getting back to diving after nearly a year off

[boulderjohn]

Lots of divers take a refresher course after a year off. I taught many a class. Some of them really needed it; some of them didn't. Other people who feel confident in their skills just rent pool time from a local shop.

It is surprising what you can forget. I once did a refresher for a smart, well-educated woman who had been diving for years and had only taken one year off. I was surprised she felt she needed it. She had all her own gear, and when she set it up and turned on the air, she looked at her air-integrated computer and said aloud that it had successfully analyzed the gas in the tank as 32% nitrox. Say what? I had a tough time convincing her that her tank had just plain air in it--her computer had been set to 32% on a previous trip, and it was not reading the air in her tank. She had to do that analysis separately and then set the computer accordingly. She was absolutely convinced her computer was able to analyze the gas in her tank.

 

[LI-er]

I knew after I read the first post you'd get a ton of "take a refresher course" recommendations.

Diving isn't a difficult sport. You're certified, you know the skills. It's been one year, not all that long.

Maybe don't hop off a boat and drop on a 100' wreck, but I suggest you start with a nice easy beach dive. Plan a few days in the Florida, start with a nice easy shore dive off of Blue Heron Bridge and work your way down to the Keys.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Diving isn't a difficult sport. You're certified, you know the skills. It's been one year, not all that long.

One year is less long the longer one has been diving. If someone never dived enough to really ingrain it, they can lose the skills in less than a year. If someone who dived every week for 10 years takes one year off, they're not going to lose much. Just my opinion, based on my own experience in this situation.

 

[kaylee_ann]

One year is less long the longer one has been diving. If someone never dived enough to really ingrain it, they can lose the skills in less than a year. If someone who dived every week for 10 years takes one year off, they're not going to lose much. Just my opinion, based on my own experience in this situation.

yeah, this I agree with. I'd done my open water dives then a dive or two in Rhode Island. soooo I'm not sure if there's any muscle memory built here LOL

 

[kaylee_ann]

Refresher course, go diving in a pool first.
Nice easy shore dive w/ guide or someone you trust.
You could watch this video from this fella whom
I hear is a phenomenal cook…
You could also just sit on scubaboard all day…

I love that guy omg. I watched a ton of his videos a while ago

 

[kaylee_ann]

Her instructor has retired from teaching, so she can’t go with original one.

OMG, so glad to hear you’re close to getting back in the water! Just find an instructor and a pool locally and do a refresher. Do as many pool sessions as necessary to feel comfy in the water.

Good luck!

thanks! I'm happy I'm returning to diving because I didn't think it would ever be possible. and I'll try to find someone

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

A refresher with a Divemaster would make your first dive back much less stressful and more enjoyable. It would probably only take one such dive. Then you could go back at it with greater confidence.

 

[boulderjohn]

When I was still doing refresher classes as an instructor, I thought they were always valuable. I would quickly assess the student's needs and then use the remaining time to best advantage, working on whatever the student needed most. If the student came in with good skills and few of the needs usually associated with a refresher, I taught more advanced skills, kicking, buoyancy, etc. The students were always guaranteed to walk out of the session as better divers than they went in.

 

[kaylee_ann]

When I was still doing refresher classes as an instructor, I thought they were always valuable. I would quickly assess the student's needs and then use the remaining time to best advantage, working on whatever the student needed most. If the student came in with good skills and few of the needs usually associated with a refresher, I taught more advanced skills, kicking, buoyancy, etc. The students were always guaranteed to walk out of the session as better divers than they went in.

Even if I was a decent diver and had been diving continually since being certified, I still wanna learn frog kicks! Maybe if I take a refresher I’ll ask to do them

 

[kaylee_ann]

A refresher with a Divemaster would make your first dive back much less stressful and more enjoyable. It would probably only take one such dive. Then you could go back at it with greater confidence.

Definitely, my biggest fear isn’t absolutely sucking. It’s the embarrassment of my dive buddy seeing how bad I may be and knowing I suck LOL. So a divemaster is less likely to judge, an experienced one has likely seen it all