4 ms·

This reminds me of something from scuba certification. After doing all this scary stuff underwater( like taking the regulator out of your mouth, dropping it, th

This reminds me of something from scuba certification. After doing all this scary stuff underwater( like taking the regulator out of your mouth, dropping it, then recovering and re-inserting with your eyes closed) one of the last tests was to take off your mask, put it back on, and use your regulator bubbles to blow your mask clear of water. Easy, I thought. You get to keep your regulator in the whole time. So you could literally spend 60 minutes getting this right with absolutely no danger. Frankly, it sounded about as intimidating as washing your hair in the shower. Oh, how wrong I was. Despite the fact that I knew I was perfectly safe, the second my face was immersed in water, I had to fight hard to not panic. I felt waves of fear threatening to engulf me, and it took every ounce of self control not to bolt for the surface (which can injure or kill you). Two other students did bolt for the surface before being grabbed by instructors. I later learned that this is a very common, instinctive reaction. I was amazed at how powerful this reaction was, and gained a newfound respect for the lizard brain.

lief79 16y ago
In hindsight, and after taking more advanced courses, it became quite clear that scuba instruction was all about teaching the students how not to panic. I hope they make that clear to the instructors, as I only went for personal instruction.
- callahad 16y ago
  Cave training places an extremely strong emphasis on controlling panic. In open water, if you bolt to the surface you might get bent, but there are chambers for that. In a cave, you either swim out, or you drown. You don't even have the option of a quick, merciful DCS hit. Keeping a clear head is essential when your own self-rescue is on the line.
  - siculars 16y ago
    I just went for my Cavern Diver Cert and am not ashamed to say I had to withdraw, washout as it were. The odd thing was that the place I was taking the Certification allowed fun divers with only an Open water Cert to dive the caverns (with guides, of course). After my experience, there is absolutely no way I would ever, ever, ever advise anyone to ever go cavern/cave diving without the appropriate instruction and cert level. If for only the reason of exposure to cave(rn) panic inducing situations. It is the lack of exposure that will bring on a massive panic attack at the absolute worst moment that can kill not only the diver, but the entire group. Personally, I had a weighting issue. As in I was too heavy. the instructor told me to use 10% bodyweight + 6 lbs. as the weight. 175 lbs, head to toe 7mm wetsuit, one AL80 tank @ 2500 psi, fresh water - anyone know the algo for figuring weight with these variables? Haven't done my peak performance buoyancy yet... My trim was off, we went over a cliff with an overhang, I was in the process of calling the dive at this point as my trim was positioning me vertically. As soon as I hit vertical my belt slid right off into the 150 ft abyss taking a fin with it and I started ascending quicker than I would have liked. At that point my self rescue brain kicked in with my Rescue diver training. I absolutely made sure i was breathing, put my right hand above my head to protect from the overhang, made sure my reg was in my mouth, my mask was on and tried to deflate my bcd but could not get the proper positioning. I was also tied up in the line. The safety instructor saw all this, was able to hang onto my leg and flaire out to increase drag on the way up. Needless to say, I made it out alive. I have a new respect for diving and the cardinal rules that you learn in your Rescue class that are the key ingredients in what makes an accident an accident. [edited for buoyancy variables]
    - Tuna-Fish 16y ago
      > Personally, I had a weighting issue. As in I was too heavy. the instructor told me to use 10% bodyweight + 6 lbs. as the weight. 175 lbs, head to toe 7mm wetsuit, one AL80 tank @ 2500 psi, fresh water - anyone know the algo for figuring weight with these variables? This was a total failure from your instructor. You do not try to calculate the correct weighting -- there is too much of individual variance. Instead you just measure. Get in shallow water and add weight until you are comfortable. (Make sure you are not either almost too heavy or almost too light, both can be problematic.). Even small things like differences in what you ate last night can have serious effect on the amount of weighting you need. (too much gas in intestines...)
enneff 16y ago
> I felt waves of fear threatening to engulf me, and it took every ounce of self control not to bolt for the surface (which can injure or kill you). It's highly unusual (not to mention irresponsible) to ask diver to do this for the first time outside of a confined-water scenario (like a swimming pool), where the water is shallow and immediate ascent is safe.
- atlbeer 16y ago
  I think s/he was referring to that in general diving at certain depths bolting to the surface can injure or kill you. As a PADI course this skill-set will ALWAYS be taught in a pool or shallow water.
jodrellblank 16y ago
Reminds me of http://www.gladwell.com/2000/2000_08_21_a_choking.html http://www.gladwell.com/2000/2000_08_21_a_choking.html (specifically, paragraph 7)
tene 16y ago
Reminds me of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammalian_diving_reflex http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammalian_diving_reflex

lief79 16y ago

In hindsight, and after taking more advanced courses, it became quite clear that scuba instruction was all about teaching the students how not to panic. I hope they make that clear to the instructors, as I only went for personal instruction.

callahad 16y ago
Cave training places an extremely strong emphasis on controlling panic. In open water, if you bolt to the surface you might get bent, but there are chambers for that. In a cave, you either swim out, or you drown. You don't even have the option of a quick, merciful DCS hit. Keeping a clear head is essential when your own self-rescue is on the line.
- siculars 16y ago
  I just went for my Cavern Diver Cert and am not ashamed to say I had to withdraw, washout as it were. The odd thing was that the place I was taking the Certification allowed fun divers with only an Open water Cert to dive the caverns (with guides, of course). After my experience, there is absolutely no way I would ever, ever, ever advise anyone to ever go cavern/cave diving without the appropriate instruction and cert level. If for only the reason of exposure to cave(rn) panic inducing situations. It is the lack of exposure that will bring on a massive panic attack at the absolute worst moment that can kill not only the diver, but the entire group. Personally, I had a weighting issue. As in I was too heavy. the instructor told me to use 10% bodyweight + 6 lbs. as the weight. 175 lbs, head to toe 7mm wetsuit, one AL80 tank @ 2500 psi, fresh water - anyone know the algo for figuring weight with these variables? Haven't done my peak performance buoyancy yet... My trim was off, we went over a cliff with an overhang, I was in the process of calling the dive at this point as my trim was positioning me vertically. As soon as I hit vertical my belt slid right off into the 150 ft abyss taking a fin with it and I started ascending quicker than I would have liked. At that point my self rescue brain kicked in with my Rescue diver training. I absolutely made sure i was breathing, put my right hand above my head to protect from the overhang, made sure my reg was in my mouth, my mask was on and tried to deflate my bcd but could not get the proper positioning. I was also tied up in the line. The safety instructor saw all this, was able to hang onto my leg and flaire out to increase drag on the way up. Needless to say, I made it out alive. I have a new respect for diving and the cardinal rules that you learn in your Rescue class that are the key ingredients in what makes an accident an accident. [edited for buoyancy variables]
  - Tuna-Fish 16y ago
    > Personally, I had a weighting issue. As in I was too heavy. the instructor told me to use 10% bodyweight + 6 lbs. as the weight. 175 lbs, head to toe 7mm wetsuit, one AL80 tank @ 2500 psi, fresh water - anyone know the algo for figuring weight with these variables? This was a total failure from your instructor. You do not try to calculate the correct weighting -- there is too much of individual variance. Instead you just measure. Get in shallow water and add weight until you are comfortable. (Make sure you are not either almost too heavy or almost too light, both can be problematic.). Even small things like differences in what you ate last night can have serious effect on the amount of weighting you need. (too much gas in intestines...)

enneff 16y ago

> I felt waves of fear threatening to engulf me, and it took every ounce of self control not to bolt for the surface (which can injure or kill you). It's highly unusual (not to mention irresponsible) to ask diver to do this for the first time outside of a confined-water scenario (like a swimming pool), where the water is shallow and immediate ascent is safe.

atlbeer 16y ago
I think s/he was referring to that in general diving at certain depths bolting to the surface can injure or kill you. As a PADI course this skill-set will ALWAYS be taught in a pool or shallow water.

jodrellblank 16y ago

Reminds me of http://www.gladwell.com/2000/2000_08_21_a_choking.html http://www.gladwell.com/2000/2000_08_21_a_choking.html (specifically, paragraph 7)

tene 16y ago

Reminds me of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammalian_diving_reflex http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammalian_diving_reflex