Class

[PamJScuba]

Today was the first part of my OW Certification class. WOW!!! That was so AWESOME. I had a great time breathing underwater. The whole class went great and I found it fairly easy to do. I

I did have problems with my mask fogging but everyone was having a problem and the instructors said that it is sometimes a problem in the pool that they use. The mask also kept getting a lot of water in it so I had TONS of practice clearing the mask.

As for breathing without a mask, that was a BREEZE. Thankfully no problems for me in that area. The one minute free-flow also went really well. At the end of covering Parts 1, 2 & 3 we took some time to play in the deep end.

Bouyancy is still a bit of a problem. I actually felt like my feet were floating higher above my head, but towards the end of the class I was doing much better.

I started with 3000 psi and ended the day at approx. 1800 psi which the instructor said was excellent and slightly above normal. Most students in his class end closer to 1000 psi at the end of the day. I just found it extremely easy to breath underwater. I think it really helped that I'm comfortable in the water and used to getting water up my noise when I did Synchronized swimming.

Unfortunately, my boyfriend was having a MUCH HARDER time. At the end of today, he is definitely behind the remainder of the class. He is definitely not very comfortable in the water and struggled with swimming while switching between the regulator and snorkel. He hated the snorkel! As for breathing with the regulator, he did fine until he had to do the free flow and remove then replace his mask. He finishes the class tomorrow. There are 2 divemasters that are available and they are going to work with him exclusively but if they don't think he is ready he will definitely not be doing the final OW certifications at the lake since vis is only approx. 8 feet. If this happens, he will probably need to re-do the first confined dives then get a referral for elsewhere.

 

[jbd]

Today was the first part of my OW Certification class. WOW!!! That was so AWESOME. I had a great time breathing underwater. The whole class went great and I found it fairly easy to do. I

I did have problems with my mask fogging but everyone was having a problem and the instructors said that it is sometimes a problem in the pool that they use. The mask also kept getting a lot of water in it so I had TONS of practice clearing the mask.

As for breathing without a mask, that was a BREEZE. Thankfully no problems for me in that area. The one minute free-flow also went really well. At the end of covering Parts 1, 2 & 3 we took some time to play in the deep end.

Bouyancy is still a bit of a problem. I actually felt like my feet were floating higher above my head, but towards the end of the class I was doing much better.

I started with 3000 psi and ended the day at approx. 1800 psi which the instructor said was excellent and slightly above normal. Most students in his class end closer to 1000 psi at the end of the day. I just found it extremely easy to breath underwater. I think it really helped that I'm comfortable in the water and used to getting water up my noise when I did Synchronized swimming.

Unfortunately, my boyfriend was having a MUCH HARDER time. At the end of today, he is definitely behind the remainder of the class. He is definitely not very comfortable in the water and struggled with swimming while switching between the regulator and snorkel. He hated the snorkel! As for breathing with the regulator, he did fine until he had to do the free flow and remove then replace his mask. He finishes the class tomorrow. There are 2 divemasters that are available and they are going to work with him exclusively but if they don't think he is ready he will definitely not be doing the final OW certifications at the lake since vis is only approx. 8 feet. If this happens, he will probably need to re-do the first confined dives then get a referral for elsewhere.

First let me say congrats to you for making good progress!!

As to your boyfriends problems with the snorkle---was he taught how to use it or was it just a put it in your mouth and breath? Do search for some post made by Walter and mask removal and replacement. He has some excellent methods that I think will help your boyfriend learn to deal with the snorkle and increase his comfort in the water.

 

[PamJScuba]

Hi everyone,

Just thought I would give a quick update. This past Saturday in the pool for the 1st of the Confined water dives was awesome and I can't wait to finish up on Wednesday of this week.

We had our final class yesterday and I passed the test with only 5 wrong. They were stupid mistakes. I have a mild form of dyslexia and if I don't read a question carefully I have a tendancy to turn words around resulting in the opposite of what was actually asked. So of course, I had the opposite awnsers.

The only one I didn't legitimately know the answer to was about the DIN. Well, now I know!!! This coming weekend will be our Open Water dives in Square Lake near Stillwater, MN. I guess the vis. has been around 6 to 8'.

I also learned a great tip about wearing pantyhose to help get the wetsuit on and Tracy, the owner of the dive shop says she finds they help her stay warmer in the cold water.

In the meantime, my fiance completed the classroom portion and will re-do the confined water dives the end of November. Between now and November, we are going to go to the health club and work in the pool on his swimming skills with the fins and snorkel. Once he is comfortable using them the rest will be a breeze.

So far, no sharks

Pam