Improving my skills

[vondo]

I got my certification last summer and spent a few days diving in Tonga last fall. I generally feel comfortable underwater and know enough to move myself if I don't feel completely comfortable (in a cave, for instance). What I'm not confident about is what my reaction might be to problems. I've had my reg knocked out of my mouth a couple of times and that doesn't bother me too much. Once I got it right back in, the other time I went for the octo instead and then switched when I'd collected myself.

I did just fine in the pool and checkout dives, but there you know what's coming. The only thing I wasn't totally comfortable with was coming up from 20-30' with no air, but at the right speed.

I'm going diving again for a few days in Belize next month and I'm wondering if people have suggestions on increasing my comfort level. Maybe integrating this into the dives I'm taking. Is practicing clearing and such at my safety stops a good idea? How about practicing an out of air scenario?

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[triton94949]

I got my certification last summer and spent a few days diving in Tonga last fall. I generally feel comfortable underwater and know enough to move myself if I don't feel completely comfortable (in a cave, for instance). What I'm not confident about is what my reaction might be to problems. I've had my reg knocked out of my mouth a couple of times and that doesn't bother me too much. Once I got it right back in, the other time I went for the octo instead and then switched when I'd collected myself.

I did just fine in the pool and checkout dives, but there you know what's coming. The only thing I wasn't totally comfortable with was coming up from 20-30' with no air, but at the right speed.

I'm going diving again for a few days in Belize next month and I'm wondering if people have suggestions on increasing my comfort level. Maybe integrating this into the dives I'm taking. Is practicing clearing and such at my safety stops a good idea? How about practicing an out of air scenario?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Taking the next course for your level, which would normally be an Advanced Open Water course, would be the best thing. That would give you 3+ more days of supervised diving, and it normally emphasizes navigation, deeper diving to 100 ft, low vis and night diving, etc. If you feel you have a weakness you could ask the instructor to work on that skill with you. The manual that goes with the course is normally pretty good reading to advance your scuba knowledge as well. And the course is fun!

 

[MikeC]

How many dives do you have under your belt? Do you do any diving in your home area or just on vacation? After I got certified I did as many local dives as I could to get BT and experience. Check with your instructor and see if you can blow bubbles when they are having pool sessions, great to hang in a corner of a pool by yourself and practice mask clearing and reg clearing.

 

[jbd]

Taking the next course for your level, which would normally be an Advanced Open Water course, would be the best thing. That would give you 3+ more days of supervised diving, and it normally emphasizes navigation, deeper diving....

vondo,

I disagree(respectfully) with the suggestion to take another course in this case, for the reasons given in the last sentence in the quote box. The AOW course would have you doing things that are not really addressing the concerns that you have.

To practice mask and regulator skills as well as the airsharing skills is an excellent idea provided you can do this with someone that is good at these things while maintaining buoyancy control.

I would also suggest that you try to dive locally as much as you can prior to your trip to Belize, even if all you can do is get in a pool, the practice will help. Try to do the skills while maintaining neutral buoyancy.

jbd

 

[budgy]

Try a couple of hundred hours at 3 or 4 m, razor fishing.

 

[Quero]

It's hard to know exactly how you'll react in an unexpected situation, but certainly practice in a controlled environment is a very good idea before you jump off the boat for your first dive of the trip. Lots of operators require a "check out" dive to reestablish basic skills for dealing with problems like an out of air situation. If for no other reasons, I like to do this dive to make sure my weighting is right, that I'm wearing the appropriate exposure suit, and so on. A check out dive also gives the dive staff a good idea which guests they need to be more available to for a little extra guidance and support.

I suspect that you already have a good indication of how you react in an unexpected underwater situation based on your experiences with getting the reg knocked out of your mouth. IMHO, your reaction will depend a lot on how you deal with crisis in general. I personally experience a couple of seconds of stunned wonder, which prevents me from a panic reaction and gets me thinking first about analyzing the event and next about what options exist for remedying it. For example, my only experience with out-of-air was when an o-ring in my swivel joint failed during a dive and all my air escaped in a fraction of a minute. First (because I was still breathing while the air was escaping), I had to figure out what all the noise and bubbles were about, and then what to do. It took only seconds to get to another diver's octo in order to surface safely. Back on the boat, the others in the group were very concerned for my state of mind--it must have seemed very dramatic to them--but since I never experienced a moment of panic, I was calm and collected.

In other words, you are the same person underwater that you are on land. If you are careful and conscientious, the chances of running out of air accidentally are extremely slim since you will keep track of your consumption during the dive. If you know the conditions under which you have lost your reg in the past, you can avoid them in the future (e.g., by not being too near anybody else's fins). If you do the kind of thinking that prompted your post, you won't go into the water overconfident and oblivious of potential problems.

 

[triton94949]

vondo,

I disagree(respectfully) with the suggestion to take another course in this case, for the reasons given in the last sentence in the quote box. The AOW course would have you doing things that are not really addressing the concerns that you have.

To practice mask and regulator skills as well as the airsharing skills is an excellent idea provided you can do this with someone that is good at these things while maintaining buoyancy control.

I would also suggest that you try to dive locally as much as you can prior to your trip to Belize, even if all you can do is get in a pool, the practice will help. Try to do the skills while maintaining neutral buoyancy.

jbd

A good NAUI instructor can tackle all these issues as a part of an AOW course.

 

[Derek S]

Vondo -

I agree with jbd. I too was certified last summer (early August). Since then, I've logged 29 dives, and plan to dive as much as my work/family schedule will allow. The best way to get better/comfortable with skills is dive and practice. My current dive buddies and I practice skills at the end of every dive, whether it be shooting a bag, air sharing, mask clearing, ect.

Since you didn't list how many dives you have logged, I'll assume you're right around my level. While AOW (as some pointed out) will give you varied experience in a supervised setting, I don't believe this is the best thing for you. If you have apprehension regarding OOA situations, ect at 20FSW, they aren't going to be easier to handle at 100FSW.

Take your time, things will come...

 

[divegirl]

Diving locally is always a good idea, just getting those extra dives under your belt will make you feel more confident and comfortable in the water. If it has been awhile since you were in the water, get back into a pool. Either practice skill in the pool with a buddy or take a refresher course. Practicing skills during a local dive is always a great idea as well. Just make sure you plan ahead so your buddy knows that it is just practice

When on vacation or diving with a group, make sure the DM know that you might be practicing skills. Seeing you share air or such during a dive might cause a little disturbance.

 

[vondo]

Thanks all for your advice. From some of the responses, it seems I gave the impression I'm nervous about getting in the water. This is definitely not case. My question was more like "How do you make yourself confident that you can deal with almost any situation and how can I move towards that." Quero's response was especially helpful. I think my buddy and I may do a formal checkout dive, if not we will certainly talk to the DM about our experience.

To answer other questions, after my certification dives, I only have 8 dives. I haven't dove locally; the only place to do that is the quarry and my LDS will make its first trip of the year there the day I leave (Apr 30).

Thanks all