Well, the good news is I finally got back underwater.

[spectrum]

Hi Lisa,

I read you post in its entirety and skimmed responses so some of this has probably been stated.

Diving untested gear in open water is always risky. Idealy you only change one item at a time and get it wet in a controled location like a pool of a sheltered shore dive. I saw that pool time was mentioned, be sure to avail yourself of that to shake down gear before your next outing.

As TSandM mentioned you need to get your weighting correct. Since you need to be neutral at the end of your dive for your stop and to make a controled ascent getting down at the onset should require no more than an empty BC and a deep exhale. Be sure to get a weight check session in at the end of your next dive. Hopefully you have logged what you had for this last dive and can start you nect dive with as much as 5 pounds more. Be sure to have some 2 pounders where you can remove them for the weight check.

I have total admiration for your tenacity. It's hard to say how much of your clallenges came from equipment quality/size adjustment but you can sort that out in the pool. Cumerbuns are not evil but like ANY rig it does need to be adjusted correctly.

If you are getting close to buying your own gear go slowly and be sure to try everything at least in a pool before spending your money.

This is an adaptation of your body your mind and your gear. You have made the biggest steps. Is there any chance for you to do simple shore dives closer to home just to simplify things and save you some $$ while you finish cutting your teeth? A mentor would be wonderful, a hired DM would do. At this point I will cop the signature of the Green_Manelishi, " It's not about seeing things, it's about diving.".

Keep blowing bubbles, were all pulling for you.

Pete

 

[Lisa0825]

Every instructor /divemaster /expert/ that I have been around will try to under weight a new diver. Diving is to be relaxing and most of us know how relaxing not being able to decend is.
A few more pound of lead to start with will allow a new diver to at least get down with out a fight. This will allow the diver to get under the surface chop[which is very un-nerving for some]. I far as I am concerned there is no better way to stress someone than to underwieght them.
If you are marginally weighted at the start of the dive it will be a very short safety stop with a boyant tank.

Worry about trim and shedding pounds after the comfort of breathing under water is achieved.

Yeah, well that lesson was definitely learned! I swear by the time I gave up on staying under, I felt like I was swimming head-first toward the bottom, and someone above me was just reelin' me in!

It may not have been a great weekend, but I learned my lessons on equipment checks, weights, and over-exertion, among other things. Plus, I practiced (successfully) ear equalization and found that I'm fine in a 3mm in 68 degree water. So, those are all things I can use in later scenarios.

 

[Lisa0825]

Lisa, glad you're okay... but you're right - rushing around like that before hand couldn't have been good. Key to lowering tension (from everything I've tried and read, etc.) is stopping everything and just taking 5-10 really long, deep breaths. That can ease anxiety quite well.

Everything others have documented with weight sounds like good advice.

As far as how you were so out of breath, you probably already work-out, but if not, try some cardio on a treadmill or eliptical machine. They have done wonders for me.

Greg

I've worn a corset before, and it is hard to breathe in one!LOL! I really think that was at least 50% of the issue, but the rushing, stress etc probably added up too. I have started working out again. I was in pretty good shape last year, but let things slide. My cardio will improve as I push ahead.

 

[scubamickey]

I second the recommendation about working on your cardiac endurance. You mentioned that you were out of breath after putting on your wetsuit. It will increase your heart rate but you should not be out of breath as a result. Diving alone won't build that endurance, you have to do some cardio and I don't mean that 15 mins a day nonsense. Minimum of 30 minutes 3-4 times a week at 80% of your target heart rate.

As a fellow woman I can relate to the effect of constricting jacket BCs. I wore one all through my certification. I especially felt the squeeze at around 90 feet. That's why I now own a Back inflate (Ladyhawk with depth compensating cumberbun). I've also worn a BP/W and that was nice as well. When you do get the cash together to buy your own, take your time and consider all options. Make sure you try them on with wetsuits too. If it's tight on the surface it's going to kill your ribs at depth. Make sure you buy a large enough size so that your comfortable--if you know what I mean. Squished privates are not conducive to fun.

You'll figure it all out and eventually find the gear that is right for you. Relax and have fun...and never ever trust those wake up calls! Set your cell phone alarm too.

Have fun!

 

[Lisa0825]

Hi Lisa,

I read you post in its entirety and skimmed responses so some of this has probably been stated.

Diving untested gear in open water is always risky. Idealy you only change one item at a time and get it wet in a controled location like a pool of a sheltered shore dive. I saw that pool time was mentioned, be sure to avail yourself of that to shake down gear before your next outing.

OK, I am not trying to shift blame here. I accept the responsibility for not knowing my gear well enough. However, that first dive op knew I was a brand new diver doing my first post-cert dives, and the idea of testing my gear, or recommending gear that they already trusted, or checking my weighting before heading out, etc, never came up. I would think that they'd want to make sure all bases were covered, since I specifically asked for a DM or instructor to "hold my hand" for my first dive. Bottom line, though, it was up to me to take care of me.

As TSandM mentioned you need to get your weighting correct. Since you need to be neutral at the end of your dive for your stop and to make a controled ascent getting down at the onset should require no more than an empty BC and a deep exhale. Be sure to get a weight check session in at the end of your next dive. Hopefully you have logged what you had for this last dive and can start you nect dive with as much as 5 pounds more. Be sure to have some 2 pounders where you can remove them for the weight check.

Yes, I logged it, and made notes for next time. It will be a while before I get back in salt water, so I'll be weighted for fresh for a while, and when I do plan a salt-water dip, I'm definitely going to plan ahead to test my weighting, instead of going with what they give me.

I have total admiration for your tenacity. It's hard to say how much of your clallenges came from equipment quality/size adjustment but you can sort that out in the pool. Cumerbuns are not evil but like ANY rig it does need to be adjusted correctly.

If everything had been difficult, I probably wouldn't be so tenacious!LOL! But 7 or 8 years ago, I did a trouble-free "discover scuba," and I also did quite well on my OW checkout this past October. That's why I don't think I was very anxious. I was pretty confident it would go just as well!LOL! But even with the setbacks, I still KNOW I can do this because of the parts that were easy. I can correct the problems and do this, and one bad experience won't hold me back!

If you are getting close to buying your own gear go slowly and be sure to try everything at least in a pool before spending your money.

This is an adaptation of your body your mind and your gear. You have made the biggest steps. Is there any chance for you to do simple shore dives closer to home just to simplify things and save you some $$ while you finish cutting your teeth? A mentor would be wonderful, a hired DM would do. At this point I will cop the signature of the Green_Manelishi, " It's not about seeing things, it's about diving.".

Keep blowing bubbles, were all pulling for you.

Pete

My instructor said I can go along with her when she has new students, but that won't be until it warms up. Then again, this is Texas, so that won't be too long!;-)

Thanks for all the input! I appreciate it!

 

[Lisa0825]

I second the recommendation about working on your cardiac endurance. You mentioned that you were out of breath after putting on your wetsuit. It will increase your heart rate but you should not be out of breath as a result. Diving alone won't build that endurance, you have to do some cardio and I don't mean that 15 mins a day nonsense. Minimum of 30 minutes 3-4 times a week at 80% of your target heart rate.

As a fellow woman I can relate to the effect of constricting jacket BCs. I wore one all through my certification. I especially felt the squeeze at around 90 feet. That's why I now own a Back inflate (Ladyhawk with depth compensating cumberbun). I've also worn a BP/W and that was nice as well. When you do get the cash together to buy your own, take your time and consider all options. Make sure you try them on with wetsuits too. If it's tight on the surface it's going to kill your ribs at depth. Make sure you buy a large enough size so that your comfortable--if you know what I mean. Squished privates are not conducive to fun.

You'll figure it all out and eventually find the gear that is right for you. Relax and have fun...and never ever trust those wake up calls! Set your cell phone alarm too.

Have fun!

I wasn't terribly out of breath after just putting on the wetsuit, but all that pulling and bending and wobbling as the boat rocked, etc did take some effort. It was when I fastened the cumberbun that I started feeling it even more. I guess I was breathing a little harder than normal, and then putting something restrictive on over something else restrictive was just too much.

I used to run 5Ks and lift weights, but I got out of my good habits and got out of shape, so I'm on a mission to get that back now, and I know that will help.

I will definitely need to shop for a good BC for women, because "the girls" definitely get in the way!

 

[spectrum]

Yes, I logged it, and made notes for next time. It will be a while before I get back in salt water, so I'll be weighted for fresh for a while, and when I do plan a salt-water dip, I'm definitely going to plan ahead to test my weighting, instead of going with what they give me.

There aren't too many things in scuba diving that are slam dunk answers but the difference between salt and fresh is one of them. (Unless you go somelace like the dead sea)

Salt water in general is 2.6% denser than fresh water based on specific gravity.

Figure out your total diver weight by getting everything on a scale including weights and a full tank of air. The total weight you'd get if you stepped on a scale just before getting wet.

That may be something like 200 pounds for a female single tank diver.
Multipy 200 X .026 = 5.2 pounds more weight requiredin salt water.
You can figure it either way without regard to the weight shift between salt and fresh since it's such a minority.

So if you hit the lake in the same or copmarable gear I would wear the same amount of weight you had in the ocean since you will be 5.2 pounds less buoyant by virtue of the less dense fresh water. Remember to have some small weights so you can drop some for the weight check.

Pete

 

[DivesWithTurtles]

So, Lisa, did you get down to Key West for sunset and the crawl?

BTW, two people have made mention of aluminum tanks regarding buoyancy. It doesn't matter at all whether your tanks are aluminum, steel, or balsa wood. The change in buoyancy is the same when you breath off the same amount of air from any of them.

 

[StSomewhere]

Yes, you need to not be rushing down the Overland Highway for anything. I see so many people race down to KW then race back to their other lives and so many of them fail to disconnect long enough to actually relax and enjoy themselves -- sometimes they even race through the Duval Crawl! :06: I have a little experience with this stuff, trust me (and I mean this in the kindest most genteel way possible), if you are rushing anywhere in the Keys you are missing the point.

Your borrowed BC probably wasn't the best fit or maybe wasn't properly adjusted, but I'm 100% with RonFrank in wondering if that regulator was working correctly. Maybe some of that was CO2 buildup from being stressed, but any reg ought to breath very naturally at those depths. Was that reg borrowed too?

Edit: Oh, and congrats on your successful adventure.

 

[Orlando Eric]

LISA- Like may others that have read this thread I find it very interesting on many levels. You should have given us more notice that you were coming to Florida and we could have given you the complete tour.

Shorediving at LBTS (lauderdale by the sea) or even here in Fort Pierce is a great way to work out the bubbles in new gear or same old gear rigged a new way.

The Keys are an awesome escape from the real world. I spent two weeks down there a couple years ago and only really started to learn to sit back in the last days of the second week. I mean there is relaxing then there is Laid Back .. (see Jimmy Buffet various hits.)

The next time you get the chance to fly out to Florida BE SURE TO let 'us' (read 'ME') know the where's and when's. I'd be very Pleased to make sure that you find Satisfaction on your Scuba Safari trip to Florida.

Eric