First Lesson Finally!

Well, I have finally had my first scuba lesson. Over all very
interesting. I tell ya one thing first off - I am super tired. I had to
swim back and fourth 15 times for the first water test. Now, I don't
consider myself a weakling, but I quickly lost major energy after five or
six laps. I'm not sure how many laps I actually completed. The instructor
headed to the main office while I did the laps. He poked his head in from
time to time to make sure I was alright. I think he did this on purpose so
I could do all the laps I was able to do and then say, after he came back
in, that I completed the 15 laps. I lost count after 10 laps, but I think
if I didn't get 15, I sure as heck came close, 13,14, or 15. Treading water
for 10 minutes was not much of a problem, I just floated on my back.

Anyway, setting up the scuba equipment was no problem at all. I set up
my equipment, then took it all apart. I guess the most important thing to
remember is to put the first stage dust cover on and not let water in it.
Then I set up my equipment again, and set up my instructors equipment.

We used small aluminum tanks. I'm not sure the size/volume. They were
around 3000psi. I was shocked by how heavy they weighed. Around 40 pounds
I think. The weight belt with weights kind of heavy too. Then again, I was
completely tired from that 15 lap swim, my arms were aching a little. So
maybe next week that tank and weights wont be so heavy for me with my full
strength.

We sat at the edge of he pool, and slid our arms into the bdc. Getting
my arms into the bcd with that heavy tank on was a little challenge. But I
found out I had air in my bcd. So deflating it made it easier. I was
shocked that you can fill a bcd up very quickly with the low pressure
inflator. Also using your longs doesn't take long to fill it up.

After I dropped my head under water for the first time I was shocked by
so many bubbles from the regulator. I didn't know the bubbles coming out
would be so many and so loud too.

We went over the usual things, regulator recover and stuff. That was no
problem at all. I thought the easiest method of clearing a regulator is
simply exhaling into it. But I really like putting it in my mouth first,
then pressing the purge button while my tongue blocks of some of the air.

My instructor said the problem most people have in the course is
clearing a mask. And after doing it a couple of times I completely agree.
I had to pull the mask off my face a little to let water in. Then exhale
thru my nose to clear it. It was difficult to inhale thru the regulator
while exhaling thru my nose, plus felling that water around my eyes. But I
did it and my instructor was satisfied.

When we finally swam to the deep end I sunk like a stone. I didn't put
any air in my bcd. I was a little surprised the tank pulled me down like
that. Plus trying to sit on my knees was a little difficult. Then, when I
did shoot air in my bcd, a couple of seconds later I shot up. Again, I was
shocked you can fill air in your bcd so quickly and it takes you right up.
I can see neutral buoyancy is something that tanks time to develop.

I was also surprised how much bigger things look. I actually got a
little disoriented a few seconds in the deep end. I turned around to face
the shallow end, but didn't see it, then turned around again, and didn't see
it either. One more turn and I found it. Some what disorienting.

Also, the first dive to the deep end I really felt the pressure on my
ears. We swam back to the shallow end, then after that I think I equalized
the right way and didn't feel much pressure on my ears when I went back to
the deep end. But I do have this feeling that I have water stuck in my ears
or something. Or my sinuses are giving me trouble.

Anyway, before this class, I have been thru the Padi cdrom course so
much and have read so many magazines that I thought If I stumbled upon a
full set of scuba gear while walking on a beach in the Caribbean, I could
put it on, jump in, and go scuba diving as good as any pro without taking
any classes. Boy, was I wrong. I had just one thing on my mind when I got
home - break open my 18 year old Kentucky bourbon, sit down, and relax.

"Von Fourche" <monaco8292@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:jYVSc.19353$9Y6.1113@newsread1.news.pas.earth link.net...
>
>
(snip discourse of usual first time pool experience)

You see VanF, we warned you that you really needed to take your lessons
before you understood some of the answers to the questions that you had
asked.

As for your ears feeling full, you've probably done the usual to them. You
didn't equalize properly: it is a learned skill. Did your instructor not
give you any advice in this regard before you went into the water? In any
event, the usual thing that happens with new divers is that they don't
equalize early enough or often enough and when they do equalize . . .they
blow too hard.

You must have another lesson or two coming up, yes? Make sure that your
ears are OK (not infected) before you continue.

In article <jYVSc.19353$9Y6.1113@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink .net>, Von
Fourche <monaco8292@hotmail.com> wrote:


>
> When we finally swam to the deep end I sunk like a stone. I didn't put
> any air in my bcd. I was a little surprised the tank pulled me down like
> that. Plus trying to sit on my knees was a little difficult. Then, when I
> did shoot air in my bcd, a couple of seconds later I shot up. Again, I was
> shocked you can fill air in your bcd so quickly and it takes you right up.
> I can see neutral buoyancy is something that tanks time to develop.
>


Thanks for writing about your first class. We sometimes forget what it
was like the first time we did this crazy underwater thing.

<soapbox>
Your comments about buoyancy are especially insightful. As you noticed,
neutral buoyancy is both hard to acheive and really, really important.
I think one of the issues people have with scuba training today (with
the exception of GUE) is that instead of embracing buoyancy as a
fundamental skill for diving, they try to teach other skills in a way
that removes buoyancy from the equation (i.e., kneeling on the bottom
while doing mask clearing exercises). This makes it quicker to get
underwater safely, but it ultimately does a disservice to the student
who never bothers to learn proper weighting and buoyancy control, but
gets a c-card anyway.
</soapbox>

Thanks for taking the time to write about your experiences. I look
forward to reading more.

Alan

"Alan Street" <agstreet@nonono_san.rr.com> wrote in message
news:120820042007016345%agstreet@nonono_san.rr.com ...

> Thanks for taking the time to write about your experiences. I look
> forward to reading more.

Ditto

Scott wrote:
> "Alan Street" <agstreet@nonono_san.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:120820042007016345%agstreet@nonono_san.rr.com ...
>
>> Thanks for taking the time to write about your experiences. I look
>> forward to reading more.
>
> Ditto
>
>
re-ditto

As for the ears, remember that shallow (like a pool) is hardest on them.

"chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote in message
news:7iWSc.88620$M95.9150@pd7tw1no...
>
> "Von Fourche" <monaco8292@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:jYVSc.19353$9Y6.1113@newsread1.news.pas.earth link.net...
> >
> >
> (snip discourse of usual first time pool experience)
>
> You must have another lesson or two coming up, yes? Make sure that your
> ears are OK (not infected) before you continue.


I've read that the worse thing that can happen to your yours is rupture
or blow your ear drum. What exactly happens when you rupture your ear drum?
Is it something you would definitly notice? Like, would you be screaming in
paign or something?

Von Fourche wrote:
> Well, I have finally had my first scuba lesson. Over all very
> interesting. I tell ya one thing first off - I am super tired. I had to
> swim back and fourth 15 times for the first water test.

Don't worry about it. You don't need to be able to swim at all to dive. If you
surface from a dive and the boat is missing you might find swimming to be a useful
skill, but until things go wrong swimming is an unnecessary skill. Even if you do
find yourself in the middle of the ocean with no boat in sight, as long as you have a
mask and snorkel (fins may be useful, too) you still won't be swimming in the same
sense as whatever you did for your laps in the pool. I don't consider myself to be a
strong swimmer but I can snorkel for hours with no problem at all. Some people will
suggest that you don't need a snorkel when you're diving, and just like the abilty to
swim, it isn't something you need when things are going well.


> We used small aluminum tanks. I'm not sure the size/volume. They were
> around 3000psi. I was shocked by how heavy they weighed. Around 40 pounds
> I think.

Probably an AL 80, a tank made of aluminum and holding 80 cubic feet (when filled to
3000 psi). Ask next time.

> We sat at the edge of he pool, and slid our arms into the bdc. Getting
> my arms into the bcd with that heavy tank on was a little challenge. But I
> found out I had air in my bcd. So deflating it made it easier.

Make sure the straps are loose, too. The second arm is a bit of a PITA. If you point
your arms down and back and put them both in as you sit down you may find it easier.

> After I dropped my head under water for the first time I was shocked by
> so many bubbles from the regulator. I didn't know the bubbles coming out
> would be so many and so loud too.

You'll get used to it, and it won't seem as loud later, but that's another reason to
get comfortable and stop breathing so much air.

> It was difficult to inhale thru the regulator
> while exhaling thru my nose, plus felling that water around my eyes. But I
> did it and my instructor was satisfied.

Plan on doing a lot more of it, including after you finish the class and are doing
fun dives. When somebody kicks your mask off you'll be glad for the practice. You'll
also be reminded why you shouldn't follow too closely.

> When we finally swam to the deep end I sunk like a stone. I didn't put
> any air in my bcd. I was a little surprised the tank pulled me down like
> that.

Properly weighted with a full tank you should have been about 5 pounds heavy at the
start. If you were wearing a wetsuit it compressed as you sank making you heavier as
you went. Did you get hurt slamming into the bottom? I didn't think so. In deeper
water you'll have time to add some air to slow your descent so that you don't crash
into the reef.

>Then, when I
> did shoot air in my bcd, a couple of seconds later I shot up. Again, I was
> shocked you can fill air in your bcd so quickly and it takes you right up.

Again, a wetsuit would exacerbate the problem on the way up. I think it was one of
your questions that got the answer to breathe your way up, and now you know why. When
you do add air to the BC you should do it in tiny little bursts with just a short tap
on the inflator button. Later you'll have a better idea of how much air you need, and
can add more air with a longer push when you need to stop a descent at 75 or 100
feet. When you've gotten neutral at depth you'll want to let air out of the BC before
you even start your ascent. Instructors tend to overweight beginners so that they
don't shoot to the surface and so they can kneel while doing exercises. In your next
class you'll hopefully start working on getting neutral and you'll do fin pivots,
where you inhale to pivot up with you fin tips still on the bottom, then exhale to
sink back down.


> I was also surprised how much bigger things look.

That still throws me sometimes. 12 ounce beer bottles look like wine bottles. Things
look closer than they are, too. Don't be surprised when you reach for the ladder and
miss it.

>
> Also, the first dive to the deep end I really felt the pressure on my
> ears.

As chilly said, you need to equalize early and often. Since I don't normally have
anything else to do with my hands while descending I tend to hold my nose and keep a
slight positive pressure down to 60 feet or so. Descending feet first helps if you
don't equalize easily.

> But I do have this feeling that I have water stuck in my ears
> or something. Or my sinuses are giving me trouble.

You may well have irritated your sinuses or your ears a bit. If you have a bit of
water in your mask and trap a bit in your nose when you equalize it's possible to
blow water up your eustachian tubes. That can definitely result in a full feeling
that lasts for a couple of days.


--
Steve

The above can be construed as personal opinion in the absence of a reasonable
belief that it was intended as a statement of fact.

If you want a reply to reach me, remove the SPAMTRAP from the address.

"Von Fourche" <monaco8292@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:XSXSc.19488$9Y6.11700@newsread1.news.pas.eart hlink.net...
>
> "chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote in message
> news:7iWSc.88620$M95.9150@pd7tw1no...
> >
> > "Von Fourche" <monaco8292@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:jYVSc.19353$9Y6.1113@newsread1.news.pas.earth link.net...
> > >
> > >
> > (snip discourse of usual first time pool experience)
> >
> > You must have another lesson or two coming up, yes? Make sure that your
> > ears are OK (not infected) before you continue.
>
>
> I've read that the worse thing that can happen to your yours is
rupture
> or blow your ear drum. What exactly happens when you rupture your ear
drum?
> Is it something you would definitly notice? Like, would you be screaming
in
> paign or something?

Fortunately, I've no idea how that would feel. Unfortunately, I do know
what it feels like to blow too hard when learning how to dive. I do know
how it feels to have a nasty ear infection from improper equalizing.
Unfortunately, I also know how it feels to have a reverse block.

As Steve was telling you, there's a point at which one has to decide to
endure the pain and ascend anyway. Fortunately for me, that *very* painful
reverse block cleared itself and I was able to ascend pain free. I hope to
never experience that again.
>
>

Von Fourche wrote:

> "chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote in message
> news:7iWSc.88620$M95.9150@pd7tw1no...
>
>>"Von Fourche" <monaco8292@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>news:jYVSc.19353$9Y6.1113@newsread1.news.pas.ear thlink.net...
>>
>>>
>>(snip discourse of usual first time pool experience)
>>
>>You must have another lesson or two coming up, yes? Make sure that your
>>ears are OK (not infected) before you continue.
>
>
>
> I've read that the worse thing that can happen to your yours is rupture
> or blow your ear drum. What exactly happens when you rupture your ear drum?
> Is it something you would definitly notice? Like, would you be screaming in
> paign or something?
>
>

Yes - you'll know! no personal experience - however the eardrum when
ruptured will allow water to pass to the middle ear. I am quite sure
that is very unpleasant - OUCH! Plus now are you balance mechanisms are
thrown into a tizzy! (or dizzy)

Von Fourche wrote:

> I've read that the worse thing that can happen to your yours is rupture
> or blow your ear drum. What exactly happens when you rupture your ear drum?
> Is it something you would definitly notice? Like, would you be screaming in
> paign or something?

It's possible to rupture an eardrum and not even know it, but it's extremely unlikely
that would happen while diving. The not noticing part, that is; rupturing an eardrum
is certainly a possibility. Even worse, you can rupture the round window in your
middle ear. A ruptured eardrum can heal leaving no permanent damage, but a ruptured
round window is likely to leave you with permanent damage. Damaging your inner ear is
something you would most likely do by making a valsalva too forcefully. Not
equalizing is your best net for rupturing an eardrum, but it's more likely to happen
while ascending. When you descend the pain from not equalizing would probably clue
you in, but if you are unable to equalize while ascending running out of air will
allow you to put up with the pain as the lesser of two evils. Go back to your Cd-rom
and review all the stuff about equalizing and ears.


--
Steve

The above can be construed as personal opinion in the absence of a reasonable
belief that it was intended as a statement of fact.

If you want a reply to reach me, remove the SPAMTRAP from the address.