Excited but somewhat sad also

[pmarc68]

Hi Everyone,

We (my boyfriend, 16 year old cousin, and myself) went for our OW checkout dives on Thurs, and Fri. I am psyched to say that my cousin Amanda and I passed with flying colors. However, Paul did not do so well.

Let me explain the situation: We went to Bainbridge Springs in PA, and let's just say, that the conditions were not optimum. The water was cold, and visibility was low (approx 6ft). Anyways, Thursday went fine for everyone. We did 2 dives, and then due to a thunderstorm we called it a day. We made the plan that we would be back at the park at 8am on Friday to complete our OW cert. Well, Friday everything that could go wrong for Paul did. It was pouring rain, air temp was cold (50 deg), and the water temp was worse. Paul has a hyperactive gag reflex as it is, and panics at times when he has to flood the mask.

So we do our 220yd swim out to the bouy, and everything seems fine. The instructors tell Amanda and I to descend first to the 35 ft platform and all of a sudden I look up and I see Paul bolting to the surface. At the end of the dive, I asked Paul what had happend. He said his mask flooded and he started to gag. Jerry the instructor told him to take a break, and he could join us on the second dive. Well then it is time for the second dive, and the same thing happens again. To make a long story short, he did not pass the OW cert, and he is very discouraged. He keeps saying that he wants to quit, and it's okay although I can see he is very upset. I feel terrible for him. He does not want to quit, and I wish that I could help him. Can anyone offer any suggestions.

Thanks in advance,

Pam

 

[MikeFerrara]

Masks get flooded for real and pretty often. It's extremely important that one be comfortable with it in order to dive safely. Panicing and bolting for the surface isn't an exceptable response to anything in diving.

How did he do with a flooded mask in the pool?

 

[pmarc68]

Masks get flooded for real and pretty often. It's extremely important that one be comfortable with it in order to dive safely. Panicing and bolting for the surface isn't an exceptable response to anything in diving.

How did he do with a flooded mask in the pool?

In the pool he did fine. and he did fine on Thursday. I think that several factors played a role. Number one the conditions, like I said were horrible yesterday. 2. We had to wear hoods, and I think his mask did not seal correctly. 3. For some bizarre reason, the instructor changed his BC from the jacket style to back inflate. I'm not sure why he did this, and Paul was finding it difficult to adjust. I have read posts on here before about people getting used to mask clearing, and I think I will work on that with him in our pool with the snorkel.

 

[Wildcard]

Try spending some time in a pool clearing a flooded mask. May even try having someone pull it off and hand it to him to put back on (kinda like militar dive training). If he can do that regulary, he should get over it. The security of a pool should help.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Working in a pool or other controled environment is a good idea.

 

[jimmyboy]

The pool is one thing, open water is a different beast, if he wants to quit let him, better that than ending up a stat.

 

[Wildcard]

Thats kinda harsh. Give him some pool time and see how he does. Some people just need to get comftorable underwater. Then if he dosen't cut it, it's time to quit.

 

[tndiveinstruct1]

The problem sounds like a lot of little changes.

1)The clear water of the pool vs. the unclear conditions of the quarry.

2)The additional exposure protection necessary for the open water dives vs. the minimal protection in the pool.

3) The bad weather on the 2nd day vs the decent conditions on the 1st day.

4) Perceived Peer Pressure. While you didn't actively contribute to the stress, there is always the thought that "If they can do it so can I" going on in our heads.

It probably wouldn't be a bad idea for the instructor and Paul to work one on one. The other people have replied with some very good comments as well. Additional pool work would be a good deal.

Just my 2 cubic feet worth...

Randy

 

[Sideband]

I'm not catching the connection with the gag reflex and the mask flooding. I too have a pretty strong gag reflex. I had to trim the mouthpiece on my snorkel because of it. Of all the problems I had with mask flooding/clearing I can't say that that was one of them though.

From what you said, it sounds like he only had a little water in his mask since you were all just starting the descent. It sounds like he really needs to get more comfortable because this will happen on almost every dive. I'm with Wildcard. More pool time with lots of practice breathing with no mask on. Even with a snorkel on his own.

Hope he gets through it and congrats to you and your cousin. Welcome to the sport!

Joe

 

[Wildcard]

Im sure the gag reflex she is refering to is just sucking water, not a true gag reflex.