First day of class

[medfly3d]

Well I got through my first day of class. Loved it! We learned how to put together the tank and equipment, reg out and back in, be neutral bouyant at the bottom, weight belt off and on in the deep end and on the surface. I did pretty good at BC off and on in the deep end and at the surface. I did what everyone said, took my time and it turned out ok. I had a weight belt but also had a few weights on the BC as I kept floating. On the surface I got one arm back in and layed on top of it to get my other arm in. It worked.

My problem came when I had to do mask off and on. I have always been a nose plugger. I got a nose full of water. I figured out that my problem was that the Reg bubbles were going straight up my nose. I practiced w/o a mask and with reg in put my face straight down so the bubbles went up the side of my face. This helped and I will go in this week to practice this more. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[shellim123]

Well I got through my first day of class. Loved it! We learned how to put together the tank and equipment, reg out and back in, be neutral bouyant at the bottom, weight belt off and on in the deep end and on the surface. I did pretty good at BC off and on in the deep end and at the surface. I did what everyone said, took my time and it turned out ok. I had a weight belt but also had a few weights on the BC as I kept floating. On the surface I got one arm back in and layed on top of it to get my other arm in. It worked.

My problem came when I had to do mask off and on. I have always been a nose plugger. I got a nose full of water. I figured out that my problem was that the Reg bubbles were going straight up my nose. I practiced w/o a mask and with reg in put my face straight down so the bubbles went up the side of my face. This helped and I will go in this week to practice this more. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Congratulations! Keep practicing. Keep relaxing. Remember to tell yourself you can do this! It will soon come naturally! Best of luck!

 

[Belmont]

You can try using a snorkel w/o the mask in the shallow end of the pool, just deep enough to cover your nose, it worked for me.
Good luck in your endeavour.

Belmont

 

[medfly3d]

That's a good idea Belmont I'll try that. I'm determined to get this down by next weekend.

 

[tbeindit]

when i first started i had trouble taking my reg out and putting it back in. the instructor never explained that when i purged it i had to keep it purged until it was completely in my mouth. i would purge it then stop just before i put it in my mouth and being a new diver i'd prety much panic and head for the surface. once they explained that everything was good. just wait until you hit the real water, that's way better then any pool session.

 

[medfly3d]

I guess we all have a vise when we're just learning.

 

[DuckyDiver]

I had similar problem, I tryed to exhale through my nose instead of my mouth. That seemed to work for me.

Have fun with the rest of you dive classes.
Don

 

[jbd]

That's a good idea Belmont I'll try that. I'm determined to get this down by next weekend.

When you are breathing UW with the mask off think of drinking or breathing through a straw, which is what you will be doing with the no mask snorkel breathing. The same thing applies when breathing through the regulator with the mask off.

Don't stress too much about this, as it is something you will pick up very quickly. If your pool sessions allows any free time try to spend some of it swimming around with your mask off by doing mask removal and replacement practice. That and the regulator removal and replacement will serve you well in diving as it is evitable that at some point someone will inadvertently knock your mask loose, flooding it, or your regulator out of your mouth.

Also try to realize that water up the nose isn't really a big problem. It is a little uncomfortable and can cause some coughing if it goes back to your throat but other than that it really doesn't create a real problem. Stay calm and relaxed with the situation and you will do just fine.

BTW all my OW students force water up my nose at least once

 

[rawls]

medfly...believe it or not, mask removal, replacement and clearing while breathing from a reg or a snorkel is one of the hardest things I see students have. So you are not alone. But just like jbd said, don't stress...you will pick it up...Overall it sounds like you are doing great in your class...Keep us updated....

 

[sandmanz32]

My problem came when I had to do mask off and on. I have always been a nose plugger. I got a nose full of water. I figured out that my problem was that the Reg bubbles were going straight up my nose. I practiced w/o a mask and with reg in put my face straight down so the bubbles went up the side of my face. This helped and I will go in this week to practice this more. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

thats the same thing i had a problem with. our instructor took our masks and descended to the bottom were we had to go get them from him. yea, that was a pain in the tail. ive always had a problem with the feeling of water in my nose. i just practiced on the shallow ledge with my face in the water and the reg in. once i got comfortable with that i descended and got my mask back, also closing my eyes and tilting my head down slightly helped me out. once we got to the lake it was a breeze! my jack *** buddy has also kicked my mask off........retrieved it and cleared it no problems.....thsi is also the same guy to tried to ride my tank like a pony, making me think i was entangled and better be glad i looked back cuz i already had the knife out! lol