removing regulator skill

[Diver0001]

I apologize for the bluntness of this post, but gosh, don't you have an actual instructor that you have enough faith in to ask these very simple questions, rather than posting them to the internet?

When I see posts like this it really makes wonder what sort of disconnect there is between student and instructor.

It was pretty clear to me that she did, in fact, discuss it with the instructor and that they decided to give it some more work next week.

Perhaps she's looking for additional input. Some people work like that.

As for doing the skill in deep water. That's not very smart on the part of the instructor. This skill is supposed to be learned in shallow water before doing it in deeper water.

..... and now we know why.

me_diver, you've gotten good advice about how to handle the skill. I'll just add to that to not worry about it. There's a reason people need training to learn how to use scuba and the problem you had with getting everything to fall in place is actually not common. Just relax and it will all fall into place.

And go slow. Nothing on scuba should be done quickly. Slow is good. Take your time, think first, then do.

R..

 

[me_diver]

Just wanted to follow up...thanks to everyone for their advice, this board is great. I also searched around and read the "How not to Panic" thread I found which was also very helpful. I will say our Saturday session went well, after the way the last one ended I was very nervous but after a few minutes of swimming around the shallow end I felt better. Went through all the skills again, from the beginning, and telling myself to 'slow down'; take your time, and think before doing. I will say there were a few times things got a little freaky for me and I was nervous (mask filled with water when I accidently blew out my nose, regulator came out once accidently, etc) but as I did lots of positive talk and handled those situations my confidence grew. Took my time when doing the regulator out skill, and remembered the purge button, though a couple of times cleared it without it. All in all I'm feeling a lot better about things.

 

[diver 85]

Just keep a clear mind & do it---take a deep breath, never hold your breath(little exhale 'trickling' going on), & either purge it or blow hard thru 2nd stage after inserting it.....keep practicing....

 

[davidbaraff]

Here's my story about this:
In Discover scuba, of course, they make you do the sweep thing. The first time I ever tried this, I got so freaked that after approximately 0.95 seconds I knew I wasn't going to last any longer without air, and just stood up. Can you say nerves?

Very happily, we were in about 4 feet of water. Yay, that's how Discover scuba is supposed to work. I managed to do it the second time, but I felt shaky.

Nine years later, I get to do scuba again, Discover scuba once more, and have to do this same thing during the pool part before going in the ocean. Needless to say, I'd obsessed about messing it up again. I found it was much easier. But I wanted to make sure I could really do it.

So I asked the instructor if I could practice it a few more times. He said "sure---in the shallow section." (Remember, this is Discover scuba, not an O/W class.)

And so I practiced it a whole bunch of times. And after I did it no sweat a few times, then I closed my eyes and kept doing it, so I really had to hook the regulator correctly, not cheat by using my eyes. And I just repeated it multiple times till it was a piece of cake.

So if you have the chance, practice it with your eyes closed (in the shallow section). When you have to do it for your O/W certification, I promise you that with your eyes open, you'll marvel that you *ever* thought this was a tough skill. And if you take a nice big breath before removing the regulator, and trickle out the air bubbles, you'll realize you have literally an eternity before you need a second breath, and getting that regulator is just so darned easy.

Bonus: if someday you lose both your mask and your regulator at the same time, you'll come through it just fine.

 

[Diver Tim]

And go slow. Nothing on scuba should be done quickly. Slow is good. Take your time, think first, then do.

Reminds me of an old saying... "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast." Rushing rarely helps anything.

 

[jmasin]

Sort of an oldish thread, but I'm new and was reading through it.

Great advice above. I'd only add a few more things and an experience.

Practice is the cure for panic. Practice until your body knows what to do and your mind doesn't have to be involved. As soon as your brain has to get involved things go haywire Honestly though, buy some pool time, buy your instructor a 12-pack and put in hours taking it out/putting it in etc.

My wife panicked on the mask R/R the first time. Shot to the surface (shallow end of pool) with a panic attack. She calmed down and the instructor split out and practiced with her. We arranged for extra time (paying with aforementioned 12-pack) and practiced some more.

I couldn't have been more proud of her when on a recent dive, at 70ft someone kicked off her mask (i.e. a completely unplanned event) and she reached up and put it back on with no issues.

They are important skills. Practice is key. A panic in the class doesn't mean you won't be able to nail it in time. It won't be long before you're on a dive and you take your reg out and flood your mouth to get rid of that horrible dry tongue

Did I mention to practice?

 

[idocsteve]

Thank you for the fast reply. My husband (who's taking the class with me) and I don't remember the instructor doing this in the shallow end first. I think he forgot.

You think your instructor forgot to do the lost reg drill in the shallow end first.

If he forgot there's more of a problem here than you needing to work on your skills. In fact it has nothing to do with you whatsoever.

 

[Codiak]

Thanks, well I'm glad y'all aren't telling me I'm not cut out for diving and I should hang it up, as up to that point we were having a blast and doing great.

No reason for anyone to yell about this after all your a student, in a class situation, PRACTICING new skills. Experience counts and as humans we tend to learn from mistakes more than success... at least mistakes we survive :shocked2:

Keep on practicing and enjoy

 

[oddible]

@me_diver, sounds to me like you're pretty well off from the experience. A bit shaken up and in need of some reassuring practice but you have been put in a pretty extreme condition, lost reg, no breath, flooded mask, breathed water, coughing, and managed to get your reg back in your mouth and stay in the bottom of the pool (albeit with a little help from your instructor).

While the skills are taught in the highly controlled conditions of a pool if the real thing happens, it is seldom as controlled. A lost reg can happen for instance when someone is swimming above and in front of you a bit and spins around to look at something kicking his fin into your face, knocking your mask off and your reg out of your mouth - meanwhile you had just exhaled. Similar condition to what you experienced - and you nailed it. It doesn't happen often and it is something that you'll become more aware of avoiding (like not being directly under someone or holding your reg in your mouth if someone is kicking about in your area).

What I'm saying is that you're probably a better diver already from putting yourself into a more adverse condition in the pool than the rest of your dive class. Keep up the practice and get comfortable and you've got nothing to worry about (yeah and don't forget you have an alternate hanging in easy reach if you lose your main).

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

I am thinking that anyone that joins ScubaBoard and selects the screen name "me_diver" before they have gotten to Open Water class #2 must be committed to getting certified. I don't think any further encouragement is necessary.