Brand new diver

[diver janet]

Hi folks. I posted on the Introduction & Greets forum and a couple of people pointed me in this direction.

I just completed my PADI OW certification about a week ago, along with my boyfriend and a couple of our friends. We went through Sea-Side Dive Shop in St. Clair Shores. The instructors/DMs were very nice people and were especially patient with me when I was displaying my obvious fear.

Quite honestly, though, I don't feel like I learned anywhere near enough about buoyancy control in the class. It was something that was talked about a bit, but we didn't practice it to any great degree. So I still feel like a wrecking ball underwater, prone to crash into the bottom and stir up a load of silt rather than achieve neutral buoyancy before I reach that point. It didn't help that our OW dives were done at Spring Mill Pond at Island Lake Recreation Area, with such poor visibility that I didn't see the bottom until I was pretty much on it.

Anyway, the point is that I need to go diving someplace sort of wimpy and shallow where a nervous newbie can practice buoyancy control and not cause ecological disaster. Someplace within easy driving distance of the Detroit area would be swell. Right now I think I just need to go someplace I feel safe floundering around while I figure out what the heck I'm doing. (Lack of boat traffic would be a plus.)

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Cathy

Cathy,
Sea the World Scuba Center in Farmington Hills does advanced classes just about every other weekend or so during the summer months..... 5 dives over 2 days on the weekends in Portage Quarry....no boats to worry about; other students who are in the same situation as you so you don't feel so "out of control"! 248 478-6400 is their phone number. The quarry is about 1-1/2 hrs from Metro Detroit right down US-23 near Bowling Green, OH.

 

[CathyS]

Cathy,
Sea the World Scuba Center in Farmington Hills does advanced classes just about every other weekend or so during the summer months..... 5 dives over 2 days on the weekends in Portage Quarry....no boats to worry about; other students who are in the same situation as you so you don't feel so "out of control"! 248 478-6400 is their phone number. The quarry is about 1-1/2 hrs from Metro Detroit right down US-23 near Bowling Green, OH.

Janet, thanks so much for the info. I think it's too early for me to be thinking about advanced classes. I feel like I need to gain some real-world diving experience before I look to take anything labeled "advanced." But I will look into both the dive shop and the quarry you mentioned. Thanks!

 

[Mitten Diver]

Janet, thanks so much for the info. I think it's too early for me to be thinking about advanced classes. I feel like I need to gain some real-world diving experience before I look to take anything labeled "advanced." But I will look into both the dive shop and the quarry you mentioned. Thanks!

Cathy,

An advanced class is really a chance to do some additional supervised dives. You will work on navigation, search and rescue, night dive, deep dive and multi level dive. An advanced card does not necessarily give you the real world experience required to go out and do some deep diving in the Great Lakes, but will give you the opportunity to dive under supervised conditions with an instructor. This is my personnel opinion and your milage may very. Bouyancy will come with time and experimentation. As a new diver you probably started out overweighted so that you could get down, but as you get more comfortable in the water and familiar with your gear you will probably be able to drop a few pounds off of your dive kit, which will help you with your bouyancy control believe it or not. Managing an air bubble under water will get easier with time. So take the advanced class and then dive, dive , dive..... before you know it you will be hovering under water with the best of them.

Mitten Diver

 

[gtxl1200]

Cathy,
As a new diver you probably started out overweighted so that you could get down, but as you get more comfortable in the water and familiar with your gear you will probably be able to drop a few pounds off of your dive kit, which will help you with your bouyancy control believe it or not. Managing an air bubble under water will get easier with time. So take the advanced class and then dive, dive , dive..... before you know it you will be hovering under water with the best of them.

Mitten Diver

I was thinking the same thing about being over weighted when your doing your check out dives. Good job mitten and hey when are we going to get to dive together again. you need to put them golf clubs down and go diving with us.

 

[Mitten Diver]

Good job mitten and hey when are we going to get to dive together again. you need to put them golf clubs down and go diving with us.

JP and I are headed to Chicago this Saturday and Sunday for a couple of dips in Lake Michigan on the Straits of Mackinac and two other locations yet to be disclosed. Then back to Jackson to pick-up the non-diving wife and two non-diving dogs to travel North to Higgins Lake for what I hope to be another week of diving up there. I suppose the dogs will want to get wet up there as well, labs man they love the water. I have treid in vain to find out if you can still get air in the area. Anyway we will be there through the week to return on Sunday. Up for a death march?

Mitten Diver

 

[gtxl1200]

Anyway we will be there through the week to return on Sunday. Up for a death march?

Mitten Diver

We was just talking about going up to higgins and doing a dive or two and a night dive up there. I think I'm in I will ask STSSIDALL if he is up for it. and Tiny Bubbles I dont think he has dove up there yet I think he would like it. I get back with you.

 

[Tiny Bubbles]

Ted, yeah I'd like to get up north one of these days. But that is off-topic.

Cathy, there's pro's & con's to taking an advanced class right after open water. Read through some old threads on this board and you will know what to do.

And don't be too embarrased of having poor trim & bouyancy to dive with more experienced people. We've all been there before and we know what it's like. My wife & I were trained by a different c-card mill than you, and when we were cut loose & did our first boat dive, we were so totally unprepared that I thought the boat captain wasn't going to let us in the water again after our first 'incident', but he did, reluctantly. I've learned way more from diving with others than I ever did in class.

-Ray

 

[diver4christ]

Diving takes practice, PRACTICE, PRACTICE I still have some trouble with my boyancy sometimes I feel like a crawdad because I seem to spend so much time in the mud. it just takes time and you will get it.If you ever want to dive let me know I will be glad to dive with the 2 of you and we can work on it together.

 

[FyrFytr]

I know that I need help with my bouyancy control. It seems that just as I am getting the hang of it, my tank starts to get down and then I am fighting that.

 

[makinbubbles]

JP and I are headed to Chicago this Saturday and Sunday for a couple of dips in Lake Michigan on the Straits of Mackinac and two other locations
Mitten Diver

Hey mitten, I'll be diving the Mack on Saturday too. We were supposed to go Sunday but it got rescheduled. There is a very good chance 00scuba and jepuskar from this forum will be there too. (not sure if they took the reschedule or refund option)

Bob