Hi everyone, I am new to these forums and very new to scuba diving. I fell in love with it after an introductory dive on the great barrier reef. Our instructor was wonderful, the whole experience was so awesome that it left me wanting more and actually becoming certified. I apologise in advance about the lengthy post and appreciate any advice/input.
My initial intro dive went very well, so I looked at local diving schools and found one which offered the OWD course at a good price. After I made my booking, things pretty much went pear shaped. I received no confirmation email and had to chase them for over 5 days (phone and email) to get a written confirmation of dates etc. In the original booking, it said I needed to get a medical certificate, which I went ahead and did, cost me $200. Later I was told it was not required. Then they sent me a link to the SSI online learning materials. I started it but wasn't sure if I was working through the correct module/course. I sent them a screenshot, was told it's the wrong one, they hadn't actually enabled the OWD course in my profile. Once they did that, I worked through it, studied everything and passed without any problems.
On my 1st day at the shop, we did the final exam, quickly went through how the assemble the gear, I was given a wetsuit which was about 3 sizes too large (since they didn't have any in my size left) and it was off to the pool. We went through many skills in the pool rather quickly, after about an hour, we were done. I didn't have any issues with the skills. The mask removal skill was a bit uncomfortable but I did it. Also, it took a while for my breathing to calm down but I thought it was just the excitement of finally doing the course. After we ran through the skills, we were told to do the 200m swim, and we skipped the 10min treading water exercise. I expected the pool session to last longer but we were done for the day. I was a bit disappointed but felt fairly confident in my skills and applying them in open water.
Day 2 and we were told we would be with a different instructor. I was already disappointed since I really clicked with our first instructor, he was very calm and reassuring and this new guy was loud, went through everything too quickly, I felt very rushed and started to feel stressed. We took the boat out, there were lots of other people on the boat, snorkelers, discover scuba divers, certified divers, refreshers and us open water students. The whole atmosphere was very chaotic and rushed. Us students were the last group to get in the water. Once we started doing the skills, it went okay but the instructor made me feel like I was doing everything incorrectly. For e.g. full mask clearing, I couldn't fully clear it on the first go, so I did it in two tries, but he kept pushing and making me feel like I couldn't do it in first place. Or weight belt removal under water, I took it off, put it back on, fiddled with it a little to try and get it secure, but he swam up to me and kept signalling that I was doing it incorrectly. I didn't know what I had done wrong! Free flow regulator breathing, I took it halfway out of my mouth, pressed the purge button and was breathing fine, he swam up to me and kept getting me to tilt my head more to the side. My stress level was already building. Finally we were supposed to do the no mask swim, as soon as I took my mask off, I felt like I couldn't get a deep breath in and out, the exhalation bubbles kept hitting my nose and I felt the need to burp, I started to hyperventilate. I signalled to him "problem" and "go up", but he kept holding me down. I signalled again "problem" "go up" but he kept holding me. Finally I just swam up, and he followed. I told him that I felt like I could not breathe, and he said "ok, we will do it tomorrow". We went back to the boat and I was extremely stressed and anxious about whether I could do the skill on day 3.
I did not sleep at all that night, kept going over it in my head, couldn't eat a proper breakfast that morning. When I went back to the shop on day 3, I was told 6 other students would join us for the final dives as they hadn't completed the course from the previous week. I was assigned a new buddy, and again, the boat was full and a very chaotic atmosphere. Once we were in the water, the instructor yelled at me from the boat that my mask wasn't sitting correctly, even though it is my mask that I have worn and used before and it felt fine. While I was waiting for the others to jump in, I removed my mask and tried the no mask breathing again. But I couldn't do it. It felt like my chest just tightened, I couldn't breathe in and out. I began to cry, stressing that I would not be able to complete the course. My original buddy saw my distress and swam up to me, I told her that I felt like I could not do this. When it was time to descend and I saw the instructor keeling at the bottom and waiting for us, I felt a tightening in my chest and ascended. I became very emotional and once he surfaced, told him this wasn't working for me. I went back to the boat and actually started crying because I felt to disappointed and angry with myself. The instructor told me I could come back another day to finish, but I feel like I have lost my confidence in all the skills and in the instructor/dive shop. They said they would give me a call to re-schedule, but it's been 2 days now and nobody has called me.
Before I left the shop, the instructor told me that he could see I was upset on the morning of the dive. But he didn't address anything with me. When I tried to talk to him, he was busy preparing the gear, other students, customers etc. I felt very uncomfortable to approach him and voice any concerns. Also, on day 2, I told him that I still was trying to learn how to equalize, hoping we could make slower descents so I could get the hang of it, but he just brushed it off and said many people have issues equalizing. On day 3, when checking the equipment, I told him that I felt like I cannot get enough air from my reg, he said it is normal, he didn't even bother to check it himself (they kept giving us different gear every day, i.e. whatever was available in our sizes).
I feel very down after this experience and don't know what to do now. I don't feel confident going back to this shop. They still have my medical certificate, which I plan on getting back if I don't complete my final 2 dives with them. I am so upset because I was so excited and I really enjoyed scuba diving, but now I don't know what to do. Any advice/input is greatly appreciated.
P.S. After this ordeal, I went to my local pool with mask & snorkel, and after a bit of getting use to, I was totally fine with the mask removal, and even no mask swim.
My initial intro dive went very well, so I looked at local diving schools and found one which offered the OWD course at a good price. After I made my booking, things pretty much went pear shaped. I received no confirmation email and had to chase them for over 5 days (phone and email) to get a written confirmation of dates etc. In the original booking, it said I needed to get a medical certificate, which I went ahead and did, cost me $200. Later I was told it was not required. Then they sent me a link to the SSI online learning materials. I started it but wasn't sure if I was working through the correct module/course. I sent them a screenshot, was told it's the wrong one, they hadn't actually enabled the OWD course in my profile. Once they did that, I worked through it, studied everything and passed without any problems.
On my 1st day at the shop, we did the final exam, quickly went through how the assemble the gear, I was given a wetsuit which was about 3 sizes too large (since they didn't have any in my size left) and it was off to the pool. We went through many skills in the pool rather quickly, after about an hour, we were done. I didn't have any issues with the skills. The mask removal skill was a bit uncomfortable but I did it. Also, it took a while for my breathing to calm down but I thought it was just the excitement of finally doing the course. After we ran through the skills, we were told to do the 200m swim, and we skipped the 10min treading water exercise. I expected the pool session to last longer but we were done for the day. I was a bit disappointed but felt fairly confident in my skills and applying them in open water.
Day 2 and we were told we would be with a different instructor. I was already disappointed since I really clicked with our first instructor, he was very calm and reassuring and this new guy was loud, went through everything too quickly, I felt very rushed and started to feel stressed. We took the boat out, there were lots of other people on the boat, snorkelers, discover scuba divers, certified divers, refreshers and us open water students. The whole atmosphere was very chaotic and rushed. Us students were the last group to get in the water. Once we started doing the skills, it went okay but the instructor made me feel like I was doing everything incorrectly. For e.g. full mask clearing, I couldn't fully clear it on the first go, so I did it in two tries, but he kept pushing and making me feel like I couldn't do it in first place. Or weight belt removal under water, I took it off, put it back on, fiddled with it a little to try and get it secure, but he swam up to me and kept signalling that I was doing it incorrectly. I didn't know what I had done wrong! Free flow regulator breathing, I took it halfway out of my mouth, pressed the purge button and was breathing fine, he swam up to me and kept getting me to tilt my head more to the side. My stress level was already building. Finally we were supposed to do the no mask swim, as soon as I took my mask off, I felt like I couldn't get a deep breath in and out, the exhalation bubbles kept hitting my nose and I felt the need to burp, I started to hyperventilate. I signalled to him "problem" and "go up", but he kept holding me down. I signalled again "problem" "go up" but he kept holding me. Finally I just swam up, and he followed. I told him that I felt like I could not breathe, and he said "ok, we will do it tomorrow". We went back to the boat and I was extremely stressed and anxious about whether I could do the skill on day 3.
I did not sleep at all that night, kept going over it in my head, couldn't eat a proper breakfast that morning. When I went back to the shop on day 3, I was told 6 other students would join us for the final dives as they hadn't completed the course from the previous week. I was assigned a new buddy, and again, the boat was full and a very chaotic atmosphere. Once we were in the water, the instructor yelled at me from the boat that my mask wasn't sitting correctly, even though it is my mask that I have worn and used before and it felt fine. While I was waiting for the others to jump in, I removed my mask and tried the no mask breathing again. But I couldn't do it. It felt like my chest just tightened, I couldn't breathe in and out. I began to cry, stressing that I would not be able to complete the course. My original buddy saw my distress and swam up to me, I told her that I felt like I could not do this. When it was time to descend and I saw the instructor keeling at the bottom and waiting for us, I felt a tightening in my chest and ascended. I became very emotional and once he surfaced, told him this wasn't working for me. I went back to the boat and actually started crying because I felt to disappointed and angry with myself. The instructor told me I could come back another day to finish, but I feel like I have lost my confidence in all the skills and in the instructor/dive shop. They said they would give me a call to re-schedule, but it's been 2 days now and nobody has called me.
Before I left the shop, the instructor told me that he could see I was upset on the morning of the dive. But he didn't address anything with me. When I tried to talk to him, he was busy preparing the gear, other students, customers etc. I felt very uncomfortable to approach him and voice any concerns. Also, on day 2, I told him that I still was trying to learn how to equalize, hoping we could make slower descents so I could get the hang of it, but he just brushed it off and said many people have issues equalizing. On day 3, when checking the equipment, I told him that I felt like I cannot get enough air from my reg, he said it is normal, he didn't even bother to check it himself (they kept giving us different gear every day, i.e. whatever was available in our sizes).
I feel very down after this experience and don't know what to do now. I don't feel confident going back to this shop. They still have my medical certificate, which I plan on getting back if I don't complete my final 2 dives with them. I am so upset because I was so excited and I really enjoyed scuba diving, but now I don't know what to do. Any advice/input is greatly appreciated.
P.S. After this ordeal, I went to my local pool with mask & snorkel, and after a bit of getting use to, I was totally fine with the mask removal, and even no mask swim.
