just got my ow cert...

[illuminati]

hey let me introduce myself i am 23 years old, male, from montreal quebec canada.

I registered to do my ow water with my gf because she was really interested in it, but i wasnt, i did my theory and 2 pool dives in march went by like a breeze only issue i had was the free flow bubble exercise but i passed it after 3 attempts. the weekend that passed i had my 4 ow dives in brockville ontario in the st-lawrence. i was so nervous i was almost sh**ing my pants but i went in the water past all 4 open water dives no problem then i was hooked i love the feeling of diving, there was an optional 5th dive to the robert gasking wreck which lies at 60 ft but my gf wasnt feeling good so i didnt do it. so the deepest i went is 30 feet. well heres my intro

now for the questions......

1) i feel always nervous that something will go wrong even thou i am relaxed in the water i get my self so nervous anyone else with the same issue and how do they deal with this

2) i breath alot 1 hour at 30 feet i had 500 psi left out of a 3000 psi how can i fix this i know slow breathing but i cant get it in my head. i dont panic or anything i just breath without thinking and it goes down so fast lol ..... any suggestions

3) i registered for my advance with nitrox class for sept do you think this is too fast or ok

4) i never did 60 feet but i am guessing there is no difference between 30 and 60 the only difference is the rest stop you have to make am i right.... any comments

5) my one problem i find is i cant get neutral boyance right away it takes me some times pressing inflate deflate and tips

thank and all the comments are welcomed

 

[KzooJason]

Welcome to ScubaBoard! To answer some of your questions...

1. Nervousness is normal when you're a new diver. Experience will help reduce this fairly quickly. You'll probably be more comfortable if you dive with other experienced divers until you feel comfortable going out with just your gf.

2. Your air consumption will improve as you gain experience (noticing a trend there...). As a new diver you're probably not streamlined or trimmed out. You're probably working too hard to get through the water. You're probably using your BC to change buoyancy - later you'll use your lungs to a much greater degree.

3. Personally I think it's OK. If you're doing PADI, the advanced class is really just an introduction to a number of specialties. It's a bit misnamed in my opinion since you won't necessarily end up being an "advanced" diver but it will get you some additional experience under the guidance of an instructor. Others may well recommend waiting until you have some experience.

4. It'll probably be colder and darker at 60fsw. You may find it stressful the first time since you'll have concern about "going deep". I wouldn't go so far as to say there's no difference but you should be comfortable at that depth.

5. Take Peak Performance Buoyancy and read the board for tips on buoyancy control. You'll end up using your lungs for fine control of buoyancy and rely less on your BC as you gain experience. There will always be a delay between when you add/remove air and the when you start moving in the new direction.

Happy diving...

 

[Vayu]

Welcome to the board. Diving is safe and I encourage you to continue doing it safely and in situations that can ease your worry. For example, you should probably start slow since you have some concerns about the environment. Dive in the conditions you were trained in and then as you get comfortable you can push up to the 60' you are trained to.

As you get deeper a few things will change. In an advanced class you will likely go near or beyond 100fsw and this environment is very different from 30'. For example, your wetsuit will compress more and you will have to finetune buoyancy. As you ascend both you and your wetsuit will begin to decompress and you will have to finetune buoyancy more. If you have a drysuit you may have some additional things to compensate with.

I'm still a new diver and I understand where you are coming from. St lawrence sounds pretty cold and there are boats and currents so my advice is to trust your gut and dive as safe as possible especially in the fall and winter. Nitrox will be good for you in the 60 - 100' range but I would choose your AOW instructor very carefully in those waters. Talk to locals about it.

 

[LowVizWiz]

Congrats on the cert!

My dive buddy usually works himself out before a new dive, just thinking about how it will be the depth etc.

I tell him to trust his training and think before reacting... ask questions before you go down. And most important relax.

As far as being neutral, it took me a while to figure it out too... I can tell you that if you're inflating and deflating your bcd a lot it will complicate things for you, plus your wasting precious air!

Adjust your bouyancy by using your lungs. Remember doing fin pivots?

I took my AOW class right after OW and the extra dives with an instructor really helped me nip bad habits and poor technique. Which you can do if you dive with more experience divers as well. However, other divers may want to just dive rather than spend their time teaching you. The instructor's goal should be to help you improve, also continuity with the instructor could help you since he/she already knows where your skills are.

Good luck!

Wys.

 

[Lake Mead Tony]

Welcome to waterworld and congrats on your decision to get wet. It sounds like you are hooked. As for as your problems go, the time down under will help you gain experience and many of your problems become managable. Dive with your brains and not with your guts. I believe the aow is too soon but to each his own. At least you will be with an instructor that can help you with any problems that may come up. As for as Nitrox goes, I beleive you should get a little more experience after aow, but that is just my opinion. Slow down a little and enjoy the ride, It can be great!
Another thing to consider is how the gf feels about all this training at once??

 

[TheFoggyMask]

There is one huge difference between 30 and 60 feet, you're going to be using twice as much air. Every 33 feet you're under another atmosphere and your air goes quicker.

 

[diverdown247]

Might I make a suggestion to help with your air consumption??

One thing that we teach our officers during control/take down tactics is to perform "tactical breathing". This is used when an officer starts to get adrenaline dumps or starts to feel the onset of anxiety.

Keep in mind, this technique is designed for the surface and should in no way be utilized for the water.
What to do: Breath in a relaxed fashion for 2 seconds; hold it for 2 seconds; breathe out for 2 seconds; repeat. You'll notice that your heart rate will drop.

If you modify the technique a bit for the water (cut out the holding breath) by relaxed breathing for 2 to 3 seconds followed by exhaling for 2 to 3 seconds (don't hold your breath...bad thing underwater: Boyle's Law) you can accomplish the same task.