6 days and counting...

[WQFTruckster]

6 more days until OW certification is complete! I'm really looking forward to the checkout dives this weekend. We're going to Martha's quarry in Lebanon, TN. Last weekend was classroom/confined pool skills. Everything went really well for both me and my girlfriend (we're taking it together). I only had slight problems with breathing on a free flow reg, I think I swallowed about 2 gallons of pool water on top of a flooded mask in the 30 second test (Anybody got any suggestions on this one?). This was the skill my G/F was most worried about. She did fine. Other than that, everything was awesome. I even scored 100% on my written exam (I asked if that meant I got a free regulator. Oh well, I tried.) I was really surprised at how much breathing affected bouyancy. I found it difficult to remain neutral and continue to breathe slowly and deeply. I would go from sitting on the bottom to a steady ascent with every breathe I took. Guess experience will help with this.

Next step is getting equipment. Well, actually the next step will be getting money to get equipment. Anybody interested in a 2001 Kawasaki KX125 dirt bike?? Runs great

I'll update this weekend after our checkout dives.

 

[yknot]

Was the free flow a challange or just to show you what they are? Were you expected to stop the free flow? In the future if a reg free flows just keep it in your mouth and breath it. The extra air volume will come out of the exhaust tee on its own. Don't try and solve two problems at once. Fix one, like the free flow, then the other, like the mask flood.

 

[Scubaguy62]

Good luck on your checkout dives...a small suggestion when breathing from a free flowing reg; breathe as if you were breathing from a normal reg., slow. Using airway control will help you bundles. Also, tilt your head to the right and place the right side of the mouth piece in your mouth, leaving the left side out of your mouth.

To solve the problem with maintaining depth with breath control, keep in mind that you do not have to deplete the air in your lungs in all exhalations. If you can get it to where you exhale until you start to sink, then inhale again, you'll find that you'll breathe and hover well.

Let us know how it goes!!!

 

[jloving1]

Sounds like you had fun in the pool!! Martha's Quarry is a neat place. I actually did my OW dives at Loch Low Minn in Athens TN on aug 9th and 10th!! It sure was pretty!! Congratulations and let us know how the quarry goes!!

 

[WQFTruckster]

Was the free flow a challange or just to show you what they are? Were you expected to stop the free flow? In the future if a reg free flows just keep it in your mouth and breath it. The extra air volume will come out of the exhaust tee on its own. Don't try and solve two problems at once. Fix one, like the free flow, then the other, like the mask flood.

The skill was to breathe from a free flowing reg for 30 seconds under water (by holding the purge button in) The instructions were not to seal our mouth around it like normal, but to hold kind of against one corner of your mouth and "sip" the air as it comes out. I just seemed to be sipping more water than air. I managed to get through it with a good deal of swallowing and coughing, but I think I need to work on my technique a bit more. The mask was just flooding from all the bubbles hitting it. I wasn't worried about that until after it was over, I was concentrating more on not breathing water. In a free flow situation, could you not just switch to your alternate reg? It was never really mentioned during class.

 

[Xanthro]

In a free flow, you can't always switch to your second, because it could be free flowing as well. I believe it's a failure in the first stage that causes many a free flow, so since both are connected to the first stage, both could have the same problem.

Xanthro

 

[WQFTruckster]

I believe it's a failure in the first stage that causes many a free flow

Ah, I didn't know this. That would complicate things.

 

[WQFTruckster]

Sounds like you had fun in the pool!! Martha's Quarry is a neat place. I actually did my OW dives at Loch Low Minn in Athens TN on aug 9th and 10th!! It sure was pretty!! Congratulations and let us know how the quarry goes!!

I've heard good things about Loch Low Minn. I think it will be one of the first places I go after cert.

 

[Seuss]

> mask was just flooding from all the bubbles hitting it.

Lean your head to the side (as if you were resting your head on your shoulder) and the bubbles will no longer bother your mask.

 

[wacdiver]

If you have problem sucking water instead of air during a free flow or at any point for that matter (clearing reg or snorkel, ect) try putting your tounge right behind you top row of teeth and breath in slowly this way if water does come in it hits you tounge first and not the back of you throat. It is the water hiting the back of your throat that makes you cough.
Good luck on OW cert
WAC