Just began OW with PADI

[OhioStateDiver]

Hi All,

I'm new to scuba (just started OW) and am also new to the board. I've enjoyed reading everyone's posts to help me know what my wife and I are getting ourselves into.

I have a question for the experienced divers:

What are some skills you wished you would have practiced more in OW? What questions do you wish you would have asked your instructor during OW? What techniques do you wish your OW instructor would have spent more one on one time teaching you? Which skills are essential to beginner's recreational diving that aren't adequately covered in OW?

I thought perhaps if I knew what questions to ask I'd have a better OW experience.

Thanks in advance.

-Mark

 

[soltari675]

The biggest skill I think many divers wish their instructors had spent more time on is buoyancy. Learning how to adequately check your weight, fix trim, and get yourself neutral in the water. I believe a lot of new divers would benefit a great deal from this.

 

[k ellis]

The skills youll want to practice more are the ones that seem to get most divers from the get go. that skill is the mask removal, partial mask flood and full mask flood. The other skills they teach are geared more towards building confidence in the gear and in ones abilities. These are so simple in fact that the only one Id recommend practicing on repeatedly would be the peak buoyancy.

What you have to realize about the skills are that diving in itself is so simple that anyone can do it but the skills build your confidence in the water with an instructor and helps you learn how to assemble gear, how to react in an emergency and how to overcome issues that may occur such as cramps and out of air emergencies.

Once you get your C-Card youll find the best preventative skill you can retain is simply pay attention to what you are doing in reguards to your air consumption and your remaing air supply. Keep up with your buddy and remember what you learned in class about predive safety checks. With these things in mind you wont go wrong.

And no im not saying the skills arent vital by no means because they are each very important just trying to help you look at what to expect post certification.

 

[TMHeimer]

Proper weighting was something I pretty much did myself, as I took OW in Nov. -- too cold to hang around a lot to check each (wetsuit) diver (and way more so in April). But weights are adjusted to approximately correct after the first checkout dive. Hard to do in the pool with only 8 & 12 lb. lead shot belts to choose from. However, I agree that buoyancy is maybe the biggest worry when first certified. k ellis makes some good points--It's true the no mask stuff seems to be the big buggaboo for many. Maybe just don't approach it as being hard--it really isn't. Removing and putting the scuba unit back on was the hardest skill by far for me--lots of steps. What questions do I wish I had asked my instructor?---who knows, a long time ago. But I wouldn't have known what to ask anyway, like most. There are so many little things you pick up after diving quite a bit--not remotely possible that an instructor could cover them in the time allotted. I always throw out to new divers that it's a good idea to try to buddy up with someone more experienced at least at first. I did not, and although we were both properly trained, I think there is more risk for two brand new divers buddying up.

 

[Simon-]

Buoyancy, trim and a good effective finning technique will always be good to spend additional time on

 

[TSandM]

I wish my OW instructor had spent more time on buoyancy and balancing equipment for good trim, but honestly, no matter how much time he might have spent with me, it wasn't going to be enough. I was just one of those people who needed a lot of time in the water to figure things out.

The one thing that wasn't broached in OW or AOW that I was seriously shaken by learning shortly thereafter was gas management. Read NW Grateful Diver's article HERE -- this is information you WILL not get anywhere in a PADI recreational curriculum, unless you study with someone who has tech training and puts it in on his own.

 

[alibi 2]

I really agree with folks here..Bouyancy ...you will work on it for the rest of your dive life...lol...and just when you get it perfect you will gain weight or get new equip...but seriously ...you should be able to stop your desent and ascent at any time and hover...there will be places you'll dive where the depth could be 600' and you want to only go to 80'...you need the control to stop at 80 and stay there....if you can't do that it will be a one way trip to the bottom...you also need to be able to ascend to 15' and stay there for your 3 min. safety stop and be able to stop at your desired deco stops..

The basics should be covered in class,,,mask clears, reg recoveries...esa's...In Naui basic you will also learn how to rescue an unconscious diver from the bottom and do rescue breathing on the surface...I wish Padi taught this in their basic...however I suggest you take their rescue and get CPR/first aid and O2 certified...you now in a sport where you could very likely need rescue skills on a friend or your wife....

 

[supergaijin]

Breathing- how to breathe like a diver. Focussing more on getting underwater and reducing your heart-rate and controlling breathing. Once you've mastered breathing, buoyancy seems to click, and the basic skills are much more manageable.

Think 1-2-3-4 breathing in
1-2-3-4 breathing out-actually you can do this sitting at the computer, imagine sipping a hot drink or breathing through a straw- that's how to breathe underwater

 

[CamG]

Great thread and welcome to diving!
I see that you are in OH and possibly close to Gilboa Quarry?
I would love to dive with you and your wife sometime if you wish to.

I agree with the others proper weighting, buoyancy / trim are essential to diving.
I think a critical part of those is having the correct mental attitude.
The determination to work on skills and not beat yourself up but continue to learn.
We all are beginners trying to be the best divers we can be never forget that!
Some make it look easy but they started just like everyone else one step at a time!

The greatest motivator for myself was buying all my start up gear tanks, regs and all it made me focused "determined" to be the best diver I could.
What it did was make me a better diver but also a better person!
Beware the dive lifestyle it can bleed over into your normal life as well.

Have fun and enjoy your journey together.
Seriously PM me if you are interested in a dive day to focus on skills you wish to master.
My buddies and I do this frequently at Gilboa come and join us.

CamG Keep Diving....Keep Training....Keep Learning!

 

[Cosmographer]

I agree, this is a great question and wish I had asked this before my OW.

For me, buoyancy was never an issue. But I do wish more time was spent on breathing techniques to minimize air consumption rate, CESA, using certain types of gear (like a safety sausage), more emergency training (like pulling off masks/regulators by surprise, turning off air unexpectedly - while still in the pool, of course). I know I'm missing a few things I wish we had focused more on, but it's a start.

On a related note, because of my lack of training in the use of a safety sausage, I almost drowned during my first attempt. Ok, maybe it wasn't that bad, but I got tangled up in my own line while waiting to climb back onto the boat. Felt really stupid, hehe. Perhaps even more embarrassing was that my sausage never did manage to stick straight up into the air. So my first attempted use of the SMB was a big FAIL. Good thing I was only using it for practice!