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Thread: brand new diver, and nervous

  1. #1
    Senior Member Pod of Cali Delphinus's Avatar
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    brand new diver, and nervous

    Hey! I just signed up for my scuba certification for new diver open-water cert. We start tomorrow in the classroom, and then the weekend is our pool day. I forget if we were doing our actual dives the day after, or the next weekend. Anyway, I'm actually pretty nervous, since I don't want to mess up or be a hindrance on the others. It's surprisingly daunting to me.

    So yeah, I guess I just wanted to share that I'm finally able to try something that I've always wanted to do!
    "Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo giusto, lìtutti vivono in pace e in onestà."

  2. #2
    Administrator Pod of Cali malinghi's Avatar
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    That's great that you're learning to scuba dive! Its perfectly understandable to be nervous, but you've got nothing to worry about. The instructor is there to help you, and you don't need to feel bad for not knowing how to do something before you've taken the class!

    Do you know where the open water dive is going to be?

  3. #3
    Senior Member Pod of the Great Lakes Arella's Avatar
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    Congrats! I love diving Don't worry about being a hindrance, it's a class everyone else is new at this too. I think one of the most important thing is to relax! Good luck with your class and future dives!

  4. #4
    Yes - relax. You'll not only be more comfortable, you don't use your air as quickly. Remember, the equipment and rules may seem daunting, but basic diving is not that complicated and the equipment isn't really that complicated.

    And it's a lot of fun.

  5. #5
    That's so exciting! It's totally understandable to be nervous. I had wanted to learn to dive for YEARS, and when I finally signed up for my certification course, I was also really nervous. I was afraid that I'd have trouble with the mask skills (I wear contacts and was nervous about opening my eyes underwater, plus for many years I couldn't go underwater without holding my nose). I was afraid that I would be unable to do something I'd desperately wanted to do for so long. But you know what? I was fine! After the initial nervousness, I found that I was actually really comfortable being underwater like that. Just take deep, slow breaths, don't make yourself go too fast, listen to your instructor, and enjoy it In fact, becoming a scuba diver was also what eventually allowed me to start mermaiding properly. Because of having to learn mask removal and replacement and have my nose exposed to water without holding it ( :P ) I realized I could also swim underwater without a mask on. Although I still had to push myself to do it gracefully when I finally got my tail, THAT was also what made me really get into the idea of becoming an instructor someday. So being a scuba diver helped me with my mermaiding, and vice versa! I never initially intended to go beyond the open water course, but I loved it so much I just couldn't stop and by the next year I had gone all the way through my Divemaster course! So just think about all the adventures you're setting course for

  6. #6
    Junior Member Undisclosed Pod
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    Hey, that's so great!! I'm so excited for you! Hope your classes are going well for you so far. Diving really makes you appreciate the world so much more <3

  7. #7
    Senior Member Pod of Cali Delphinus's Avatar
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    Thanks everyone! I totally get what you're saying about just trying to relax and go easy. Sometimes I get extra nervous about something very different that I have no idea how to approach. But, since our first class tonight is just the in-class stuff, I suppose I'll be able to get a better idea of how they approach teaching. Hopefully it'll be a good method for me! They (like one should for something like this) say that they take as long as needed so students are comfortable.

    I also try to talk to my father when I can, since he's certified, and while he hasn't been diving in years, he got certified when Cousteau was still doing his thing. lol So hopefully I can get some help from him whenever possible. He's already offered to let me use any of his gear that works and is maintained (and fits).
    "Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo giusto, lìtutti vivono in pace e in onestà."

  8. #8
    So - how did class go last night?

    Remember that you will hear and see everything before you do it. And you'll most likely practice it in the pool multiple times squared. A good instructor would not let you move to open water if s/he doesn't feel you are ready.

  9. #9
    Congrats on starting to learn to scuba!! I remember getting my certification, our dive instructor made us do all sorts of things in the safety of a pool before we did our qualification open-water dives. My distinct memories are fin/mask appreciation day - where we had to do stuff like swim around the pool without fins, or take our masks off and put them back on underwater! It's definitely daunting at first, but your instructor wouldn't ask you to do anything outside your comfort level, and they're there if anything goes wrong. Plus it feels awesome once you finally get the hang of it!! Good luck


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  10. #10
    Senior Member Pod of Cali Delphinus's Avatar
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    Thanks!

    Nightdiver: It ended up being a review of the homework they assigned. We went over about half of the basics to learn them, and then went over it in class to see if we understood. I only missed one thing, and it was because the phrasing was weird. I actually knew what to do, but the answers weren't phrased very well. The instructor realized that pretty quickly when he started to explain. (the PADI rule for searching one minute and surfacing when looking for a missing diver)

    I have a 7AM classroom session again on Saturday, followed by an 11:30AM pool session the next day. The weekend after this one are the two days of diving at Laguna beach, and those are at 6AM.

    I admittedly feel a bit better about it now. I guess in a weird way, I was more anxious about the classroom section, oddly enough. I feel like I'm much better at understanding and learning by actually doing something. Granted for SCUBA you need to know going in how to do certain things you can't be told or easily shown while under. lol Aquatic air related injuries... yeah, I've known about those since I was a kid, and that's something I do NOT want to ever experience! My only hindrance of significance is the math. I'm REALLY not good with math.
    "Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo giusto, lìtutti vivono in pace e in onestà."

  11. #11
    About the only place where math comes in to play for beginning divers is with the dive tables, and they're not that difficult once you get the hang of them. I did my basic with PADI, but I did my advanced through instructor training through a different agency (a long time ago). There were additional things we did that included calculating our air consumption and how long we could stay down on the next dive compared to what the tables said. A couple extra steps, but it really helped with planning the dive.

    Now, I think the dive computers do a lot of those calculations for you.

    Glad things went well - like Ariel sang, it's a whole new world. One that I have always loved being in.

  12. #12
    Scuba diving is easy and a ton of fun if you do two things. Always obey the rules and NEVER PANIC. The only thing I still have trouble with is fully taking my mask off, putting it back on, and clearing it.

  13. #13
    Senior Member Pod of Cali Delphinus's Avatar
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    Well, even though the last in class part is tomorrow, I finished up the studying now, and it really does look pretty simple. I think I've got the tables down, since it seems pretty easy to follow. And like you said, Nightdiver, the dive computers there will make it even easier. Now that I've gotten through all the stuff they've given me, I'm feeling pretty good about getting into the pool on Sunday for the water training. I also feel like I'm better at learning hands on (although for this, obviously you NEED to learn beforehand for pretty clear reasons)

    It's possible that I'll have a curveball in class tomorrow, but right now I think I'm actually feeling much more confident about learning and diving!

    I also found out that one of my brother's friends dives, so I'll have easy access to a dive buddy.
    "Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo giusto, lìtutti vivono in pace e in onestà."

  14. #14
    Senior Member Pod of Cali Delphinus's Avatar
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    Well, looks like I passed the written final exam! I only missed four out of 50 some-odd questions, but they weren't anything important. It was super basic stuff that was phrased weird, and I knew perfectly well what the actual answers were. (they offered to explain if you missed anything, since you need the knowledge, but they realized that the phrasing just threw me off).

    Next, the pool!
    "Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo giusto, lìtutti vivono in pace e in onestà."

  15. #15
    Senior Member Euro Pod MermanOliver's Avatar
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    Fins crossed! Pool will be fun. Maybe weird at first, but definitely fun! Just relax

  16. #16
    Hey Delphinus, hope it's going well. I also just got my open water certification card after finally completing the class (PADI)

  17. #17
    Senior Member Pod of Cali Delphinus's Avatar
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    Alrighty. Going to go get something to eat. The training was great today. The weight belts are truly awful, but it was a lot of fun none-the-less. Our instructor was pretty damn awesome. She was easy to follow/work with, and was very helpful to everyone. I'm quite happy with how it went, and feel pretty good about my understanding and execution. (neutral buoyancy can be tricky, but I think I should be fine) Anyway, going to head into the shop tomorrow and deal with the log book, and then it's next weekend for the dives.
    "Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo giusto, lìtutti vivono in pace e in onestà."

  18. #18
    Neutral buoyancy can be tricky for experience divers too, so don't feel bad. Glad things are going well - diving can be a lot of fun.

  19. #19
    Senior Member Pod of Cali Delphinus's Avatar
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    Just wrapped up day 1. We had to cancel our second dive of the day, because the beach's lifeguard was a prick. He stopped us early and stalled for time so he could prevent us from diving. (not just me saying this our instructors were baffled as to why he stopped us, but we weren't going to fight it obviously).

    I had a bit of a struggle at first, a couple fin problems, then problems fighting buoyancy. Eventually I was able to descend fine, but then our next problem came from distant storms. No thunder of lightning was close, but the surges and currents did churn up the sand, so our visibility dropped to around 6 feet. Unfortunate, but we were at least able to finish the first dive. So instead of two days, I need to return for a third. I do 2-3 tomorrow, and will have to find out when the last can be done.

    Unfortunately, it was a pretty hectic start to my actual open water diving, but such is the sea. Ever changing and always unpredictable.
    Apart from the missed second dive, I'm pretty content with what we finished. Wish we could've gotten that second one in. I'm crazy sore though. I really overexerted myself in the first stretch. Ah well... live and learn. (you can't excuse the stairs though. Walking a block and a half in full gear with lots of stairs is awful no matter how you cut it. lol)
    "Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo giusto, lìtutti vivono in pace e in onestà."

  20. #20
    Senior Member Pod of Cali Delphinus's Avatar
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    Dives got cancelled again. D: Even worse conditions. Sadly, their booking for the next month or two means I have to wait until late August or even September to finish my open water dives for my certification.
    "Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo giusto, lìtutti vivono in pace e in onestà."

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