Trouble underwater for a newbie...my story

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Wow, thank you so much for taking the time out to reply. I feel very encouraged!

Some points:
1. Apparently I'm still doing my mask clear incorrectly, and the DI taught it that way yesterday. He had me pull the bottom part away about an inch (using both hands), look up and exhale through my nose, putting the mask back into place while still exhaling. However, a couple of you described just touching the top - looking up - and exhaling. NOW I REMEMBER! That is exactly how my OW instructor taught me. Wow, I totally forgot. I will work on that as soon as I get in the water.

2. I think I will take a course of some sort in Honduras, after the refresher. Maybe the Advanced Class so I can have even more time with the instructor (and the price is so reasonable), or maybe the Buoyancy Control class. I REALLY liked that suggestion from Lorien. I don't think having the title "Advanced" will mean anything to me other than I just think I am the kind of diving student that needs a little more time with the instructor.

Lorien - do you remember what dive shop offered that class? Was it on Utila or Roatan?

3. I also forgot a method for checking mask fit - holding it on your face with a finger and inhaling to see if the mask will stay on. I have my own mask back home in CA, but didn't think to bring it backpacking in Guatemala for 4 months. So, I'm using rentals. Thinking if over, I don't think that mask yesterday was a good fit.

4. I like the "purge mask" idea. I'll look into that, if only to learn about it.

5. Also, thanks for the advice to STOP moving when I'm trying to control my buoyancy. Yesterday I felt like I was flailing all around. What a ridiculous sight I must have been.

Its so hard to be so excited about diving, yet to be so mediocre at it.
I will give it the time and patience it deserves, so I can be safe (and finally, so I can be a good buddy to my husband. So far its really only been one way, which isn't safe for him at all).

Thanks so much!
 
don't worry about the title advanced, it jsut means you've had an instructor show you a couple of new types of diving, like boat, or night.

Sounds to me you need practise more than anything else. NIce thing about mask clearing is, as has been mentioned, you can practise it with no other gear in a pool by yourself. The more comfortable you are with the mask in the pool, the easier it will be in the ocean
 
L Cooper:
Does this experience resonate with any of you?
Do you have any words of wisdom? Am I just doomed to be a crappy diver?
Thanks

Cooper,

Everyone is going to have an experience like that at one time or another. The most important thing is you kept your head, didn't panic, and dealt with it in the correct way. I had a situation happen to me last November that could have gone wrong, but it turned out fine.

A buddy and I were diving at a local lake (max depth 200+FFW) and we were in an area I that had little visual reference (10ft max viz) and we were at a depth of about 70FFW. We were about 5 minutes into the dive total when I got a bad case of vertigo, and started to painc for a second or two. I closed my eyes, calmed my breathing, and used my light to signal my buddy. I thumbed the dive, and we made a slow, safe ascent, stopping at 15FFW for 3 minutes. When we reached the surface, I apologized for freaking out, but he told me that I did everything right.

We just floated there for a few minutes, then continued the dive in a shallower depth.

I look back now with a bit of embarrassment, but its going to happen. How we as divers handle it will determine the outcome. It was only about 15 dives or so ago (I've got 28 dives logged total), but I learned much that day.

Good luck and don't let this hold you back!
 
You will feel so much better clearing the mask the way you were taught and you won't have that contant flooding issue provided the mask fits you properly and remember to check and make sure there is no hair under the skirt, etc.
I really am glad I took the Bouyancy class, the instructor was great and he taught me a lot about my breathing and using my breath to help control my bouyancy. He also spent a lot of time with me to make sure I was properly weighted and that the weight was properly distributed for ME, etc. Made all the difference in the world. The class I took was at the dive shop that is located at the CoCo View Resort and the instructor was great. Taking the AOW class will take a lot more time, Bouyancy was just read the small booklet, etc and the dive(s). We did a great dive off shore at the diamond reef they have set up there and we saw a great green moray swimming right in front of our noses on the safety stop on the way back in plus he pointed out some other great stuff as well. Who could ask for more :wink:
I have a purge mask and I love it bit I have aso had some masks I did not love at all.
 
L Cooper:
I also forgot a method for checking mask fit - holding it on your face with a finger and inhaling to see if the mask will stay on.

As my instructor in OW put it, "you can get a yogurt carton to stay on your face if you inhale hard enough." What you need is someone to look at the seals on the mask, while you hold it loosely up to your face, to see if they're in contact all the way around. And I agree with you: this trouble could easily have been the reuslt of a poorly fitting mask.
 
L Cooper:
The tough(est) part was, I can't just go racing to the surface just
because I'm freaking a little and want out. wow, three minutes is an
excruciatingly long time when you are drinking in water and have
incredible anxiety, and at 15 feet down, looking up, I felt like the
surface was unreachable.

I don't know how long you were at 45 feet, but it sounds like it was a fairly short time. If so, the safety stop wasn't necessary, and I'd have skipped it rather than prolonging the anxiety. Yes, you can't go racing to the surface, but you don't have to dawdle, either.
 
i love my purge mask..


you also said you were having buoyancy problems and you were wearing a 7mm farmer John wetsuit and 20 pounds? will you be wearing the same suit in Honduras?


i was wearing a 7mm, 2 piece, on a recent florida dive. that thing was like having a 55 gallon barrel tied to my butt. once i got below 8-10 feet the suit would compress enough that buoyancy was'nt bad. but once i ascended above the 10' mark, there was no stopping it's ascent. it was my first dive wearing it and i was wearing 30 pounds. the suit is warm, but i don't like the buoyancy issues..


nothing wrong with working on issues and swimming around in a pool.
 
immersed:
Panic almost always starts with something little like this and later you wonder how it could have affected you so profoundly.


This right here tells me that there is no doubt whatsoever that you can master scuba diving. Many, many people would have let panic overtake them and would have bolted to the surface. The fact that you were able to control that little nagging voice then shows you that you can control it again in the future and solve whatever problem you need to solve.

No, you are absolutely not doomed to be a crappy diver.

Just wanted to emphasise this point... Not panicking when something is going wrong on scuba is a really important skill. Bouyancy and mask skills will come back quickly by diving, so don't worry.
 
[Does this experience resonate with any of you?
Do you have any words of wisdom? Am I just doomed to be a crappy diver?
Thanks[/QUOTE]

Thanks for sharing your story!! I will be watching this thread. I also had a horrible experience on my first 2 dives and then a whole year went by before trying again. It would be great to live somewhere that you could dive enough to get the experience needed to be comfortable and confident. I grew up swimming and have always lived on the coast. Never even thought about being afraid in open water until the first time I jumped off a boat into the ocean with all my dive gear on. EVERYTHING was uncomfortable. Mask leaked, BC was too big, felt suffocated in the wetsuit, water was freezing, i was overweighted, and the current was horrendous with low vis. Diving is kinda like cooking. By the time you figure out what's not working, the whole dish (or dive) could be wasted. Thanks to SB I've been able to do a lot of trouble shooting right from my desk.

dayl
 
Did the water temperature warrant the use of a 7mm suit? If not, try using a thinner suit and less weight. I usually use a 3mm farmer-john for my cooler dives (65-72 degrees F), and try to use 10lbs of weight for fresh water. Believe it or not, your buoyancy will be easier to control by using the least amount of weight possible.

Another thing to remember while your are adjusting your buoyancy is that you need to allow a couple of seconds to pass after each adjustment in your buoyancy. If you are slowly descending, you will continue to do so momentarily, until your kinetic energy (energy in motion) is equalled out by the "lift" generated in your BCD. Likewise, if you find yourself continuing to ascend at a slow rate right after you release a little volume of air from your BCD, pause for a couple seconds before releasing more air. You may achieve neutral buoyancy and not know it because of the kinetic energy, and overcompensate in both directions. Just slow down and let things settle before you take your next action. Relax and have fun.
 

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