Bummed out by Attempt at OW Dive (long)

[Angela2932]

Things did not turn out as I'd hoped at my Scuba open water dive this weekend, and I'm doing some soul-searching and serious thinking about what I want to do.

This is Small Potatoes in the grand scheme of things, but I have to level with myself about what's realistic and wise when you're just a week or two shy of 55 years old. And live in a land-locked state with infrequent chances to even be where scuba diving would be available. From reading posts here, I know it's not that unusual to start diving in the 50s, but I also know that since I live in the northern plains, chances to actually dive are going to be few and far between.

Anyway, I had done one dive in Mexico through a resort, loved it, and took a weekend PADI certification course. One issue I had in the course was getting the proper weighting to descend, but figured that would come with practice and getting relaxed with breathing. To help prepare for the open dives, I did lap swimming in the Y pool with my snorkel, mask and fins. . . just to get more relaxed in general.

At the open dive this weekend, I just seemed to run into stumbling blocks that really threw me. I found the 6.5 mm wet suit to be miserable! I felt like I could barely move in it and really struggled with its level of bouyancy. Snorkeling out to the float in the lake felt very unstable, and half the time, I felt like I couldn't breathe. Looking at the photos my husband took from shore, I think I had my snorkel attached at a crazy angle that didn't help matters any. But then I really struggled with the descent. I wasn't sinking. And my fins kept floating up behind me, and I compounded the problem by floundering around with my fins, mainly ending up under the float at the surface, and somehow also flooding my mask. At this point, I started to panic, couldn't get my mask cleared and kept swallowing water, somehow tried to both clear my mask and equalize my ears at the same time (yep. by pinching my nose shut!)and then surfaced.

I told the instructor that maybe scuba just really isn't for me after all. The instructor, who was very kind, was reassuring and willing to help me calm down and try again, or take a break on shore and he'd help me individually with a descent. He later reminded me that once I got below the surface, the water pressure would have compressed the suit enough that bouyancy wouldn't have been so problematic; it's while you're on the surface that you struggle the most with controlling movements. So I headed back to shore, but didn't know the proper way to exit the water. I got very close to the shore and stood up with all the gear on.

I felt this snapping in my knee and it twisted out. At this point, I pretty much knew my diving was over for the day. (Well, at least I figured THAT out!) But as I sat on shore waiting for my husband to come back and the rest of the group and instructors to return, I thought more about this. The lake water was not anything like what I'd hoped. The visibility was really bad; it was hard to even see the person right in front of me. And realistically, these would be the lakes I'd get to scuba in maybe once or twice each summer.

Maybe once a year (although likely less) I'd get to go on a trip to a more tropical place, and see all these really cool fish and ocean life that I saw while I was in Mexico. You don't need extremely bouyant wet suits in Mexico. And I actually like snorkeling more in some ways. The only thing I really like more about scuba, strangely, is getting to play with the equipment, and maybe the "boasting rights." (as in, "when I was on the bottom of the ocean, I saw a creature that has a mustache just like yours!") Ok, maybe not that.

Which brings me to this point as well. I really don't NEED to know how to scuba dive or have this as a hobby. Scuba diving is really interesting and exciting, but so are other things. Interest in diving did get me going to the pool to do water aerobics, and doing the lap swimming with the fins, snorkel and mask (although there's certainly nothing to look at in a Y pool other than icky things!) And if next summer, I really, really still want to do this, I can start the pool portion of diving over and make sure I really have the skills down before trying an open dive again.

I know all of you really love diving, or you wouldn't be on this board. But sitting here with ice on my knee right now, I'm just trying to figure out whether to call it a day for diving. If I were in my 20s, I'd certainly keep going with this. If I were me at my age (which I actually happen to be ) and lived in a warm place, I'd also definitely do it.

I guess at some level I'm asking if I should give up on this, or wait till courses are offered again next year and try again if I'm interested, or if there's something I could do now to make it more likely to turn out better.

Thanks in advance,
Angela

 

[Dion]

I'm sorry that you had such a difficult time and are so discouraged. I hope that you figure out what is right for you.

But, I would like to let you know that there are some of us here who are not "hardcore" and don't like diving in cold murky water with a ton of neoprene either. I am one of them. I got my certification in Cozumel and even though I lived in So. Cal. have never gone diving there. (blasphemy *gasp*) I dive for the beautiful coral and fish and it is a relaxing zen thing for me, if it was cold and uncomfortable, then I personally wouldn't enjoy it. Only you know what your limits are and what you want out of the experience. So what if you only get to enjoy the underwater world 1 or 2 weeks out of the year, if it is something that you really enjoy and it rejuvenates you, then it is worth it. I only get to go 2 or 3 weeks a year, but I live for those 2 weeks. I have been certified for 10 years, and I still consider it one of the best things I ever did.

If you really enjoyed your dive in Mexico, then maybe you need to work with your dive shop and try to plan a trip where you can do your checkout dives during a dive trip to a place with better conditions where you feel more comfortable. That's how I did it and it was a great experience.

I hope that your knee feels better and that after you have some time to think about the experience, you make the best choice for yourself. But keep in mind that not all divers like muck diving.

 

[ucfdiver]

First - Don't give it up.

You've got to realize you weren't born with gills, therefore you're placing yourself in a foreign environment that's going to take some time to adapt to. I've been diving since 1999 and there's still things I struggle with. Sounds as if you had a few gear problems.....people often say "gear doesn't matter", but that's complete crap, it's VERY important. If you're not comfortable with the gear, going underwater just compounds that discomfort. Your instructor needs to be made aware of any issues you have like this so he or she can help you.

I bet if you tried again with less frustration, you'd be amazed how much smoother things go.

 

[Brewski]

Angela your not alone. In Northern California, the water temp here requires at least a 7mm wet suit. and most new divers experience the same issues you did when entering the water fully suited for the first time. Its very different from being in the pool isn't it? If you work with your instructor I'm sure you will become more comfortable with the additional buoyancy of your wetsuit.
If you decide that cold water diving isn't for you, as Dion suggested, you can take your checkout dives in warmer climes where you intend to dive. If you've been working with a PADI instructor, your check outs can be done anytime within a year of your class start. So your instructor can give you referral paperwork that you can take to the warm water area of your choice, and an instructor there can complete your certification.

Don't get frustrated. your not alone. Some of my current dive buddies are people who struggled just as you did, during their certification dives. Now they're calling every weekend wanting to go diving.

 

[TSandM]

Angela, I cringed as I read your account. I had SO much empathy for you, trying to negotiate diving in cold water and low viz, when your initial experiences were completely other.

You might get some moral support from reading the log of my OW class (link in my sig line). Nothing about diving came easily to me. Nothing was comfortable, and nothing was instinctive. I was the "scuba challenged" student in the pool, and it got worse in open water. I don't know why they certified me; they shouldn't have. I wasn't competent -- in fact, I wasn't safe. Worse, I didn't know why I was taking this class in the first place, and I had no intention of EVER diving in Puget Sound. My visions of diving had to do with snorkeling in Maui and the Carribbean; warm, clear water, full of colorful fish. It had nothing to do with ice cold pea soup.

But my temperament has a lot of pit bull in it, and because diving was hard, I was all the more motivated to master it. I had a tremendous amount of luck, in addition, in finding this board and discovering, through it, a mentor who would work with me. I did the first bunch of dives out of sheer determination, and went on because I discovered how magical the world underwater could be. It still took effort and perseverence, but over the last three years, I've staggered into being a reasonably competent diver, and most importantly, I've had an absolutely amazing amount of fun in the process.

Only you can tell whether you want to do this or not. Only you know your motivation and the worries that are serving as roadblocks. But I was 51 when I learned to dive, and as unathletic as they come, and I muddled through, and 600 dives later, I'm a certified cave diver. The sport captures you or it doesn't; your age isn't a major consideration unless you want it to be.

I hope you decide to try again . . . If you want to.

 

[vladimir]

My first several years of diving were in cold-water, low-visibility environments: NY area wrecks and quarries in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The only reason I persisted is I'd never done any tropical diving. Once I did, I was ruined for cold-water diving. I'm not against cold-water diving if there's something of interest (to me) to see. But if I were in North Dakota with the prospect of diving in a cold lake or quarry and an annual dive trip to the tropics I'd probably take up macrame.

 

[Winterpeg]

Angela I had a similar experience to yours and I have so much empathy for you! First of all, I live just north of you in Winnipeg so we probably did our OW tests in similar conditions. I had to wear a 7mm "farmer john" wet suit (2 piece so the trunk portion was double-thickness 14 mm) with hood and gloves. All that neoprene made me float like a cork and necessitated wearing something like 24 pounds of weight which I could hardly even handle (I only weigh about 130 pounds myself). The lake where I did my OW test was 4 degrees C (about 39 F) at depth and I was still cold in that wetsuit. It was also murky and there was nothing at all to see! By the time I got all my gear on and tried to stand up with my tank I could hardly move and handle the weight. I have never been athletic and I have arthritis, which flared-up from the stress of it all. I still don't know to this day how I managed to make it through my OW dives but I had excellent and very patient instructors. I am almost 50 myself and wondered why I was putting myself through all that.
BUT - it is worth it to dive in the Caribbean on vacation. After doing my OW dives I told my instructors that they will NEVER get me into that cold lake again. And I mean it. But I am still glad I did it. I dove at 4 different islands on a cruise last winter and I have just done the knowledge reviews for my AOW dives which I plan to do in Cozumel next winter. I know that's not a lot of practice but I don't aim to become an instructor or dive master. I don't plan to get ambitious and take cave diving or anything either. I just want to enjoy myself on vacation, challenge myself a bit, and see some pretty fish. Before next winter, I plan to do a couple of pool review sessions and a complete scuba skills review.
Only you can decide for yourself whether or not it is worth continuing. Do you have a dive buddy? I dive with my husband on vacation so it's something we can enjoy together. Are you able to get away on a vacation at least once a year? For me, it's not something I expect to be doing 20 years from now, but something I plan to enjoy for a few years while I am young and healthy enough to do it safely.
If you decide to retake you OW dives in a warmer climate, I do have a word of advice - make sure you find a reputable dive-op that takes the time to do a proper test. My first attempt at my OW dives was in Mexico and although I had a great time diving, the instructor cut corners and did not test me on all the required skills. Hence I ended up redoing my OW at home to feel more comfortable about passing. I am glad I redid it here, because I know if I can do it under these conditions then warm water will be a snap in comparison, but with a good instructor doing it on a referral should also be OK.

 

[Dux]

Hi Angela

I can totally relate to your post as I took my OW last year and qualified at age 59.

I am female, unfit, overweight, and a total couch potato, but my daughter is marrying in Aus next year and I was determined to dive at the Great Barrier Reef.

I live in cold damp England and the chances for clear dives here are very few and far between.

My first pool dive was a mess as I was breathing through my nose

My first open water dive, in a murky quarry, where many years ago a handless corpse had been found, left a bit to be desired.
I was doing this without my husband and he jokingly said...well I think he was...'they won't pass you unless you find the hands!'

Everything that could be done wrong ....I did...my buoyancy was rubbish....it still isn't great.
I find the gear a bit difficult as at 59 and female your strength can be less than wonderful.
But I did get my OW last year and am going on with my AOW.
There have been moments I have loved and had a great buzz from and the very surreal nature of it all has a great appeal.

I now don't even mind the stride in and each bit gives me a big sense of achievement.
I still am not the best at buoyancy, but will get better.
I have most of my own gear now and that makes a huge difference.
I did my first sea dive off the coast of Wales a few months ago and all the time am keeping that one aim in sight.
Someone in the dive shop said to me 'won't it be great when you can dive in the lovely clear waters and see all those beautiful things?'
I thought for a moment and said ...'but I like murky' and in one strange way I did.

These decisions to continue or not are all very personal and each individual knows themselves what is best.

I would even think about...how would you feel in future years if
a) you stopped
b) you kept going

Which would you feel happier with and more comfortable looking back on.

Whatever you do all the best

 

[Eau_Girl]

Angela,

Just to reiterate -- don't give up yet! You may end up deciding it's not for you, but give it another try. The first OW dive can be horrible especially if it's in a cold water environment.

Give yourself more time to get comfortable with every aspect of diving. You've decided to take the lessons at home so you have more flexibility to add additional time with your instructor and can do it at your own pace. If that's not possible with your current course, find an instructor who will continue with you over time.

I've helped out as a divemaster on a number of courses and some of the students who were the most uncomfortable at first persevered and are avid divers today!

Hope your knee heals quickly!

 

[ligersandtions]

Don't give up! Maybe you don't have the desire to dive in cold, murky, crappy vis water....maybe you're more suited for the crystal clear, warm water of the Caribbean. There are plenty of dive shops that will certify you in tropical areas, so maybe you could consider planning a vacation sometime in the near future and working that in. Oh yeah, from the sounds of it, your OW dive was a shore dive....shore dives are tiring (from surface swims to attempting to stand up out of the water with all your gear on....it was quite the shock to me the first time when I went from the water assisting me to standing up all on my own. I was sure I was going to have to just lie down in the surf and be crashed on by waves!).

My first OW dives were in Cozumel off a boat....the water was warm, the visibility was good, the creatures were out. Fast forward a couple weeks to my first OW dive in socal....the shore entry was scary, the surface swim was long, the visibility was bad, we never found anything other than the sandy bottom, the exit was far worse than the entry (4-6' waves crashing over me), and then there was the walk up the stairs and back to the car. I vowed never to do that again and threatened my hubby that he needed to take me back to Mexico! About an hour after that, I ate my words because I really truly love diving, even if we don't manage to find anything. A lot of that love, I credit to starting in the beautiful, clear, warm waters of Cozumel.

So maybe if you get certified down there, realize how much you love it, and get yourself more comfortable with diving, you'll grow to appreciate the murky, cold waters of North Dakota....or maybe you'll just decide you need to take a couple weeks of vacation to tropical places each year!

Either way, don't give up if it's something you think you will really enjoy once you get past the initial learning curve.