Question regarding Diving for a new diver

[Goober2]

Hi,

My name is LIsa and I have a scuba question.

History: I did a discover scuba with my boyfriend who has been diving for a long time (5 years is a long time to me) on our vacation in Jamaica just to see if I would like it. I dove 3 out of 5 days and loved it. On these dives, we used a rope to descend.

I then got obsessed with diving and FINALLY got my certification this fall.

We walked into the water in Gloucester.

We are going on a vacation to dive in Honduras, which I am very excited about but I am also pretty sure that I have to really dive instead of walking down a rope or into the water. See what I am saying here?

I drop like a bag of hammers in gloucester when we were doing our skills. So fast in fact that I was kicking like a freak to get myself back up.

I am so afraid to descend now at this point and my boyfriend says "no problem" you know? Anyone have any advice? I have never done it, I have no idea how fast I will drop, i have no idea how much weight i should wear...

 

[PerroneFord]

So you got certified and don't know how to NOT drop like a stone? I don't know who did your certification, butI think you deserve your money back.

 

[Goober2]

You know...

Like i said, the dives we did were shore dives. I dont have a problem with you thinking my instructor didnt teach me what you think he should have taught me but i am looking for help here not smart retorts. I think your response was unkind and uncalled for. but thanks for your help.

 

[BabyDuck]

lisa, sounds like it's time for a good weight check. you're way overweighted if you drop like bags of hammers! you shouldn't even drop like a single hammer. the thought is to start decending when you've breathed oooouuuut...and sink. do you have a fairly deep pool nearby? maybe 15-ish feet? perhaps in your lds? read the part about weighting in your open water book, search on here for 'weight check' (there was a really nice thread about a week ago - i'll see if i can find it & link it here), take your boyfriend or another diver to give you a hand, and hopefully you'll be surprised at how much you take off. happens to most - as you get more comfy, you need less lead. so it's a good thing!!

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=120548&highlight=weight here ya go!

 

[griffindm]

Lisa,

In order to be neutrally bouyant at the end of a dive you must usually be somewhat negative at the start. I shared your fear of an 'unguided' descent, without a line to control the rate, as I have sinus issues that make my first descent on a dive a cautious event. If you totally deflate your BC without that rope, feel free to either kick a little or add a little air back in to maintain your postion. Beginners often start off overweighted as well, so try descending with less weight as you become more comfortable.

Keep diving!

 

[TSandM]

It is very common practice to overweight divers during OW classes, in part because new divers tend to have a lot of trouble descending because of anxiety and an inability to be still, and in part because it's easier to put people on the bottom to do their skills if they're heavy. The result is that you DO drop like a stone. I wrote about that in my journal of my OW class. It scared me, too. When you descend that fast, you think about not being able to get back up again . . .

Proper weighting is really a big key to making diving enjoyable, or at least that has sure been my experience, and it's what others write as well. There are rough guidelines to weight requirements in the PADI OW Handbook, but they have to be adjusted for the individual diver and his/her equipment and exposure protection. I will say that, in my two experiences with resort dive operators, both have been able to guess fairly closely how much weight I would need given their conditions and equipment.

If you are correctly weighted, you will be able to descend without plummeting. But it does take a while and some practice to get descents to where you can go down as slowly as you like, and arrest the descent whenever you want (or at least it did for me).

 

[gfisher4792]

Yeah, what BabyDuck said. Just out of curiosity, how much weight do you wear right now (or, at least when you were certified). I think I started with 34 lbs in a 7mm Farmer John suit.

 

[PerroneFord]

You know...

Like i said, the dives we did were shore dives. I dont have a problem with you thinking my instructor didnt teach me what you think he should have taught me but i am looking for help here not smart retorts. I think your response was unkind and uncalled for. but thanks for your help.

I realized after I posted that you might think I was being harsh, but wanted to wait and see if you really took it that way.. it really wasn't intended to. Let me see if I can clarify my position.

Being a fairly new diver myself, and having gone through what I feel was a rather poor certification process, it galls me that people pay good money for these classes and in my opinion are being poorly prepared. Now, I don't expect someone to get certified in the Bahamas, and go home to the Great Lakes and feel comfy on dive #1. The environmetns are vastly different. However, I *DO* expect a diver who is certified to have a clear understanding of weighting, and how to adjust it so as now to be struck with fear entering the water. To me this is a FUNDAMENTAL of diving. And a good instructor should not have left you with any fears in this regard.

Whether you did shore dives, boat dives, fresh, or salt water, is of no consequence. Weighting is commonly done in a pool. It is very common practice for instructors to grossly overweight students to make sure they can plant themselves firmly on the bottom for instructional purposes. However, when the student then tries to dive on their own, they are grossly overweighted and in your case, so overweight they are fearful of entering the water. This fear can turn off divers from the sport. And this is why I feel it's sad, and unfortunate.

The weighting problem you have at the moment could easily take your life if you were to panic. You seem like a nice, and eager diver. With great enthusiasm to further explore the sport. If the weighting was handled this poorly in your class, there is no telling what other things were missed. Perhaps things like clearning your mask properly, or handing OOA emergencies. To that end, I really DO suggest you attempt to get your money back, or at the very least, seek out a reputable instructor, and take the course again. The LAST thing I want to see is someone like yourself get into a scary scenario and walk away from the sport, because they were taken advantage of by a poor instructor who left them in an unsafe condition to dive.

I wish you all the best, and I apologize for what probably seemed a flippant remark earlier. I meant no harm toward you at all (only toward your instructor).

 

[Bobby Demosthenis]

Weighting is a key part of diving. And one more thing, remember in a swimming pool you will be less bouyant because salt water makes your more bouyant.

Anyhow, weight takes practice. The Diving Club that you dive with, should give you a estimation of how much you need. The Divemaster (or Instructor, which ever is leading the dive) should carry spares with him in the event that you don't have enough.

If I were you, I would discuss this with your Instructor or a Divemaster.

Bobby

 

[bradshsi]

I am so afraid to descend now at this point and my boyfriend says "no problem" you know? Anyone have any advice? I have never done it, I have no idea how fast I will drop, i have no idea how much weight i should wear...

The standard PADI guide for initial weight would be to enter water too deep to stand in (say 7 ft deep). With an empty BCD, a full tank and holding your breath, you should be able to float with your eyes level with the water surface. If you sink in this configuration then remove weight from your weight belt until you float eye level with the water.

If you are correctly weighted, you should sink when you exhale. Once you know this weight you need to add weight to compensate for the mass of air you will use during your dive. (If you don't add weight you will be unlikely to maintain neutral bouyancy at the end of your dive).


For a more accurate result enter water too deep to stand in (say 7 ft deep). With an empty BCD, a (nearly empty) tank at 500 psi and holding your breath, you should be able to float with your eyes level with the water surface. If you sink in this configuration then remove weight from your weight belt until you float eye level with the water.

Personally I prefer checking my weight with a nearly empty tank. I tend to check it at the end of each dive as a matter of course, because I find my weight requirements are still changing as I get more comfortable in the water.


Hope this helps