Just completed PADI Open Water but still don't feel ready?

[Jim Lapenta]

How about taking the PADI Advanced course? This gives you 5 more dives each a little different with an instructor. A Deep dive, Navigation, plus 3 others (my shop usuallly does Night, Buoyancy and Wreck)

In total it more than doubles your ocean dive experience. A good instructor will tailor the dives to what you need. We tend to throw bouyancy drills into most of the dives. "while staying exactly level with a spot on the hull of the wreck point out hazards to avoid'

Also look at guided dives in a small group of 1 - 3 diver with a DM or instructor.

Good Luck and don't give up!

The worst thing he could do. If he's not comfortable out of the OW class, he should go back and demand he gets what he paid for. Not take another class that will cost him more money and leads to more frustration.
No one should sign up for an AOW class unless they have their basic skills down and can perform them neutral and in trim. Every one of my OW students can do this out of the OW class or they don't get a card until we figure out why.
By RSTC standards an OW diver should be able to plan, execute, and safely return from a dive with a buddy of equal training and experience with no professional present.
A good instructor will refuse to sell an AOW course to someone who is still nervous out of the OW class. He will instead offer more pool time, offer to allow the student to come on dives within the level of their training and experience, and maybe go for a fun dive or two without expecting to be paid. Not try to get more money from them.
Every student of mine is welcome to come on any dive I am doing that they are qualified for. If I have students they can tag along or be a buddy to one of the students if the student doesn't have one. I don't charge them for that. They pay the entry fee and supply their gear.
I don't sign people up for another course. Even if they are spot on, I want them to get some dives in outside of a course before taking another one. Let them practice what they have just learned before throwing more at them.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I just completed my PADI Open Water certification, which tells me I'm now allowed to go dive up to 18 meters anywhere, but I still don't feel remotely ready. In particular, I still struggle to control my position and the angle that I'm facing while underwater. I also don't feel like I'd have any ability to cope with any current at all. I feel like it would be dangerous for me to jump straight into actual diving without having someone quite senior very close by.

Is this normal to feel like this? What can I do to combat it? Am I ready and just need practice, and if so, what can I look for that would allow me to get this practice? Are there things such as 'beginner dive trips', where everyone is certified but noone is very good yet and an instructor hangs around and keeps a closer eye than usual?

Feeling quite conflicted about this. Thanks for you help!

@gopal77 ,

Am I correct in guessing that you were placed on your knees for a significant portion of the time. It is going on 8 years since @Diver0001, @boulderjohn, @Peter Guy, and others co-authored this article: http://utahscubadiver.com/wp-content/uploads/USJ2Q11.pdf.

My gut feeling is that you need to figure out the proper amount of weight (50 bar left in your tank) to hold a 5 meter safety stop with an empty BCD. If you sink in those conditions, you have too much, and obviously if you ascend you have too little (but I doubt the latter).

The reason why overweighting is such a problem with open water students is that in order to remain at a constant depth, you have to add additional gas into your BCD. So there is this extra amount of gas in your BCD that you shouldn’t have, and here is why: changes in depth cause a great change in buoyancy. I am using the correct definition of buoyancy. It gets misused in the scuba world, but hopefully this will not confuse you.

In physics, buoyancy is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of an immersed object.
Because pressure increases with depth, as you ascend, your BCD will expand. It will displace more water, and the buoyant force pushing you up will increase. To compensate, you need to dump some air from your BCD so that you displace the amount of water needed for you to be neutrally buoyant and stay at a constant depth.

When you have this additional amount of air that you need in your BCD to compensate for too much weight, the amount of force pushing you up is even greater due to the expansion of this extra gas displacing more water.

You now have to dump even more gas in order to establish neutral buoyancy and stay at a constant depth. If you do not dump gas fast enough, you cork to the surface. And this is incredibly common for overweighted students. Don’t be frustrated if this was your experience. It isn’t your fault. Your instructor did not weight you properly. And the reverse is also true. As you descend, the gas in your BCD is compressed and the buoyancy force pushing you up decreases. If you are overweighted, that extra gas in your BCD also is compressed, so the additional drop in buoyancy force is something you must also compensate for by adding gas to your BCD. Unfortunately, many students will then crater (hit the bottom).

I hope you find something here useful. I would advise hiring an instructor who has the knowledge of helping you be properly weighted (and also distribute the weights so you are comfortably horizontal in the water). Forget courses, just take a workshop to work this out, and I expect you'll find yourself feeling more confident as you will have much better control in the water. Good luck!

 

[TMHeimer]

wetb4, Great advice. I possibly wrongly assumed the OP was properly weighted (not sure why I would assume that). Actually, an instructor probably shouldn't even be needed to do a proper weight check. If it's not in an OW manual (think it was in my old one), it's easily found online.
I do wonder how many instructors still purposely overweight students to insure they stay planted. And how many teach the skills that could be taught neutrally by still having them kneel, but do have them properly weighted. Time for a poll?

 

[Darcimus]

I had a (normally) great instructor overweight me for my ice/dry suit course. 40 lbs in pool and lake. And for the pool sessions he had me wear 26 lbs in just a base layer under the suit. I've since got that down to 10 lbs in base layer and 26 in open water with the thermals. Sometimes even the good ones take shortcuts instead of doing proper weight checks.

After thinking about it for a while, the two courses probably shouldn't have been combined like that, but everyone survived.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

wetb4, Great advice. I possibly wrongly assumed the OP was properly weighted (not sure why I would assume that). Actually, an instructor probably shouldn't even be needed to do a proper weight check. If it's not in an OW manual (think it was in my old one), it's easily found online.
I do wonder how many instructors still purposely overweight students to insure they stay planted. And how many teach the skills that could be taught neutrally by still having them kneel, but do have them properly weighted. Time for a poll?

The PADI calculator for approximate weight is simply not accurate. The float at eye level is a little better, but still not as good as dropping down to 15 feet/5 meters with 500 psi/50 bar and having an empty dry suit/BCD and maintaining depth while breathing normally is the way to go. Of course, weight is distributed so that you can relax trimmed in this position. Scuba Weighting | 4of9 | Scuba Buoyancy Masterclass

 

[Dzydvl33]

After sitting with my wife as she recently got her cert, I completely understand what you are saying. Of it wasn't for me having been trained back when I was 15, 1991, and being her dive partner. I know she would not be ready to venture out "On her own" or with someone new. I'm not going to get into the differences between my training back then and her's now.
Best advice I have is find an experienced Dive Buddy. If you can't find someone get a guide. If you can't afford/find a guide then find someone on/near your level and start slow at easy sites. Easy= a sloping bottom that you can follow to a planned depth, easy to navigate, preferably lots of other divers around. Then make a plan and STICK TO IT, pick A skill to focus on and work on it.
I have taught a lot of people to ride sportbikes, aka crotch rockets, and the number 1 thing I drilled into their head is "Ride your Ride. Ride in your comfort zone. That comfort zone will grow naturally and before you know it you will be dragging knee and totally relaxed doing it." Diving is the same. Dive you dive stay within you comfort zone and scope of training. Let it grow naturally.
Most of all enjoy.
Happy Diving

 

[Neilwood]

I would suggest more pool time if possible to practise trim, buoyancy, propulsion, control (so you know how far you go when you kick and in what direction) as well as honing the skills elements. The idea being that it is in very safe conditions which will increase your comfort level.

Once comfortable performing a decent hover in the pool and performing the skills, I would try to find a relatively experienced dive buddy and go for a few simple dives. Nothing complex at all - just out and back on a simple course (or a square). Practise a few drills during the dive and at your stop such as mask clears, air shares( let people know what you are doing in case they panic on your behalf), DSMB deployment etc

Nothing beats being in the water for gaining experience so get out and dive. Build on that bit by bit.

 

[Tournesol2000]

Part of the problem is definitely weighting and also not knowing what to expect when going out for the first time. I was trained in a pool and did OW in a lake. Besides knowing I was over weighted (but not sure by how much), I found practicing in a pool helped me (no longer had to wear 7mm wetsuit), but this still did not prepare me for a proper boat dive in salt water. Weighting completely different.
Maybe my instructor was bad like the OP's. I don't know. Hearing some instructors on this site tells me that I got a bad deal because, yes, I felt like I was on a bit of a conveyor belt learning and I only felt that the instructor was concerned for those who were not ready- yes I did everything properly and well, but it still felt different in training than it did when I was way out in the ocean diving off a boat.

I do not have any dive buddies, so my experience has been and will continue to be with strangers.. something I was aware of from day 1, but not being a social person, makes me uncomfortable on a dive boat with groups of seasoned divers all sticking together.
What worked for me? I went on my first dive in the ocean with a paid DM, on a shore dive. He took extra weight for me, and we did some tests on that shallow dive. I soon understood where my unfounded concerns were and managed to deal with those, but I also learned where I need to pay more attention and that it was not that different to the lake (except the fish and coral). It was worth the extra money. Also the shore dive was shallow (max 25 feet), so I felt safer as I was closer to the surface, I went through air slower (although I still suck air), and the underwater swim back helped me with buoyancy as my tank emptied and we got shallower. This was a great first experience.
Subsequently, I hired a DM on my first boat dive, and having that person by my side and knowing they are looking out for me, helped me a great deal gain more confidence as well as helping me develop on what OW course taught me. I was able to go on more boat dives with strangers as dive buddies, and I still go out with paid DM. Something I feel comfortable with now even though it is not necessary.

my 2 cents.
Al

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Part of the problem is definitely weighting and also not knowing what to expect when going out for the first time. I was trained in a pool and did OW in a lake. Besides knowing I was over weighted (but not sure by how much), I found practicing in a pool helped me (no longer had to wear 7mm wetsuit), but this still did not prepare me for a proper boat dive in salt water. Weighting completely different.
Maybe my instructor was bad like the OP's. I don't know. Hearing some instructors on this site tells me that I got a bad deal because, yes, I felt like I was on a bit of a conveyor belt learning and I only felt that the instructor was concerned for those who were not ready- yes I did everything properly and well, but it still felt different in training than it did when I was way out in the ocean diving off a boat.

I do not have any dive buddies, so my experience has been and will continue to be with strangers.. something I was aware of from day 1, but not being a social person, makes me uncomfortable on a dive boat with groups of seasoned divers all sticking together.
What worked for me? I went on my first dive in the ocean with a paid DM, on a shore dive. He took extra weight for me, and we did some tests on that shallow dive. I soon understood where my unfounded concerns were and managed to deal with those, but I also learned where I need to pay more attention and that it was not that different to the lake (except the fish and coral). It was worth the extra money. Also the shore dive was shallow (max 25 feet), so I felt safer as I was closer to the surface, I went through air slower (although I still suck air), and the underwater swim back helped me with buoyancy as my tank emptied and we got shallower. This was a great first experience.
Subsequently, I hired a DM on my first boat dive, and having that person by my side and knowing they are looking out for me, helped me a great deal gain more confidence as well as helping me develop on what OW course taught me. I was able to go on more boat dives with strangers as dive buddies, and I still go out with paid DM. Something I feel comfortable with now even though it is not necessary.

my 2 cents.
Al

Al,

Not sure if this is helpful, but here goes: How I weight students in open water courses | Facebook

 

[tmassey]

Not sure if this is helpful, but here goes: How I weight students in open water courses | Facebook

I saved this for myself, thank you! I've done this process but in a much less streamlined way, so I liked your writeup.

I have a question for "enlightened" Open Water instructors who try to target proper weighting: would you consider knowingly overweighting someone by 2 pounds -- and telling them so? The reason why I ask: I have found that until I get familiar with a set of gear (especially a new BC but also an exposure suit) I can have a hard time getting all of the air out of me on a safety stop. In that case, the extra 2 pounds allows me to not put myself in an awkward spot on a safety stop because I can't seem to get the last bit of air out of my BC.

Once I get to the point where I empty my BC and find that I have to add a bit of gas back in to hold the stop, I know I can now remove those two extra pounds. But I'd prefer to be 2 pounds heavy than two pounds light.

Please note: I'm literally talking 2 pounds. No, 6 pounds (or 10 or 12 or whatever insane overweights I've seen before) is NOT the same, and using my logic to justify that is NOT what I'm going for.

As a tech diver, it's never an issue: we have so much extra weight in redundant gas alone that you're bound to be overweighted on any ascent anyway. But for open water, I have found accurate weighting to be a problem under those circumstances.

I honestly think that the combination of comfort of being dragged down and lack of experience getting all gas out of their equipment are the biggest reasons why so many new divers claim that they "absolutely need" all of the lead they're carrying. You literally have to re-train an overweighted diver what diving is supposed to feel like. I'm sure it's a huge advantage for them not to learn that wrong feeling in the beginning.