Almost there and now really nervous

[Premier2k]

Hi all,

Well, this weekend I did Day 1 and Day 2 of my OW course.
We did a whole day of pool session yesterday and I must admit I'm quite nervous now for the open water next weekend.

I thought I'd have trouble with swapping regs but actually found that ok. I had a bit of trouble mask clearing and kept panicking and surfacing choking water.
Obviously 12 metres underwater I can't do that so I'm really apprehensive about it all.

I did have a lot of problems with my mask as well which put me off a bit. I also kept wanting to surface because I just felt uncomfortable, I can't explain it, I just wanted to surface. I do suffer a bit of claustraphobia and I wonder if that was part of it.

I also had trouble with balance, and couldn't sink very well. One of the instructors said I might need more weight but the main teaching instructor said I was fine. Perhaps it's just something I'll learn.

I'm not sure I'm ready to go deep yet and wondering if I should maybe do another pool session to be comfortable with the skills or maybe I should just take the plunge and do it.
About 90 mins before we finished I was underwater watching the other students and thinking to myself "I don't want to do this anymore" but maybe that was because I was tired and had had a long day with a troublesome mask?

 

[spectrum]

Premier2k


From what you say I think you may be on the right track in wanting more pool time.

You must be able to handle your mask drill comfortably in the pool before going to open water. 12 meters of water will do nothing to make that any less stressful. It shouldn't make it any harder either.

Learning to dive is an adaptation and we all have different paces. Needing more time in no way means you can't do this. Give yourself the permission to take the needed time and demand the same from those supporting you.

Nothing can compound your stress like a pesky mask. For an experienced diver it may be a trivial nuisance but it will still detract from the experience. Your mask may not be the right one for you or it may be in how you are wearing it. You don't want the strap too tight as it will force the skirt to distort. Sometimes where you put the strap on the back of your head can make a difference. If you were wearing a hood, air in the hood can wreak havoc and vent holes should be added. A good instructor or dive shop person should be able to give you good guidance on this. More here.

As for weighting there are a lot of puts and takes and a new, anxious diver will will tend to need a little extra just to get down. A good instructor can mitigate some of this but needing less weight is somewhat the result of experience. Before going to open water or at the dive site some sort of weight check should be done to ensure a reasonable 1st experience. Here are some more thoughts on that. Don't worry about balance until you get this other stuff under control. it will come together when the commotion ends.

As for wanting to dive, what prompted you to take up diving? Has this changed? Being in the water for 90 minutes will take a lot of energy from your body and if you were having a tough time I would expect you to feel that way. Don't let this deter you.

A friend told us before we started training that leaning to dive is nothing like diving. This is all new to you and your training is essentially a series of disaster mitigation drills, think about that. For the most part none of that stuff happens in a real dive. nonetheless you do need to be prepared.

Pete

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Why did you choose this method of training? And how did you choose it? If you are this apprehensive about your OW dives you are not ready to do them. I want to students to be excited and a little nervous but also ok with the idea of doing checkouts. Your post indicates you were rushed through, you have not developed the basic skills necessary for successfully doing your checkouts, and seems like an ideal set up to get scared, hurt, or completely turned off of diving. Your instructors also seem very irresponsible in that they have not picked up on this and insisted on more pool time. I recommend you not only get more pool sessions in but also with new instructors.

And interview those instructors as if your life depended on it. Because it ultimately does. Don't know what questions to ask? Look at the sticky in the new divers forum on how to choose a good scuba class. You can also get a pdf copy of my book for $10 USD and get a more comprehensive look at what entry level scuba should contain and why?

 

[Premier2k]

Spectrum- Thanks for that info, I'm reading through the links you provided and it has some really great information on there. What prompted me to take up diving was doing a trial session with my brother and we loved it and wanted to do the course. I found the trial far less stressful than I did yesterday.

Jim- I'm glad you said that because I felt the session was rather 'rushed'. Having said that, with each of the skills the instructor came up right in front of us until we managed the skill. It took me a good 8-10 attempts to do the full mask clearing and once I did it, he moved on to the next person or the next skill. I would have like to spend some time doing the skill again to be comfortable with doing it. We didn't get through all the skills and I didn't get to do the free flow skill, but he said that he's going to note down a few things we havent covered and we are going to do them on saturday(Day 3) in the confined part of the quarry. Which makes me wonder if we're going to be rushed again on saturday.

The instructor was ok, fairly patient but I did feel that the day was rushed a bit as there were 7 of us (new divers) in the pool and 3 instructors. However, 1 of the instructors was only underneath watching us and making sure we were ok, the other was assisting I suppose but we couldn't do the skills in front of him, he would demo them and then we had to wait for the 'main' instructor.

I think part of my nervousness is that I'm worried about some of the things and worried that I'm going to panic underwater. I feel I definately need more time. I spoke to the instructor when we got back from the pool that I was nervous and he said "Don't worry, it'll all be fine. Just remember that as long as you can breath through your mouth, you're not going to drown", didn't exactly fill me with confidence. They all seemed quite blase about it.

We aren't having the same instructor for the day 3 and day 4, because our instructor is 'off' that weekend so we have someone else.
I'm also doing the dry suit diving in conjunction with it.

Really appreciate your words and thoughts so far guys. It's quite reassuring and also really good to get another persons view, particulary if you're an instructor.

 

[jar546]

Premier2k,

More pool time, more pool time, more pool time. You need to be comfortable in the pool before you hit open water. Speak with your instructors about this and tell them that you are apprehensive. If they don't acknowledge that then it is time to move on to other instructors. Always speak with them first about how you feel and your concerns before you move on to others. As far as weighting is concerned, sometimes it is your position in the water. Make sure you are completely vertical for your descent. It will help the BC to completely deflate. We have found this to be a problem with students when they put their face in the water and are horizontal trying to let air out of their BC.

Good luck and I hope all works out well for you. Keep us posted.

 

[Premier2k]

I'm going down there on friday to buy a mask which i've been told is one of the most important purchases I'll make. I'm going to talk to someone down there I think and see what they say. Hoping they won't charge me too much for extra sessions :depressed:

 

[ajtoady]

I would go sooner so as to possibly do away with the fears you have. Talk to the lead instructor and try to get the pool time and your issues resolved. If you are like most, your anxiety and imagination will get the best of you if you wait. A phone call might even help. You obviously wanted to dive in the first place, give yourself the chance to continue your education in a less stress setting. The end results are definitely worth it.

 

[ThomasScherrer]

>Hoping they won't charge me too much for extra sessions

tell your self it dont matter how much they charge at all !!
what is important is you get all the needed pool time, what ever it takes,
so you can feel super happy and confident about all the tasks you need to do,

 

[Premier2k]

I'd go down today if I could, unfortunately work is very busy and we have releases to get out. So getting any time off of work is a no-no at the moment. I'm booked in for a holiday friday so that's the earliest I'm going to be able to go.
I work about 1hr 40mins from the place and live about 40mins from the place so it's tough getting there in the evenings as well.

I'm not too worried about the cost, this is still something I so really want to do.
I just want to make sure I'm ready and not freak my brother out 12m underwater

He seems to have taken to it like a fish! The only bit he struggled with was the free flowing reg but he got that 2nd time around.

 

[ThomasScherrer]

why do people want to go from 2m to 12m in one go ???
do this in 10 steps, and feel confident on every meter extra you go, before adding more meters !
if you are afraight of panik or mask full of water, you should stay below 5m until solved.

you dont need scuba gear on to train mask and breathing with no mask,
all you need is access to a pool, can be the local one, and a mask, and snorkel.
just pretend the snorkel is the scuba regulator, train mask on and off while head is under water,
try to uptimize the enpty mask, so one breath is more than enought to compleetly empty it,
and train breating in snorkel with no mask on, do this until you love it.