Hi All Just wanted to pop up a post about my experiences of getting my open water qualification over the last couple of months. sorry if it's a little long! It hasn't all been plain sailing but I have found these forums an excellent place to read up about how others have found their way in this wonderful sport and has been a great source of reassurance at times when i have doubted it was for me. Hopefully this post will help others as they work their way through the initial qualification. For me my first four pool sessions went almost entirely without a hitch (one problem of my mask riding to far up my face and my nose poking out the bottom of the seal- more on this later!!) On my final pool session everything seemed to be going swimmingly (sorry!) until i got to kit removal and replace at depth. i was taking my time and removed the kit without any probs. once the kit was off however i went from breathing nice air to not so nice water as my mouthpiece parted company from my regulator! sucking water in then spitting out and trying again thinking i had just got a bit in my mouthpiece was a bit of a shock to find just more water. Turns out my mouthpiece had parted company with the rest of my reg. at the time i kept pretty calm and actually took the mouthpiece out of my mouth to show my instructor what was wrong prior to heading for the surface, dragging my kit up with me. once i got to the surface i was slightly freaked that this could happen, and also that i hadnt thought about going for an alternate air source although my own would have been hard to get hold of as my kit was removed. after a brief chat i got back in and finished my confined dives, but i think that incident played on my mind a bit (i tend to over think things any way) The following week was time for open water dives at Capernwray. Dive 1. All started well going in down the right hand side from the jetty onto the two metre platform a few skills then on to ride shergar! and all was good. At this point i noticed my mask was beginning to flood quite regularly and it was becoming a pain clearing it only to see it fill again. quite rapidly it became that i couldnt get the water to clear. my buoyancy went to pot a bit as i concentrated on trying to clear the unclearable mask, as once again my hooter was outside the nose piece. now i had pain from the pressure in my ears as well not being able to see anything and i had become pretty stressed, telling my instructor through my reg that i had had enough and wanted to go up. on the positive side although i thought about heading off to the surface no matter what, i resisted and we went back to the shot and ascended in a controlled manner, but i felt bad as not only had i ended my dive early but i had ended it for my buddy (sorry Graham!). After this i didnt feel happy getting back in the water that day so i watched the others crack on with dive two. i was pretty uncertain about the whole thing and despite some reassuring chats with my instructor i was undecided about returning on the sunday. fortunately my instructor made me take my kit home, so at the very least i had to turn up the following morning. once i was there i decided it was time to give it another shot. the new plan was for me to complete dive two with two instructors and then decide whether to go with the rest to complete dives 3 and 4. Dive 2. My second dive went without a hitch, a nice bimble about and completed the skills needed. Felt better but decided to do one dive well and finish on a positive as i was still a little edgy about the whole thing. spent the rest of the day keeping surface cover company and helping the other guys from the dive school with kit etc. felt kind of shabby that whilst i was now a PADI "scuba diver" the rest went on to complete their full open water. At the end of this day i spoke with my instructor and we agreed that i should go on to complete dives 3 and 4 a couple of weekends after. so two weeks on and back to Capernwray with another trainee. Still feeling pretty edgy and uncertain about things but wanted to crack on. Dive 3. Went in down the left side and did surface navigation to six meter platform buoy. my weight belt was loose by the time i got there and it almost came off at the surface. a bit of faffing and it was kind of back on but not right. by this stage i felt anxious and not at all keen. as soon as we started to descend all i could think is "i dont want to be here!" problems clearing my ears again and i signalled that i wanted out before we even got to the platform. back to the shore and i was ready for jacking in completly but i chatted with another of the LDS instructors and my instructor after they finished their dive 3 and we couldnt establish if it was the skills i was stressing about or just being underwater (by now i just wasnt sure). Plan C suggested by my instructor was to forget dives 3 and 4 and just go and have a pleasure dive no deeper than 12m as per my scuba diver qualification. These dives went well and i began to realise that i was more worked up about getting skills done than being underwater which i was actually rather enjoying, checking out the fish, writing messages on the slime on the bow of boats and just generally floating around. finished the day feeling much happier and enjoying my diving again. new plan was to come back a couple of weeks later and finish my qualification. Dives 3 and 4. So back in the water and this time much happier, although still a bit anxious when first getting in . skills done straight off although i put too much air in my oral inflate fin pivot and got vertical first time. enjoyed seeing more sites including the big plane, helicoptor and pod snap and was properly happy and relaxed underwater finishing up with a huge grin as i came out after dive 4. So elated to have finished my qualification finally, and in many ways it has been more rewarding for the struggles i have had along the way. I have learnt so much through this experience and can honestly say it has been one of the most worthwhile achievements in my life. Throughout the course my instructor has been fantastic and looked after me so well, indeed every single person i have come into contact with at the LDS where i signed up has been hugely supportive and friendly. i wont name them on here as i am not sure if it is the done thing but if anyone wants to know pm me and i will gladly share. I have also learnt that not everyone finishes their open water just like that, i never expected to have any problems when i set out and i think i put undue pressure on myself at times that i wasnt just breezing through it. Breathing underwater is not natural and it takes some people a little while to get comfortable and handle the different little things that make up uk diving. Finally the dive community as a whole and this website are great, really friendly,supportive and informative. it helps so much to be able to read up or ask people when unsure and get friendly responses and good information. Thanks again Chris
Nice post. Well done, you persevered and you did it! Thumbs Up All the best with your future diving, and if your ever "down south" your more than welcome to dive with us! All the best Chris.
Well done for not giving up. The fact that you have taken your time to get there can only serve you well. Enjoy diving for pleasure now and continue to build on your confidence, I know my skills didn't really start to come together until the pressure was off and I could just go diving and enjoy it. All the best!
Glad yuo got there in the end, it sounds like you were really lucky with having a patient instructor. When I did my AOW on holiday a couple were out from the same club doing their OW Referal, he passed fine but she had "issues". On the last day they booked to dive again, he joined us qualified divers and she went 1:1 with an instructor. Their dive brief was to explore, chill out and just have a great dive then at the end of the dive she could try the skills again. If she passed them she got her OW, if she couldn't she had finished the holiday with a great dive (rather than the downer of failing a course) - she passed
Well done, congratulations at sticking at it. When you had a problem in OW you remained calm signalled and ended the dive no shame in that. Sometimes things happen it was unlucky regarding the mouthpiece but you will know now to give a rental one a through check before you use it. I have managed to bite almost through both of the lugs on my own mouthpice during a dive as I was feeling seasick and I was just a little to keen not to spit the reg out, so I always check and carry a spare.
Well done - congratulations Chris - like you I really struggled at first - had to be "rescued" from my first DSD in March having whiped out my regulator and pulled off my mask and oh dear thinking about it now makes my toes curl - I then took the PADI Scuba Diver Course as I was determined it would not beat me, now 109 dives later and a complete addict I wonder why I had my first ever panic? Have started the theory for my DM and start the course proper next month. I love SCUBA and I just can't get under the water enough. I am in my second half century age wise too. i have so much to learn about diving but just think it is the best fun you can have in rubber. I am sure you will really enjoy diving and look forward to reading your posts.
Well done matey. Now just go diving and forget about courses and quals and enjoy yourself . You've earned it
Thanks for all the nice responses, as many of you have suggested i intend to get out and enjoy some diving in Sharm and then hopefully back in the UK. Am not bothered about increasing my qualifications just yet want to relax and enjoy the diving and think about my AOW in the future. Just need to buy some fins, boots and decide which school to dive with when in Sharm now! Chris
Ahhhh, what a good read that was. I was Chris's buddy throughout the course and to see him falter during the exam dives was gutting. I knew he wanted it, but numerous things just kept happening to him! Glad you stuck at it man, makes it all the more worth while now & TRUST ME, once you get out and do your first proper sea dive, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about. It is tranquility at its very best! Let me know if you're thinking of doing your AOW, as I am looking into it, but it'll be in the new year I think.
Well done for keeping at itThumbs Up When I did my OW at Stoney many dives ago, I injested water during mask removal, panicked and bolted to the surface. That shook me up and I missed the next dive. Just like driving, not everyone sails through first time. I`m now an Instructor with many logged dives under my weight belt. Diving should be a relaxed and stress free sport, you learn at you own pace. Log some dives, blow some bubbles and have loads of fun. I still come out of the water with a big smile on my face If you`re ever after a buddy in my area give me a shout
You have probably been here a lot longer than us, so do you know if there is a thread somewhere with peoples locations in?
