canismajor
Contributor
So, after months of scubaboarding and acquiring equipment (God, that was a serious expense!) the wife and I finally did the classroom/confined water dives this past weekend.
Although our BCs are weight integrated our instructor insisted on putting weight belts on us.
First of all, the BC's and weight belts do not fit properly together. The BC was either pushing down on the belt or floating up on me with the belt on. After day one I swore NEVER to wear a weight belt again as long as I lived and TOLD my instructor I'd be using weights in the BC.
My wife, go-along/get along type that she is tried sticking it out with the belt even though she made the same complaints to me later Saturday night about fit and comfort that I stated above.
More on this later.
Aside from the belt/BC thing, I was flopping around like a drunken sailor. Every slight "current" in the pool pushed me over and I'm flailing dangerously (of course it didn't help that there were 13 people in a pool that was about 50' x 15'. Eventually - like near the end of a 3 hour stint in the pool, they figured out that I was improperly weighted. Ended up putting 26 pounds on me. Well, I was more stable, but could hardly propel myself.
At the end of the ordeal, I talked to my wife who said she was going through the same thing.
And so, we just resolved to "get better" the next day.
First thing I did upon arrival at the pool on Sunday was to start filling my bc with 26 pounds of weights. Got a scowl from the instructor, but wasn't about to back down. I only have to see/deal with that - fine individual - a couple more times. I'll be going elsewhere for AOW. Bet on it.
Things went so much better for me! Felt MUCH more in control, comfortable and happy. Until it came time to doff the weighted BC underwater. Once it was off, I started losing balance and the tank/bc. Not about to make the instructor "right" I followed it, put one arm in, rolled to get the other arm in, and kept my momentum going as I was taught in countless martial arts classes, until I was standing and reattaching the harnesses. Nothing she could do except give me the "ok" sign and shake my hand. God, that felt good!
Now as for my wife, there was a different story.
She tried to do what they wanted and had the same problems as on Saturday. Out of control and uncomfortable. Finally, 30 minutes into the class, she decides she can't take the belt any more and begins filling her BC. After which she too was much happier, more stable and more comfortable. (BTW we were the only 2 in class with our own equipment, the dive store rentals everyone else used were non-weight-integrated BCs.)
When it was her turn to doff the BC, she damn near floated to the surface. Eventually, she was able to accomplish the skills well enough to get by. We'll have to work on that in the pool together as there may be a time in the future when we'll need to do that for real.
Then it was back to class for the last written tests. One piece of advise to those who are planning on taking the OW course: Get the eRDP calculator! Best $25 you'll spend for the tests! Yeah, I spent 3 days working out how to use the card and got it down. Then at my wife's behest, I bought the calculator. Using that, we finished our tests about 20 minutes before anybody else. LEARN how to do it without, just in case your batteries die, it slides off the boat into the water, or your dive computer goes belly up, but get the calculator for the tests!)
So, from what I've been told, the worst is over. Next weekend 6 boat dives: 4 for OW certification, 2 for PPB.
Although our BCs are weight integrated our instructor insisted on putting weight belts on us.
First of all, the BC's and weight belts do not fit properly together. The BC was either pushing down on the belt or floating up on me with the belt on. After day one I swore NEVER to wear a weight belt again as long as I lived and TOLD my instructor I'd be using weights in the BC.
My wife, go-along/get along type that she is tried sticking it out with the belt even though she made the same complaints to me later Saturday night about fit and comfort that I stated above.
Aside from the belt/BC thing, I was flopping around like a drunken sailor. Every slight "current" in the pool pushed me over and I'm flailing dangerously (of course it didn't help that there were 13 people in a pool that was about 50' x 15'. Eventually - like near the end of a 3 hour stint in the pool, they figured out that I was improperly weighted. Ended up putting 26 pounds on me. Well, I was more stable, but could hardly propel myself.
At the end of the ordeal, I talked to my wife who said she was going through the same thing.
And so, we just resolved to "get better" the next day.
First thing I did upon arrival at the pool on Sunday was to start filling my bc with 26 pounds of weights. Got a scowl from the instructor, but wasn't about to back down. I only have to see/deal with that - fine individual - a couple more times. I'll be going elsewhere for AOW. Bet on it.
Things went so much better for me! Felt MUCH more in control, comfortable and happy. Until it came time to doff the weighted BC underwater. Once it was off, I started losing balance and the tank/bc. Not about to make the instructor "right" I followed it, put one arm in, rolled to get the other arm in, and kept my momentum going as I was taught in countless martial arts classes, until I was standing and reattaching the harnesses. Nothing she could do except give me the "ok" sign and shake my hand. God, that felt good!
Now as for my wife, there was a different story.
She tried to do what they wanted and had the same problems as on Saturday. Out of control and uncomfortable. Finally, 30 minutes into the class, she decides she can't take the belt any more and begins filling her BC. After which she too was much happier, more stable and more comfortable. (BTW we were the only 2 in class with our own equipment, the dive store rentals everyone else used were non-weight-integrated BCs.)
When it was her turn to doff the BC, she damn near floated to the surface. Eventually, she was able to accomplish the skills well enough to get by. We'll have to work on that in the pool together as there may be a time in the future when we'll need to do that for real.
Then it was back to class for the last written tests. One piece of advise to those who are planning on taking the OW course: Get the eRDP calculator! Best $25 you'll spend for the tests! Yeah, I spent 3 days working out how to use the card and got it down. Then at my wife's behest, I bought the calculator. Using that, we finished our tests about 20 minutes before anybody else. LEARN how to do it without, just in case your batteries die, it slides off the boat into the water, or your dive computer goes belly up, but get the calculator for the tests!)
So, from what I've been told, the worst is over. Next weekend 6 boat dives: 4 for OW certification, 2 for PPB.
