Mouth breather

[roakey]

Bear,

Keep us posted as to what's going on. From newbie to experienced divers, we all feel some anxiety when someone's having trouble with a sport we love dearly, and are willing to help in any way we can.

Roak

 

[jbd]

DivingBear,

You can rest assured that all of us on the boards are quietly cheering you on. We will all celebrate the day your cert dives are done. As roakey said there's lots of folks ready to help as much as they can. Best of luck!!

jbd

 

[ScubyDoo]

Originally posted by TheDivingBear
I plan to ask if they have any other regulators that I might try, ones with more flow so I don't feel like I am sucking through a straw.

That definately sounds like a poor regulator flow problem. A good regulator will fix that right up. Some dive shops use really lousy regulators for there classes. Its possible that they may not have any decent ones to use. I hope not, but if that is the case, just grin and bear until you get through your class. Do some research towards purchasing your own regulator. The great folks here on scubaboard will love to help you out with advice in that area. Once you take a breath from a good regulator you will be amazed at how easily they breathe.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[TheDivingBear]

Well, no storm tonight (thank goodness). I talked with the Dive instructor and I got some one on one time with one of the assistants. I tell ya, that man has patience! I used a different regulator this time. This one was adjustable and it was the difference between night and day. My comfort level for breathing was very good. I felt I could trust the equipment. I still had to catch up on my skills, though, and that is where I hit a snag.

The next skill I had to do was exchanging the regulator and snorkel four times. That took me over an hour and over 40 attempts to get it (didn't I tell you he was patient?). The problem was that by the third exchange attempt I put the snorkel in my mouth, my mask was flooded (partially). Well, I kept inhaling water though my nose. I tried clearing the mask, but it seems that when I "practice proper airway control" and place the tip of my tongue against the roof of my mouth, I inhale through my nose. As hard as I try not too, it happens. So, instead of getting air through the snorkel, I got water through the nose.

Now I am not feeling anxious, just frustrated. I am feeling that I am not adept enough to get two skills down somewhat simutaniously yet. Well, after an hour, and after the dive instructor came over to help, I got it. I still inhaled some water, but not as much and got 6 exchanges in before I choked. YEAH! One step closer! After that, we had about 15 mintues of pool time left. He told me to swim around under water in the deep end and get comfortable. So, I did, and you know what?

I HAD FUN!

Thanks, everyone, for their encouragement. I'm gonna get through this. I really enjoyed swimming along the bottom of the pool (withing inches and yet not touching it).

I am actually looking forward to next week (and that is the dreaded mask removal)

Bear

 

[scuba-sass]

I skimmed the previous responses, and I don't think this was mentioned, but forgive me if I missed it.

Many LDS's will intentionally set their reg's to breath rather hard, in order to prevent free-flow. Not saying I agree with this practice - kind of like giving the person you're trying to teach to drive stick a car with a really awful clutch...

Good Luck, and Happy Diving!

Scuba-sass

 

[jbd]

WAHHHOOO!!! Way to go DivingBear. Glad to hear about your progress and that you had fun. There are threads on the boasrds that have tips on breathing through the snorkel or your mouth instead of your nose. Try using the search feature. These tips usually involve a bathtub or standing in a shower with water hitting you in the face. If you can find the tips and prcatice with it you may find what works for you.

Best wishes for future success

jbd

 

[Paul168341]

Great to hear things are working out!

As an instructor, I feel that those last 15min. of "playtime" are the most important part of the class. It's just as important to be comfortable and at ease under water as it is to know how to do a skill. I've seen instructors run through the skills and then, that's it, class over. :upset: Believe it or not, those 15 min. are where the skills are really learned. I usually bring an assortment of U/W "toys" i.e. weighted hula hoops, U/W frisbees, "Toypedos" When you are having fun and not focusing on anything, the skills become second nature.

Good Luck, and keep us aprised!

 

[deignor]

Scuba Bear-
I can understand where you are coming from. I was rushed in the pool sessions during my OW class. I feel comfortable with the equipment but I think practicing a skill one time is not enough for me. Bravo-that you found a patient instructor and divemaster. Mine kept saying "hurry, hurry" you have to do this fast or you will not get certified. Meanwhile, I am thinking "Who cares? I need to be confident in my skills and not a danger to myself or other divers". So, practice with those patient instructors!
Try to get some more pool time. I am going have to pay for mine and I am trying to find a one-on-one instructor. I don't feel comfortable doing my open water dives without more practice.
I didn't have much time just to swim around- our class was large and we barely got skills done. But that rare time I swam around- it was a great experience. Focus on that good feeling and good luck!!!!!!!!!
We can get through this! and enjoy diving in some beautiful place!

 

[boatboy]

Scuba bear

Hang in there I just finished my open water class and ran into trouble with time to practice. The class was too large and the pool was to small. Hind sight is a wonderfull thing. I should have asked about class size and pool time prior to taking the class. There were 13 people in my class and not enough time. We did four confined water dives totalling eight hours. The instructor and helpers couldn't possible give us the attention needed. If you can get additional pool time even at additional cost it would be well worth it. I did not have that option. I plan to have a friend that dives work with me in my neighbors pool prior to going for my open water certification in June. If you can't get help otherwise this might be an option. I know this is not the company line for PADI but the experience has to be gained somewhere and a four foot deep pool is a lot safer than a sixty foot body of water to practice you breathing and mask skills.

Good luck

 

[TheDivingBear]

Well, I'm behind, so I have a asst dive instructor (ADI) with me one-on-one. This is a good thing, but I am still having trouble. I am sure some of it is mental, I have to fight the instinct to surface at the first sign of trouble. And, I got an unadjustable regualtor this time and felt like I was having to pull air out, perhaps a little air starved. It is the same feeling I get sometimes when I breath for a few minutes through my nose. I don't feel I am getting enough air. I did not have that feeling at all last week after adjusting the regulator. Next week, our last class, I will insisted on an adjustable one.

Well, onto the water session. During the out of air demo where the ADI turns off the air on your tank to simulate the feeling, he forgot to tell me to give him the "Low on air", then "out of air" signal. No biggie, I gave it to him anyway and he congratulated me.

I did pretty well during the "emergency ascent". While he was showing me and swimming off though, my mask fogged up (made it harder to see his demo). I did good. I partially flooded my mask, swished it, and cleared it. Cleaned it up ok and we went on.

However, on the next skill, we swam back to the deep end. He was demoing the fin pivot. He was face down demoing it when I got kicked in the head. It was not bad, a brush with a fin tip (which I am told happens all the time). It knocked my mask and broke the seal, flooding it. It took me by suprise, he was still demoing the skill and did not see it happen. I was able to reseat my mask and clear it. But, what I could not do was clear my head... I started having what felt like a panic attack. My respiration started to increase and I could not control it. When the ADI looked up and asked if I was ok, I signaled up and that is where I went. When I surfaced, I gasped for air for a few breaths and calmed back down. At the surface, the ADI was trying to talk me out of diving saying that "it is not for everyone" and "you are not less of a man if you quit".

After a few minutes of chatting, I told him I wanted to demonstrate the skills I had done (but not been checked off on). For example, we were doing the fin pivot and we had not yet done the mask removal/swim/replace mask. When I told him I wanted to do that, he questioned me "Are you sure? That is one of the hardest skills". I confirmed that was what I wanted to do (since I had done it unintenionally already without him watching).

We went to the shallow end and first did just the mask removal. I was still a bit jumpy and was concentrating on breathing and time. He brushed my arm and startled me. My instinct? Surface and I did. I have to learn to fight that. I told him I wanted to try again. This time I succeeded.

Next was the swim without the mask. We went under again, I took off my mask and we swam. When we got to the other side, I took my mask back, put it on and started to clear it. I inhaled a little water and started to gag. My instinct was to surface again, but I fought it. I moved my hand from my mask to my regulator and coughed through it. I was ok there, I finished clearing my mask, looked at the ADI and gave the OK sign.

So, it ended on a high note and I am confident I will succeed!

We have one more week of class in the water. We took our final test last week and I got a 96%. I got the book learning down. Next week, I am going to insist on an adjustable regulator.

Thanks for all your support,

Bear