A whole bunch of noob Questions

[Cafka]

I'm doing my two lecture sessions and pool sessions in a weekend. Then we have to schedule a boat for our 2 open water dives.
I heard of people having bad experiences on their OW dive and they never dive again. But I'm hoping that the channel islands in the end of October will be nice.
I guess right now, I'm nervous more than anything else and I don't know what to expect.

 

[Spectre]

bwerb once bubbled...
Mask - one that fits is more important than anything else (does it stay on your face without any straps while inhaling in through your nose without any hard pressure points)

Precisely. A strap should only be necessary in case the seal on your mask breaks. It's common to strap your mask down hard, which deforms the seal and causes more leaks then it helps. Go to a shop and try on every one they have. If one doesn't work there... go someplace else. I wouldn't even consider a mask over the internet unless you know it's a brand/style that fits _you_.

 

[Knavey]

TwoBitTxn once bubbled...

Local Dive shop (LDS) vs Internet. Big price mark up (in some cases) vs much cheaper. Warrenty vs nothing. Source to rent gear, take classes, get air etc... vs less expensive gear with no warrenty, no recourse if it breaks, dies, floods, etc..

Didn't take long for the misinformation to start in the LDS vs. Internet debate, did it?

Higher prices can SOMETIMES be offset by service at an LDS.

Every piece of gear I have bought off the internet has had a warrenty. Offered both by my credit card company AND the internet store that sold me the items.

Can't take training and get air over the interent. LDS wins there unless you own your own compressor.

Plenty of recourse on gear that breaks, dies and floods.

Do your research, and don't believe everything you read on the internet.

 

[gcbryan]

A certain amount of anxiety/nervousness is normal. However a lot of that goes away if your training is stretched out over a longer period of time. Your's seems pretty condensed to me.

I buy some things over the internet and most things in the dive store just because I want to try it on and ask questions considering that my life is involved here. Both ways are workable however.

We had to ascend with our gear on from 33 feet without the reg in our mouth while exhaling. It works like in the book-no discomfort.

 

[Gator Diver]

advice from one newbie to another

Talk to as many advanced divers as possible
and get your advice from them....gear, etc.

Before you buy gear, try and test out
as many different rigs as you can....

If you can support your local LDS, do it!!!
They can give you lots of intangibles that
the online companies can't...

Happy Diving

 

[FOUNDATIONER]

IMHO.........................

To actually answer your question.....if it isnt that hairy, get another instructor..

 

[zeN||]

If you've been a freediver for years, then what you describe should be a piece of cake for you zeN

 

[AliKat]

Doesn't sound like your course is very involved. And I believe you will need to do 4 OW dives to be certified, not just 2. One weekend for all pool sessions and lecture/book work just seems too short to me.

 

[ScoobieDooo]

Boogie711,
I'm sure your course was good too...

 

[JohnF]

AliKat once bubbled...
Doesn't sound like your course is very involved. And I believe you will need to do 4 OW dives to be certified, not just 2. One weekend for all pool sessions and lecture/book work just seems too short to me.

I've been reading these debates about weekend wonder courses vs the real deal 5 week courses for an OW cert and I'm not convinced there's a huge difference, but then my only first hand experience is local.

Our local guy normally does a 5 week program at the YMCA (not a YMCA cert though). This involves a classroom session and a pool session one day per week for a total of 15 hours. Then we go to a local quarry for two weekend mornings and do two OW dives per day.

He also offers the same program in an intensive private weekend session, but says the total hours are the same. I don't see the difference between spending 15 hours over two days on a weekend and spreading it out over 5 weeks at only 3 hours per week. In fact, done right, the weekend course seems to make more sense from a learning point of view.

My wife and I did resort courses in Mexico for 3 years before getting certed. We learned the basic mechanics of diving with a handholder nearby. We only went to 25-30' and were not allowed to touch our inflators. The babysitters did the buoyancy adjustments for us. It was pretty frustrating and kind of demeaning, but the fact is, most of the divers didn't know enough to understand the inflator use etc. On the other hand I haven't heard of any folks dying on a resort course.

This digression is really just to point out that very basic open water diving isn't really that tough to learn. The important stuff is what we learn about safety and in-water skills. I believe the same results can be achieved on a weekend if done thoroughly. Whether or not any OW courses are really thorough enough in this regard is a different argument than the weekend course vs the 5 week long version.

Respectfully
John F.