Hi from Santa Barbara!

[courtneyinpink]

Hi, my name is Courtney, I'm 20 and am a marine biology major in college. I just got NAUI certified in June and so far have only dove in Mexico and Illinois (my hometown). I want to dive here in CA only I can't afford a 7 mm wetsuit at the moment, and I'm really scared of Great White Sharks! So far I only have 8 dives. I have bad asthma and so every dive is a small victory for me. My biggest fear of diving is drowning, because I was found facedown in the ocean after surfing on valentine's day. I had no pulse for 10 minutes and was given CPR.

I guess that's it...ask me anything if you want to know.

 

[dwaters]

Welcome to the 'board!!!

Courtney, please feel free to drop on down to your local forum and join in the fun ...
... http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/ ... and there is a very active sub-forum that
dives regularly and I'm sure will help you get into our wonderful So.Cal. water. Check them out
... http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/beach-crabs/ ... Pop in and say hey!

 

[pasley]

Welcome to the board.

... I'm really scared of Great White Sharks! ...

In a study of shark attacks over a 10 year period (1990-2000) the following average number of deaths by Shark attack Vs other perils were as follows: Bicycle related Fatalities: 12,974 Shark Attack Fatalities:11 Dog attack Fatalities (2001-2007)175 to 6 Shark Fatalities for the same period. So if you want to fear something, fear something realistic, like a bicycling accident or being killed by your dog. Shark attacks are very rare.

...I have bad asthma and so every dive is a small victory for me....

OK, that is a concern and a victory. Your doctor must believe your Asthma is manageable or he would not have cleared you to dive.

...My biggest fear of diving is drowning, because I was found face down in the ocean after surfing on valentine's day. I had no pulse for 10 minutes and was given CPR. ...

What was the cause of you loosing consciousness? Was it being hit by a board or wave or the asthma? That is a major concern to both you and your dive buddy if it was the Asthma. Glad to hear you are all right. Now get down to the So California section under United States California Kelp Divers and give a shout out and get in the local waters!

 

[Cyclops_Diver]

Welcome!

I had bad asthma too. But it went away when I was about your age because I got to jogging and building up my cardio and endurance. Holler at your doctor about it. Now ten years later asthma is a distant memory! Hope to catch you in the water!

 

[courtneyinpink]

Welcome to the board.

In a study of shark attacks over a 10 year period (1990-2000) the following average number of deaths by Shark attack Vs other perils were as follows: Bicycle related Fatalities: 12,974 Shark Attack Fatalities:11 Dog attack Fatalities (2001-2007)175 to 6 Shark Fatalities for the same period. So if you want to fear something, fear something realistic, like a bicycling accident or being killed by your dog. Shark attacks are very rare. OK, that is a concern and a victory. Your doctor must believe your Asthma is manageable or he would not have cleared you to dive.
What was the cause of you loosing consciousness? Was it being hit by a board or wave or the asthma? That is a major concern to both you and your dive buddy if it was the Asthma. Glad to hear you are all right. Now get down to the So California section under United States California Kelp Divers and give a shout out and get in the local waters!

I wiped out and hit my head on a big rock. I'm also afraid of being trapped with kelp. My doctor did clear me. Thank you!!

 

[floridanewbe]

welcome aboard

 

[aquanex]

Welcome. ...and as a person who spent many years diving on the CA coast and now living in the Chicago area, I understand! Kinda your life in reverse. Press on with the diving!

 

[courtneyinpink]

Welcome. ...and as a person who spent many years diving on the CA coast and now living in the Chicago area, I understand! Kinda your life in reverse. Press on with the diving!

Thank you! I really miss the city. Ever dive Lake Michigan?

 

[spt29970]

Hi Courtney,

One great thing about Santa Barbara is that we have easy access to the Channel Islands with amazing, world class diving. The shore diving is decent, and (for a poor college student) essentially free. You should check out the Paradise Dive Club (Paradise Dive Club Santa Barbara, CA). It is a great way of finding dive buddies and to get motivated to do local diving. The meetings are the last Tuesday of each month and there is always a gear raffle and a presentation on something dive related. Check the web page for directions.