Help

[dbaskew]

I am currently in a NAUI class and we are working on completing our OW portion.

As it is fall and the temperatures have dropped and the conditions locally have not been the best to do any ocean dives, we have been working in a "quarry".

The viz in this quarry is at best 3-4 feet.

First day of open water dives - I did ok. One member of our group could not get below the surface - the viz was just too much. I was able to get down but was very uncomfortable. When we were all down as a group the silt out made the viz even worse.

I had some difficulty with the mask removal skill. I had performed this skill in the pool section with NO PROBLEMS.....I don't know if it was because I did not feel comfortable in the low viz, the cold water temps, or all of it combined.

Second day of dives.....I did the skill, not gracefully, but I did do it. On the distance swim, we (a group of 3 of us and the instructor) were holding on to a buddy line. She (the instructor) started swimming towards the shoreline utlizing the compass for navigation as the viz was so bad that you could not see to navigate. The three of us students became entangled in each other, kicking in the face by fins, etc. I signalled the instructor and requested to surface. We all surfaced.

I took some time today to work on my mask removal skills with the instructor in the pool. I did it with no problems.......I sat on the bottom of the pool with my mask off for quite some time repeatedly this afternoon in an attempt to make it second nature for me.

We, my instructor and I are planning on returning to the quarry on Saturday to complete my skills and my final swim.

My question - Is there anything regarding the low viz that I can do to help myself adapt better to this? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I REALLY want this certification and the ability to explore this environment more.....

Thanks.

 

[snhrph]

Welcome to the Board!

What I do not undestand is why would an instructor take a group of OW students to a quarry with 3-4 ft viz How could she keep an eye on all of you

Low viz and colder waters are something you will have to learn to deal with. Dealing with colder water is easy: dress warmer Get a thicker wetsuit, and eventually, go dry.
Low viz is a different story, you'll just have to get used to it.

The only way to get truly comfortable is to practice; practice makes perfect.

Why not do a referral?

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

First: Admitting to the anxiety is the first step to understanding and defeating it.

A quarry dive offers different challenges vs. OW. Often, I find it easier to deal with issues if I can associate them to real life issues. This really helped when I was learning to fly a plane (All you do when learning to fly is practice recovering from emergencies... similar to dive training).

Shore diving in the Gulf of Mexico can be an interesting task. You are often DBC (Diving By Compass). Vis can be as low as placing the compass to your mask in order to see it. Many river dives are the same way. The difference there is that you may need to dive with a screw driver in order to stop in the current (lol)

Now, with this little bit of background, understand a couple of things for your training.

1. You are diving an area that has NO biters (shark, Jellies, etc.) Low vis in a quarry is great training before you get into situations in OW where there are "other" issues that "could/but are not likely to" arise.
2. Claustrophobia is a normal reaction to the added anxiety of being underwater, and the feeling will diminish with confidence gained through experience. Next time, realize that you have been trained to handle emergencies in these situations and walk through them in your head during the dive. If nothing else, it will set recoveries into long term memory
3. Mask removal... Until you gain confidence through experience, you will automatically stay closer to others when you are under water. You WILL get tangled up, and you WILL have your mask kicked off. It happens to EVERY new diver, and EVERY experienced diver. If you feel better keeping your eyes closed, keep them closed. Do it by feel. Mask on... head slightly up.... pressure on the forehead side.... breathe through the nose... feel the water go below the eyes... open the eyes. You do almost the same thing in the shower every morning (I didn't look at where you were from, so I only assume a shower every day... lol)

REMEMBER: Low vs IS going to happen. If you understand that during training, just walk through emergency recovery in your head during low vis times. VERY soon you will not give it a second thought.

Think of it like this... At Venice Beach, Fl. it is common to have 4-5 ft vis, or less during a shark tooth shore dive. Does it stop divers from spending 90-120 minutes underwater on a S80 AL tank... NO! So, you are training to dive for shark's teeth!!!

 

[ScottB]

I got my Openwater cert in lowish vis .. about 12 feet... In my opinion.. it was better for me... because when I got to a great dive destination... I was VERY comfortable with the clear.. and if something got silted up.. I was *still* fine because I had been in much worse... Just one way to think about it

Take care,

 

[DuckyDiver]

I got my PADI OW cert last month and the vis was about 3-4 feet at best. One thing that made it less stressful was that the instructor went down with us individually, no one else to hit under water.

I to had trouble with the mask removal part. This is after having no trouble in the pool.

My solution was to relax, take a few breaths without the mask and don the mask as I had trained. Relaxation was key.

Being relaxed is what recreational diving is all about, isn't is?

 

[K9trnr]

You're working on your skills, and you recognize the stressors that created additional anxiety. You're ahead of the game. Low viz takes getting used to. It can take quite a bit of experience before you'll feel comfortable in it, and it doesn't help when you're getting kicked by other students. But you communicated your thoughts to the instructor, and I'm sure everything will work out great.

As ScottB mentioned, one benefit is the comfort you will feel in clear water. When I made my first dive with total strangers in Hawaii (after having made only 5-6 dives), the DM asked where I got certified (Monterey, CA). When I told him, he said, "I've never had a problem with a diver certified in Monterey. Compared to the lower viz and cold temps there, you're going to absolutely love this dive." He was right, and I felt relaxed based on what he said. Over the years, my love of diving just continued to grow until I became an instructor. There's nothing like learning/honing skills in low viz and then taking a trip to somewhere tropical.

Trust your instructor, and just know that you'll have to stay close in low viz. When I teach in low viz, I tell my students, "I may hold your hand, or you may want to hold your buddy's hand. It's easy to get separated. It's not a time to be macho." Your instructor will probably hold onto you during skills, but that's ok. It's a safety measure. And you'll get your certification and feel confident in what you can do.

Also, remember to let the water trickle into your mask when you're in low temps and flooding your mask. A sudden burst of cold water is very uncomfortable. Let is flood slowly, then remove and replace it.

 

[ScottB]

Idea: If you want to get some practice in a slightly more controlled environment.. you could ask your instructor if you could get some blindfolded pool time

if you get comfy with 0 vis, 4 ft vis will be like crystal

 

[dbaskew]

Thanks for the great suggestions. I too feel like it is a matter of relaxation and not letting my self be psyched out in my own head. I will work very hard at completing my requirements tomorrow.

The impetus for me to take this class was the fact that we have a cruise scheduled for October 28. We will be cruising to Grand Cayman where I will dive the West Wall. I figure that if I can (and I will) get cert'ed in low viz then that dive in Grand Cayman will be like heaven.

 

[DeputyDan]

I very much agree with K9trnr's post.

Train hard - dive easy.

I don't like to dive low visibility simply because of the conflict with the reasons I dive.

But I prefer low vis in training and practice - I think it makes you better at most of your skills.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

If you can dive in cold low vis like we have in the northeast you can dive anywhere. I'll take a relative newbie with that kind of training background over a clear water one with equal experience any day. Buddy skills are usually better, don't seem to get rattled as easily, and is usually a diver who is as excited and enthusiastic about it as I am. You gotta be if you are willing to do what we do. I also solo in these conditions so when I go to the keys where there is no DM in the water and therefore no one to tell me I have to have a buddy I can do my own thing and not be stuck with the dreaded insta-buddy from hell. And navigating on a reef with 70-100ft vis or more is a piece of cake when you are used to 2-10ft or less.