Hitting the lake before finishing basic skills?

[russp]

My fiance has tried twice to get her OW C Card. She does fine with gearing up and getting in the water, breathing under water and playing with the frisbee and torpedo,etc. Her problem comes when it's time to do a reg recovery or mack clearing; she gets flustered and then panics and heads for the surface. She seems to want to do this but is giving up after each one day attempt. I was wondering what everyone thought of her going to a controlled environment like Clear Springs with an instructor or dive master to experience a bit more of the enjoyment of diving than a pool offers as a way of encouragement so she gives it another try.

[MSilvia]

I think a pool is the appropriate controlled environment. Have her kneel in the shallow end and do it over and over until it's easy and boring.

If she simulates the "hard part", it can help get her used to it. Have her get in the pool with no mask, then put the mask on and stand up. If she gets used to having a mask full of water, clearing it isn't a big deal.

Have her get underwater with no reg, then while she's down there, clear and breathe from a reg. Once she's done that a few times, THEN try a reg recovery drill.

[CompuDude]

I agree, unless you lake offers perfect visibility, shallow (5') depths for practice, and no silt problems whatsoever, the reduced visibility is only going to make things more difficult for her. The ease and familiarity of a non-threatening pool environment is the right place for a new diver to practice basic skills that are causing panic issues.

[Don Wray]

Why would the skills be easier? She is not comfortable doing the skills required for certification. More work is needed period.

[mocepts]

Stay in the pool!!! It took my wife 2 nights at 4 hours each in the pool clearing her mask over and over and over again till she was completely comfortable. It was a pain, but why chance it? It won't only make her diving much more relaxing, but it will make yours that much more relaxing also not having to worry.

[texdiveguy]

If she can not accomplish these skills in a pool then she will in all likelihood have more trouble in CSSP. These are very basic skills that a diver of any level needs to be comfortable with.....stick to the pool and try another Instrc./DM.

[3rdEye]

ya, practice in the pool...I'd say have her practice breathing through a reg without a mask in shallow water, to get comfortable with that sensation. and maybe practice removing and purging a reg in shallow water, then move on to mask floods, mask removal, and reg recovery then trying them in deeper water....baby steps

[deepstop]

All good advice. I see students get into trouble when they try to rush it. By separating the exercise into steps, doing them one at a time, taking a few breaths in between each one, they slow down enough to get over the anxiety.

She should be able to get used to sitting in the water with her eyes closed and breathing without a mask, like it was suggested above.

[Gombessa]

I don't see the problem with having an instructor take her out for a bit of "fun diving" like a discover scuba dive, but I certainly wouldn't expect that to help her in any way get over mask clears or reg recovery...I agree with everyone else here that the key to passing these skills is to practice in the shallow end of the pool (where you can just stand up anytime you want).

[Daz]

Not to jump on the bandwagon, but - What they said. Practice and repetition are they keys and the place to do work on it/them is in the pool where distractions are minimal.