Scared Newbie

[Casana]

Hello!
My husband is an avid diver, and I’ve finally mustered enough courage to take PADI lessons (started last week) in preparation to our vacation to Bonaire this September.
Never had a problem with snorkeling, but I’m a scaredy cat with my eyes & water (will not open them underneath, can’t even tolerate water on my eyelashes). I survived class #1 with lots of TLC from the instructor and I’m a bit apprehensive about tonight’s class & the whole mask clearing/removing thing...
Anyway, my questions are…
1) anyone else who was skittish but survived the class and now dives ok?
2) hints on handling a husband who’s overeager to “protect” and teach me himself? (luckily he’s not coming to my class, but he’s dying to come and tutor me). He’s also very concerned about my feeling ok to dive while we’re out in the ocean. And I'm a bit concerned about being his dive partner, him being so good and diving and me so new to it.
Any female moral support is welcome!!
-Casana

 

[scubakat]

Welcome Casana!
I know you are nervous about tonight, but have faith in yourself, & follow your instructor's steps & you will have conquered that skill in no time! Just relax & keep breathin'!

It is fantastic to have an experienced dive buddy, you can learn all kinds of little tips & tricks. From buoyancy control to where to clip off that gangly octopus it's all good! However, you need to be sure that are an independant diver who can hold your own with any buddy, not just your signifigant other. My opinion is that your hubby should stay far far away from your class. You need to develop your skills own your own. If he gets overly protective remind him that someday *you* might have to save *his* arse.

Take care & be sure to let us know how it goes!

-kate

 

[SubMariner]

Casana, it's quite common to be apprehensive about learning to scuba dive. Afterall, you're doing something that your body considers "unnatural".... breathing underwater. So just relax & take your time. It's NOT a race, it's a learning experience.

As for your hubby: he SHOULD NOT participate in your training at all. You haven't mentioned where exactly you will be doing your open water dives, but if it's at all possible, DO NOT dive with him until AFTER you have completed all your Open Water training/dives. No offense, but he sounds like the kind of buddy who will not let you learn on your own. As well intentioned as that may be, it is totally counter-productive to you learning to be a self-sufficient diver who is comfortable with her own ability and skills.

As an Instructor I have had several spouses whom I have literally had to bar from participating in their mate's dive training.... up to/including shooing them away from the pool! Just because they were simply taking over the student's diving.

Email me if you have any other questions/problems... I'd be happy to help.

Take care, eh?!

~SubMariner~

 

[fooks]

Hi Casana,

In my open water class there were a couple of people who had Closter phobia (sorry about spelling). Many of the people had attacks while under the water in our pool sessions. I've kept in touch with many of these people and have been diving with them, none seem to worry about it any more.
As well my dive buddy hates getting her face wet (kind of like a cat) but we dive any time we get the chance. So after all this babbling I think that the best thing you can do is take your time and enjoy yourself cause its the best experience you'll ever have.

 

[Casana]

Thanks for the support!
Hubby is experienced with Club Med diving only, he's taking the Padi class (separately) locally and plans to take his open water cert dives in Bonaire when we go there Sept. 8. I decided later on to try scuba, which is how I ended up with a different class... sounds like it was a good thing after all!
From your advice, sounds like I should try to do my cert dives separately from him. It will be VERY weird to be underwater with him, that's for sure! OK, I'm off to my class....
Thanks for the advice!

 

[scubakat]

Hi Casana, your profile does not say what part of the world you live in, but I am curios why you do not complete your open water check-out locally? I would feel more comfortable doing that with the instructor that I have come to know and trust. Tell us how class went tonight!

-kate

 

[jbd]

Casana,
For a simple flooded mask there is no reason you cannot simply close your eyes. If I'm diving in really dirty looking water or in a place where lots of silt has been stirred up and I have reason to remove my mask I just close my eyes. Overtime you will probably overcome this "fear" and it won't be a big problem anymore. Keep us posted on your progress and let us know if we can be of any help.

 

[TexasMike]

For reasons I haven't tried figuring out, I cannot get myself to open my eyes underwater. So during my open water check out dives, I told my instructor about this before we jumped in and then reminded her by miming closing my eyes. She nodded that she understood and we proceeded with the skill with my eyes closed. And once I had passed to her satisfaction (mask flooding and hand off) she squeezed my arm to signal that it was okay for me to open my eyes again after I had cleared the water.

So I'm sure that if you explain your situation to your instructor, they whould be able to accomodate you.

 

[jobowker]

I hated opening my eyes under water. Clearing my mask was no fun when I tried doing it with my eyes open. Now, when I'm getting into the water, I take my mask off and dunk my face in the water first. Then I go under water, and then I can clear my mask easier. The mask/eyes thing was the only stumbling block I had, and it took me a little longer than some of the others in the class. But since this isn't a race, that's quite ok. Relax, stay calm, and enjoy it!

 

[Casana]

Yeah, I did it - cleared my mask the first time out! The hardest part was putting my mask back on while trying to keep pinching my nose <grin!> I just can't stand feeling water up my nose... Keeping my eyes closed was no big deal, and I took my time clearing the water out of my mask. I was actually more nervous about taking my mask off, because it keeps getting tangled up in my hair. Tonight I’m going to our scuba shop to see if I can get something for my hair and/or my mask strap (I read some great threads on this board about scuba hair problems)

To be honest, the part I was most nervous about was doing the walk into the water thing… I squealed thru my regulator as I fell into the water but otherwise did ok.

Scubakat, thanks for the suggestion of doing my cert dive locally with my instructor, but I think I’d be more nervous going into the local quarry than jumping in the ocean, with the quarry’s poor visibility. I may ask my husband to join me during my last class session so he can see me doing scuba… if he’s got any concerns about my skills, he can observe them, plus he could then talk to my instructor about any concerns he may have. He seems calmer about my scuba-ing, it probably helps that I’m calming down about it.

TexasMike, that’s exactly what I did with my instructor, I kept my eyes closed the whole time and he tapped me on the side when I was done clearing the mask. I must say he’s doing a great job working with me to get comfy with scuba.

Jobowoker, do you think having a wet face helps you clear your mask?

Weird thing, my nail polish was all chipped when I got out of the water ?! Is that because of the chlorine or the scuba gear?

Now if I can only figure out how to get that underwater buoyancy thing to work right…