Panic During Training

[Cave Diver]

it felt very lonely and very very unsafe.

After these I couldn't trust him any more so I quit his trainings.

Listen to that little voice in your head, it will keep you safe. I think most of my other sentiments have already been echoed by several of the other posters, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[300bar]

Mig29,

In post 9 you reffer to the Salem Express,do you mean they took you to that wreck.

 

[AfterDark]

Mig29, Don't think you are not cut out for diving. After that experience only the most motovited would want to continue. Hang in there with the original instructor the one you trust. Don't dive with the other guy!! He sounds dangerous to me. He should have brought you to the surface at the 1st sign of trouble. There is no excuse for your swallowing water he should have had your head above water. Others may say I'm being to harsh but teaching people to dive is serious stuff. We all take it for granted after awhile but we enjoy a sport that takes place in an unforgivng envroiment. We don't get many mistakes some don't get any. When doing drills the instructor has a one on one moment with the student his entire focus should be on that student. In shallow water like you were in a calm and controlled trip to the surface to determine the problem would have been the correct thing to do. I'd also let the instructor you trust know what happened, it may not be the 1st time this guy as put someone in danger. Your comments might save someones life. You never know. There are happy diving days ahead keep going!

 

[Brewski]

That instructor should have briefed you before the dive how his octo clip operated, then during the dive when he noticed you were having trouble should have donated his octo to you. On your part, please do not take your regulator out of your mouth! get the octo first then when it is in your hand you can remove yours.
The late afternoon dive sounds like a standards violation.
I would not work with that instructor again if I were you.

 

[openmindOW]

With the new instructor this was my first training dive, all in all the second dive in the sea. The third one was not strictly speaking a night dive, but boy, it became very dark in minutes, under and above the water. As it happens by nature in that region. We went into the water sometime before 7, in the setting sun with a lot of light, and I ascended at about 7.30 in complete darkness, like in a normal evening.

Mig29, Bleeb is correct in noting that taking OW divers out on their Open Water training dives at night is a violation of PADI Standards. And it is a serious violation; it's unsafe.

You indicated that you had taken a PADI course. Was this a PADI Instructor who took you on a night dive? If so, would you be willing to file a Quality Assurance complaint against him?

Mig29, most Instructors are good people who will assure that you have enjoyable dives. You got a very bad Instructor. Keep up with your dive training, my friend.

 

[MiG29]

Thanks again, guys! I've been reading your comments and the other posts and now it's clear to me I took part in an interesting operation, to put it mildly. I find it weird to have learnt a year after what I was doing that time and what I should have been taught. Well, better later than never.

stefo2, was no sausage, mirror or horn onboard. The only sausage I saw during the trip belonged to a German group, next to the Chrisoula K. You're right, I should have been checking my own air, too. It's one of the many lessons. And probably a wreck trip is not the best way to start learning, either. I didn't get certified. We were very much pressed for time which was probably a factor in all those mistakes that I've written about. At the end we ran out of time, so no certificate. I don't understand what signing in divers and out means. Is it like counting people, who's back and who's not? Or can you rephrase it?

Cave Diver, that's another lesson learnt.

300bar, yes, I went down on the tag line so I was hovering somewhere beside and a little above it. I saw some other wrecks (none from the inside and nothing deep, mainly from above), too, but as I wrote earlier, wrecks give me chills so I wasn't keen on this.

Afterdark, thanks, man Third lesson learnt!

Brewski, thanks for the proper sequence. I guessed it would be something like that, but it's always nice to have a professional confirmation.

openmindOW, I understand now that it was improper and not according to standard procedure. But I wouldn't file that complaint at this time. Probably I should, but it's been more than a year etc. But I do appreciate your concern.

 

[300bar]

300bar, yes, I went down on the tag line so I was hovering somewhere beside and a little above it. I saw some other wrecks (none from the inside and nothing deep, mainly from above), too, but as I wrote earlier, wrecks give me chills so I wasn't keen on this.

Not so surprising with the Salem express
The Salem Express - Diving Red Sea, Safaga, dive site directory

Not realy a wreck for OW divers,let alone OW diver in training.

 

[stefo2]

I didn't get certified. We were very much pressed for time which was probably a factor in all those mistakes that I've written about. At the end we ran out of time, so no certificate. I don't understand what signing in divers and out means. Is it like counting people, who's back and who's not? Or can you rephrase it?

Yup, head count, or better still, have a board with all the divers' names on it, and write down the time a particular diver or buddy pair entered the water and what time they came on board again. You and the DM had been out for about 75 minutes when you were brought back to the boat - that should have get someone worried, especially with a new AND uncertified diver!

Shame you didn't get certified, and I still don't quite get why: It was an 8-day trip, with several instructors on board, including your original one from Hungary, you did actually go for a few dives (the last one with only a DM without an instructor, if I understood that correctly) and you still weren't certified? To me it seems as if the trip was geared to the certified divers, instructors included, having fun and enjoying their dives, but not towards someone doing an OWC. What did your instructor have to say about all this? After all, he was most likely getting paid to take you on the certification dives rather than let you just go for "fun" dives with a DM.

I really think you should try again, though. And by the way, you should change the title of your thread, as you DID NOT panic and bolt for the surface, but actually managed to sort things out under water.

 

[Bronson]

Koszonom a hozzaszolast. Your english is better than my hungarian. Thank you for posting your expereince to this forum. I took particular notice as i am personally in a course to learn to be an instructor. Some thoughts:
- The standards say that training is not to be conducted within an hour of darkness (dusk). So, no way you should be put into this situation.

- The instructor was not very empathetic toward you. It happens but should not happen.

- As for my equipment set up, i was told to change my regulator and equipment set up to avoid what you experienced. Open Water students need to be able to see and easily access the Octopus regulator.

- Do not take your regulator out of your mouth until you secure the Octopus.

- Relax. You did nothing wrong. Learn to be a diver. Go thru the training and get certified. Please. You will not regret the diving experience.

- I do not think the dive master should have taken you for the dive. Sorry but that is a No/NO in the standards.

Good luck and got for it.

regards
John

 

[bobh_60435]

There has been plenty of comments critical of the instructor, which he has certainly earned. What I want to point out is this:

I'd like you to consider that you are perhaps now better prepared to be a recreational diver for having had this unpleasant experience. You know what it's like to have panic set in and you have demonstrated that you can overcome it. I think you'll be a very good diver.