My OW certification checkout dives didn't go so well unfortunately.

[Neilwood]

Well done. Glad you enjoyed your dives.

Welcome to the addiction

 

[tomfcrist]

Yesterday I completed my OW certification and today finished my AOW certification here in Grand Cayman

I’m confused. You did AOW in 1 day?

 

[KathyV]

Congratulations! How is your trip going so far, are you having nice weather?

 

[purbeast]

I’m confused. You did AOW in 1 day?

We did 3 OW dives Friday, 1 OW yesterday and 2 AOW dives yesterday, then the final 3 AOW dives today. We were supposed to do a night dive yesterday for AOW but that was canceled due to weather, and the optional wreck dive turned into a mandatory dive for AOW, but I had planned on doing it anyways.

Congratulations! How is your trip going so far, are you having nice weather?

It's going great since this is the reason we came after coming last time in December and not being able to finish. They had a north wester that came in Thursday which made it so the location of our 3 dives on Friday had to move since it was too rough, but yesterday things seemed to be back to normal and those dives continued, although at night we couldn't do the night dive because visibility still wasn't good.

Then today we couldn't do stingray city due to the weather on the north side of the island, so we ended up doing a reef dive for the fish ID portion of AOW. I actually am glad we did that instead because the whole buoyancy thing clicked big time for me on that dive. I had talked to a certified diver a bit on the boat the past few days and picked his brain and he mentioned that once you "get" buoyancy is kind of is a zen like moment, and I feel I actually hit it during that dive and it made it even that much more enjoyable.

It also helped a lot that the instructor was helping me with weighting correctly. I started with 14lbs, then earlier today he said he thought it was too much and I was using my BCD too much and took 6lbs off down to 8lbs, and then after the first dive of 8lbs he thought I should try 6lbs. And I tried that on my final dive where everything clicked and it was fantastic. I hardly used my BCD at all. It was really cool when I was over a reef and figured out how to drop down with the reef depth a bit by my breathing, and then using it to go back up with it. As that other guy said, it was this zen like moment where stuff just clicked. It reminded me of when I "got" stick shift.

 

[Neilwood]

We did 3 OW dives Friday, 1 OW yesterday and 2 AOW dives yesterday, then the final 3 AOW dives today. We were supposed to do a night dive yesterday for AOW but that was canceled due to weather, and the optional wreck dive turned into a mandatory dive for AOW, but I had planned on doing it anyways.


It's going great since this is the reason we came after coming last time in December and not being able to finish. They had a north wester that came in Thursday which made it so the location of our 3 dives on Friday had to move since it was too rough, but yesterday things seemed to be back to normal and those dives continued, although at night we couldn't do the night dive because visibility still wasn't good.

Then today we couldn't do stingray city due to the weather on the north side of the island, so we ended up doing a reef dive for the fish ID portion of AOW. I actually am glad we did that instead because the whole buoyancy thing clicked big time for me on that dive. I had talked to a certified diver a bit on the boat the past few days and picked his brain and he mentioned that once you "get" buoyancy is kind of is a zen like moment, and I feel I actually hit it during that dive and it made it even that much more enjoyable.

It also helped a lot that the instructor was helping me with weighting correctly. I started with 14lbs, then earlier today he said he thought it was too much and I was using my BCD too much and took 6lbs off down to 8lbs, and then after the first dive of 8lbs he thought I should try 6lbs. And I tried that on my final dive where everything clicked and it was fantastic. I hardly used my BCD at all. It was really cool when I was over a reef and figured out how to drop down with the reef depth a bit by my breathing, and then using it to go back up with it. As that other guy said, it was this zen like moment where stuff just clicked. It reminded me of when I "got" stick shift.

I have said that to a few people. You get taught the theory etc and how to do things and then at some point during a dive the lightbulb comes on and you just "get it". You go from fumbling about and suddenly you feel like a diver instead of someone trying to dive. It can be a startling moment when that feeling comes over you.

 

[TMHeimer]

I have said that to a few people. You get taught the theory etc and how to do things and then at some point during a dive the lightbulb comes on and you just "get it". You go from fumbling about and suddenly you feel like a diver instead of someone trying to dive. It can be a startling moment when that feeling comes over you.

Yes. Like the time I was diving after just a few logged dives, stopped to look at something and realised I was hovering without consciously trying to. I often wonder if my buoyancy has actually improved since then.

 

[purbeast]

I have said that to a few people. You get taught the theory etc and how to do things and then at some point during a dive the lightbulb comes on and you just "get it". You go from fumbling about and suddenly you feel like a diver instead of someone trying to dive. It can be a startling moment when that feeling comes over you.

I definitely started to just feel more comfortable getting into my gear too and knowing where everything is. Even that took some dives to get used to. Just things like finding the top buckle sometimes was a challenge. Or putting my arm in the BCD with the regulator hose on the wrong side of my arm. Things like that.

I asked the instructor how long it took him of diving for everything to feel "normal" and even he said about a year of diving. That made me feel a bit better about still feeling somewhat flustered after a day and a half of diving lol.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Close your eyes. Do your gear.

 

[Neilwood]

I definitely started to just feel more comfortable getting into my gear too and knowing where everything is. Even that took some dives to get used to. Just things like finding the top buckle sometimes was a challenge. Or putting my arm in the BCD with the regulator hose on the wrong side of my arm. Things like that.

I asked the instructor how long it took him of diving for everything to feel "normal" and even he said about a year of diving. That made me feel a bit better about still feeling somewhat flustered after a day and a half of diving lol.

It differs for everyone. don't get stressed about it. Take the time YOU need to get ready - the pond/lake/sea/ocean will wait for you.

The more you do it the easier it gets. I do find that after a period of not diving (the winter) I am rusty and have to think about it but after a few dives each year it falls back into place.

 

[purbeast]

It differs for everyone. don't get stressed about it. Take the time YOU need to get ready - the pond/lake/sea/ocean will wait for you.

The more you do it the easier it gets. I do find that after a period of not diving (the winter) I am rusty and have to think about it but after a few dives each year it falls back into place.

Yeah I'm just wondering since I will be a vacation diver down in warm waters, doing it every few months, if it is something that will stick with me. I'm hoping so though.

I did write down some notes in my log book though so that next time I dive, I can at least read what I wrote and it will refresh me a bit.