I can't do this - Please Help!!!

[jbd]

Congratualtions!!!! As wristshot says," practice the mask flooding, clearing and removal until you are completely comfortable with it".

Doesn't matter how long it takes to remove, replace and clear a mask--there is no race in scuba diving. What counts is that everything you do underwater is done comfortably and calmly.

 

[CelticRavenVA]

Here is a post I made for someone else with the same issue, give this a shot.... It will help.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showpost.php?p=615446&postcount=8

Hi everyone,

I am new to scuba diving and just completed my OW confined dives and classwork. The only thing left is my OW cert dive, scheduled for this weekend. A little bit of background: I had trouble with clearing a flooded mask and taking my mask off. I worked at home, sitting in the tub with a snorkel and no mask, and was able to do that just fine, without panic or inhaling water through my nose. My instructor worked with me and I was able to take off my mask and put it back on and clear it twice during class.

Well, today I went to my friend's pool with my snorkel and mask to practice a little more before going for my cert dive tomorrow. It was a disaster. First of all, without my weights I was floating all around. I tried to wedge my knees under one of the ladders to keep my face submerged and I still kept drifting towards the surface. I wasn't able to even get to the stage where I flooded my mask. Attempts in shallower water yielded much the same result. I always managed to inhale water through my nose, couldn't seem to relax.

Ok, this has really bashed my confidence. I even called the dive shop to see if there was a way to get certified privately, and there's not. My instructor is supposed to call me back this evening to talk aobut this. Bottom line is - I don't feel comfortable and I don't think that I should waste my time on the cert dive tomorrow. But, if there's no way to get certified privately in the foreseeable future, I doubt very seriously that I will EVER get certified. I'm very discouraged, and feel like I wasted my time.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I really don't know what I'm going to do.

Diana

 

[scubarn0203]

Awesome,congrats

 

[suthnbelle]

Congratulations Diana! I understand perfectly about the anxiety regarding mask clearing. That was the one skill I dreaded. I got very good at choking/coughing under water. Something about the water hitting my nose just automatically made me inhale. Like you though I got over it. I still need to practice the mask clearing. Once diving my buddy almost knocked my mask off flailing their arms and I had to clear.

I notice you're from NC. If you need a buddy sometime let me know. I certified in February with Gypsy Divers in Raleigh. Always looking for someone to dive with.

 

[fmw625]

Congrats on getting your c-card. I got mine June 26, 2004. I promised my self that I would never flood my mask or take my reg. out of my mouth unless absolutely necessary.

Last week I went to Florida to try salt water diving. Diving went well until my mask fogged @ 45 ft. I partially flooded my mask swished the water around and cleared my mask with no problem or anxiety. Later I got a jelly fish tenicle across my face between my mask and regulator. It burned real bad. I looked at my dive buddy who apparently got one also in about the same place. He had his reg. out and blowing on his face. I took his lead and did the same. Felt real good. Had no problem restoring reg. and clearing. No panic. No pressure. No anxiety. No problem.

 

[madeline]

again, congrats, !!!! classes are the hardest!!!! now have fun, !! and practice on stuff that you are uncomfortable with, see you in the water!!!!!

 

[jbd]

Congrats on getting your c-card. I got mine June 26, 2004. I promised my self that I would never flood my mask or take my reg. out of my mouth unless absolutely necessary.

Last week I went to Florida to try salt water diving. Diving went well until my mask fogged @ 45 ft. I partially flooded my mask swished the water around and cleared my mask with no problem or anxiety. Later I got a jelly fish tenicle across my face between my mask and regulator. It burned real bad. I looked at my dive buddy who apparently got one also in about the same place. He had his reg. out and blowing on his face. I took his lead and did the same. Felt real good. Had no problem restoring reg. and clearing. No panic. No pressure. No anxiety. No problem.

Well there ya go!! A practical application for those skills we teach you

 

[paolov]

good, see what practice does !

practice more )

 

[HPT3]

I done believe the advice on this post. A person should not be pushed into diving. She needs to get confortable with this task and all tasks before she's certified. Practicing in a tub or a pool is not like being 90' underwater and losing a mask. Panic kills. If she's pushed into this, then we'll read about her someday. This is a fun sport, but it must be taken seriously and not handed to anyone who wants to do it. They MUST prove they can do it. And do it well. In a pool or in a tub your inches from the surface. If one loses a mask, because they're to close to another diver and they get kicked in the face with a fin or hit with a hand at depth, one shouldn't panic and thats exactly what can happen.

My advice. If your not confident removing your mask in a pool don't attempt it in 30' of water. There are pretty fish to see underwater and you can see them on the Discovery Channel as while. Remember, people, safety comes first and it is unsafe to send a new diver in the water simple because they have turned over $300.00 for the class. Remember high school when you failed the class. You had to take it over again. Make them take it over again and if they don't like it, then they can go to another dive shop and get their OW there. And when they tell that shop you failed them, and how pissed off they are, because you took their $300.00 and didn't pass them, then that new instructor may have second thoughts about passing them as while. And when he fails them, together you and they may have saved a life.

 

[GrierHPharmD]

One thing we all agree on is that it's important to develop and practice basic diving skills. I disagree with HPT3's assumption that the board members are pushing Diana - I see the posts in this thread as encouraging and supporting her desire to master a difficult skill. He/she is right, however, that it's important to take diving seriously and to practice the skills that may saver your life on a later dive.

My advice is to get lots of practice in some low-stress diving environments. Quarries, the Florida Springs, shore diving in South Florida - all of these environments allow you to master the basic scuba skills in your first dives. And after you've got 20 or 30 dives under your belt, you'll have a better appreciation for their application. Then ease into more advanced scuba courses and get more training.

After all, as important as it is to get certified, it's much more important to safely return from every dive.

Best wishes and safe ascents,
Grier