I walked away.

[Doc Harry]

I feel your pain. I had a similar incident a few years ago.

I was just getting into diving with double cylinders, and I kept getting my face planted into the mud by the heavy tanks. I could not keep my head up without constantly working and fighting. I tried everything I could, but couldn't make it work. I got so frustrated I wanted to stop diving a few times.

My mentor's advice: "Relax and dive more."

I could have killed him. How can you relax when you're always fighting your trim and buoyancy? I thought diving was supposed to be fun?

Nonetheless, I kept at it. One day, I was diving with doubles and about an hour into the dive I realized that I wasn't having any problems with trim or buoyancy. My problems had vanished.

So I recommend that you persevere and "dive more."

It will come to you. You will learn control. It's kinda like learning to ride a bicycle. It can be frustrating at first. Crash, crash, crash. Then one day - BINGO - all of a sudden you're riding the bicycle, and you ride off into the sunset.......

 

[soltari675]

I had the same problem my first couple dives during certification. I then bought my own BCD and the problem went away. Try different BCD's perhaps.

 

[Davemohio]

I hope you try again.

Equipment problems/changes can ruin a dive for even the most experienced diver.

I made a change to a better/newer wetsuit(same mil) and it threw my buoyancy off. I kept telling myself "this can't be happening". Illogical and all. The dive was miserable.

I added a few more pounds and on the next dive and the problems went away.

I have been in dive classes where "I" am the only one with problems. Everyone else is just havin a good ole time and I am struggling and frustrated. That makes it worse and I get REALLY frustrated then.

I agree with the earlier posts regarding a BCD change. Perhaps a private water session with the Instructor would help.

 

[nm7sp]

RELAX.....

It's easy to say but can be very difficult to know how to go about it.

In this case I was convinced that I would not be able to work it out withim the time limitations of the last day of the OW course and I was not prepared to proceed with such a basic issue still outstanding.

I think that my only mistake was not asking for one on one tutition between the confined water dives and the open water dives. I'm pretty sure a few hours with any type of wetsuit/BCD/weights combination and I could still get something worked out.

I won't make that mistake next time.

 

[Cave Diver]

Not going to get into the technical side of this discussion - there are lots of divers more qualified than I to help you with that. I simply want to commend you on two things #1 - recognizing that things were not going well and #2 - "calling the dive", regrouping and advancing at a pace that fits you! That will make you a safer and more skilled diver in the long run. Good luck!

What they, all of them said. Take a few breaths and get back in.

The most difficult skill you will ever have to learn is shallow water, stability, buoyancy.

Break a leg.

Many good comments here, but to these two especially,

Shallow water can be especially challenging because that's where the greatest buoyancy changes occur. I struggled for a while with some of the stuff you mentioned until my first real trip where it all kinda "clicked."

Stick with it, but know continue to know your limitations and call the dives when things don't feel right.

 

[dburg30]

I agree with the shallow water bouancy. If you can get that nailed and under control, I've found it gets easier to maintain it at depth. Was diving over the weekend in a quarry and was down to 63' for one dive, and other dives were around 37' or so. Goodness was it easier to stay put then it is at less then 20'.

So I hope you do stick with it and just remember that probably a VAST majority of people have fought getting level and trim in the water. Practice, Practice, Practice is all I can suggest for you.

 

[motorref]

Hi,

I've read threads here that state that if you think that to "walk away" is the right decision, then it most definitely is.

Well, I just walked away from the last day of my OW course. (and I'm 100% sure it was a good decision.)

At depth (7m or more) my stabilty (buoyancy) was good but at shallower depths I kept rolling away to the left. The more I fought this the worse it became. I was told ( and I believe) that all I have to do is relax and everything will be fine. However after fighting this during the pool dives and the first day of open water dives, I reluctantly gave up. After all, diving is meant to be fun.

It may also be that my current body shape meant that the wet suit didn't fit too well and maybe had too much extra air or that my body mass meant that I had too much weight attached, who knows.

Anyway, my plan is ( I usually try to overthink things)
1) lose another 20 kg (already lost 10 kg),
2) get a well fillting wet suit or custom made one
3) learn to swim better ( I can swim but am not a strong awimmer)
and most importantly....... before commiting to attend another OW course.....
4) prove to myself ( in company of divemastrer or instructor) that I can....

a) maintain stability at shallow depths
b) remove gear at depth, fix a slipped tank, and re-don gear.

If anyone has hints as to my "rolling to my left" problem, I would love to hear them.

Cheers
Nick

Nick,
I got certified less than a week ago and had many of the same issues; I found that I had to re-adjust my BC a couple of times before I was comfortable with it and it (me)stopped falling to the left.
My biggest issue was a leaking mask; it took multiple tries to find one that worked well for me, despite having gone to my local shop and trying them all.
The good news is that I now know I don't panic easily, and I'm an "expert mask clearerer"!
Don't give up on it- there's a ton of people here willing to help.

All the best,
KevinL

 

[Herk_Man]

Surprised TS&M has not rung in on this yet. Somewhere on this board are a couple of stories related by her about her initial days of diving. Very similar to yours. Now she is a very experienced cold water diver and a respected source of information on this board.

Take a break but not a long one. And when you reattempt, let your instructor know your previous issues. You may be very surprised to find that some of your problems are already a thing of the past.

Good luck. Dive on!

 

[Pearldiver07]

Hang in there.

By making through my first 20 or so dives I have proved that ANYONE can learn to dive. I think that the only reason I hung in there was I had already purchased my own equipment. Then one day it "clicked" and it all started to come together. My first instructor used to say I'd make a good instructor because I've had to learn how to overcome every problem and bad habit there was.

Because you're having to learn some of these things rather than them all coming naturally, you'll have a more thorough understanding of what is happening when you dive. You'll be the better for it in the long run.

Well, my first instructor was right. I now train instructors and love diving. I understand much more due to the early days, and am thankful for it.

Hang in there - it really is all you expect it will be. You just need to find your stride.

 

[ff1diver]

Geeezzz...this is a student diver trying to achieve certification!!!! The instructor should have noticed this and made the appropriate adjustments. I have had too many students who have come to my program having a bad experience from another instructor. And it is usually a simple fix to give the student a great experience in getting their certification. So I recommend going to another dive company that will gie you the individual attention you deserve!