Everything went wrong today. Advice needed.

[bowlofpetunias]

Nothing worse than being a type A perfectionist and finding something you can't master instantly! You've got some good advice and I try not to repeat things already covered.

It is all about you.. what works for you. IMHO you just need some bottom time without a bunch of fuss. That is already covered here. I'll put my hand up for the group saying FUNDIES now may not be the best for you. Only you know for sure but I would say that if you are a perfectionist and drive yourself it might just frustrate the heck out of you. I know experienced divers that have humbling experiences with the class. I'm not sure you should set yourself up for a tough course you may not pass all the elements in. That may create more frustration for you.

I'd personally put the $ into gear you are comfortable with. Knowing your gear and being comfortable with it helps. That said renting gear is the best way to figure out what is the best gear for you before you buy.

As for having an off dive. Bad news.. we all have em... no matter how many dives you have up you can wind up having a dive that just doesn't go right. New equipment, going from freshwater to salt or vice versa, different dive site, just pane not in the right frame of mind can all contribute to a less than enjoyable dive.

You may find reading this thread helps.

 

[archer1960]

Thanks to you both! tbone, I did see that in the last thread and I thought "that's exactly what we need", and then stupidly did not get it before our next dive. We did come up with a few more hand signals but we do need to have more and quickly review them before heading off. I knew my husband was practicing when he signaled "share air" since I know him well enough, but if someone else had practiced like that and then my alternate hadn't worked, I would have been really anxious.

Do most new divers have at least one dive in the beginning that is crappy and overwhelming, for whatever reason? It really surprised me because we've been looking forward to it all week, and then it was like too many things went wrong and I couldn't get back into having fun. I almost feel like I would if I got bucked off a horse .... not sure if I should dust off and get back on, or stay away from horses for the rest of my life. Hah! :-/

I didn't read all the responses, so this may have already been said, but as new divers, I would strongly recommend doing several dives with a group, where you have a known leader who briefs the dive, tells you what to look for, etc. Then you will have a better idea of what you need to think about when you're on your own. And as others have said, discuss your plan before you start. Just winging it when you don't know the area is an invitation to confusion and anxiety.

 

[Russoft]

Sorry to hear about the bad experience! My wife is newer to diving and I'm not very experienced, but we've often done our own dives this summer. It's been a great experience, but we've learned a lot! My wife can sympathize with your struggle to haul gear! Here are a few thoughts from another OW husband/wife buddy pair.

I think you've done a good job of identifying the real problems here. Something is making you anxious, and it seems partially based on the inability to communicate easily underwater.

Consider some confined water practice - like a pool. My wife and I always like to start a new season in the pool to make sure we still remember what we're doing. We usually try to get into the pool a couple times each winter. At very least, we pick a very easy dive as our first dive of the season. Especially true with new equipment.

While I don't advocate running out and purchasing equipment, as you get into this more, buy equipment. Even if money is tight, there is lots of gently used equipment sold second hand that is in great condition. Having your own gear helps you know what to expect from it.

We plan our dives. Even in unfamiliar locations, we have a plan. The plan is touches on the important points that won't change regardless of how we dive: Max depth: Stay above the first thermocline at 28 feet. Route: Follow shore to the North. Turn pressure is 1500psi/100bar or 30 minutes dive time. Watch buoyancy and be aware of boats. I'll lead the dive, and once we get going, I'll give you the hand signal for you to take over.

After every dive, we talk about what we liked, what our concerns were, and the possible solutions to our problems.

Generally speaking, let the more experienced or confident diver lead the dive. My wife has much less experience and is less confident leading a dive. So she'll only lead the dive when conditions are good and she feels comfortable.

Go over hand signals. This is part of dive planning. We don't review all hand signals. We review the important ones:
"This is how I'll signal an ear problem"
"This means that I'm too cold, let's ascent above the thermocline"
"This is how I'll signal that I'm too cold, I'm calling the dive"
"This signal means we're at our turn pressure, time to head back to the entry point"
etc.

It's also perfectly fine to dive with a guide. Until very recently, I always let a dive guide lead my dives. In some ways, I feel like I failed to learn how to dive properly because I leaned on the experience of a guide, but in other ways it helped me get comfortable under water and build confidence. I learned how to use equipment and deal with problems while a more experienced diver was present. When we made the transition to diving without a guide, it was a bit of a rough transition period, but it was helped by the fact that we were happy to be in control of all aspects of our dive. Non-rushed gearing up. Slow paced diving.

Lastly, seek out community dive activities. Most dive shops host "fun dives" in our area. Back in Canada, we had a provincial diving club which hosted dives. It was a great way to dive with others and learn from them. At very least, you have more seasoned divers who may be willing to keep an eye on you, or even dive with you, while you find your feet.

I hope everything works out for you!

 

[Gareth J]

Beachbummer


A lot of good advice in the thread. I from across the pond (UK), so some of what I advise may not work well in the USA.

If you do have a basic OW qualification, you have had very little in water time and very little time to relax and establish the skills. Mostly you have been working through exercises as part of the qualification. Through out your training some one else has always been in charge making the decisions. The vast majority of basic OW qualifications assume you will 'follow on' to the next course.

If you can dive with someone you know who already has some experience. It may be that your dive facility has 'club dives' or 'experience dives', so that you go diving with a DM and other divers. This doesn't stop you working as a buddy pair with your partner, but does give you confidence that you have someone helping with site selection, general dive briefings etc.
Give yourself time to relax after moving the kit from the car to the site. Especially if its making you hot and out of breath.
Plan the dive - Safety (tables, air plan, entry and exit), Equipment (what you are going to need - basic scuba set), Exercise (what you want to achieve where you are going), Discipline (who's in charge, where each of you will be positioned left side/rightside), Signals (There are the standard ones + specials for the dive).
Try diving in a familiar site, the one you trained in, this removes some of the stress of worrying you will get lost in an unfamiliar environment.
Keep your initial dives simple, i.e. no drills or exercises, just follow the reef out and back. Build up some confidence in yourself and your buddy /partner. With confidence you will relax more, the more relaxed you are the better your buoyancy and air consumption will be.
The more time you spend in the water the better you will get, even relatively shallow boring sites will be beneficial.

If there is a 'club' or association of divers locally it might be worth investigating. Having a group of friends, especially those with experience, helps keep you diving and provides site selection and general help and support.

Its admirable that you want to practice the skills you learnt during the course, I would do a few dives first just to build in water confidence.

Ideally have an instructor or DM run through the skills with you both again. If you are doing them without an instructor then perhaps a specific dive for a specific skill in a safe shallow site until you are comfortable and relaxed with the skills. You can go up and down as many times as you like in 3m (12ft), ideally use standing depth to start with - if you are not happy you can just stand up.

If at any time during a dive you are uncomfortable or worried signal STOP and breath (in for 5sec's, out for 5 sec's - repeat). If your concerns are not resolved ASCEND. Its a lot better to be on the surface wondering if you should have carried on, than underwater with things getting worse or going wrong. Little things have a habit of turning into big things underwater. The bigger they are the harder they are to get out of.

Gareth

 

[razorbackdiver]

The one thing I notice about new divers is they are disorganized and scurry about doing things haphazardly. Slow down and relax.

If hauling gear is a chore for you in the Florida heat. Take five or ten minute break after hauling it. Drink some cool water, maybe even take a dip in the spring to cool off and relax. When you have decompressed from the exercise of lugging gear around, setup your kit and organize your gear in the order you plan to don it. Then take another short break, this is a good time to chat about a dive plan.

I haven't read all the posts in this thread but if you keep diving you sooner or later have someone telling you the best way to overcome certain challenges is to slow down. They may phrase it as slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

Hope this helps.

 

[Neilwood]

Bear in mind this is from a fellow newbie so take it with a pinch of salt if you wish (make sure its sea salt though lol)

If you are diving together, make sure you have a plan you are both happy with. Is this dive for skill practise, sightseeing or both? If both, pick a point of the dive where you will do the skills practise (safety stop when you are doing very little else?). If sightseeing, pick a route (ie if it is a U shaped lagoon the plan might be "Follow the southern side until we get to the tip and turn the dive there or when you hit half your usable gas (tank volume-reserve divided by 2)". The better the plan, the less chance of having to bolt to the surface to discuss something. If you get bored with diving a location and decide to do some skills practise, invent a signal to instigate it so you both know what is happening (seeing someone singalling an OOA, followed by finding out the octo is faulty could be scary if you aren't prepared).

Another thing to get the signals memorised would be to do them out of water - as you are sitting watch TV or cooking dinner, flash each other a sign to which the other has to respond accordingly ie you could signal you lead I follow, he tells you what it is and signals ok. Just because they are diving signs, doesn't mean you can only work on them underwater. Even make it a game to decide who does the washing/dishes/ironing/buying dinner etc - misidentify a skill or get the response wrong and you have to pay the penalty (keeps things fun). You could even buy a pack of index cards, make flash cards with the text on them ("boat", "breathe" etc) and they have to respond with the correct sign.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . .
Another thing to get the signals memorised would be to do them out of water - as you are sitting watch TV or cooking dinner, flash each other a sign to which the other has to respond accordingly ie you could signal you lead I follow, he tells you what it is and signals ok. Just because they are diving signs, doesn't mean you can only work on them underwater. Even make it a game to decide who does the washing/dishes/ironing/buying dinner etc - misidentify a skill or get the response wrong and you have to pay the penalty (keeps things fun). You could even buy a pack of index cards, make flash cards with the text on them ("boat", "breathe" etc) and they have to respond with the correct sign.

I wonder how many couples do this? (This could merit a thread of its own.) I might point at the eggs boiling on the stove and tap the palm of my hand to ask my wife how many more minutes. We get a laugh out of it, though I don't know if it has any benefit to our diving.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Like many others pointed out, the communication that people normally wish to do underwater is the communication that needs to happen before the dive. If I am diving with a new buddy (or even old ones) I have a six point agenda. 1. How deep are we going? 2. How long? 3. Which direction? Overall path needs to be discussed along with an exit point if it is different from entry point. 4. Who will be in lead? 5. In case of buddy separation surface after X minutes and wait for me. 6. Out of air / air share scenario (I dive with a long hose so I need to tell the guy that he should reach for my primary instead of my backup which will be bungeed around my neck. After these the need to communicate is far less than if we just jumped in.

 

[Neilwood]

I wonder how many couples do this? (This could merit a thread of its own.) I might point at the eggs boiling on the stove and tap the palm of my hand to ask my wife how many more minutes. We get a laugh out of it, though I don't know if it has any benefit to our diving.

Seriously though, if you do it like this, it is more likely to sink in because you are having fun with it.

 

[dmaziuk]

I would strongly recommend doing several dives with a group, where you have a known leader who briefs the dive, tells you what to look for, etc. Then you will have a better idea of what you need to think about when you're on your own.

+1. Preferably in clear tropical water over a shallow reef with lots to see. It'll quickly take your mind off imperfectly-fitting rental BCD and the weight of it all etc.