OW class problems and questions

[Anti-Hero]

Masks are weird. Some dives my mask works flawlessly, others it has a slow leak, others it fogs up like crazy, even after applying spit/defog/voodoo magic. I think the leak part is relative to if I shaved or not. But the fogging issue, which to me is more of a PITA is totally random.

 

[Stephen1]

Greetings Newbie and welcome to Scuba Board!
Firstly I think that you are experiencing what many dive trainees have in the past.
Scuba is not a natural activity for most and takes some time to gain comfort and mastery of the 18 basic skills. This is very common to have issues in the pool and sometimes require extra time to gain comfort and skill mastery. This was the case for me and it was worth every extra effort and cost. When I hit OW I was able to pass with no problems. This was due to the efforts of DM Linda and MSDT Mark and a commitment by myself to conquer these issues. IT WILL GET BETTER!
Take your time and get some extra pool time so you all can have fun and enjoy diving!
After all it is supposed to be fun, the third rule of scuba HAVE FUN!
First rule; NEVER HOLD YOUR BREATH!
Second rule; NEVER PANIC!
5 hours is probably the average pool time but in many cases like mine it takes more to gain comfort and mastery of the skills.
Pool sessions are structured to allow you to gain comfort and practice the skills required to dive safely. It is the responsibility of the instructor to demonstrate and assist you in learning these skills. At some point you will have to demonstrate your skills to meet a satisfactory check off that means you are ready to perform them in OW. If you are not confident then ask for more pool time and be willing to compensate if it is required. I was more than happy to do so and it was worth it ten times over. The greatest thing I learned from the personal pool time was trust, confidence and determination. When I committed to conquering the issues it was over, that simple! Our brains can present us with individual specific challenges that take extra time to conquer, NO WORRIES! We can overcome, we will overcome!
Mask issues are a common problem to new divers! We all have purchased a ill fitting mask at one time or another. There are some awesome information here on mask issues and fit. Try the search here on Scuba Board to research them.
I will tray to be brief but fit is everything on a mask. Purchasing the perfect fit mask is a buddy required activity! Select a low volume, easy to clear mask and place it on your face in position. DO NOT SUCK IT DOWN YET!
Next have your buddy look for facial features that create opening or cracks in the seal. Try different sizes and styles till you find one that will seal without suction.
Then if possible try in the pool before you buy it. My motto is TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!
This is not always possible but many times is.
Are you being unreasonable? Returns are a part of business and a happy customer will always buy more than a unhappy one. My LDS would exchange it and move on no issues.
I would like to encourage you to stick with it, determine to conquer your issues and make the call once you have completed your training. I really decided after OW dive #1 that diving was for me. I immediately purchased all of my gear a week latter and that was just the beginning!
The adventure and journey has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. The places I have visited and friends i have met still blow my mind!
Hang in there and please PM me if I can be of assistance. I would love to help in any way I can. I am sure that many more will offer assistance as well but always that you are part of a community, the dive community and we have all came from where you are right now!
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!

As a new diver I must say CamG has offered some great pieces of advice in his post...

 

[boulderjohn]

A friend of mine told me that when he first started diving, he went through four masks trying to find one that would not leak. That's a lot of money.

Eventually he figured out that the problem was not the masks--it was all him. He was moving his face too much and breaking the seal. Once he learned to dive with a calm, poker face--No Smiling Allowed!--he realized that every one of those four masks fit him just fine.

Another common problem that causes leaks (and fogging) is exhaling through your nose while you dive.

 

[Luku]

I'm always amazed at all the well thought out and good advice that comes on these boards. Hopefully I'll be able to add something informational to help.

1) 5 hours as was said before is fairly normal for a PADI class. You mention that time to swim around and such would be good. Yes, you should be given some time to get used to the gear but bare in mind that some times pools are rented by the hour (I don't know if that is your case, but in some case they are, and the shop usually tell an Instructor OK you should be done in X amount of time or the shop starts to lose money. In a perfect world you should have as much time as needed but the reality is these shops are running such a fine line cost wise that Instructors who are consistently slow and cost the shop extra money don't last long.)
3) With out a doubt the shop should exchange your mask for one that fits your face, its not hard for them to throw your old one into their rental gear.

Besides not knowing what cert. agency you are training under (edit: I see it's NAUI after rereading some posts, sorry), I'm also not sure where you were taking these classes, was this near where you live, or on vacation somewhere. Resort / Vacation training often is "quick" to say it nicely, whereas if you do it locally it should be a little more relaxed.

It sounds like you had problems doing one of the skills (mouth full of water) and now thinking about quitting, don't, that's why you practice things like that so that if you lose your reg you know how to quickly recover it and clear it and carry on. Hang in there and you wont regret it.

 

[boulderjohn]

Just so that late comers to this thread who skip a lot are not confused,...

1) 5 hours as was said before is fairly normal for a PADI class.

Although that may be true for some people, for many others who posted about this, it is not at all true. That is about half the length of typical PADI pool sessions in our area.

Besides not knowing what cert. agency you are training under, ...

The information is somewhat buried, but he said he is learning through NAUI.

 

[Luku]

Although that may be true for some people, for many others who posted about this, it is not at all true. That is about half the length of typical PADI pool sessions in our area.

I'm not sure if you took this personally or not by comparing my numbers to yours. I've see in this thread alone pool sessions of 26, 16, 12, 10, and 8 hours in length. That's great, if you have the time, but some people just don't have 2-4 days to spend when they are on their vacation just on pool work.

Resort / Vacation training is a little different than your LDS. It's doesn't mean though that a person isn't competent if an instructor is able to get through all the skills in 5 hours. A person could still be incompetent after 26 hours.

I just come at this from a little different perspective, some instructors need to follow shop policy or they could find themselves out of a job. Some places are pretty cut throat that way. I don't necessarily agree with it, but it is reality for some.

 

[AfterDark]

Masks are weird. Some dives my mask works flawlessly, others it has a slow leak, others it fogs up like crazy, even after applying spit/defog/voodoo magic. I think the leak part is relative to if I shaved or not. But the fogging issue, which to me is more of a PITA is totally random.

hijack. Have you tried sea buff? Cleans the glass nice, so spit / defog / voodoo works better. Worked like magic on my wife's mask. hijack end.

 

[warmwaterturner]

I did SSI. The instructor did not focus on numbers or time. His focus was on instruction, comfort and skill. If I had to add it up I would say the total time was at least 9hours. The problem sounds more like you all are being rushed and are not ready. Sounds like it is heart to heart time with the instructor. Otherwise for safety sake - it might be time to change instructors.

As far as the mask is concerned...I would remind them that I am looking for a LDS to patronize in the future.

 

[fnfalman]

Any decent LDS would allow for swapping gears while in the pool.

However, after saying that, the LDS doesn't like to do it because the returned gear is now considered to be "used" and not being able to be sold off as "new" gear any more. So before the student were to want to exchange the gear, the shop and the instructor PLUS the student should try to see why the gear (in this case the mask) didn't work right.

Did the shop try to fit the mask onto the OP before the class start? Mine did. It ended up leaking a bit, but I'm not my fourth mask from the fourth different manufacturer and it still leaks a bit. A leaky mask is something that a scuba diver is suppose to learn to manage as part of diving. A mask that has water pouring in...well, that's a different story. But why is the mask leaking badly? Is the strap pulled too tight? That's a big mistake on most newbies because they don't realize that the mask strap doesn't have to be that tight. Is the mask strap situated correctly behind the back of the head? Is the mask skirt sitting on top of the diving hood and not giving a proper seal? Is the student breathing out through the nose too much?

Bring the issues up with the instructor and see if he/she can help identify the problem.

 

[garyfotodiver]

My last daughter just finished her classroom and closed water training. She did have a few issues.

Four students - 3 adults and one 12 year old (mine). Laura had difficulty equalizing on her third dive, so she sat out that one. She also couldn't remove and replace her mask underwater. When the class was finished, she still had some skills to demonstrate.

One more 2.5 hour pool session, just the instructor and her. She told me that she demonstrated the skills in the beginning of the session and got everyone on the first try. The instructor and she spent the rest of the time in the water playing games so she could become more comfortable with herself and the gear underwater. I mentioned to the instructor that we would be doing boat dives in S. Florida for her checkout dives.

I am very confident that Laura will do well next week, and I am grateful to the instructor and to the dive shop for taking the time to help resolve these issues and for providing constant encouragement to her.

My advice, and I try to not give it often (I am ready to duck for that one), is this. If you are not comfortable with your skills, speak to the instructor. Express your concerns. You should get the assistance you need. If you must, speak to the LDS owner. Do not proceed until you are comfortable.

Good luck and good diving!