll put in some more pool time (under supervision) and then try the open water dives another weekend. I just have to accept that everybody learns to do this at a different pace and if it takes me longer, than so be it. I can't let that stop me, or I'll miss out on having this great experience with my husband. We're so looking forward to scuba diving together in the Caribbean in February and I'm going to keep up with this as long as it takes.

 

So, just hang in there and take whatever time you need. There is some really great advice on here and everybody is really willing to help in any way or support you to help you get through it. Don't give up. Once you get there, you'll feel such a great sense of accomplishment.

 

WE CAN DO IT:D

[CaribKng]

Thanks, it does help. One of the instructors talked to me about this. I'm sure it was part of my problem. (that and since I play a wind instrument gives me great lung capacity). I start back for some extra pool time on the 16th of Sept. Can't wait to get "back on the horse".

 

Thanks to everyone for support and suggestions. I will post WHEN NOT IF I PASS;)

 

 

Please keep us posted on how you are doing. I know that you can do it. Just remember to relax....control your breathing and think about how much fun you are going to have once you are finished.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing the part of the world that so many people are going to miss out on.

[w&k]

topspot-

 

You post just took me back to my original training. I grew up as a fish in the water, but I turned into a hairy duck (nod to Lawrence Shames), and couldn't do ANYTHING right in the pool.

 

Seriously. When we tried to do 'fin pivots' (going up and down by breathing only), I got blown around the pool by the vents and ended up clanging my tank into the wall. Everybody else got an impromptu mask-clearing drill because their masks were leaking from laughing at me. ...and that's only one of several humiliating episodes. Ok, many episodes, best reviewed with dive buddies and your favorite after-dive beverage.

 

I had to learn to breathe through a snorkel with water in the kitchen sink. We had a really clean kitchen by the time I finally figured it out and quit blowing water all over the place.

 

Then I got out in the real water - Tampa Bay in choppy water with a lightning storm moving in... Everything just clicked, and I became a lady shark at that moment.

 

You're just waiting for your 'click.' Relax, it will happen. Then, you and DD can show the boys how to do it. ;)

 

Lady sharks RULE!!!!!

 

Wendy

 

ps my avatar is my best dive buddy and DH Keith and I a couple of years ago off Empress of the Seas in St. Lucia, and the photo below is me in Curacao off Grand Princess this spring. Let's see one of you in full diving kit when you get finished!

 

[topspot]

Thanks. Got back in the pool this week for some "tutoring". Had fun, and will go back a few more times before trying the quarry again. Hope to dive first weekend in Nov.:D

[beemerrider]

First, the open water dives aren't a pass/fail thing. This is not a test. They take you out to make sure you are okay with everything you learned. This is why they'll let you try as often as necessary.

 

Think about what is causing you to 'wimp out'. Talk to people about it. If you can, post here about how you feel and why you don't feel okay.

 

You need to feel okay. If you work on that you'll have no problem with the open water exercises.

 

We're here to help. :)

 

I have to disagree with you. The open water is a test. You have to prove to the instructor that you can do the skills in the open water. I am an instructor and have certified many divers at various levels up to instructor( I am an IDC-Staff instr.) I have "failed" a few people because they could not get over their fear/hurdle. Now granted, the people that I have "failed" was from pressure from their spouse because he/she wanted to do it, but the other did not. Scuba is not for everyone, just like any other sport.

Now, on the positive side, if you want to learn, then by all means, take as much pool time as necessary, get comfortable with the skills. When you are in the open water, close your eyes, think that you are in pool and do the skill(s). The key is to relax. Know that you are also in good hands. Your instructor is right there to help and he/she will make sure you are safe. Let us know how you do.

[CaribKng]

Thanks. Got back in the pool this week for some "tutoring". Had fun, and will go back a few more times before trying the quarry again. Hope to dive first weekend in Nov.:D

 

I'm gald to hear that you made it back in the pool...the important thing is that you had fun :). Take as much time as you need...get comfortable, have fun, and relax. I know you will do fine.

[Seppi]

I totally agree, I have been diving for 12 years and am a certified Dive Master, beneath the water is not a natural environment for us mere humans to be, therefore we need to take our air down with us. Yes, it is a test the Instructor needs to be certain that when you are 16 meters below the surface you are able to deal with any challenges you or your buddy come across. My advice to you is to relax and enjoy the dive. You will be entering a world that not everyone is fortunate to visit. During your training have trust in your instructor, lets face it he/she will never let anything happen to you, firstly because of their reputation and secondly the courts would crucify them.

 

Dive safe, Dive to your ability and most of all enjoy every minute.

[Seppi]

I have to disagree with you. The open water is a test. You have to prove to the instructor that you can do the skills in the open water. I am an instructor and have certified many divers at various levels up to instructor( I am an IDC-Staff instr.) I have "failed" a few people because they could not get over their fear/hurdle. Now granted, the people that I have "failed" was from pressure from their spouse because he/she wanted to do it, but the other did not. Scuba is not for everyone, just like any other sport.

Now, on the positive side, if you want to learn, then by all means, take as much pool time as necessary, get comfortable with the skills. When you are in the open water, close your eyes, think that you are in pool and do the skill(s). The key is to relax. Know that you are also in good hands. Your instructor is right there to help and he/she will make sure you are safe. Let us know how you do.

 

 

 

 

I totally agree, I have been diving for 12 years and am a certified Dive Master, beneath the water is not a natural environment for us mere humans to be, therefore we need to take our air down with us. Yes, it is a test the Instructor needs to be certain that when you are 16 meters below the surface you are able to deal with any challenges you or your buddy come across. My advice to you is to relax and enjoy the dive. You will be entering a world that not everyone is fortunate to visit. During your training have trust in your instructor, lets face it he/she will never let anything happen to you, firstly because of their reputation and secondly the courts would crucify them.

 

Dive safe, Dive to your ability and most of all enjoy every minute.

[topspot]

:D:D:DWell, back up to the quarry today. Two dives down, three to go (one is a snorkel dive). Thanks for your encouragement and to DD and DH who came to dive and support me and most importantly to be my Sherpas.:D:D:D

[rednose83]

:D Good Job!

 

My scuba class starts Tuesday. I'm super excited.

[topspot]

Rednose 83 good luck to you. I passed today:D:D. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Let us know how you made out.

 

Thanks for all of the tips everyone!!