HELP!! Need Advice!!!

[Nick_W]

Welcome to the board, sassalin. Looks like you have an instructor from hell. Or from the Navy Seals. Change instructor like Nick W suggests. I don't think any certifying agencies approves of the treatment your "hell" instructor practises.

I'd say she has the instructor who just likes to think he's tough. Which somehow tends to happen when the young lady walks into the class, I don't know why.

Personally, I can't stand to be around people like that. There's an instructor that I from time to time will end up sharing an open water space with who is like that. It takes every bit of my willpower to keep me from telling him to just shut up already.

 

[oly5050user]

I cannot agree with what the "instr" did but....
Do not go on an island vacation to dive untill you have mastered the required skills in the pool first..If you have to have any qualms about clearing a completely flooded mask/or no mask then you are not ready for the dives..It should be "no big deal" in your head to do any required skill before you go,should be able to accomplish skill easily with no discomfort...I have seen too many people who can barely clear a mask and get certified and still be afraid of having water on their face..These people are an accident waiting to happen.

 

[Zoomer]

Somehow, it seems that these guys went almost out of their way to make you uncomfortable. I hate to suggest it, but it smacks of resentment because you were not one of "their" (paying) clients. If this was the case, their actions would only be that much more reprehensible.

Your not serious, are you?

 

[Papa_Bear]

The instructor didn't know why you were ascending? Panic kills! He was right you do have to learn to work through whatever your problem is! I am worried about statements like "I couldn't keep the reg in my mouth" or "It was too big" (The Reg)??? I is to your benefit that the person was trying to keep you safe! You should have stopped, looked him in the eye and given an Okay sign! Then he should have let you go or guided you to the surface to find out what was wrong! Or maybe taken your arm and helped you to the surface! I would talk to him or the shop owner if you have concerns, I would not do it under the term "Report him" to anyone! I would approach it like you have here by addressing your concerns to "Your" Instructor! My feeling is that he was trying to help, otherwise why would he be there in the first place?

Whatever happens, short of out of air, you need have the confidence in yourself that you can hold where you are and fix the problem. You can cough, Sneeze, through up, and even drink underwater. Stay in the water until you go because you need more time to get comfortable! You will face strange gear if you don't have your own, it is a fact of life, so you need to deal with it or get gear that fits you right!

Stop and think on land and before you go under. The one rule to remember is Breath! It is all you need!

Good luck!

 

[Lead_carrier]

I went with a buddy that I trusted. I did not know the instructors. They never even bothered to introduce themselves...I had to do that. !

Did they know you were going to be there? Was it set up through the shop or instructors?

Most of the time they called me "hey girl". They barked orders like I was in boot camp again. We entered the deep end of the pool and started to pratice on our own (we were told to do this). One of the instructors (I later found out he was just a "helper") asked me to flood my mask.

the "hey girl" is disrespectful. It would be easier to admit they couldn't remember your name. As far as the "helper" what was his level of training. Just because he's a helper, don't downplay him. My instructor trainer has been my helper before.

I flooded my mask but made the mistake of taking a breath from my nose instead of my regulator. I tried to cough it out but just could not get the water out of my throat/nose.

Having problems clearing your mask? Need more pool time, you should have the mask clearing down extremely well if you've done over 2 pool sessions.

I decided it might be better if go to the surface. I admit now I was acending too fast but at the time I didn't feel that way. Out of nowhere hands grabbed me and held me where I was. I started to panic even more at this point thinking this crazy person was holding me under the water to complete what I started. He had no idea what was wrong with me. He had total control over my movements. I eventually fought my way to the surface.

Sounds like the appropriate response to me, especially if you were ascending from the deep end. Since you didn't know how fast you were ascending just slowing you down probably felt like it was stopping you. Now in your defense, you should have been warned in your first pool, ascend too quick, you'll be slowed down but since you were paniced then a bad situation just turned uglier.

If I was to dive do I have to worry about people doing that to me? Is this normal in the diving world and should this be reported to the dive shop? I don't have alot of experience yet but that is why I am going to the pool to make my mistakes instead of the ocean.

If you don't like the way the instructor handled it, then yes, report it to the shop. That's what they're there for. As far as anyone grabbing you and holding you while you're in the ocean. Don't worry about it unless you have a good buddy. Most of the rest won't really worry about it since you signed the waviers.

Personally, I think you need to go back to the pool and get more practice. Especially with mask clearing and ascending. Making these mistakes in a 12 foot pool may not hurt too much but in a 30 foot ocean, those mistakes are magnified, dramatically.

 

[sassalin]

Thank you so much for the advice. My original instructor was so nice and I trusted that he would help anyway he could. Again, Thanks.

 

[Steve50]

I am new to diving as in not even certified yet. My husband and I are going to Nassau in March to complete our cert dives. It has been about a month since my last pool session so I decided to go to the pool with the current class to pratice so I will not forget anything. I planned on doing this until our trip so everything would be fresh in my mind but now I don't even know if I want to dive after the following experience.

I went with a buddy that I trusted. I did not know the instructors. They never even bothered to introduce themselves...I had to do that. Most of the time they called me "hey girl". They barked orders like I was in boot camp again. We entered the deep end of the pool and started to pratice on our own (we were told to do this). One of the instructors (I later found out he was just a "helper") asked me to flood my mask. I have never like this but was able to finally overcome my fear of it. As we all know the gear that you use in class is not the best and never fits. This was the case for me. The BCD was too big and the regulator was also. I had to hold the regulator in my mouth or any small current would knock it out. I flooded my mask but made the mistake of taking a breath from my nose instead of my regulator. I tried to cough it out but just could not get the water out of my throat/nose. I decided it might be better if go to the surface. I admit now I was acending too fast but at the time I didn't feel that way. Out of nowhere hands grabbed me and held me where I was. I started to panic even more at this point thinking this crazy person was holding me under the water to complete what I started. He had no idea what was wrong with me. He had total control over my movements. I eventually fought my way to the surface. This persons first words were "you have to work through your problems". Not are you ok. He then told me that he was saving me from over lung expansion and the bends by "helping" me acend at a slower pace. Now, I understand that you can get over lung expansion in as shallow as 5ft but if the man had not grabbed me I would have been breathing while coughing which is the cause of over lung expansion -not breathing. Then I had to fight to get from him on the surface. I asked him to release me three times and finally when I started to raise my voice he let me go. Bottom line is what he did scared me beyond belief. If I was to dive do I have to worry about people doing that to me? Is this normal in the diving world and should this be reported to the dive shop? I don't have alot of experience yet but that is why I am going to the pool to make my mistakes instead of the ocean.

Any advise will be helpful!! Thanks!

I would not say that what you went through was normal. For the instructor to ask someone who is not certified, and whose skills he has not observed, to do a mask clear in the deep end of the pool is asking for potential problems that could easily have been avoided.

 

[AngryJonE5]

Hi sassalin! I'm sorry to hear of your bad experience! No you shouldn't expect this treatment everywhere - overall we're really a nice group!

Among many things, Instructors (and assistants) are taught:
1) make sure their students are comfortable with their activities
2) to try and make students deal with problems without surfacing (an essential skill)

You probably startled the "helper" and, in the split-second he had to react, he remembered rule #2 but forgot the more important rule #1... which MAY have worked with someone who was more calm and rational at the time.

It's the instructor's responsibility to determine your level of comfort and skill before starting but it sounds like they didn't. A tip for you: in the future it would help the instructor (and future buddies and yourself) to announce any weaknesses (like that you've always been a bit uneasy with flooding your mask) so they know what to watch. Take charge of your training a little. It's OK to question ANYTHING you're being told to do if you're not totally comfortable with it. That goes for in class, in the pool, or when a divemaster or your husband is on the boat telling you that it'll be OK to do something because "they're there to protect you" and that "you're paid for it so it'd be a waste not to do it." (that happens TOO often)

It also sounds like you should have a word with the shop's owner or manager to discuss the unwelcoming treatment. Take in a printout of what you posted above. I'd hope that ANYONE in charge of a business would want to know that they're driving away customers! They're there to satisfy you and not vice-versa.

PLEASE stick with it and if they don't measure up in the future I guarantee most other places will! Enjoy Nassau!

-Jon

 

[sassalin]

Thanks for your kind words.

 

[HateCheese]

Sassalin,

I think it was a good idea to continue practicing until your vacation. Diving is something where you never stop learning. Repetition helps with these new skills and can make you more comfortable and competent in the water = greater enjoyment on your vacation.

Not too sure about separating you from the group. If your trusted buddy was not an instructor, then YOU should have evaluated if practicing in the deep end without an instructor was right for you. Maybe others can address if your buddy or the instructor working with a class had liability / responsibility for you.

Skills like mask clearing are important. From your post I gather you used a rental mask, and would assume that your vacation diving would not be in your own gear. The likelihood of a perfect fit on your rental mask on vacation is not high. This skill sounds like something you should continue to work on. Many people have difficulty with this initially, so dont worry.

Now, to play devil's advocate - If you are diving in Nassau and after 25 min at 50ft you laugh/sneeze/whatever and get water in your nose, what will you do? Is someone who stops you from bolting (here I mean a panicked ascent, probably faster than normal, with obvious breathing difficulty) in that situation someone who has rescued you or hurt you? I think anyone would agree that the answer is someone who has rescued you. If no one grabs you in that scenario what are the injuries that you could sustain? Not trying to be hard on you here, just want you to think it thru.

Knowing that you are practicing skills for real life diving reasons, should another persons response be a proper safety reaction or should they let it pass and HOPE you do it right when it really counts? Yes, I'll agree that it sounds like it was rough and the first thing you could have heard was 'catch your breath, relax, then we will talk about what you did wrong' and you didn't.

My dive buddy that I went thru initial certification with was very worried about sneezing fits that he gets from time to time. He asked the instructor. Her response was - 'work it out, dont bolt to the surface'. She also told me that when we go diving that I should watch out for this and not let him bolt. The first time he started sneezing while diving, he signalled me to swim closer beforehand, i saw him sneeze a few times, he worked thru it and gave the ok signal and continued diving. Now he doesn't even bother to get my attention because he KNOWS he can work thru that problem.

If you still have concern about whether this was the right thing to do or not, go into a few different dive shops and ask them if they let students bolt to the surface when they panic.

I hope none of that sounded harsh. I think you missed an opportunity to learn how to work thru an issue. However i think you learned something that you could have trouble with - not a bad thing to know so that you can work on it. I know you cant simulate this experience easily, but you can work on making sure your problem solving skills are second nature.

Keep working at those mask clears and enjoy your trip to Nassau.