I just completed the pool session of the open water dive class this weekend and will be doing my check out dives this coming weekend. Can anyone tell me what this will entail? Will I have to perform all of the same skills as I did in the pool? Or are there just selected skills? Any feedback you could provide would be much appreciated!
Check Out Dive Questions
- Thread starter delco
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Delco --
Your instructor should have given you a brief on what to expect in the check out dives. And, quite frankly it's a bit difficult to say with certainty what skills you will be asked to perform and when as it does vary a bit from agency to agency and instructor to instructor.
That said... as a rule... you should expect at a minimum to have to do snorkelling skills such as surface swims, head first and/or feet first surface dives, mask and snorkel clearing, etc.) in addition to SCUBA skills such as mask clearing, regulator clearing, regulator retrieval, controlled ascents and decents, either an emergency swimming ascent and/or emercengy buoyant ascent and at an air sharing ascent.
Your instructor should have given you a brief on what to expect in the check out dives. And, quite frankly it's a bit difficult to say with certainty what skills you will be asked to perform and when as it does vary a bit from agency to agency and instructor to instructor.
That said... as a rule... you should expect at a minimum to have to do snorkelling skills such as surface swims, head first and/or feet first surface dives, mask and snorkel clearing, etc.) in addition to SCUBA skills such as mask clearing, regulator clearing, regulator retrieval, controlled ascents and decents, either an emergency swimming ascent and/or emercengy buoyant ascent and at an air sharing ascent.
cobaltbabe
Diva of the Deep
Just remember to breath, stay calm and above everything else enjoy yourself. Diving is a wonderful sport and very relaxing. Best of luck and let us know how it goes. Safe diving. Marie
Delco --
THat's perfectly normal. Don't worry yourself over it. Just remember that you're not going to be asked to do anything you haven't already done several times over. Relax and have fun. The more you dive, the better it gets. You'll be just fine.
let us know how it goes and we'll all celebrate your new cert together.
THat's perfectly normal. Don't worry yourself over it. Just remember that you're not going to be asked to do anything you haven't already done several times over. Relax and have fun. The more you dive, the better it gets. You'll be just fine.
let us know how it goes and we'll all celebrate your new cert together.
RICHinNC
Contributor
Learn is right on.
You shouldnt do anything you havent done already in the pool.... assuming you did pool work.
You will probably do a mask clearing, take off bc put back on, retrieve lost reg....all the things you did before in training.
Then once you are certified you can get back in the water and try to bring it all together. While training is going on you have so much on your mind.....
often in training you get different equip than you had at the last session so you have no idea where all the dumps and things are on your bc. (a good reason to own you own bc)
bottom line....relax....have fun.....take it seriously every time you enter the water....and make sure you can take care of yourself
You shouldnt do anything you havent done already in the pool.... assuming you did pool work.
You will probably do a mask clearing, take off bc put back on, retrieve lost reg....all the things you did before in training.
Then once you are certified you can get back in the water and try to bring it all together. While training is going on you have so much on your mind.....
often in training you get different equip than you had at the last session so you have no idea where all the dumps and things are on your bc. (a good reason to own you own bc)
bottom line....relax....have fun.....take it seriously every time you enter the water....and make sure you can take care of yourself
We tell our students this is not a test. We go out and have a good time, find some fish and show them the skills we mastered in the pool. My last check-out dive only had two students and they had REALLY good air consumption. We were able to tour most of the quarry once skills were done and we saw turtles, bluegill on their nests, bass and some cool underwater formations. The dive lasted nearly an hour! Your check-out dives are something to look forward to not something to dread.
Like Learn said, different agencies do different thing but no good instructor is going to ask you to do something you've never done. You need to let your instructor know if you're not comfortable with the skills you learned in the pool. There's no shame in asking for more pool time to practice if you don't feel you mastered the skills in confined water. If you're comfortable with the skills in the pool, going to open water really isn't a big deal.
A positive mind set is essential to having a pleasant experience. It's normal to be a little nervous, you've never done this before. Just tell yourself you'll have a good time and then enjoy the experience. The underwater world is an amazing place and diving, in my opinion, is the best way to see it.
Ber
Like Learn said, different agencies do different thing but no good instructor is going to ask you to do something you've never done. You need to let your instructor know if you're not comfortable with the skills you learned in the pool. There's no shame in asking for more pool time to practice if you don't feel you mastered the skills in confined water. If you're comfortable with the skills in the pool, going to open water really isn't a big deal.
A positive mind set is essential to having a pleasant experience. It's normal to be a little nervous, you've never done this before. Just tell yourself you'll have a good time and then enjoy the experience. The underwater world is an amazing place and diving, in my opinion, is the best way to see it.
Ber
Let me add another comment if I may...
Ber Rabbit is dead on the money.
I always tell my students three things in their O/W briefing... first this IS NOT a pass/fail test. I'm simply going to be looking to see if you are ready to dive without me or not. And, if you're not ready, then we'll work on it until you are. Second, I'm not "testing" you... you're just demonstrating to me that you know the skills and are as comfortable doing them in a real diving situation as you are in the pool. I tell them not to feel like they have to do anything... I'm here to help you learn to dive and there's no need to "impress" me. If you don't feel like you are ready or willing to do anything I ask you to do, just tell me and we'll go back and work on it. The third and final thing I tell them is that the only thing they HAVE to do is have a good time and that anything else is simply not acceptable.
~smile~
You aren't my student, but I am telling you the same thing.
Good luck
Ber Rabbit is dead on the money.
I always tell my students three things in their O/W briefing... first this IS NOT a pass/fail test. I'm simply going to be looking to see if you are ready to dive without me or not. And, if you're not ready, then we'll work on it until you are. Second, I'm not "testing" you... you're just demonstrating to me that you know the skills and are as comfortable doing them in a real diving situation as you are in the pool. I tell them not to feel like they have to do anything... I'm here to help you learn to dive and there's no need to "impress" me. If you don't feel like you are ready or willing to do anything I ask you to do, just tell me and we'll go back and work on it. The third and final thing I tell them is that the only thing they HAVE to do is have a good time and that anything else is simply not acceptable.
~smile~
You aren't my student, but I am telling you the same thing.
Good luck
Thanks to everyone for their encouragement and votes of confidence! After my first pool session, I was scared and wasn't sure I wanted to return (the mask clearing/removal thing was an issue with me...I wasn't used to not breathing through my nose). But when I went back for the second day, I was like a different person...a whole new comfort level! I cleared the mask with no problem at all and even found myself doing it on my own during other skills! I know that I will become more and more comfortable with each dive but am just a little nervous about my first dive "not in the pool."
Delco --
No sweat. The only major difference between your checkout dives and your pool work is how the water tastes ~smile~ The rest is mostly mental. yes... open water is different from the pool... but either way it's just water.
You'll be just fine. Just like the difference between your first pool session and the second, you'll find the same thing in the open water. Each one gets better than the one before it. Once you hit twenty or so dives you'll be having an outright ball.
No sweat. The only major difference between your checkout dives and your pool work is how the water tastes ~smile~ The rest is mostly mental. yes... open water is different from the pool... but either way it's just water.
You'll be just fine. Just like the difference between your first pool session and the second, you'll find the same thing in the open water. Each one gets better than the one before it. Once you hit twenty or so dives you'll be having an outright ball.
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