1st Day Of Class

[waterdogs]

Some of the regulars here may remember a few of my post regarding my and "my future" beginning classes here in NC after a recent "brain fade" by me attempting to get us certified down in St.John for our honeymoon. (won't rehash, read other post)

Today, after all your good comments about us taking our classes here at home (due to future Mrs. not really wanting to do this) WE HAD OUR FIRST CLASS.

We are taking "private classes" with our OWC down in Fla in March. Needless to say, my future DID TREMENDOUS. Better than me I might add. I haven't had a reg in since 97 and she's never been underwater.

We did have some trouble spots though, first the good stuff: Rememer 1st day of class.

1. Set up equipment donning - good/v.good for her.
2. reg retrieve - me (so, so), she - very good.
3. Mask clearing - both v.good.

Most of the pool session after general skills, was getting used to equipment and breathing.

Trouble Spots:
1. HER - Decent, mask removal 1-minute. This is wear she had some trouble. Just wanted to breath through that nose. NOT GOOD. Ascended - NOT GOOD.

2. Me- I didn't have trouble with skills on reg retrieve, just when I was ready to place reg just wanted to suck in before purging. NOT GOOD. I had some trouble here. I believe Im out of shape (i also smoke - -not good) so lung capacity needs some work.

Class portion - 90%-100% on questions.

Overall - I was really impressed with future Mrs. Waterdog. Again, you have to read all previous post to see what' we've gone through here.

Again, thanks to all the reg board folks out there that kept up the encouragement for us (ME) not to give up and throw the towel in, and I believe Mrs. Waterdog will do GREAT.

Thanks again everyone,

Waterdogs.

 

[Tavi]

Glad to hear it.
Keep us updated as you go!!!

 

[ckharlan66]

Sounds like all in all you had a good night. As far as the nosebreathing goes, tell her to take it from my experience it gets better.

Chad

 

[waterdogs]

I would have to believe it will get better. We were pretty tense going in to the pool sessions just because something new and unknown.

As long as we continue to practice i beleive it will get better. I hope before we start going any further on the skills portion we spend some time getting use to swimming, breathing and equipment, skills are a must but we need to feel comfortable with what we are doing first before skills.

thanks,

waterdogs

 

[miked]

WD and the future Mrs.WD,
Good going!!- I'm glad you are forging ahead with your training- and it sounds as if things are going well.
Some things to remember:
First : it was the first class- and what you described went "smoothe as silk" compared to other stories I have heard.

Second: If I read you correctly, you have a private instructor. well be sure to let him/her know how you are feelimg at each and every juncture in the training.Keeping the instructor informed can help to get you both the best possible intro to the skills,etc.

Third: if possible-get wet earlier than your class, and practice the skills from last session- it could help to ease the tension.

Finally, remember, this is supposed to be FUN!!-Yes, you are training and learning skills for a whole new world of experience,-but try to keep it as light and as much fun as you can-safe, but light. Because the real fun starts when you dive.

Keep us posted, and good luck to you both,
MikeD

 

[waterdogs]

Thanks Miked,

It was our first day and our instructor said we did well compared to some of the other students she's encountered. That felt good, and I was stoked about future Mrs.Waterdog performance, she did great.

I was concerned though and probably something that will take time, is during our trouble spots we hit the surface. NOT GOOD, infact, it concerned me greatly. I hope with more water time it will become old hat, but in our OWC checkouts and our 1st boat dive come July, right now Im concerned. Again I keep telling myself FIRST CLASS.

Well keep you posted, no class sunday, following sunday we hit the pool again.

waterdogs.

 

[miked]

Originally posted by waterdogs

I was concerned though and probably something that will take time, is during our trouble spots we hit the surface. NOT GOOD, infact, it concerned me greatly. I hope with more water time it will become old hat, but in our OWC checkouts and our 1st boat dive come July, right now Im concerned. Again I keep telling myself FIRST CLASS.

WD ,
As you have said, you've got to keep thinking "It was the first class"-and, as I mentioned before, share your concerns with your instructor.
She should be able to give you more immediate-and more professional feedback than I can.

Regarding the Quote above (I hope it shows up -first time "quoter") Do you mean that when things got a bit "dicey" in the pool, people headed to the surface to sort things out/ fix problems/ talk about stuff??
If so-don't be too concerned-remember,our species are air breathers. Imaging a "first OW classNewbie" underwater when something out of the expected occurs. Where would you expect them to go ??....... Right, back to the surface, where the air is.
That is a normal reaction.
Also, what better place to communicate with the instructor?
That said, surfacing is probably not the ideal reaction to many dive "occurances"that have other solutions-but it is a solution to many.
Again,share these thoughts with the instructor-but be careful that you don't remove this safety net (surfacing) from your intended.

This may sound weird, but, after MUCH more class time, you may try to simulate ( with the instructors approval and assistance) some MINOR u/w glitch-with the prestated idea of "staying down until we can restore the normal situation"-if only to show that these little things are little, that they can be worked out without surfacing, and that "yes things do happen-but the training is designed to make you able to cope". [In the "old days"- this type scenario was a regular part of the training, but as I said, that was long ago.]

Finally, as we have both said-it is very early in the training process-and there have been many more successes speedbumps and remember-there have been NO failures.

Best of luck,
MikeD

 

[waterdogs]

Thanks MikeD

Appreciate the support, your right MUCH NEEDED TIME! We'll keep you posted on the next class.

waterdogs.

 

[Roooter]

Congratulations Waterdogs!!!!
believe me, you & the future Mrs. did great! on my 1st night in the pool, I looked like a jack in the box...I stood up so much. but, I wasn't about to let my fears get the best of me. it DOES get better...MUCH better. just wait until you hit the Caribbean...but, one step at a time. in the mean time...practice, practice, practice.
Kim

 

[waterdogs]

Roooter,

thanks, but a question for you and everyone. How much pool class time is adequate.

We do our classes on Sundays, pool times are from 1-6. We have 2-3 more classes. probably 15-20 hours pool time. Is that normal?

Is there enough time? Should it be 20-25 hours.

Folks, during your OWC (confined portion) how many hours did you spend in the pool?

thanks,

waterdogs,