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I needed a ton of weight, and that made me unstable.
Being over-weighted makes buoyancy control more difficult. You can fix most of this yourself by doing the buoyancy check as documented in your OW book.
I panicked and headed to the surface just before the end of the tests. And, I was so much trouble that my buddy abandoned me because I was holding him back.
Your buddy should never abandon you especially if you're having problems. If this person could be your regular buddy, you two need to have a talk.
What advice can you give me so that I don't do too much too fast and make horrible errors?
Go diving with someone who is known to be well trained and safe, observe and ask questions. This doesn't necessarily need to be an instructor, but could be. If you ask at the shop where you were trained, I'm sure they can find someone who would be happy to dive with you. Don't worry about "holding anybody back." Everybody was new once and anybody worth learning from would be more than happy to dive with you.
Though I put the belt tighter than my jeans, the weights slide around me to make me list from one side to the other.
Your instructor should have shown you how to put the weights on the belt so they'll stay in place (you can use weight belt clips or put a 1/2 twist in the belt between where it goes into the weight and comes out). SCUBA is mostly finesse. If you're working at anything very hard or need to wrench something down really tight (with the exception of your tank strap), there's probably a better way to do it.
If you're "round in the middle", no amount of cinching will keep a heavy weight belt in place. I'd suggest something like a DUI Weight and Trim harness. It won't fall off even if not tightened.
With a 7mm suit and gloves and hood, I have trouble seating my mask. If the hood isn't so tight it cuts off circulation, it collects exhausted air and inflates.
If you breathe out through your mouth instead of your nose, this should stop. Also, the hood should have a small hole in the top to let the air out if it does collect there.
Terry
Being over-weighted makes buoyancy control more difficult. You can fix most of this yourself by doing the buoyancy check as documented in your OW book.
I panicked and headed to the surface just before the end of the tests. And, I was so much trouble that my buddy abandoned me because I was holding him back.
Your buddy should never abandon you especially if you're having problems. If this person could be your regular buddy, you two need to have a talk.
What advice can you give me so that I don't do too much too fast and make horrible errors?
Go diving with someone who is known to be well trained and safe, observe and ask questions. This doesn't necessarily need to be an instructor, but could be. If you ask at the shop where you were trained, I'm sure they can find someone who would be happy to dive with you. Don't worry about "holding anybody back." Everybody was new once and anybody worth learning from would be more than happy to dive with you.
Though I put the belt tighter than my jeans, the weights slide around me to make me list from one side to the other.
Your instructor should have shown you how to put the weights on the belt so they'll stay in place (you can use weight belt clips or put a 1/2 twist in the belt between where it goes into the weight and comes out). SCUBA is mostly finesse. If you're working at anything very hard or need to wrench something down really tight (with the exception of your tank strap), there's probably a better way to do it.
If you're "round in the middle", no amount of cinching will keep a heavy weight belt in place. I'd suggest something like a DUI Weight and Trim harness. It won't fall off even if not tightened.
With a 7mm suit and gloves and hood, I have trouble seating my mask. If the hood isn't so tight it cuts off circulation, it collects exhausted air and inflates.
If you breathe out through your mouth instead of your nose, this should stop. Also, the hood should have a small hole in the top to let the air out if it does collect there.
Terry
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