I'm Certified!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I'm finally certified. I did my four check out dives Saturday and
Sunday. Finally I got to do some really diving, even tho it was in a
natural
spring lake. Even tho we didn't go much below 30 feet(because it's hard to
find a place in that lake that's deeper than that) It was still pretty fun.

The weather almost ruined it tho. We were supposed to start diving at
3pm. My instructor chose this time so we could do are dives without it
being so crowded. Well, we had lightening and for three hours. We did
manage to get in the water once, but we saw lightening again and the
instructor had to pull us out of the water. Actually, I think if it were
only me and him we would have went on with the dive. But the two women in
the class were complaining about the lightening, so there is no way the
instructor was going leave us out in the water.

It was really touch and go for a while. We would only have time to do
one dive, and we had to get that in because Padi doesn't allow four
check-out
dives in one day. When the lightening finally cleared we hit the water.

Going down to thirty feet was a little scary at first. I started
equalizing right of the bat, but I descended too quickly. I ascended back
up
to 10 feet and tried again. It took me maybe six minutes to get down to 30
feet with both ears equalized. Once down my ears felt fine.

The first dive went fine. We did a quick tour of the lake and all the
junk in it (armored car, coffin, snow mobile, other stuff). I think we may
have got deeper than 30 feet. 35 or 40 maybe in few spots. I felt pretty
comfortable during the dive. My only problem was trying to be precise with
my buoyancy. I kept hitting the inflate/deflate buttons to go up and down,
trying to be the exact depth of the my instructor. After the dive my
instructor just told me to set my bcd and leave it alone. Basically go with
the flow. Also, since it was raining a lot that day, visibility wasn't that
great, maybe 10 feet.

Well, the second day (today Sunday) went better. The water cleared up a
lot. Very good visibility. During the three dives we went over the various
exercises, basically the same that we did in the closed water part. I had
no
problem. I would say the toughest thing I did was put my bcd on while on
the surface. I think I had too much air in the bcd.

My buoyancy during these three dives was better than my first dive. I
tried to set my buoyancy and leave it alone. For the most part it worked.
I could really control my depth just by taking deeper breaths or exhaling.
But for dropping or rising more than a few feet I needed to inflate/deflate.

During the dives we always had, besides my instructor, one or two dive
masters and another one who was to become officially certified as a dive
master during this weekend. My instructor would lead the tours around the
lake and a dive master would be behind us, plus others floating around.
That was very comforting during the first dive.

During all my dives some more advanced divers came along, they were doing
their check-out dives for their courses too. I was surprised to see a
father, his young daughter (I thought she might be 15 or so, my instructor
said he thought she was around 20) and son (maybe 11or 12) all were in dry
suites. There were also a few other divers with dry suits. It's pretty
cool seeing a man get out of the water, taking off his dry suite, and have
on underneath a nice shirt and blue jeans, and not wet at all. Some of the
dry suit divers seemed to have problems with the neck seal, letting water
in. They seemed to mention the "neck seal" a lot.

The only thing I didn't really like during the dives is being someone's
dive buddy. I had to be a dive buddy to some woman. She was not a problem
at all, very nice and all that. During the dives I kept looking back and
around at her, making sure she was close and alright. Perhaps I even slowed
her down some of the time. I would have preferred to go at my own pace,
speed up when I felt like it, slow down when a little tired. Also, I
don't really care for checking someone's other dive equipment during the
pre-dive safety check and them checking mine. I think the way I will stay
out of trouble is relying on myself, not someone else. But maybe if I would
have dived to sixty feet I wouldn't say this.

Well, I'm actually going to get to do some diving in the ocean in a few
weeks on a cruise. I'm going to sign up for two dives in Jamaica and two
dives in Cozumel. I'm thinking about canceling my swim the stingrays at and
just doing two dives in Cozumel. Perhaps some of you here can give me
advice on that? Swim with stingrays or do two more dives?

I had a fun time this weekend, even with the rain. It would have been a
blast if I was already certified an didn't have to worry passing the
exercises, even tho they were easy.

I told my instructor after he game me my temporary scuba license that
now I want to dive to 250 feet and breath helium. He just laughed. He did
ask me if I would like to take the advanced open water class, just two
dives, before I go on my cruise. I declined, saying I might take it if I
like the diving on my cruise.

I know what all you here have been saying - don't buy equipment now -
RENT RENT RENT - until I know for sure I like diving. I understand what
your saying, but the urge to buy equipment is grown in me, very quick.

The only thing that worries me are my ears. I always had to descend
slowly, rise up a bit, and descend again, taking maybe six minutes just
equalize and get down to 30 feet. I had no problems with my right ear, it
was the left ear that was giving me trouble. And I'm still hearing the
crackling in my ears that's been with me since my first closed water diver.
I remember during the first closed water dive, I felt pressure in my left
ear. I wont be diving again until my cruise, around two weeks away.
Hopefully two weeks will give my ears time enough to clear up. If not, I
might have to find a dive doctor in my area. I do worry tho that they may
force me to stop diving.

And so, I'm certified. The next time I go to Books-A-Million and buy
three or four dive magazines, and use my credit card with the dolphins on
it, and the counter girl says "gee, you must really like scuba diving!",
Then I can say "Yes, I am a scuba diver! A certified scuba diver!"

Very cool.

You are no longer at the top of the food chain.

=

Now you have your learners permit, and you are bait for every dive gear/shop
shyster on earth.

Welcome.

Scott

"Von Fourche" <monaco8292@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:qGuYc.2129$w%6.1410@newsread1.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
>
>
>
> Yes, I'm finally certified. I did my four check out dives Saturday
and
> Sunday. Finally I got to do some really diving, even tho it was in a
> natural
> spring lake. Even tho we didn't go much below 30 feet(because it's hard
to
> find a place in that lake that's deeper than that) It was still pretty
fun.
>
> The weather almost ruined it tho. We were supposed to start diving at
> 3pm. My instructor chose this time so we could do are dives without it
> being so crowded. Well, we had lightening and for three hours. We did
> manage to get in the water once, but we saw lightening again and the
> instructor had to pull us out of the water. Actually, I think if it were
> only me and him we would have went on with the dive. But the two women in
> the class were complaining about the lightening, so there is no way the
> instructor was going leave us out in the water.
>
> It was really touch and go for a while. We would only have time to do
> one dive, and we had to get that in because Padi doesn't allow four
> check-out
> dives in one day. When the lightening finally cleared we hit the water.
>
> Going down to thirty feet was a little scary at first. I started
> equalizing right of the bat, but I descended too quickly. I ascended back
> up
> to 10 feet and tried again. It took me maybe six minutes to get down to
30
> feet with both ears equalized. Once down my ears felt fine.
>
> The first dive went fine. We did a quick tour of the lake and all the
> junk in it (armored car, coffin, snow mobile, other stuff). I think we
may
> have got deeper than 30 feet. 35 or 40 maybe in few spots. I felt pretty
> comfortable during the dive. My only problem was trying to be precise
with
> my buoyancy. I kept hitting the inflate/deflate buttons to go up and down,
> trying to be the exact depth of the my instructor. After the dive my
> instructor just told me to set my bcd and leave it alone. Basically go
with
> the flow. Also, since it was raining a lot that day, visibility wasn't
that
> great, maybe 10 feet.
>
> Well, the second day (today Sunday) went better. The water cleared up
a
> lot. Very good visibility. During the three dives we went over the
various
> exercises, basically the same that we did in the closed water part. I had
> no
> problem. I would say the toughest thing I did was put my bcd on while on
> the surface. I think I had too much air in the bcd.
>
> My buoyancy during these three dives was better than my first dive. I
> tried to set my buoyancy and leave it alone. For the most part it worked.
> I could really control my depth just by taking deeper breaths or exhaling.
> But for dropping or rising more than a few feet I needed to
inflate/deflate.
>
> During the dives we always had, besides my instructor, one or two dive
> masters and another one who was to become officially certified as a dive
> master during this weekend. My instructor would lead the tours around the
> lake and a dive master would be behind us, plus others floating around.
> That was very comforting during the first dive.
>
> During all my dives some more advanced divers came along, they were
doing
> their check-out dives for their courses too. I was surprised to see a
> father, his young daughter (I thought she might be 15 or so, my instructor
> said he thought she was around 20) and son (maybe 11or 12) all were in dry
> suites. There were also a few other divers with dry suits. It's pretty
> cool seeing a man get out of the water, taking off his dry suite, and have
> on underneath a nice shirt and blue jeans, and not wet at all. Some of
the
> dry suit divers seemed to have problems with the neck seal, letting water
> in. They seemed to mention the "neck seal" a lot.
>
> The only thing I didn't really like during the dives is being
someone's
> dive buddy. I had to be a dive buddy to some woman. She was not a
problem
> at all, very nice and all that. During the dives I kept looking back and
> around at her, making sure she was close and alright. Perhaps I even
slowed
> her down some of the time. I would have preferred to go at my own pace,
> speed up when I felt like it, slow down when a little tired. Also, I
> don't really care for checking someone's other dive equipment during the
> pre-dive safety check and them checking mine. I think the way I will stay
> out of trouble is relying on myself, not someone else. But maybe if I
would
> have dived to sixty feet I wouldn't say this.
>
> Well, I'm actually going to get to do some diving in the ocean in a
few
> weeks on a cruise. I'm going to sign up for two dives in Jamaica and two
> dives in Cozumel. I'm thinking about canceling my swim the stingrays at
and
> just doing two dives in Cozumel. Perhaps some of you here can give me
> advice on that? Swim with stingrays or do two more dives?
>
> I had a fun time this weekend, even with the rain. It would have been
a
> blast if I was already certified an didn't have to worry passing the
> exercises, even tho they were easy.
>
> I told my instructor after he game me my temporary scuba license that
> now I want to dive to 250 feet and breath helium. He just laughed. He
did
> ask me if I would like to take the advanced open water class, just two
> dives, before I go on my cruise. I declined, saying I might take it if I
> like the diving on my cruise.
>
> I know what all you here have been saying - don't buy equipment now -
> RENT RENT RENT - until I know for sure I like diving. I understand what
> your saying, but the urge to buy equipment is grown in me, very quick.
>
> The only thing that worries me are my ears. I always had to descend
> slowly, rise up a bit, and descend again, taking maybe six minutes just
> equalize and get down to 30 feet. I had no problems with my right ear, it
> was the left ear that was giving me trouble. And I'm still hearing the
> crackling in my ears that's been with me since my first closed water
diver.
> I remember during the first closed water dive, I felt pressure in my left
> ear. I wont be diving again until my cruise, around two weeks away.
> Hopefully two weeks will give my ears time enough to clear up. If not, I
> might have to find a dive doctor in my area. I do worry tho that they may
> force me to stop diving.
>
> And so, I'm certified. The next time I go to Books-A-Million and buy
> three or four dive magazines, and use my credit card with the dolphins on
> it, and the counter girl says "gee, you must really like scuba diving!",
> Then I can say "Yes, I am a scuba diver! A certified scuba diver!"
>
>
>
>
>

Von Fourche wrote:

> Yes, I'm finally certified. I did my four check out dives Saturday and
> Sunday. Finally I got to do some really diving, even tho it was in a
> natural
> spring lake. Even tho we didn't go much below 30 feet(because it's hard to
> find a place in that lake that's deeper than that) It was still pretty fun.
>
> The weather almost ruined it tho. We were supposed to start diving at
> 3pm. My instructor chose this time so we could do are dives without it
> being so crowded. Well, we had lightening and for three hours. We did
> manage to get in the water once, but we saw lightening again and the
> instructor had to pull us out of the water. Actually, I think if it were
> only me and him we would have went on with the dive. But the two women in
> the class were complaining about the lightening, so there is no way the
> instructor was going leave us out in the water.
>
> It was really touch and go for a while. We would only have time to do
> one dive, and we had to get that in because Padi doesn't allow four
> check-out
> dives in one day. When the lightening finally cleared we hit the water.
>
> Going down to thirty feet was a little scary at first. I started
> equalizing right of the bat, but I descended too quickly. I ascended back
> up
> to 10 feet and tried again. It took me maybe six minutes to get down to 30
> feet with both ears equalized. Once down my ears felt fine.
>
> The first dive went fine. We did a quick tour of the lake and all the
> junk in it (armored car, coffin, snow mobile, other stuff). I think we may
> have got deeper than 30 feet. 35 or 40 maybe in few spots. I felt pretty
> comfortable during the dive. My only problem was trying to be precise with
> my buoyancy. I kept hitting the inflate/deflate buttons to go up and down,
> trying to be the exact depth of the my instructor. After the dive my
> instructor just told me to set my bcd and leave it alone. Basically go with
> the flow. Also, since it was raining a lot that day, visibility wasn't that
> great, maybe 10 feet.

You'll learn to just get comfortable with buoyancy then control it with
your breathing - I hate using air from my tank into the BC. Sometimes I
give it a .5 second shot - but mostly breathing correctly is all you need
>
> Well, the second day (today Sunday) went better. The water cleared up a
> lot. Very good visibility. During the three dives we went over the various
> exercises, basically the same that we did in the closed water part. I had
> no
> problem. I would say the toughest thing I did was put my bcd on while on
> the surface. I think I had too much air in the bcd.
>
> My buoyancy during these three dives was better than my first dive. I
> tried to set my buoyancy and leave it alone. For the most part it worked.
> I could really control my depth just by taking deeper breaths or exhaling.
> But for dropping or rising more than a few feet I needed to inflate/deflate.
>
> During the dives we always had, besides my instructor, one or two dive
> masters and another one who was to become officially certified as a dive
> master during this weekend. My instructor would lead the tours around the
> lake and a dive master would be behind us, plus others floating around.
> That was very comforting during the first dive.
>
> During all my dives some more advanced divers came along, they were doing
> their check-out dives for their courses too. I was surprised to see a
> father, his young daughter (I thought she might be 15 or so, my instructor
> said he thought she was around 20) and son (maybe 11or 12) all were in dry
> suites. There were also a few other divers with dry suits. It's pretty
> cool seeing a man get out of the water, taking off his dry suite, and have
> on underneath a nice shirt and blue jeans, and not wet at all. Some of the
> dry suit divers seemed to have problems with the neck seal, letting water
> in. They seemed to mention the "neck seal" a lot.
>
> The only thing I didn't really like during the dives is being someone's
> dive buddy. I had to be a dive buddy to some woman. She was not a problem
> at all, very nice and all that. During the dives I kept looking back and
> around at her, making sure she was close and alright. Perhaps I even slowed
> her down some of the time. I would have preferred to go at my own pace,
> speed up when I felt like it, slow down when a little tired. Also, I
> don't really care for checking someone's other dive equipment during the
> pre-dive safety check and them checking mine. I think the way I will stay
> out of trouble is relying on myself, not someone else. But maybe if I would
> have dived to sixty feet I wouldn't say this.
>
> Well, I'm actually going to get to do some diving in the ocean in a few
> weeks on a cruise. I'm going to sign up for two dives in Jamaica and two
> dives in Cozumel. I'm thinking about canceling my swim the stingrays at and
> just doing two dives in Cozumel. Perhaps some of you here can give me
> advice on that? Swim with stingrays or do two more dives?
>
> I had a fun time this weekend, even with the rain. It would have been a
> blast if I was already certified an didn't have to worry passing the
> exercises, even tho they were easy.
>
> I told my instructor after he game me my temporary scuba license that
> now I want to dive to 250 feet and breath helium. He just laughed. He did
> ask me if I would like to take the advanced open water class, just two
> dives, before I go on my cruise. I declined, saying I might take it if I
> like the diving on my cruise.
>
> I know what all you here have been saying - don't buy equipment now -
> RENT RENT RENT - until I know for sure I like diving. I understand what
> your saying, but the urge to buy equipment is grown in me, very quick.
>
> The only thing that worries me are my ears. I always had to descend
> slowly, rise up a bit, and descend again, taking maybe six minutes just
> equalize and get down to 30 feet. I had no problems with my right ear, it
> was the left ear that was giving me trouble. And I'm still hearing the
> crackling in my ears that's been with me since my first closed water diver.
> I remember during the first closed water dive, I felt pressure in my left
> ear. I wont be diving again until my cruise, around two weeks away.
> Hopefully two weeks will give my ears time enough to clear up. If not, I
> might have to find a dive doctor in my area. I do worry tho that they may
> force me to stop diving.
>
> And so, I'm certified. The next time I go to Books-A-Million and buy
> three or four dive magazines, and use my credit card with the dolphins on
> it, and the counter girl says "gee, you must really like scuba diving!",
> Then I can say "Yes, I am a scuba diver! A certified scuba diver!"
>
>
>
>
>

"Von Fourche" wrote

> Yes, I'm finally certified. I did my four check out dives Saturday and
> Sunday. Finally I got to do some really diving, even tho it was in a
> natural spring lake. Even tho we didn't go much below 30 feet(because
it's hard to
> find a place in that lake that's deeper than that) It was still pretty
fun.

Congratulations.

Be careful when you decide to go deeper. Consider the added risks and make
sure you pay attention to them, particularly the more rapid use of gas.

> The first dive went fine. We did a quick tour of the lake and all the
> junk in it (armored car, coffin, snow mobile, other stuff). I think we
may
> have got deeper than 30 feet. 35 or 40 maybe in few spots.

No insult intended. but you should know how deep you were. "I think. . . "
is not the right way to do it.

> I felt pretty comfortable during the dive. My only problem was trying to
be precise with
> my buoyancy. I kept hitting the inflate/deflate buttons to go up and down,
> trying to be the exact depth of the my instructor. After the dive my
> instructor just told me to set my bcd and leave it alone. Basically go
with
> the flow.

Your instructor's advice isn't bad. You'll get better over time.

> I would say the toughest thing I did was put my bcd on while on
> the surface. I think I had too much air in the bcd.

If you think you had too much air in it, you probably did. You don't need a
lot. On the other hand, with practice, this is a pretty easy skill to
master, even with too much air in the BC. Practice makes perfect.

> The only thing I didn't really like during the dives is being someone's
> dive buddy. I had to be a dive buddy to some woman. She was not a
problem
> at all, very nice and all that. During the dives I kept looking back and
> around at her, making sure she was close and alright. Perhaps I even
slowed
> her down some of the time. I would have preferred to go at my own pace,
> speed up when I felt like it, slow down when a little tired. Also, I
> don't really care for checking someone's other dive equipment during the
> pre-dive safety check and them checking mine. I think the way I will stay
> out of trouble is relying on myself, not someone else. But maybe if I
would
> have dived to sixty feet I wouldn't say this.

30, 60 or 120, it's important to ensure your gear is in good shape and
functional and, as you note, it's your responsibility. Still, it doesn't
hurt to have somebody else take a look. Sometimes they notice what you
forgot. Most of us, probably all of us, have forgotten something at one
time or another.

> Well, I'm actually going to get to do some diving in the ocean in a few
> weeks on a cruise. I'm going to sign up for two dives in Jamaica and two
> dives in Cozumel. I'm thinking about canceling my swim the stingrays at
and
> just doing two dives in Cozumel. Perhaps some of you here can give me
> advice on that? Swim with stingrays or do two more dives?

Swim with the stingrays were? If you're talking about Grand Cayman, it's
quite an experience. I don't know about other places.

Pay attention to what you're doing in Cozumel. There are several aspects of
Coz diving that are risks you're not used to yet:
1. Most of the diving in Cozumel is drift diving. That's quite a bit
different from confined water diving.
2. Cozumel has a lot of depth available. The top of the drop off is, in
most places, deeper than you've gone so far. Don't forget to keep an eye on
your air.
3. The water is Cozumel is, usually, very clear. If you're on a wall, you
have no bottom below to help you monitor your depth. It sounds silly, but
it's real easy to get a lot deeper than you intend when you have no bottom
in view and the water is clear. Check your depth frequently.
4. Cozumel has swim throughs all over the place. They are very cool (my
opinion). They're also way beyond your present experience level. Save them
for another time. Don't let the DM or other divers talk you into going
where you know you should not.

> I told my instructor after he game me my temporary scuba license that
> now I want to dive to 250 feet and breath helium.

It's not a license, it's a certification. All it does is tell others that
you've had the minimum training necessary to dive safely. It doesn't
guarantee you will. Only you can do that.

> He just laughed. He did ask me if I would like to take the advanced open
water class, just two
> dives, before I go on my cruise. I declined, saying I might take it if I
like the diving on my cruise.

Opinions vary on when to take your AOW. Some like to recommend it
immediately, allowing the student to gain a bit more experience under the
supervision of an instructor before going off on his/her own. Personally, I
prefer to see people dive a bit before they come back for AOW. After a few
dozen dives, you'll be better able to understand, appreciate and make use of
the more advanced training.

> I know what all you here have been saying - don't buy equipment now -
> RENT RENT RENT - until I know for sure I like diving. I understand what
> your saying, but the urge to buy equipment is grown in me, very quick.

Which makes you just like the rest of us. How do you think we discovered
that it's better to rent first. If you want to buy, buy. Stick with name
brand equipment. Stay away from the bottom end of any particular brand and,
unless you're wealthy enough to not care, the top end as well. You'll make
some mistakes that will cost you to fix, but maybe not too many.

> The only thing that worries me are my ears. I always had to descend
> slowly, rise up a bit, and descend again, taking maybe six minutes just
> equalize and get down to 30 feet. I had no problems with my right ear, it
> was the left ear that was giving me trouble. And I'm still hearing the
> crackling in my ears that's been with me since my first closed water
diver.
> I remember during the first closed water dive, I felt pressure in my left
> ear. I wont be diving again until my cruise, around two weeks away.
> Hopefully two weeks will give my ears time enough to clear up. If not, I
> might have to find a dive doctor in my area. I do worry tho that they may
> force me to stop diving.

Look for an Ear Nose Throat specialist that dives, or knows diving. Call
the Diver's Alert Network to see if they can recommend one in your area.
Chances are that your problem is congestion and an ENT that knows diving can
perscribe medication for that which does not respond adversely to pressure
(as some surely do).

> And so, I'm certified. The next time I go to Books-A-Million and buy
> three or four dive magazines, and use my credit card with the dolphins on
> it, and the counter girl says "gee, you must really like scuba diving!",
> Then I can say "Yes, I am a scuba diver! A certified scuba diver!"

Grin.

Lee

In article <qGuYc.2129$w%6.1410@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink. net>, Von
Fourche <monaco8292@hotmail.com> wrote:


First - re-read everything Lee just told you.

€ Yes, I'm finally certified. I did my four check out dives Saturday and
€ Sunday. Finally I got to do some really diving, even tho it was in a
€ natural
€ spring lake. Even tho we didn't go much below 30 feet(because it's hard to
€ find a place in that lake that's deeper than that) It was still pretty fun.
€

....

€ The only thing I didn't really like during the dives is being someone's
€ dive buddy. I had to be a dive buddy to some woman. She was not a problem
€ at all, very nice and all that. During the dives I kept looking back and
€ around at her, making sure she was close and alright. Perhaps I even slowed
€ her down some of the time. I would have preferred to go at my own pace,
€ speed up when I felt like it, slow down when a little tired. Also, I
€ don't really care for checking someone's other dive equipment during the
€ pre-dive safety check and them checking mine. I think the way I will stay
€ out of trouble is relying on myself, not someone else.

That annoyance you're calling a buddy is your back-up air supply.
Sometimes you may choose to dive without it (but please, not for the
next year or the next 50 dives, whichever comes last), but when you do
dive with it, it's in your best interests to make sure that everything
works and you know where everything is. It's also in your best
interests to know where that backup supply is at all times, and know
how much air it has.

Alan

Congrats!! Now the real learning begins. Your class has given you an
introduction to the world down below. It's now time to work on gaining
experience. There is a wonderful world down there just waiting for you to
explore it, one small step at a time.
Welcome to the Brotherhood..
Jim
"Von Fourche" <monaco8292@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:qGuYc.2129$w%6.1410@newsread1.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
>
>
>
> Yes, I'm finally certified. I did my four check out dives Saturday and
> Sunday. Finally I got to do some really diving, even tho it was in a
> natural
> spring lake. Even tho we didn't go much below 30 feet(because it's hard
> to
> find a place in that lake that's deeper than that) It was still pretty
> fun.
>
> The weather almost ruined it tho. We were supposed to start diving at
> 3pm. My instructor chose this time so we could do are dives without it
> being so crowded. Well, we had lightening and for three hours. We did
> manage to get in the water once, but we saw lightening again and the
> instructor had to pull us out of the water. Actually, I think if it were
> only me and him we would have went on with the dive. But the two women in
> the class were complaining about the lightening, so there is no way the
> instructor was going leave us out in the water.
>
> It was really touch and go for a while. We would only have time to do
> one dive, and we had to get that in because Padi doesn't allow four
> check-out
> dives in one day. When the lightening finally cleared we hit the water.
>
> Going down to thirty feet was a little scary at first. I started
> equalizing right of the bat, but I descended too quickly. I ascended back
> up
> to 10 feet and tried again. It took me maybe six minutes to get down to
> 30
> feet with both ears equalized. Once down my ears felt fine.
>
> The first dive went fine. We did a quick tour of the lake and all the
> junk in it (armored car, coffin, snow mobile, other stuff). I think we
> may
> have got deeper than 30 feet. 35 or 40 maybe in few spots. I felt pretty
> comfortable during the dive. My only problem was trying to be precise
> with
> my buoyancy. I kept hitting the inflate/deflate buttons to go up and down,
> trying to be the exact depth of the my instructor. After the dive my
> instructor just told me to set my bcd and leave it alone. Basically go
> with
> the flow. Also, since it was raining a lot that day, visibility wasn't
> that
> great, maybe 10 feet.
>
> Well, the second day (today Sunday) went better. The water cleared up
> a
> lot. Very good visibility. During the three dives we went over the
> various
> exercises, basically the same that we did in the closed water part. I had
> no
> problem. I would say the toughest thing I did was put my bcd on while on
> the surface. I think I had too much air in the bcd.
>
> My buoyancy during these three dives was better than my first dive. I
> tried to set my buoyancy and leave it alone. For the most part it worked.
> I could really control my depth just by taking deeper breaths or exhaling.
> But for dropping or rising more than a few feet I needed to
> inflate/deflate.
>
> During the dives we always had, besides my instructor, one or two dive
> masters and another one who was to become officially certified as a dive
> master during this weekend. My instructor would lead the tours around the
> lake and a dive master would be behind us, plus others floating around.
> That was very comforting during the first dive.
>
> During all my dives some more advanced divers came along, they were
> doing
> their check-out dives for their courses too. I was surprised to see a
> father, his young daughter (I thought she might be 15 or so, my instructor
> said he thought she was around 20) and son (maybe 11or 12) all were in dry
> suites. There were also a few other divers with dry suits. It's pretty
> cool seeing a man get out of the water, taking off his dry suite, and have
> on underneath a nice shirt and blue jeans, and not wet at all. Some of
> the
> dry suit divers seemed to have problems with the neck seal, letting water
> in. They seemed to mention the "neck seal" a lot.
>
> The only thing I didn't really like during the dives is being someone's
> dive buddy. I had to be a dive buddy to some woman. She was not a
> problem
> at all, very nice and all that. During the dives I kept looking back and
> around at her, making sure she was close and alright. Perhaps I even
> slowed
> her down some of the time. I would have preferred to go at my own pace,
> speed up when I felt like it, slow down when a little tired. Also, I
> don't really care for checking someone's other dive equipment during the
> pre-dive safety check and them checking mine. I think the way I will stay
> out of trouble is relying on myself, not someone else. But maybe if I
> would
> have dived to sixty feet I wouldn't say this.
>
> Well, I'm actually going to get to do some diving in the ocean in a few
> weeks on a cruise. I'm going to sign up for two dives in Jamaica and two
> dives in Cozumel. I'm thinking about canceling my swim the stingrays at
> and
> just doing two dives in Cozumel. Perhaps some of you here can give me
> advice on that? Swim with stingrays or do two more dives?
>
> I had a fun time this weekend, even with the rain. It would have been
> a
> blast if I was already certified an didn't have to worry passing the
> exercises, even tho they were easy.
>
> I told my instructor after he game me my temporary scuba license that
> now I want to dive to 250 feet and breath helium. He just laughed. He
> did
> ask me if I would like to take the advanced open water class, just two
> dives, before I go on my cruise. I declined, saying I might take it if I
> like the diving on my cruise.
>
> I know what all you here have been saying - don't buy equipment now -
> RENT RENT RENT - until I know for sure I like diving. I understand what
> your saying, but the urge to buy equipment is grown in me, very quick.
>
> The only thing that worries me are my ears. I always had to descend
> slowly, rise up a bit, and descend again, taking maybe six minutes just
> equalize and get down to 30 feet. I had no problems with my right ear, it
> was the left ear that was giving me trouble. And I'm still hearing the
> crackling in my ears that's been with me since my first closed water
> diver.
> I remember during the first closed water dive, I felt pressure in my left
> ear. I wont be diving again until my cruise, around two weeks away.
> Hopefully two weeks will give my ears time enough to clear up. If not, I
> might have to find a dive doctor in my area. I do worry tho that they may
> force me to stop diving.
>
> And so, I'm certified. The next time I go to Books-A-Million and buy
> three or four dive magazines, and use my credit card with the dolphins on
> it, and the counter girl says "gee, you must really like scuba diving!",
> Then I can say "Yes, I am a scuba diver! A certified scuba diver!"
>
>
>
>
>

"Jim" <firehawk0212nospammersplease@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:KuyYc.825$Gr2.355@trnddc07...
> Congrats!! Now the real learning begins. Your class has given you an
> introduction to the world down below. It's now time to work on gaining
> experience. There is a wonderful world down there just waiting for you to
> explore it, one small step at a time.
> Welcome to the Brotherhood..

And so VanF, you've chosen Cozumel to be your next experience.
Very bold, I must say since you've only been to 30 or 40 feet . . .you not
being sure and all. It will be quite a different experience for you because
the visibililty is probably going to blow your mind. Please, please, please
pay attention to your air consumption. Watch your guages, watch them, watch
them, watch them. Breathe slowly, breathe easily, stay relaxed.

The currents in Coz can be wild. Try to remember that even though you are
being shot through the water column, you still need to pay attention to your
depth and your air consumption . . .and stay relaxed. As long as you are
breathing from your reg, everything is all good.

Be a good buddy. You were trained to be a good buddy, whether you like it
or not. Being a good buddy will always stand you in good stead, even when
comes the time that you actually may be a good enough diver to ignore buddy
rules. Until then, it is *ever* so important to keep your buddy skills up
to snuff.

Being a good buddy will help to make sure that you enter the water with your
weight belt on properly, your BCD properly afixed, your air on, etc. etc.
Not to mention, that there is a lot of personal satisfaction that comes with
ensuring that your buddy goes into the water with the same assurances. In
other words, that you checked that your buddy's air was properly on, BCD
done up right, weight belt properly affixed, etc. etc.

And on the off chance that you should have some kind of incident under the
surface, won't you feel ever so much better knowing that you ensured that
your buddy (and buddy's gear) was ready, able and capable of assisting you,
even if you have to help yourself to your buddy's air supply?

> Jim
> "Von Fourche" <monaco8292@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:qGuYc.2129$w%6.1410@newsread1.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
> >
> >
> >
> > Yes, I'm finally certified. I did my four check out dives Saturday
and
> > Sunday. Finally I got to do some really diving, even tho it was in a
> > natural
> > spring lake. Even tho we didn't go much below 30 feet(because it's hard
> > to
> > find a place in that lake that's deeper than that) It was still pretty
> > fun.
> >
> > The weather almost ruined it tho. We were supposed to start diving
at
> > 3pm. My instructor chose this time so we could do are dives without it
> > being so crowded. Well, we had lightening and for three hours. We did
> > manage to get in the water once, but we saw lightening again and the
> > instructor had to pull us out of the water. Actually, I think if it
were
> > only me and him we would have went on with the dive. But the two women
in
> > the class were complaining about the lightening, so there is no way the
> > instructor was going leave us out in the water.
> >
> > It was really touch and go for a while. We would only have time to
do
> > one dive, and we had to get that in because Padi doesn't allow four
> > check-out
> > dives in one day. When the lightening finally cleared we hit the water.
> >
> > Going down to thirty feet was a little scary at first. I started
> > equalizing right of the bat, but I descended too quickly. I ascended
back
> > up
> > to 10 feet and tried again. It took me maybe six minutes to get down to
> > 30
> > feet with both ears equalized. Once down my ears felt fine.
> >
> > The first dive went fine. We did a quick tour of the lake and all
the
> > junk in it (armored car, coffin, snow mobile, other stuff). I think we
> > may
> > have got deeper than 30 feet. 35 or 40 maybe in few spots. I felt
pretty
> > comfortable during the dive. My only problem was trying to be precise
> > with
> > my buoyancy. I kept hitting the inflate/deflate buttons to go up and
down,
> > trying to be the exact depth of the my instructor. After the dive my
> > instructor just told me to set my bcd and leave it alone. Basically go
> > with
> > the flow. Also, since it was raining a lot that day, visibility wasn't
> > that
> > great, maybe 10 feet.
> >
> > Well, the second day (today Sunday) went better. The water cleared
up
> > a
> > lot. Very good visibility. During the three dives we went over the
> > various
> > exercises, basically the same that we did in the closed water part. I
had
> > no
> > problem. I would say the toughest thing I did was put my bcd on while
on
> > the surface. I think I had too much air in the bcd.
> >
> > My buoyancy during these three dives was better than my first dive.
I
> > tried to set my buoyancy and leave it alone. For the most part it
worked.
> > I could really control my depth just by taking deeper breaths or
exhaling.
> > But for dropping or rising more than a few feet I needed to
> > inflate/deflate.
> >
> > During the dives we always had, besides my instructor, one or two
dive
> > masters and another one who was to become officially certified as a dive
> > master during this weekend. My instructor would lead the tours around
the
> > lake and a dive master would be behind us, plus others floating around.
> > That was very comforting during the first dive.
> >
> > During all my dives some more advanced divers came along, they were
> > doing
> > their check-out dives for their courses too. I was surprised to see a
> > father, his young daughter (I thought she might be 15 or so, my
instructor
> > said he thought she was around 20) and son (maybe 11or 12) all were in
dry
> > suites. There were also a few other divers with dry suits. It's pretty
> > cool seeing a man get out of the water, taking off his dry suite, and
have
> > on underneath a nice shirt and blue jeans, and not wet at all. Some of
> > the
> > dry suit divers seemed to have problems with the neck seal, letting
water
> > in. They seemed to mention the "neck seal" a lot.
> >
> > The only thing I didn't really like during the dives is being
someone's
> > dive buddy. I had to be a dive buddy to some woman. She was not a
> > problem
> > at all, very nice and all that. During the dives I kept looking back
and
> > around at her, making sure she was close and alright. Perhaps I even
> > slowed
> > her down some of the time. I would have preferred to go at my own pace,
> > speed up when I felt like it, slow down when a little tired. Also, I
> > don't really care for checking someone's other dive equipment during the
> > pre-dive safety check and them checking mine. I think the way I will
stay
> > out of trouble is relying on myself, not someone else. But maybe if I
> > would
> > have dived to sixty feet I wouldn't say this.
> >
> > Well, I'm actually going to get to do some diving in the ocean in a
few
> > weeks on a cruise. I'm going to sign up for two dives in Jamaica and
two
> > dives in Cozumel. I'm thinking about canceling my swim the stingrays at
> > and
> > just doing two dives in Cozumel. Perhaps some of you here can give me
> > advice on that? Swim with stingrays or do two more dives?
> >
> > I had a fun time this weekend, even with the rain. It would have
been
> > a
> > blast if I was already certified an didn't have to worry passing the
> > exercises, even tho they were easy.
> >
> > I told my instructor after he game me my temporary scuba license that
> > now I want to dive to 250 feet and breath helium. He just laughed. He
> > did
> > ask me if I would like to take the advanced open water class, just two
> > dives, before I go on my cruise. I declined, saying I might take it if
I
> > like the diving on my cruise.
> >
> > I know what all you here have been saying - don't buy equipment now -
> > RENT RENT RENT - until I know for sure I like diving. I understand what
> > your saying, but the urge to buy equipment is grown in me, very quick.
> >
> > The only thing that worries me are my ears. I always had to descend
> > slowly, rise up a bit, and descend again, taking maybe six minutes just
> > equalize and get down to 30 feet. I had no problems with my right ear,
it
> > was the left ear that was giving me trouble. And I'm still hearing the
> > crackling in my ears that's been with me since my first closed water
> > diver.
> > I remember during the first closed water dive, I felt pressure in my
left
> > ear. I wont be diving again until my cruise, around two weeks away.
> > Hopefully two weeks will give my ears time enough to clear up. If not,
I
> > might have to find a dive doctor in my area. I do worry tho that they
may
> > force me to stop diving.
> >
> > And so, I'm certified. The next time I go to Books-A-Million and buy
> > three or four dive magazines, and use my credit card with the dolphins
on
> > it, and the counter girl says "gee, you must really like scuba diving!",
> > Then I can say "Yes, I am a scuba diver! A certified scuba diver!"
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>

Von Fourche wrote:
>
> The only thing I didn't really like during the dives is being someone's
> dive buddy....I would have preferred to go at my own pace...I
> don't really care for checking someone's other dive equipment during the
> pre-dive safety check and them checking mine.

The trick to the buddy system is to find a good buddy who is safe,
reliable and likes the same type of diving. The other trick is to BE A
GOOD DIVE BUDDY. And remember, either can abort the dive for any reason,
at any time, no questions asked.

>I think the way I will stay out of trouble is relying on myself, not someone else.

Be deliberate in your preparation (remember what happened when you
rushed before? <grin>); practice your skills; dive within your limits;
take good care of your life support equipment, and mostly make sure that
the number of ascents equals the number of descents.
>
> I know what all you here have been saying - don't buy equipment now -
> RENT RENT RENT - until I know for sure I like diving. I understand what
> your saying, but the urge to buy equipment is grown in me, very quick.

Nothing wrong with buying equipment and a lot of good reasons to own
your own gear. Other than the possible loss of your investment if you
decide to leave diving, there aren't too many reasons not to buy if you
have the budget.

I wont be diving again until my cruise, around two weeks away.
> Hopefully two weeks will give my ears time enough to clear up. If not, I
> might have to find a dive doctor in my area. I do worry tho that they may
> force me to stop diving.

Go to your ENT soon, because if you have an ear infection, you'll want
to clear it up before flying and diving. In a blink, he/she will tell
you if you have an ear infection. If you have trouble clearing because
of general stuffiness, take a decongestant several hours before diving.
Just make sure it's not going to make you drowsy. I also take one
before flying, especially if it is to a dive destination. I have good
luck with Claritin-D. Others swear by Sudafed.

Dive safe,

Bart F.

"Lee Bell" <leebell@ix.remove.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:x9wYc.6990$6o3.6052@newsread2.news.atl.earthl ink.net...
> "Von Fourche" wrote
>
> > Yes, I'm finally certified. I did my four check out dives Saturday and
> > Sunday. Finally I got to do some really diving, even tho it was in a
> > natural spring lake. Even tho we didn't go much below 30 feet(because
> it's hard to
> > find a place in that lake that's deeper than that) It was still pretty
> fun.
>
> Congratulations.
>
> Be careful when you decide to go deeper. Consider the added risks and
make
> sure you pay attention to them, particularly the more rapid use of gas.
>
> > The first dive went fine. We did a quick tour of the lake and all the
> > junk in it (armored car, coffin, snow mobile, other stuff). I think we
> may
> > have got deeper than 30 feet. 35 or 40 maybe in few spots.
>
> No insult intended. but you should know how deep you were. "I think. . .
"
> is not the right way to do it.


No insult taken. We were using all analog equipment. Nothing digital.
I think the instructor was the only one that had a computer. In this 'large
pond' I was constantly checking my air supply first, then depth second.
Maybe I was checking it too much. I could see how divers might look down to
check their air/depth, then look up and not see their buddy/dive group. I
don't think depth was that important in that spring pond. I talked with
other divers, they said there is a spot that is 60 feet but it's pretty hard
to find. I guess 50 feet is hard to find in that pond too. We were always
changing our depth, swimming down a wall, swimming around an armored car,
swimming up some - I would say during each tour of the spring pond we were
at depths from 20 - 35 feet. I may have got close to 40 feet when I was at
the bottom of the armored car. The first three dives were around 30
minutes, that last dive 45 minutes. I noticed on the 45 minute dive that my
air pressure got down to 600psi. I started getting worried when I seen
that. I was going to swim up to my instructor and tell him with my fingers
"600psi" but right then his computer beeped and he took us all up.

During my first three dives I started with a little over 3000psi, and
ended with a little under 1500psi - those were thirty minute dives. The 45
minute dive I started with a little over 3000psi, and ended at 600psi. I am
surprised how fast you go thru air, even at 30 feet. These four dives gave
me a good overview of how much air I use at depth and how quickly. I can
see the advantages of an integrated computer that beeps when you are at a
certain psi.

Does anybody know anything about sinus surgery? I talked with a diver
who said he couldn't equalize his ears, and had sinus surgery so he could
equalize. Now he's fine. I'm wondering if that's for me in the future. I
wonder if it's an out-patient surgery deal.

Von Fourche wrote:
> Does anybody know anything about sinus surgery? I talked with a diver
> who said he couldn't equalize his ears, and had sinus surgery so he could
> equalize. Now he's fine. I'm wondering if that's for me in the future. I
> wonder if it's an out-patient surgery deal.

Whoah, fella! You just made four dives and (slowly) equalized on all
four of them. You will get better at it, and a decongestant might very
well be all that you need. Don't be in such a hurry for the knife!

Bart F.