Hi smtp
Learning to dive is an adaptation, you are adapting to an eviornment where we don't belong. Some anxiety and aprehension is not uncommon as you learn to survive underwater. I chose these words not to scare you but to help you see what you are learning to do. Everyone's adaptation is unique. The experience of my wife and myself were like night and day. I took to it easilly, it took her one night to trust the regulator in the deep end. By the end of the second night in the pool she proclaimed that she could do this and was going to like it. By the end of the 4th night she had caught up on all of the exercises and was doing them well. We then jumped in with the next class for 2 more nights of pool time where we drilled and dove together working as a buddy team. We then did our checkout dives without incident.
*Don't let anybody rush you, your are unique.
*Make sure you want to do this. It's not uncommon for 1 half of a couple to be more obsessed with diving but do not do this JUST for him.
*The dry mouth part will vary with diver and specific gear. Be well hydrated before you dive. The warm pool isn't helping any. When you shop for gear latter ask about models that try to minimize dry mouth. You can always irrigate you mouth in this manner; Think of a favorite food, wait for saliva to flow, remove your regulator and close your mouth, swish the saliva with your tounge,swallow, replace your regulator. Voila a miost mouth and a regulator R&R drill. It really works!
The mask part will come with time but there are things you can do to.
Clean your bathtub or get some time in a quiet pool. Honestly your nice warm bathtub is best the first time. Run some very comfortable warm water. Get in the tub with your mask and snorkel, belly down, knees at the drain end.
Put your face under and breathe with the snorkel, take your time, the water will make you mellow, get happy. You can decide if you need a spotter. Relax, concentrate on your breathing. count your fingers, notice the magnification of the water just lay there and dream of the sights you will see as a diver.
Now blow a little air into your mask through your nose and lift the skirt away to let just a little water in. Enough that you can see it in the mask and so your nostrils are wet. Keep breathing, get accustomed to the senssation. Add some more. Eventually flood the mask and you will see that you can still breathe.
When you are comfortable breathing with an entirely wet face open an eye for an instant, then another, take your time and eventually you will be gazzing into the water and be one with it. This haunted me since I was a kid at day camp. I could never count the counselors fingers or find the darned plates on the bottom, now I like mask off time.
Now make sure that your snorkel is on so it will blow at the wall side of the tub. With your mask flooded (do what you want with your eyes) face forward, hold your mask so the skirt stays firmly on your forhead but there is only light pressure at the bottom. Take a good breath and blow gently into the mask with your nose. Open your eyes to see if your mask cleared. Repeat and refine as needed. Your face, mask and preference may lead you to a finer technique. If at all possibe go repeat all of this in a pool before you get near a tank, regulator or BC.
You are right in noting that most of the pool work is crisis management and that you need to know that stuff. Too often there is little time left to teach students how to dive! The good news is that once certified a conscientous student can enjoy the attention of a kind mentor, further instruction and just plain practice in the art of diving.
If at all possible I'd suggest getting certified in your home water so you are equipped to be a competent local diver. Frequent diving is the key to being safe capable and happy. Your instructor should know whan you are ready. When you go in the ocean for the first time, trepidation and excitement are normal, true fear should be behind you.
So if this is something you want to do just be patient with yourself and demand the same of those around you. You can do this and if you hit any other roadblocks come back here and ask.
Have fun,
Pete
smtp:
hey guys, i signed up for my scuba open water class, just about finished my academic portion. I had some trouble in the pool..i was more nervous than i thought. I am not sure if it's my instructor or me, but most likely me...i get really nervous when i walk into the pool class..i am ok breathing w. the regulator but not yet entirely liking it too much cause my mouth gets dry..but i'm ok w. it. I think i'm ok as long as i breathe w the regulator and i'm streamlining...but because it is a class that is teaching you worse case scenarios so you are prepared, these tasks are freaking me out. I can't do the mask removal, flood mask..i'm not comfortable with it. I want to know what are your of your guys' experiences...did you freak out and get over it? So what happened was, i left class early on 2nd pool day but they say i can take private lessons to make up what i've missed and i probably missed a lot already. And the original plan was to go to bali and get my PADI there, do the open water dives there, the academic&pool in so cal. Now i am disappointed. I've been wanting to do this for a while but my bf says that he thks i'm not ready based on how i've reacted in class. He thinks we should go practice..so i guess the plan now is to practice in the pool w. our snorkels just blowing water out and flood mask... I need motivation or some insight..thanks!!
