Lesson Learned - In Pool Session

[johntt1986]

I'm kinda new to diving, and I haven't yet encountered a situation where I needed to carry 5 pennies to my buddy underwater. What's the real life situation when that happens? Like if he wants you to pay him to share his air?

It just shows u that your guna encounter trouble with tasks that may seem routine such as pushin the purge button and pickin up items underwater

 

[johntt1986]

About my certification, I had my final test yesterday (50 Multiple Choice Questions) which I recieved a grade of 98% ..1 question wrong I was sure about 2 answers and one was the right one lol but none the less I over achieved the required 75% and successfully and correctly completed 5 dive plan tables with 2 repetive dives each.

I also won a advanced naui scuba diver course for free...and decided to accept the offer and futher continue my diving education

 

[Xanthro]

Question, have you made any open water dives before this test?

If not, I'd have to agree it's too advanced for beginning divers. The problem of equipment storage is not something that is mastered soon.

I've made numerous changes to my gear layout based on experience, too hard to locate that piece of gear when this happens, etc. Even being able to put all my gear together in total darkness didn't help with some of the gear underwater, since things move.

Having to switch out of a complete gear setup is a huge amount of task loading, even for an experienced diver, must less someone just learning.

The important thing is you are fine, and you went over everything in your mind on what could have been done differently. Just don't be too hard on yourself, you did fine.

Xanthro

 

[johntt1986]

No i havent made any open water dives. Yeh now that i think about it, it was too extreme especially under timed conditions.

Also after this incident i realized first hand the importance of buddy checks, and also mentions things to your buddy incase they do not know...like waiting till i found the spare reg before he turned off the main reg.

I also learned after replaying the incident in my head i kno what i shouldve done.

Finally im glad it happened in the pool and ended good

 

[Dapher]

Glad to hear you are going to continue your diving education. Hey we all make mistakes and then look back and go.. OH WOW I should have done this. One day when I was in a group dive I watched my instructor and dive master practice mask removal and replacement and even the basic regulator removal and replacement. I was a bit surprised as they are both technical divers, I would not have expected to see them do this. They both told me that they try to practice their skills during their safety stops. It makes those skills second nature. So keep up your education and practice those skills.. even when you make it to technical diver.

 

[Diver0001]

So My lesson that i learned out of all this chaos is to ALWAYS Know Where EVERY Piece of equipment is on your buddy.

Good lesson but to be perfectly honest I'm amazed your instructor asked you to do this. A full equipment exchange is a *whole* lot of task loading for a beginner's course..... In fact, if you ask me it's too much. The fact that you described it as chaos says a lot to me....

Having said that, in my own OW course the instructor had us throw all of our gear into the deep end on the bottom and dive down to it with snorkle gear on and don it underwater. I liked this excercise even though in the real world I have never had to do this...

R..

 

[dtdiver]

what is the purpose of switching gear underwater??

Padi doesn't have you do , afaik neither does gue. is this a naui thing?

i would have an instructor with a reg handy next to any student doing this, even in a pool!!
you can drown in 10 feet of water as easily as 50.

why not practice s-drills, shutdowns, rescues. things you have a possibility of needing to know how to do?

especially with new divers!!

dt

 

[Diver0001]

what is the purpose of switching gear underwater??

Padi doesn't have you do , afaik neither does gue. is this a naui thing?

.snip.

dt

PADI has you do it at the divemaster level. You have to switch everything except your suit while buddy breathing from one regulator. It's a task loading excercise as well as a bit of problem solving and putting the divers under some stress so you can see how they react. It has no function in terms of basic dive skills.

R..

 

[SquattingRadishDM]

They both told me that they try to practice their skills during their safety stops. It makes those skills second nature. So keep up your education and practice those skills.. even when you make it to technical diver.

Yes a very good bit of advice. However I would advise new divers against practising skills at a critical part of your dive like a safety stop unless you have got your bouyancy control nailed. The important thing at any safety/deco stop is you stay at the correct depth, this can be difficult if you have other tasks to perform. You could always practise the skills at the bottom after you finish ur decent before going off for the dive.

 

[Mako Mark]

When are you going to R&R your fins?.

When you teach OW in Australia, you HAVE TO teach remove replace the fins UW in open water. This is a government regulation that came from the death of an obese man whose fin came off, and while struggling to replace it, lost the other one and subsequently drowned. I dont know if it is still arequirement as I havent been downunda for a few years.

. Just thought you would like to know