mfross
Registered
Today, I finished all the dives +1 for my AOW certification. It was one heck of a good time and I can hardly wait to continue my diving education!
It was a great help having a DM trainee as my partner as he was able to help me a great deal with buoyancy, equalization, and air consumption issues, and other things as they popped up.
One think I learned--the hard way, is that going at 110% full throttle isn't the way to go while diving. I finished my navigation dive at a record pace and had the air consumption to prove it. Never mind that I had worn grooves in the grass by our dive site practicing, but even the instructor, sitting on a rock watching, was amazed at how fast I zipped through it.
I'm now better with the buoyancy issues, but still am working on air consumption.
It helped that I ended up doing much better than other students who had "a great deal more experience" who had one heck of a hard time with a number of issues to make me feel better that I recognized where I was having problems and was willing to learn to help develop good habits rather than their bad ones along with keeping an open mind to suggestions and offered help.
For someone who, before OW was outright terrified of water, having almost drowned three times in my life, I think I've come a great deal and am having a lot of fun learning and enjoying my SCUBA training. That my instructor is happy to have me along during the OW classes--both pool and certification dives will help a lot with my confidence as I add more dives to my log book. I'm not as interested in certifications as learning to become comfortable in a completely foreign and potentially dangerous environment.
I ended up with six-dives rather than the five dives as I helped my dive buddy map out a wreck. He asked for a dive buddy and I jumped right in, without question, merely for the chance to spend more time blowing bubbles.
As a bonus, there was a dry suit manufacturer willing to let us try them, which our class did for the deep drive and it made a scary dive almost comfortable--though I did suck a tank almost dry.
I've been a lurker here more than I've posted, and have learned a great deal and know I will continue doing so.
Thanks all!
Joe Collins
Paramedic/Firefighter
It was a great help having a DM trainee as my partner as he was able to help me a great deal with buoyancy, equalization, and air consumption issues, and other things as they popped up.
One think I learned--the hard way, is that going at 110% full throttle isn't the way to go while diving. I finished my navigation dive at a record pace and had the air consumption to prove it. Never mind that I had worn grooves in the grass by our dive site practicing, but even the instructor, sitting on a rock watching, was amazed at how fast I zipped through it.
I'm now better with the buoyancy issues, but still am working on air consumption.
It helped that I ended up doing much better than other students who had "a great deal more experience" who had one heck of a hard time with a number of issues to make me feel better that I recognized where I was having problems and was willing to learn to help develop good habits rather than their bad ones along with keeping an open mind to suggestions and offered help.
For someone who, before OW was outright terrified of water, having almost drowned three times in my life, I think I've come a great deal and am having a lot of fun learning and enjoying my SCUBA training. That my instructor is happy to have me along during the OW classes--both pool and certification dives will help a lot with my confidence as I add more dives to my log book. I'm not as interested in certifications as learning to become comfortable in a completely foreign and potentially dangerous environment.
I ended up with six-dives rather than the five dives as I helped my dive buddy map out a wreck. He asked for a dive buddy and I jumped right in, without question, merely for the chance to spend more time blowing bubbles.
As a bonus, there was a dry suit manufacturer willing to let us try them, which our class did for the deep drive and it made a scary dive almost comfortable--though I did suck a tank almost dry.
I've been a lurker here more than I've posted, and have learned a great deal and know I will continue doing so.
Thanks all!
Joe Collins
Paramedic/Firefighter