Failed my Day 1 PADI Pool Training

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I see your in Fredrick. I'd give submerged a call and talk to them about doing UTD Open water class through them. The way the UTD classes are structured will have significantly lower student to instructor ratios and are focused more on coaching / mentoring than putting students through the skills, and they teach neutrally buoyant vs kneeling on the pool deck.

Like imagine if you where only taught flying skills on the ground, you have to be able to preform the skills while floating in three dimensions not just being pinned to the pool floor.

If that's an option, I would jump at the opportunity if I was the OP. That's not an option typically available to people.

EDIT: Even as you've paid for the full OW course, I'd just write that off as a sunk cost and switch over. I've considered taking the UTD instruction course not to become a UTD instructor, but to improve my teaching. I've had a couple long talks with Jeff Seckendorf, and I found him to be a really reasonable person and someone I could learn a lot from.

 

[inquis]

Freedive to 1-2m (does not matter how deep you go, you just train to hold your breath and go under water).

Lots of good advice. I wanted to recommend in particular that you equalize a couple times before getting 2m deep. Best of luck!

 

[Dainius]

I went to swimming lessons (basic level. I knew how to swim and I was not afraid of water, but I wanted to do it right).
Before session I tried to dive in the pool, I was able to go 8-10m. Talked to college at work, he told me to take it easy and dont rush. Holly-molly, went 20m in first try. Just by swimming slower.
A few years later went to freediving training, no big progress but being in the pool ~3x per month is better than nothing. Was able to go 2x25m under at very good day.

During holidays went to Malta, hit random padi shop and got OW. I was confident in the water, I was the only student. Good visibility etc. Was really smooth and easy.

Then ~10dives and few years later took AOW in Sweden. Holly cow. Low visibility, terrible trim, cold, drysuit that does not fit me at all. I was struggling to do basic tasks. I passed, but I feel that I failed in reality.

Why? those things stress me out a lot. I knew what I was doing, but I was far out of comfort zone. Fighting for buoyancy kept me busy from other things, how can I navigate if I cannot stay upwards? SAC comparing to warm water increased from 16 to 25.

So... there is nothing good at stressing you out. Not at this point. You need to explore slow and get skills before you are ready for challenge. Diving is not all or nothing. You dont must to gear it up and go down to -18m. Take it at comfortable level and expend it step by step. And you have your wife, so equipment to play is not an issue, as I understand?

One more thing. Breathing regulator. Expensive reg may be a bit easier to breath. But you will be fine with whatever you have 5 dives later. At this point you need to invest your time, not the money.

 

[WeRtheOcean]

Go swimming (sport style, with putting head under).

If I tried that, I probably still wouldn't know how to swim! In sport style, you're supposed to exhale underwater, through mouth and nose at the same time. Nope. Can't make it work. Even out of water, I can exhale either through my mouth or my nose, but either one tends to shut down the other. The nice thing about snorkeling is that my nose is sealed inside the mask, while my mouth connects to the breathing tube, so I don't have to try to exhale through both.

 

[Dainius]

If I tried that, I probably still wouldn't know how to swim! In sport style, you're supposed to exhale underwater, through mouth and nose at the same time. Nope. Can't make it work. Even out of water, I can exhale either through my mouth or my nose, but either one tends to shut down the other. The nice thing about snorkeling is that my nose is sealed inside the mask, while my mouth connects to the breathing tube, so I don't have to try to exhale through both.

it is not about being fast. Its about confidence. I had friend that had no idea how to swim, he went to training. 3 month later he was doing quite good, swimming straight line. Despite the fact he had no idea how to stay in the place or how to turn.

If you are comfortable in deep swimming pool that part is fine. If you are comfortable snorkeling, fine as well. What about snorkeling at shallow place, but breathing with regulator? Then scuba diving in the swimming pool? Maybe overweight, without fins. just to go up and down while breathing regulator?

The other day I went to swimming pool and kept diving 4meters deep, just to see how my new gear works. And I plan to do it a few more times, just to trim myself as good as I can. It is annoying for me when I go diving and then float like a dead fish belly up. Now I want to spend my time and set everything right!
(I have cheap access to swimming pool and it is cold outside, so what else would I do...)

 

[KitHuff]

I am new to diving so I will leave explaining how to do skills or steps involved to others. To me, this sounds like a problem that can mostly be solved using logic. Quicklynx is obviously very intelligent and is used to solving problems all of the time. As a pilot, he does that a lot. It sounds like he already knows the problems, has the answers, and would like confirmation of the answers.

I sounds to me that most people are recommending taking small steps to get to the goal. That works for a lot of people, but it doesn't work for me most of the time.

What I wasn't prepared for was how fast paced this course is once we hit the water.

Now you know. How do you solve that? I would go online, watch videos that take me through the steps involved and talk to other divers. I would learn the basics of the steps in advance. By that I do not mean knowing how to do these, but knowing what is going to happen next. Then when the instructor told me how to do something, I repeat it back to them. "So, to clear my mask I hold my fingers to the top, lean my head back and blow out through my nose. Is that correct?" You can slow it down to your pace and comfort level without falling behind the class.

The first thing we did was try to go under.

I am still trying to figure out the correct weight. I suggest asking them to put too much weight on in the shallow end, sit down, then take out 2 weights, put them beside me on the floor and see what happened. At some point you will get the correct weight amount. If you have any problems, you can always stand up. It isn't the conventional way, but it would work and allow you to practice breathing under water while completing a task at the same time.

We went under again and we did the mask clearing, but I was still struggling just to control my buoyancy.

Yup. I had to solve the first problem before going on to the next problem. I could not learn to control the rudder when I could not get off the ground. One step at a time.

Next it sounds like the wetsuit and fins caused physical problems. You know how to solve that.

He is a pilot. He does things in the air that most of us cannot do, do not know how to do, and if there is a problem, have no idea what the answer is. He solves problems using logic and knowledge that most of us do not even realize are possible. He has conquered fear before with knowledge. It doesn't make it easier, it just tells you how.

How do I get out of a flat spin? (Yes, I watched Top Gun as a kid.) I will bet dollars to donuts that Quicklynx can explain it and can do it one step at a time. He's got this when he decides to take scuba lessons again. Confidence, the correct equipment and some basic knowledge of what to expect can help make this possible.

I hope you get the chance to enjoy diving with your wife. I can envy you for that.

 

[inquis]

I suggest asking them to put too much weight on in the shallow end, sit down, then take out 2 weights, put them beside me on the floor and see what happened

If you are neutral after doing this, you don't actually have enough weight: you will become negatively buoyant as you breath the air in your tank. You should perform a final step to add weight for that. (This means you SHOULD be negatively buoyant at the start of the dive and use your BC to compensate.) With an AL80, add a pound for every 500 psi over 500 psi. (E.g., 2500 psi, add 4 lbs). For the OP, Step 1 is to ensure the BC is empty (before dialing in neutral).

 

[Scraps]

I am still trying to figure out the correct weight. I suggest asking them to put too much weight on in the shallow end, sit down, then take out 2 weights, put them beside me on the floor and see what happened. At some point you will get the correct weight amount. If you have any problems, you can always stand up. It isn't the conventional way, but it would work and allow you to practice breathing under water while completing a task at the same time.

You didn’t need to reinvent the weight check process. There are valid reasons for doing it in water too deep to stand. You just needed an instructor who would take the time to teach it correctly at the beginning of the session.

 

[KitHuff]

My instructor was awesome! I was so fortunate that she was right there to help me. If she had not been as great and understanding as she is, I might not have made it through the first class, let alone started to love scuba.

Because this is the next step after putting your face in the water and breathing, it is less stressful knowing you can stand up while trying to remember that you can breath under water with a regulator, while trying to go under water and failing. Maybe it is just me, but that first hour in the pool was not a good experience.

These were almost exactly my thoughts. I am sure there was more, but you get the point. In between these, I was able to stand up and we worked on the weights. Maybe someone else new will read this and realize they are not alone in having problems on that first day in the pool. Yes, I was actually thinking the words 'exhale' and 'inhale'.

"Exhale. Inhale. Now what am I supposed to do next? Don't hold your breath. Exhale. Inhale. Something about the vest thingy I am wearing? What is it called? Exhale. Inhale. CBT? That's not right. There is a button the the tube I am supposed to push. Exhale. Inhale. Don't hold your breath. I am not going down. Everyone else went down. Oops, I was holding my breath. Exhale. Inhale. I am such an idiot. I can't even breath right. Exhale. Inhale. I am holding up the class. Did I push the wrong button? Exhale. Inhale. How do I tell my wife that I failed in the first 15 minutes in the pool? Stop holding my breath! Exhale. Inhale. So far I have failed breathing and going under water. Maybe this isn't something I can do. Exhale. Inhale. Fat floats. Am I too fat? I think I just kicked the instructor with my flipper. Exhale. Inhale. How do I learn to scuba dive if I can't breath right or go under water? Exhale. Inhale. Isn't that the whole point of diving? Breathing under water? Exhale. Inhale. Why did I just roll over onto my side?!? I didn't get the weight in the vest thingy correctly and it fell out. Exhale. Inhale. This sucks. I will try to stick out this lesson but I doubt if I will come back."

And then she got it working and I was able to screw up the next step. Then she got me going so I could clear my mask, and so on, until I was able to start swimming under water in the deep end. Amazing! I was hooked. Save the deep end until I can breathe, go under water and swim, and clear my mask.

Yes, it is funny now and I can laugh at it. It was not fun or funny at the time. If she had not started me doing all three in the shallow end, I might not have went back. It would not have been worth the time and hassle.

 

[DaniDives]

(only read the OP)

I feel like you had quite high expectations of yourself. You studied the books, passed the exams with better scores than anyone else, have previous (dry) experience, you're a pilot, you passed all the medical tests... And then it turned out you weren't perfect under the water.

Take it easy man, it's your first time. You don't have to know everything yet, that's why you're doing the course. It's good to be prepared but it's not a competition.

Although it's not an excuse for the behavior of your instructor, if you showed this know-it-all attitude during my course and then turned out to struggle as much as you said, I'd also roll my eyes...

Relax, take a 1-on-1 course and just forget about what you learned already, do as your instructor says and breathe.... It's supposed to be fun!