I will say that what you are describing about the mask skills is what I call a "rattle". We all have them -- the things we just don't like. Some people have trouble coping with not having a regulator in their mouth all the time. Some don't do well in low viz. Some can't take a mask off.
Whatever the "rattle" is that you have, ignoring it is the wrong answer. Avoiding doing something because you aren't good at it will never result in being better at it -- and when the day comes when you NEED that skill, you'll be worse off than you were to begin with. So if mask skills bother you, do them all the time. Get a membership in a local pool and go swim laps with a snorkel and no mask. If cold water is what bothers you, do what a friend of mine did -- fill your sink with cold water, dump some ice cubes in it, and put your face in it!
There is a solution to almost everything that can happen to you underwater except panic. For this reason, holding panic at bay should be the primary goal of all training and practice, and that means improving anything that raises your level of anxiety, so that you can deal with all reasonably anticipated problems calmly. You can do it!
This is so true! Every little thing that has been one of my " rattles" has come back to bite me in some way or another. Nothing really big or terrible but enough that I could see a huge possibility of future issues. Mask problems-I had an uncontrolled ascent because I took too big of an inhalation while clearing my mask due to discomfort with the skill one time. I also had an issue with my mask flooding once at Catalina, when I hadn't dived cold water in years. It caused me to come unglued and I really had to "stop,breathe and calm down" before I could concentrate on fixing the issue, which was that my hood was getting under the mask.
Poor vis- one day in the lake, vis was nearly zero and I got vertigo on a descent. Creepy feeling and I was not happy. Took some regrouping and I found out that I needed to work on low-vis skills.
Cold water in the face, well, obviously, when my mask flooded while at Catalina that first time, cold water was a big issue. I hadn't dived in cold water for about 12 years and it was unnerving. Solution-more cold water diving.
Avoidance of diving issues cannot be a solution. Diving is unnatural. Any problems you encounter with basic OW skills while diving must be solved. Those skills are taught for a very good reason. You must be able to master and continue to master those particular skills all along the journey we call diving. Otherwise, you will find diving isn't fun or worse,dangerous. Everything that is taught is basic OW is basically all that you need. Sure, you might need to learn better ascents,descents, more about decompression,deco methods, etc, if you want to become a technical diver. But, the basics are all there in an OW class. It's all just a matter of refinement and practice. Once those skills are there, you need to continue practicing because anything that isn't practiced can be lost. Since we don't have gills, we must practice and develop muscle memory of all the basics.
---------- Post added November 1st, 2013 at 10:20 AM ----------
I basically freaked out any time I had to remove the regulator from my mouth. The class moved way too fast for me and there were times I felt unsafe and truly scared (which resulted in above water panic attacks and hyperventilating, and bolting to the surface a number of times; at least I remembered to exhale). I did all the skills and passed the portion of the class, but asked to go back and repeat the confined water dives, which thankfully the shop allowed me (I think they were glad I asked, actually. I would have to have been delusional to think I was ready for OW. I don't really understand why they passed me. One other woman and a kid did not pass, so it's not like it was automatic.). Things went better the second time around, my only problem came from an octo that leaked horribly and I bolted; and OW dives were non-eventful, except for refusing to take my mask off (which I did eventually do).
When you go on your trip, I'd suggest taking a refresher or "discover local diving" to refresh you and get a warm-up. Since you have just certified and it will have been months since your last dive, you're liable to be rusty. The other option would be to take peak performance buoyancy ( an excellent class when well taught) or advanced OW. Either way, a day or three with an instructor would be a great idea. Sounds like you were marginally ready to be signed off with a full OW cert. From the sounds of it, you might have been a good case for PADI's Scuba Diver certification, which requires a professional to dive with you at all times until passed for full OW.
No matter what you do, I highly recommend that next spring, when local diving becomes possible, that you become intimate with your local mud hole. The more you dive, the better you will be and the more comfortable you will become.
Have you ever read TSandM's blog? You would probably get a big kick out of it and maybe not feel so bad about your own class. She's a technical and cave diver now,btw!
---------- Post added November 1st, 2013 at 10:25 AM ----------
I'm thinking of swimming in a lake. I haven't tried reading my computer under water without a mask (see: don't like to be without mask while on scuba) but I know for certain I can read the settings on my underwater camera. I swim with contacts in. I've never lost one. My prescription is signifigant, but for distance.
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Please ditch the camera for about the next 25 dives. Please!
---------- Post added November 1st, 2013 at 10:36 AM ----------
The community pools close at Labor day. I'm not sure if I can get a day pass at the University pool or not. But it sounds like snorkel + sink first.
There is almost always a place that the Masters Swim team will practice, unless you live in a tiny town, which I understand, having gone to college in Iowa. Actually, the Masters Swim team is quite reasonably priced and could be a good place to not only get into the pool but get lots of water comfort,too. Almost every town has one, if you're interested. You don't have to compete or even be a good swimmer to join. They're very relaxed with requirements.
Also, some places have lap swimming, even though they say they are closed. That's how our swimming pool is here. It says its closed on July 27th ( here in AZ of all places!) yet its open all winter). Do you have an LAFitness, 24 Hour Fitness or Lifetime Fitness?
], you will be fine.
