Learning to Dive: pep talk needed.

[KimmieR]

Howdy all!

I am working on my open water certification. I had my first pool with scuba session on Tuesday. The snorkeling stuff was Monday and that was pretty easy, but I am so awkward with the scuba gear. First, I put on too much weight and/or my buoyancy skills are terrible because I sank to the bottom like a rock. Second, I feel like I am being pulled back and to the right when I'm in the water. I had a terrible time staying upright. And third, I have a plastic lens mask because I required prescription lenses. I use a spray defogger, but I cannot keep my lenses from fogging up so I can't see what the instructor trying to teach me. Fortunatley, he is a patient man and has been willing to demonstrate skills several times for mine, and everyone else's benefit.

Please tell me you were all this awkward at the beginning and your skills improved exponentially.

KimmieR

 

[Mario S Caner]

Hello KimmieR, welcome to the family here at ScubaSource. Further, welcome to the diving realm. Don't worry about the difficulties you are having now. You'll get the hang of balancing with the gear soon enough. It's one of those Ah-hah! experiences that will just come to you all of a sudden. Just make sure you have proper fitting gear on, and focus on being "one" with your gear.

Sea you in the Deep Blue!

 

[Corsair]

You've got it right on the awkwardness. I think everybody starts out that way. It's a lot of equipment and takes a while to get used to (at leas it did for me). My wife is still getting the hang of things as well. We're both newcomers with only 10 dives under our belts. Stick with it and you'll start feeling much more natural.

You are definitely using too much weight if you sink like a rock. You should start taking weight off slowly to find the optimum amount. I started out overweighted and slowly have found the least that I can wear and still get down.

Check to see that your weights are distributed evenly on your belt, that would be my first guess on your balance problem. Beyond that, it may just be a symptom of your current unease with the equipment underwater.

Don't give up, it only gets better. After our first trip out to the reefs at Key West, almost everything "clicked". You'll be amazed when it happens. Suddenly it all works and makes sense. It's a way cool feeling.

 

[DennisW]

KimmieR, like Mario and Corsair said, don't give up, you will get the hang of it. I agree with Corsair about your weights, they are probably distributed unevenly. You need to put a real surfactant on the lens of your mask. Use liquid dish soap like Dawn liquid or some people swear by baby shampoo. Put it on as soon as you go home and after you rinse your gear. Then put it on again before you leave to go dive or go to class. Make sure that you rinse the mask very well if you use dish soap. It can burn your eyes.

 

[Heads Up]

Spit into it - none of this namby pamby defogging spray. Spit, rub it well into all crevices and over the lens surface and rinse off - sounds gross, but works a treat

 

[scubakat]

Hey Kimmie!
Welcome! soon you'll as addicted to blowing bubbles as the rest of us! Don't stress about your pool session, it will feel more natural every time you get in the water. Keep asking questions here & let us know how it goes!

-kate

 

[keralucu]

and don't worry about your first-time underwater problems. You've only done one pool session! It takes a while to get your buoyancy under control and you'll find it much easier in the sea, I'm sure. One question to the professionals here - shouldn't the instructor help with the weights initially? When I did my OW my instructor knew exactly how many weights I needed.

I also had the 'rolling-over' problem and it was partly due to uneven distribution of weight but also because I was just not used to being underwater with all that equipment on. Again, I found that in the pool it was a bit difficult to 'fin-pivot' but in the sea it suddenly all came together - easy!

As for the mask fogging-thang - check out this thread
for a few humourous suggestions from some of the jokers (whoops, I mean professionals) on these boards...

Good luck with the rest of your course - tell us how it goes!
Cheers...

 

[Iguana Don]

A bouncy check then get in the pool and practice it.

Like they all said above, it will come on with more and more experience underwater.

As for the mask fogging, spit is great, just make sure it is spit and not a hacker, they are real hard to rinse out.

ID

 

[mirage]

kimmie

just enjoy and relax, the more you dive the more it will become 2nd nature

 

[Heads Up]

Originally posted by Iguana Don
As for the mask fogging, spit is great, just make sure it is spit and not a hacker, they are real hard to rinse out.
ID

Hehe - agree with that!! The only oysters you should see should be OUTSIDE the glass