So... HOW'Z IT GOIN'???
Encourage me as I learn to dive
- Thread starter Debra@DivingMuseum
- Start date
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So... HOW'Z IT GOIN'???
Winterpeg
Contributor
Wow! You go girl! You are much braver than I am - probably braver than most of us - to go through all your training experiences publicly and share them along the way.
I'm rooting for you - and remember, if it doesn't all go perfectly smoothly, there is lots of good advice and support here on Scubaboard.
I'm rooting for you - and remember, if it doesn't all go perfectly smoothly, there is lots of good advice and support here on Scubaboard.
CamG
Contributor
Greetings Debra and it is totally awesome to have you on board as a diver in training!
The world is about to explode with adventure for you! Diving is a experience that transforms all those who enter the underwater play ground of neutral buoyancy!
You will find the history you treasure will be even more interesting and alive!
Enjoy the training as well as your birthday! Safe training and diving to you!
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!
The world is about to explode with adventure for you! Diving is a experience that transforms all those who enter the underwater play ground of neutral buoyancy!
You will find the history you treasure will be even more interesting and alive!
Enjoy the training as well as your birthday! Safe training and diving to you!
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
I remember how this all started. I was down in the Keys and had an appointment to meet with the new director of the History of Diving Museum. We were discussing the best way for her to get their message out on ScubaBoard, and I asked Debra just how long she had been certified. I had to chuckle when she told me she wasn't. She gave me a list of reasons (time, money, cold, etc) and so I made a few phone calls after our meeting and set this up. SDI saved her time... online academics are so convenient: Thanks Brian! I saved her a bit of money by donating my services. Thanks to Brenda from Divers Direct who solved the cold problem with a 7 Mil suit! Then Conch Republic Divers added a bonus of a ride out to the reefs: Thanks Gary and Brenda!
I have a few things that I am keen on in dive training:
Keep it fun!
Keep it relaxed!
Keep it focused (no wasting of their time)!
This means I do a LOT of preparation ahead of time, and I have to excel at being patient. I believe this makes the difference between an “OK” instructor and an excellent one. I constantly strive for excellence in instruction. As Debra pointed out, it's a passion!
As an instructor, it's always a blessing to have a student that has "done their homework" ahead of time... at least most of it. Debra came into the class well prepared and yet still with a bit of apprehension: "How will I remember all of this?" She had already done a LOT of reading here on ScubaBoard and had completed most of her online class with SDI! She was indeed ready for the hands on experience, and later she told me that she felt that this added to the rest of her online academics experience.
As Debra indicated, we talked for better than an hour just outside of Conch Republic. It was cool that Richie Kohler was just behind us instructing Captain Gary on Rebreathers. It's amazing that conscientious instructors tend to focus on the same thing: safety! This is my time to orient my student on what to expect during training, my three rules of diving, hand communications, important safety considerations as well as the introduction to their computer for the class, the Oceanic VEO 250. Then we went across the Street to the "Keys Hotel" to use their pool!
At the pool, the first thing was to get a proper fit into her gear. We spent a few moments adjusting the Small Zeagle Stiletto that she did her training in. Getting a good fit is SO important if we are going to get her dialed in on trim and proper weighting. We then assembled the BC/tank/Regs and took care to stow all danglies. We actually saw a number of other students in the pool that day and the next, where there was obviously no attention paid to these details. BCs were ill fitted and hoses were all over the place. This is so easy to deal with from the beginning, that I find it distressing to see instructors that are too lazy or over taxed to take care of them. People want to dis agencies all the time, when it’s obviously the instructor who makes the real difference.
Yes, the pool was HOT! Fortunately, we were able to move past that! Now, while I usually have my students train in all of their gear, including their wet suit, this was just not possible here. Debra did her swim test with alacrity, and tossed both of our scuba units in the deep end of the pool! Debra’s training was on!
I have a few things that I am keen on in dive training:
Keep it fun!
Keep it relaxed!
Keep it focused (no wasting of their time)!
This means I do a LOT of preparation ahead of time, and I have to excel at being patient. I believe this makes the difference between an “OK” instructor and an excellent one. I constantly strive for excellence in instruction. As Debra pointed out, it's a passion!
As an instructor, it's always a blessing to have a student that has "done their homework" ahead of time... at least most of it. Debra came into the class well prepared and yet still with a bit of apprehension: "How will I remember all of this?" She had already done a LOT of reading here on ScubaBoard and had completed most of her online class with SDI! She was indeed ready for the hands on experience, and later she told me that she felt that this added to the rest of her online academics experience.
As Debra indicated, we talked for better than an hour just outside of Conch Republic. It was cool that Richie Kohler was just behind us instructing Captain Gary on Rebreathers. It's amazing that conscientious instructors tend to focus on the same thing: safety! This is my time to orient my student on what to expect during training, my three rules of diving, hand communications, important safety considerations as well as the introduction to their computer for the class, the Oceanic VEO 250. Then we went across the Street to the "Keys Hotel" to use their pool!
At the pool, the first thing was to get a proper fit into her gear. We spent a few moments adjusting the Small Zeagle Stiletto that she did her training in. Getting a good fit is SO important if we are going to get her dialed in on trim and proper weighting. We then assembled the BC/tank/Regs and took care to stow all danglies. We actually saw a number of other students in the pool that day and the next, where there was obviously no attention paid to these details. BCs were ill fitted and hoses were all over the place. This is so easy to deal with from the beginning, that I find it distressing to see instructors that are too lazy or over taxed to take care of them. People want to dis agencies all the time, when it’s obviously the instructor who makes the real difference.
Yes, the pool was HOT! Fortunately, we were able to move past that! Now, while I usually have my students train in all of their gear, including their wet suit, this was just not possible here. Debra did her swim test with alacrity, and tossed both of our scuba units in the deep end of the pool! Debra’s training was on!
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
The Pool…
This is where the real learning starts for the student. Sure, they have a bunch of academics in their head, but this is where we start applying their book smarts and start turning that into being a safe and confident diver!
First Pool Session…
As I pointed out in my first post in this thread, this starts with the swim test. 200 yard swim, followed by a 10 minute tread/float and then you have to make 20 ft under water on one breath. Debra started out her swim with her first lap underwater. Impressive. She had no problems with any of it.
After her completion of the test, we took our masks into the shallow end of the pool. We started with mask clearing in an unconventional manner. She put her mask in the pool and then put her face in the pool to don it. With the mask filled with water, she stands upright and we talk for a bit. At some point I cracked a lame joke, and she laughs. Now, most people laugh a bit out of their noses, and Debra is no exception. Most of her mask is clear, and she has learned an important concept! It doesn’t take much to clear her mask. Once she gets it right ABOVE the water, we move to doing it right at the surface. She had a hard time with looking up just a bit (so the water drains), but soon she is doing GREAT.
I find this one of the most intimidating skills that has to be mastered by the new student. AFTER they have mastered it, I point this out, congratulate them, and tell that the rest will be easier. After this, we went into two different kicks: the flutter and the frog. She had a slight tendency to "bicycle" kick with the flutter. Heck, she's an avid cyclist! She was not at all comfortable with the frog. We have time to develop those during the class.
We then continue with snorkel clearing (two ways), donning of the BC on the surface, proper weighting, two ways of reg retrieval, doffing and donning of the BC at depth, mask removal at depth, sharing air as either the recipient or donor, buddy breathing, and the list goes on. Debra masters each skill and we move on to the next. The best thing about a private or semi-private class is that we aren’t wasting anyone else’s time when we hit a snag. We moved on only when Debra was comfortable moving on. We ended the session with a leisurely swim around the pool on Scuba. We spent about three and a half hours on this session.
Second Pool Session…
I have to admit that I was amazed when an instructor down in the Keys told me I was spending TOO MUCH TIME with Debra in the pool. Apparently, they spend only a couple of hours for an entire class all in one pool session. Wow. Call me pedantic! The second pool session is needed for muscle memory to kick in! It was obvious that Debra was far more comfortable in the second session! We geared up at the car and walked up the steps to the pool, and she did her first (and only) Giant Stride Entry. Since it’s an industry standard, I teach it, but I don’t like it.
Underwater, we quickly got to work. She went through all of her skills that we had mastered the day before. There were a few hiccups, but we got through them and now it was on to safety and rescue. She learned how (and when) to do an ESA (Emergency Swimming Ascent), how to relieve cramps, how to tow her buddy (several ways), how to deal with a panicked diver on the surface and how to retrieve a non-breathing diver from the bottom. Her learning had accelerated from the previous day, and we had all of this down in less than an hour.
Then we added some skills. We did a horizontal buddy breath swim, with her mask off. She then recovered her mask (while buddy breathing) and took her fin off only to swim to the other end. She did great! She repeated some more skills, especially the retrieval of the non-breathing diver, and then we were ready for Open Water! This was fun!
Let's hope that Debra fills in with her reactions to some of these skills.
This is where the real learning starts for the student. Sure, they have a bunch of academics in their head, but this is where we start applying their book smarts and start turning that into being a safe and confident diver!
First Pool Session…
As I pointed out in my first post in this thread, this starts with the swim test. 200 yard swim, followed by a 10 minute tread/float and then you have to make 20 ft under water on one breath. Debra started out her swim with her first lap underwater. Impressive. She had no problems with any of it.
After her completion of the test, we took our masks into the shallow end of the pool. We started with mask clearing in an unconventional manner. She put her mask in the pool and then put her face in the pool to don it. With the mask filled with water, she stands upright and we talk for a bit. At some point I cracked a lame joke, and she laughs. Now, most people laugh a bit out of their noses, and Debra is no exception. Most of her mask is clear, and she has learned an important concept! It doesn’t take much to clear her mask. Once she gets it right ABOVE the water, we move to doing it right at the surface. She had a hard time with looking up just a bit (so the water drains), but soon she is doing GREAT.
I find this one of the most intimidating skills that has to be mastered by the new student. AFTER they have mastered it, I point this out, congratulate them, and tell that the rest will be easier. After this, we went into two different kicks: the flutter and the frog. She had a slight tendency to "bicycle" kick with the flutter. Heck, she's an avid cyclist! She was not at all comfortable with the frog. We have time to develop those during the class.
We then continue with snorkel clearing (two ways), donning of the BC on the surface, proper weighting, two ways of reg retrieval, doffing and donning of the BC at depth, mask removal at depth, sharing air as either the recipient or donor, buddy breathing, and the list goes on. Debra masters each skill and we move on to the next. The best thing about a private or semi-private class is that we aren’t wasting anyone else’s time when we hit a snag. We moved on only when Debra was comfortable moving on. We ended the session with a leisurely swim around the pool on Scuba. We spent about three and a half hours on this session.
Second Pool Session…
I have to admit that I was amazed when an instructor down in the Keys told me I was spending TOO MUCH TIME with Debra in the pool. Apparently, they spend only a couple of hours for an entire class all in one pool session. Wow. Call me pedantic! The second pool session is needed for muscle memory to kick in! It was obvious that Debra was far more comfortable in the second session! We geared up at the car and walked up the steps to the pool, and she did her first (and only) Giant Stride Entry. Since it’s an industry standard, I teach it, but I don’t like it.
Underwater, we quickly got to work. She went through all of her skills that we had mastered the day before. There were a few hiccups, but we got through them and now it was on to safety and rescue. She learned how (and when) to do an ESA (Emergency Swimming Ascent), how to relieve cramps, how to tow her buddy (several ways), how to deal with a panicked diver on the surface and how to retrieve a non-breathing diver from the bottom. Her learning had accelerated from the previous day, and we had all of this down in less than an hour.
Then we added some skills. We did a horizontal buddy breath swim, with her mask off. She then recovered her mask (while buddy breathing) and took her fin off only to swim to the other end. She did great! She repeated some more skills, especially the retrieval of the non-breathing diver, and then we were ready for Open Water! This was fun!
Let's hope that Debra fills in with her reactions to some of these skills.
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
Threads combined per Debra's wishes!
OP
Debra@DivingMuseum
Registered
Pete did a great job of summarizing the skills I learned. Part of being a newbie diver is not knowing (or remembering) the technical terms for the various things we practiced. Hence, my hesitancy to write about some of it. (Guess I need to take the new divers disclaimer on this thread more literally).
OP
Debra@DivingMuseum
Registered
I am an avid swimmer, so being in the pool was very comfortable. I've been swimming along the shore since I was a young child on Florida vacations, but not with any regularity (did I mention I was from Cleveland, Ohio?) So transferring my skills to the open water makes me a little apprehensive...
Good stuff... keep it comin'...
I am enjoying this thread. It's nice to hear others' reactions to the training and new found skills. Pete sounds like an excellent instructor and it's great to hear his inputs and views on skills taught.
Keep up the good work!
Keep up the good work!
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