lost at sea

[Phil_C]

Do you do your pool work with your drysuit? I've been hesitant to do much pool work with mine, concerned the chlorine will trash it. Do you notice any problems from the chlorine?

Hi Tracy - because I am diving in both the Med and UK every month when I go in the pool sometimes I will practice in a wetsuit and sometimes in my dry suit. My drysuit is the Waterproof D1 hybrid suit so has a sort of cloth covering, rather than neoprene of shell, and I do regularly take it in the pool. But before I take it off I go and stand under the shower for 5 minutes or so to try to get as much of the chlorine off as possible. I haven't noticed any effects from the chlorine yet, but then usually if I take the drysuit into a pool it's because I want to refresh my bouyancy skills because I am diving it in fresh water within a couple of days so it gets a good soaking.

I think if you do take it one a pool a good hose down/shower off is essential, and preferably a good freshwater dive as soon as possible

Cheers = P

 

[drdaddy]

Hello Coppergod,
We dive cold murky Pacific NW Waters (Oregon/Washington,USA) year around. I have a friend who never really could get very good from his dive classes. After years of diving he still has difficulty with his underwater navigation so he monitors himself and does not push beyond his capabilities. But he had buddied up with a very patient mentor, gained confidence, and is now a very confident diver, but again, does not put himself in un-mentored dives where he is not confident. You just need to dive dive dive. The more you dive, the more fun it is.

About buddy diving. Unless you feel really confident, don't buddy with someone you can't trust. Try to get a regular buddy - even if they (and you have flaws) you will get to know them and know what to expect. You can be honest with each other about your competency and not get into places that you shouldn't.

Again - my two points. 1) Get a good mentor - even a more experienced diver really appreciates a buddy who wants to dive. If you can't get a mentor - pay for an instructor or divemaster and tell them that you want to dive with them and pay them for increasing your skills.
2) Find a buddy who wants to dive dive dive - and encourage each other - and don't be afraid to keep each other safe and call dives that you shouldn't do. The two of you can ask for direction or even pay for instruction. But the most important thing is to dive! The more you dive, the more you will enjoy diving and the more confident you will be and the more you will dive and the more you will enjoy diving!!!

 

[dbulmer]

CopperGod,
There is superb dving in Scotland - really good diving so keep at it. I did my OW in Cancun and went through a learning curve here in the UK. At times I wondered what I was doing (and so did my buddies ) but now I enjoy it.

I think what you have to grasp is that cold water diving is largely a mental thing - you have to adjust mentally to the conditions you dive in and physically to the gear you are diving (heavier gear, more restrictive exposure equipment). In order to do this, start with shallow dives with a more experienced club member. Along the way you'll make mistakes - don't be discouraged at making mistakes - we all make them but we try to learn from them.

One of the things you get with club training at good clubs is encouragement along with a lot of banter. The banter is usually when you do something wrong and the encouragement is to get you back in the water so the next generation of banter can ensue.

Diving in the UK can be hard compared to warm water stuff so give yourself time to adjust and remember 2 things:-

Not every dive is a good one and if you are not happy you can always dive another day.

best wishes,
Dangerous Dave (my club nickname !)

 

[coppergod]

Ok. Thanks to all. I guess I already knew what most of you are telling me. Just needed to hear what other regular divers views were to see that it wasn't just me who thought this was a challenging but worthwhile sport and not just a case of jumping in and it's something anyone can do. It takes dedication and determination to want to do it, and something that needs to be worked on. Sometimes I felt that it's not worth it and I come to realise that this is normal, many of you will have felt that at times but like me, had a desire to commit and have found that it paid off.
Not every dive is a good dive but it doesn't mean the next one will be the same, I just recently had a bad one that's all(seems to be every 2nd dive lol) where I found out how easy (although it didn't) things could go the other way when you just assume that it will be ok but your not properly prepared for certain conditions(low viz, not knowing the site or your buddies etc. ).
It's really important for me to feel comfortable before each dive and I didn't that time, didn't have a good feel for the people so next time if that's the case il just thumb it. Not going to be afraid to put how I might look before my safety or comfort zone.
Enquired about a drysuit course with a centre not far from me so will see how it goes( really hope it doesn't put me right off lol).
Who knows, I might be giving advise to new divers in a couple of years HaHa.