Failed Open Water in Dry Suit and Devastated - Any Advice?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

It's a bummer to hear of a beginner course that flies through everything too quickly to effectively teach (let alone make sure critical details like your neck seal wasn't too tight, your weighting was roughly correct, etc, etc) and then leaves a student full of self-doubt. Don't be too hard on yourself...
Warm water diving is dramatically easier than coldwater diving, and there are TONS of people that choose to only do warm water diving for a reason (I even once got a free dive tank because a coldwater diver local to me decided moving forward they would only be diving warm water...)
It's also worth considering simply working on physical fitness and finding a local dive instructor focused on a their students and having a logical stepwise progression (and using 7mil wetsuit then dry suit as an additional course would be reasonable, but not inherently necessary depending on your comfort level..) as a viable option.
 
I agree with comnent about working out you don't have to hit heavy weights or run a marathon. The idea is to get stronger and get fit. I'm 6'1 and weigh 207 lbs, when I retired I started working out for two reasons 1. To stay in shape and 2. To get stronger and in shape for my OW certification, I did my OW certification in 42 degree water wearing a 7mm full suit with a 7mm hood , boots and gloves.
 
I think it took me nearly 50 dives to feel any sort of comfort in my Drysuit. I couldn't imagine doing an open water course in one. It would seem to me to be reasonable to take another 3-5 days of experience to bed it all down.

My wife only goes to tropical islands and dives, she has the guide carry her tanks to the boat. She does wash down her own equipment but that, the giant stride off the boat and climbing back up the ladder are about her limit for hauling tanks.
I don't even do that. I almost always take of my gear in the water and let the boat boys pull it up. Scuba doesn't have to be physically challenging. That's why I don't do shore dives, no cold water dives and no climbing ladders in choppy waters with a tank on my back. Im 58 and hope to continue diving for another 10 years and this is the only way that is going to happen. Maybe Im missing some cool stuff because of this but there is so much fantastic diving in clear tropical waters, Im fine with it!
 
I don't even do that. I almost always take of my gear in the water and let the boat boys pull it up. Scuba doesn't have to be physically challenging. That's why I don't do shore dives, no cold water dives and no climbing ladders in choppy waters with a tank on my back. Im 58 and hope to continue diving for another 10 years and this is the only way that is going to happen. Maybe Im missing some cool stuff because of this but there is so much fantastic diving in clear tropical waters, Im fine with it!
What's wrong with your boat's diver lift? Is it broken?

Diver on lift.jpg
 
What's wrong with your boat's diver lift? Is it broken?

They don't have them?? The absolute majority of dive boats don't have them around the world. Are you just trying to show off here?
 
They don't have them?? The absolute majority of dive boats don't have them around the world. Are you just trying to show off here?
How strange. Most boats around here have them; one would assume other better off locations around the world would have them too.
 
How strange. Most boats around here have them; one would assume other better off locations around the world would have them too.
No, not the case around most of the world. You are lucky and spoiled :P
 
Concur. I've dived all over the world -- except the UK -- and have never even seen a lift.

Same here. I guess we are the underprivileged working class compared to him, we have to lift our asssses up the ladder with our shiit and no entourage to lift us up to the boat. Oh, I feel sooo underprivileged.
 
Same here. I guess we are the underprivileged working class compared to him, we have to lift our asssses up the ladder with our shiit and no entourage to lift us up to the boat. Oh, I feel sooo underprivileged.

@Wibble is rubbing it in a little … yes, many UK dive charter boats have diver lifts … but most UK dive clubs have RIBs … which is on the other end of the spectrum for diver comfort 😿

I think if I was in the OPs situation I would invest in a trolley or wheelbarrow and wheel my gear to the dive site 😂
 

Back
Top Bottom