What I lack in Technique, I make up for in Heart

[Anonymous]

Okay. I've posted this anonymously so I don't have to risk embarrassment from the experienced divers. I do have a question. I am taking my certification from a local dive shop. I did my pool dive (yes, there was only one). Then I went and took my written test. I made a 94. By now I was thinking I was hot stuff.

Now I am not a wussy and I never chicken out on anything. But at the time we did our cert dive. I freaked. First they put me in a wetsuit that was way too tight. I couldn't even move my arms and legs enough to put my fins on, not to mention I'm a bit claustrophobic. It was 22 degrees outside with a windchill factor of 15. The wind was so bad the lake was whitecapping and because it was so cold and the water was warmer, there was steam so bad you could have cut it with a knife. In my opinion, we shouldn't have been out there in the first place. So now that I have set the scene.... I don my way too tight wet suit and hit the water. We get down to 30 ft and of course the wetsuit compressed a bit. I stayed down about 5 or so minutes. Somehow the cumberbun on my bcd rode up around my ribcage. When I started to panic I hit my auto inflator and it constricted. This is when I really freaked. I came flying to the surface and popped up out of the water only to find that I couldn't even see the bank. Panic is not the word here to use but I will use it anyways... I PANICKED!!!! Hyperventalation and everything. Now... my question is..... has this ever happened to anyone else and they go on to be a great diver or am I scarred for life?

I did go back the next day. I didn't get in the water and I have to do this whole thing again this next weekend but the point is... I didn't "not go back".

I even plan to finish. How do I make sure this doesn't happen again?

Do you think there is still hope for me, yet?

Am I a wussy now or what?

Is it normal for instructors to take you out in weather like this?

My co-workers say I am being to hard on myself for panicking.. am I?

Should I go back and do it again?
I have told myself that I will take that dang class 5 more times if I have to..... to get it right.


BTW, this was for basic open water certification.


Anonymous

 

[Scubaroo]

I flipped out on a training dive - I'd bought a new hood and had no idea that you were supposed to trim them - my mask was getting pushed down my face, my regulator was being jammed up my nose - I cracked the ****s with it and ripped it off and threw it on the pier in front of the whole class. Felt WAY more comfortable and finished the dive.

You're not a wussy. I've found my personal comfort (BC fit, wetsuit fit, being too cold, etc) to be the biggest impacting factor on the success of a dive. If you're too busy worrying about holding your BC down around your waist, or pulling your wetsuit out of your crack, you don't get a chance to enjoy the dive, and the whole point of diving is to enjoy yourself! So make sure they give you a wetsuit that fits, and get out there and enjoy yourself!

Welcome to the board, and remember, the only stupid question is one that isn't asked.

 

[TwoBitTxn]

Anon,

Sounds like you had an educational dive. You learned exactly the conditions you DON'T want to dive in. A couple points:

One pool dive????? Something is wrong with this picture.

If it don't fit, don't wear it. If it isn't comfortable don't do it. No who is worth a flip in the water will think your a wuss because you say " I don't like this, I'm not comfortable with this, I don't want to dive today. "

Best wishes to you on your next try.

Tom

 

[Dee]

You are definitely not a wuss! Ill-fitting gear, in all temperatures, adds to your task load. And the conditions you describe added even more.

In my open water class, every time water would get in my mask and up my nose, I'd stand up! Luckily the Instructor and DM worked with me until I got over it.

My panic attack didn't come until my second year of diving. It was the first dive of the season and still very cold. I had a new BC, new wetsuit and hood and had never been in cold water before. My wetsuit fit but it was the hood that I've never gotten used to. Add to that the fact that the new BC had a defective inflator and I had full blown clautrophobic panic. Any one of those things I probably could have handled but all three together was total task overload. Very similar to your experience.

So cheer up, Bucko! You aren't a wuss or a quitter. In fact, kudos to you for continuing with your dives...you'll appreciate the accommplishment that much more.

 

[The Chairman]

CALLED the dive... I hope you learned that lesson.

Originally posted by Anonymous
In my opinion, we shouldn't have been out there in the first place.

First rule in my book is to know WHEN to say when. If you are not happy, don't stress yourself. This is SUPPOSED to be fun, not another way to prove how macho you are. I fault your instructor for not seeing that you were distressed before you got in. I am just glad that you will be able to take future classes and that you are still willing to do so.

Learn to be the voice of reason. Too many times we rely on the "expert" to guide us. Heck, I went down 128' to the bottom of a local cave because "my" expert thought I needed the experience. NO cave training (I was working on my AOW) NO lights (total darkness @ 80ft) and obviously NO brains. I am looking at my glowing depth gauge, narced out of my head and thinking, I could really die down here... but who cares? What a maroon I was to let that moron take me into an overhead enviroment WITHOUT lights. We held hands until it got too tight, at the very bottom and I latched onto his strap. He thought he had lost me too! That scared the piss out of him, and rightly so. Needless to say, I WILL NOT DIVE ANYWHERE BEYOND MY TRAINING, and I spot cowboys really quick! I also refuse to dive or talk with him anymore either. I trusted him and he abused that trust. End of rant, I am just glad you are OK.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Yep... Pete is right on.... Learning when to call the dive is the first skill to master.... and those are not the conditions any sane instructor would take a newbie out to certify them in....

Good Grief!!!!

Don't do it again unless the equipment & the conditions suit you...

You are not scarred for life and you should make a fine diver.

 

[Jonathan]

I would be asking some serious questions of the Instructor/Shop. On basic O/W cert dives it is their responsibility to make sure you are properly equipped for the dive - if they don't have your size in school equipment they need to get it or not take your money and advise you of somewhere properly equipped.

Also as pointed out one pool session seems a bit odd - is it one on one? I guess you could get away with it on that basis but a long session.

Glad to hear though that it has not scared you off - if you want to know the questions to ask there are plenty of threads out there.

Good luck
Jonathan

 

[tchil01]

Mine wasn't even close to what you experianced but I still freaked a bit... My wetsuit was too tight too, but I didn't know it wasn't supposed to be that tight. Everyone said it was supposed to be tight, so I thought it was ok when I tried it on.

Anyway, my OW was at Dutch Springs in Pennsylvania and I got geared up and into the water ok, but I was having trouble breathing... I just couldn't catch my breath. The instructors keep telling me to relax and they were great, but I just couldn't get myself together to do the free dive. Well, I went back in... and caught my breath... I was determined to try again to I left my wetsuit jacket unziped about half way, went back out and got my dives in. It was cold, but I didi it. The next weekend I finished up but I traded in the XL wetsuit for a XXL.

Good luck and I hope everything works out when you do it over...

Ty

 

[wetman]

On my open water weekend we did our snorkeling dive first. My wetsuit was too tight and i couldnt catch my breath very well either which obviously contributes to faster exhaustion. This was also my first time in a wetsuit and i really had no idea how they were supposed to fit, so i thought it was ok as well. During that first dive to test basic skin diving skills i thought i was done with the whole thing - just couldnt catch my breath which makes it hard to do some of the underwater stuff for any duration. I never remembered the pool classes being this uncomfortable and i was ready to call it all off but fortunately finished it all ok. AND THAT WAS BEFORE A REGULATOR EVEN HIT MY MOUTH!!!

Anyway, the minute i we got going with the first scuba dive everything seemed to be much better and things calmed down. Felt much better with the whole thing.

Just make sure your next dive is a much more comfortable situation before you proceed. Take time to rest after you put your wetsuit on. Take time to rest after everything you do that feels tiring - lifting tanks etc. Then before you descend take a minute or two on the surface to get very calm. I do that before every dive i do now and likely will for the rest of time. There is no rush for any of it so keep that in mind.

Steve

 

[socaldiver]

Talk about starting off on the wrong foot.

I would have to have a serious talk with my LDS on a number of issues. First off, didn't you try the wetsuit on at the LDS? If it was tight while in the shop then you should have spoken up and got a larger size. Secondly, only one confined water dive is totally wrong. There is no way an instructor could teach all the skills in one session and expect all students to perform the skills comfortably. IMHO, I would confront the instructor and demand more confined water dives until you are ready for the open water. If I didn't receive satisfaction there I would be reaching out on "Ma Bell" to the certifying agency.

Like others have posted, diving should AND is fun. There is no rhyme or reason you should get stressed because of the LDS not doing their job properly.