Info A SATurner starts diving*... (*trials and tribulations of a 50+ year old out of shape guy learning to dive)

[SATurner]

Greetings and Salutations to one and all!

I showed up on the ScubaBoard.com scene (Greetings from Georgia, USA) and told you I would do my best to research before asking questions.

I also hope to be able to share my experience(s) with others who might be interested in starting/learning to dive. So, with that in mind, I am going to turn this thread into a "newbie diver diary" of sorts. It has been my experience that often times the journey isn't documented as well as the milestones are.

I am sure there will be questions or thoughts sprinkled throughout my various posts. I'll try to make them stand out from the rest of the post using a blue font should someone simply desire to "pluck out" the knowledge and forego my blathering. Now that you have the "setup," welcome to my humble contribution to a sport I know very little about....

Disclaimer:
This is the retelling of what I have experienced. Your experience could be vastly different from mine. If I am sharing something that is bad, please point it out to me in an effort to help others learn from mistakes I have made. If I am using the wrong terminology, please correct me. I am still trying to learn as much as possible knowing I will never know it all.

I have used real names of establishments. I don't know if you will experience the same thing I have if you use those establishments. My goal isn't to endorse or negatively review these establishments (again, just sharing experience). I am not gaining monetarily from any establishment I have named.

I have used similar first names of people leaving out any last names. If your name matches a name I have used, this doesn't necessarily mean I was with you (unless of course you recognize me and were there).

The Beginning:
In my youth, I can remember Dad having a SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) setup. He was very protective of it, but it spent a lot of time in the basement. To be honest, I don't know if he ever used it beyond getting certified. I certainly never caught wind of any of his diving experiences. Dad's setup involved what I am now guessing to be a 80AL tank, reg set, oval mask, J snorkel, ScubaPro Jet Fins, and maybe a yellow Buoyancy Control Device (BCD) that looked like a horse collar.

At some point I was able to talk Dad into letting me use his mask, snorkel and fins at the lake. I am guessing this was Wilson Lake/Reservoir in Kansas. That is the only lake I remember in Kansas that was "clear" enough to see much past arms length. I chased some fish around underwater and from that point, I was hooked. I wanted to be underwater every chance I got.

During high school, I was on the swim team, and a few practices we were able to use fins, so once again, I reached for Dad's trusty Jet Fins. No one else had them, and it seemed like everyone was envious of the fact that these were SCUBA fins. Eventually, Dad gave me his gear to use whenever I wanted. I hauled it around for years. Upon moving out of the house, I left Dad's gear behind so back in the basement it went. Dust, cob webs, and dry rot became it's fate.

Somewhere along the way, I ended up with the tank and reg set. Knowing now what I know, I'll have to dig and see if I still have them, I mean I should, but who knows where? There have been numerous moves and States involved over the past twenty (20) years. I can remember touching these both each time thinking, "just toss this, you're never going to use it," but packing it onto the truck(s) anyway.

The nothing:
Over the years, life happened. There were relationships gained and lost. At one point, what was thought to be a fairly short lived thing turned into a marriage. Jobs, struggles, kids, life, well they all happened and the amount of time I got to spend in water dwindled.

Dad's tank and reg set became nostalgia that turned into a dream of one day....

 

[SATurner]

A New Beginning:

We have always enjoyed beach type vacations. Every time we go to the beach, I am out in the surf with a set of used gear I picked up on one of our anniversary trips that was in Daytona Beach. I managed to get a Snorkel Pro mask and snorkel along with a set of Scuba Pro Jet Fins for $120.00 from a local dive shop in Daytona Beach. I remember specifically digging through all the used gear to find a pair of fins. The dive shop operator warned me that the surf would likely take my gear away. I have drug that set of gear to every beach vacation since.

Snorkeling became my retreat back into the water through the years. I managed to get one of the boys to go on a snorkel adventure somewhere near Fort Walton, FL. He really enjoyed it, but I have yet to get him to go again.

In the back of my mind, I had the urge to learn SCUBA, but never pushed it. To be honest, I figured it would never happen because I had an idea that it would be expensive. Not seeing any interest from either of the kids didn't help. The wife has absolutely no desire to be in water where her feet aren't visible. So, I was the odd duck of the family that wanted to be a sea creature instead of a land lubber.

For our twenty (20) year anniversary, the wife asked what I wanted to do to celebrate. My only response was, "I want to do something that requires my passport." From there, she set out to find a "thing" we could do together using our passports. The result was a week's stay in Aruba. Woo Hoo!! I had another chance to pull out the used gear and splash down in some Caribbean water. That alone was exciting to me.

A few days before the trip, my wife shared that she had booked a PADI (Professional Association of Dive Instructors) Discover Scuba Diving trip for both of us. I was excited and confused all at the same time. Excited for me, but confused as to why she agreed to do something I knew she likely wouldn't enjoy. Looking back, I wonder if she didn't just plan it that way so that I would do it.

 

[SATurner]

A Diver Is Born:

As luck would have it, there were some circumstances (potential need to return home due to emergency) back home that occurred that prevented my wife from participating in the Discover Scuba Diving course in Aruba. We were both bummed out, but the decision was made that she would go on the boat, and I would go through the course. This would allow her to fly if the emergency progressed to the point of needing to return early.

The course was provided by Red Sail Sports in Aruba. After a short walk to a nearby pier we sat and waited for the fun to begin. Turns out, we were the only ones scheduled to take the course that day. So, the instructor, Earl, handed me my gear and said, "put this on and we'll go up to the pool and get started."

If you have never done a Discover Scuba Diving course, let me give you a few details about it. Once I signed up, there was an e-learning set of PADI materials for me to go though. It involved watching some videos and answering some questions based on what I had watched or read in the instructional materials. Once geared up, I was then taken to a pool at a nearby resort so that the instructor could go over a few (as in not many) skills so that I could jump in the water and SCUBA dive for the first time. The only skills I remember being shown was how to clear a mask, lost regulator find and some very basic hand signals.

Initially, I struggled with mask clearing as I didn't pick up from the video or watching the instructor under water that exhaling through the nose was what pushed the water out of the mask. I thought I was seeing people add bubbles to the mask from exhaling and keeping the bottom of their mask away from their face. Earl had us both surface when he saw me struggle and he then explained it was an exhale through the nose instead of the mouth that was pushing the water out of the mask. Knowing now what I didn't know then, I mean DUH!! How else would you push water out of a mask? I share this experience though because I don't think I read or heard anywhere to exhale through the nose so I was doing what seemed "natural" to me. Maybe I am not the only one and perhaps this will help someone else "know better."

When I did the lost regulator find, Earl showed me how to sweep from my shoulder down to my hand to find the regulator. Well, the hose touched me at right about my elbow so I just grabbed it. We surfaced and discussed that while I had completed the task, I didn't complete it correctly because I should have swept my arm.

I was able to swim around in the resort pool for a short time playing with my breathing and feeling myself go up and down with just breaths. Of course there were kids doing cannon balls around me which added for some odd distractions. I believe we spent about 45 minutes to an hour in the pool. After this, it was time to head back down to the boat. The whole trip from the pool to the boat I was thinking in my head and practicing dipping my shoulder and reaching for a lost regulator. I probably looked like I was trying to do breakdance the wave to a casual observer.

After what had to be a fifteen (15) minute or less boat ride, we stopped at the Pedernales wreck site. Anchor was set and a few preparations were made. We did a long stride entry into the water off the back of the boat. Then we swam out the tag line to a buoy to make our descent. Going down, I didn't have any issues clearing my ears, and once at the bottom, I struggled a bit to stay down. Earl added two bags of weight to me. I have no clue how much weight I had, I just know he added more.

Earl had a few bubbles coming off of his primary and I watched him remove his BCD and check it then put it back on all while leading us forward toward the wreck. I remember thinking to myself that it seemed odd that he was out front leading instead of following behind me. You see, in my mind, at the time, it made sense for him to be behind me to "save" me from trouble. Reflecting on this, I now believe my thought process to be backwards. He lead me to "keep me out" of trouble. He checked on me frequently at first, then seemed comfortable with what I was doing and the frequency dropped a bit. Seemed like every 10-20 seconds at first to more like once a minute or so in the middle to once every couple of minutes toward the end.

We swam around the wreck with Earl pointing out a few things here and there. At one point, I decided to stretch my abilities a bit and went for a barrel roll. I am glad I did, in doing so, I saw a sea turtle above us. After what seemed like maybe ten (10) or fifteen (15) minutes, we had ended up back at the ascent line. Reflecting back, we swam around a fairly large part of the wreck and did at least one or two laps. As it turns out, we were underwater for around 45 minutes.

The visibility on the dive was easily 30'+. I don't remember feeling any current or swell. Outside it was sunny and 79°F (that was the weather the whole time we were there). There was some coral and wildlife to observe, but I wouldn't say it was excessive. Since the wreckage was used by the Dutch Navy aircraft for target practice, it is quite scattered about. I am not sure when they stopped using it for target practice, but given the lack of growth on the wreckage, the long cycle of growth is fairly apparent.

In my mind I was a mess of different thoughts and emotions. I was excited, I had just SCUBA dived! I was sad, the dive was ending. I was calm and relaxed, nothing had gone wrong and it seemed effortless to me. I was fascinated by the sound of my breathing and the bubbles. I was fearful knowing that I was now hooked and not knowing if I would be able to dive again.

I remember Earl saying with a big smile on his face, "now it gets expensive for you." In my mind, I knew I was hooked and he was right.

I didn't have a computer, I don't even remember if the SPG was in PSI or BAR. I remember that the gauge wasn't in the red, but it was in the yellow. I asked Earl how much air I had used knowing he had a leak and I didn't. He said about as much as he did. Since I didn't see his gauge, I have no clue if I was an air hog or he was being kind.

So there you have it, my first SCUBA experience. Next, I'll document my journey to PADI Open Water Certification. I welcome any/all constructive feedback. I'll gladly answer questions to the best of my ability. Thanks for reading.

 

[Rob9876]

Nice background info! For me it was a Discover dive on my honeymoon in 1997 (Cozumel), then life got in the way until my son finally pushed for us to get certified in 2018 (Cozumel also). Wish I had not waited so long, but stuff happens and glad to be addicted to diving now!

 

[BoltSnap]

People like you keep the will and strength to continue to teach diving in my 50++ me. Thank you so much for sharing. I'd love to read more about your adventure in getting fully certified. I wish I were back in the great US of A and teach you.

Best wishes to you in your new adventure from cool and sunny Libya!!

 

[SATurner]

A Journey Toward Open Water:
After the Aruba trip, I put on my "to do" list "GET SCUBA CERTIFIED." I have never been one that can see too far into the future, having a five (5) year plan seems like planning for a trip to Mars to me. It just isn't something I understand. My "to do" list might go out as far as the next weekend or the week after. I sort of chuckled at myself when I added this to the list thinking, "yeah right.."

Well, a week went by, and the mental "to do" list still held "get certified." First a week, surely this can't mean much right? Then another week, then a month. By now, I started thinking, "I might just pull this off." Of course, I only had this grand scheme going on in my head, so I decided to float it past the wife (aka the "budgetary committee) just to see what kind of response there might be. Initially, it was like, "that sounds like a good idea," but there wasn't a lot of "Just Do It" mixed in with that reply. I figured that was a subtle sign to just let it go like Elsa in Frozen.

I did some digging and learned a bit more about what PADI had to offer. I spoke with a guy at work and he mentioned a local dive shop here to get training from. I felt the tug of the water and knew I had to figure out a way. Armed with a bit of information, I kept dropping a few things here and there toward the budgetary committee. There wasn't ever a lot of reaction either positively or negatively, so I took that as a good enough sign. Little did I know in a few short months, I would have the perfect opportunity to really push the topic.

Having left Aruba back in late August, I caught wind of some scheming the wife had planned for a cruise in the beginning of 2023. I have been on a few cruises. To be honest, to me, it's a lot like Wal Mart or Las Vegas on water so I get that some are really into it, but for me it's just kind of "meh." Seizing this opportunity, I tossed out, "I'll go on a cruise if I can dive while on the cruise." I really thought that would be the end of it (both the cruise and diving). I never expected my bluff to be called with "okay, go for it."

Now the pressure was on me to figure out how to get certified before February 2023, and here it was late October 2022. Remember that guy at work that mentioned a dive shop? He reminded me that I could get trained though the shop so off I went....

 

[SATurner]

Wish I had not waited so long, but stuff happens and glad to be addicted to diving now!

I 100% identify with this.

 

[SATurner]

People like you keep the will and strength to continue to teach diving in my 50++ me. Thank you so much for sharing. I'd love to read more about your adventure in getting fully certified. I wish I were back in the great US of A and teach you.

Best wishes to you in your new adventure from cool and sunny Libya!!

Thank you, when I first started this thread I broke the 10,000 plus character rule. Then in cutting it down to better size, I ended up getting the thread flagged for review. Luckily it is now up and going.

I will definitely share more about the journey and evolution of my experience(s) diving. I hope it is something that helps others even if it is to pass a bit of time with a smile or a head scratching "what was he thinking," moment.

 

[SATurner]

A Land Locked Dive Shop in the Middle of Winter:

The pressure was on, I had laid down the challenge and my bluff had been called. Now I needed to figure out how and where to get certified before February of 2023. It was already late November, so I felt the pressure starting to rise.

I live in the Atlanta Metro area, and the dive shop recommended to me was Deep South Divers. I reached out to them via email after looking about on their website to inquire about getting certified to dive in December. I learned that I had a few options and that the December date wasn't 100% positive yet.

I went ahead and signed up via PADI for the e-learning and started going through that. As the December date approached, the shop said there wasn't enough interest so it wasn't going to happen. Oh no! The "plan" was showing signs of collapse. I had to up my game.

The shop owner had explained that I would need mask, snorkel, fins, a dive bag, and a SMB (Surface Marker Buoy) in order to take the class. I told him about my gear and he said "bring it by and I'll let you know if you can use it." Sure I thought, it's a ploy to get me to spend more money by getting me in the door. I showed him my gear and to my surprise he said, "what you have will work, but you'll still need a SMB." This completely caught me off guard, I had expected to hear, "that won't work, but here's what will, please break out the VISA."

In a bit of a shock I heard myself asking "which mask would you suggest? The one I have pushes down on my forehead a bit and gets uncomfortable after awhile." I mean really? You just heard you were good to go, and opted to throw out an invitation to break out the wallet? Have you absolutely lost your mind? The owner said, "what I have is over there on the wall, why don't you try on a few and see which one you like." What sort of Vulcan Mind Trick was this guy playing on me? I get to pick? There's no pressure?

Well, wouldn't you know it, I was over there trying on masks. Knowing only enough to know that I should be able to keep the mask on my face with a gentle inhale without the mask strap, I was like a kid in the candy store. I tried on at least one of every brand and style he had. Never once did it feel like the Snorkel Pro mask I had that pressed on my forehead. Every one felt great, and I realized that while I had a mask, it likely hadn't been properly cared for and might need replaced.

As is often the case with me, I gravitated to the most expensive setup he had in the shop. I don't know what it is, but drop me in any store and I can go to the most expensive item in it like a truffle pig in the forest. Before I knew it, I had a mask in hand, and was after a matching snorkel. In my mind, the worst possible outcome would be that I would end up with a kick ass mask and snorkel to match my old used Scuba Pro Jet Fins.

I left the shop that day with a TUSA Paragon mask with a matching snorkel on order along with a TUSA SMB. I wasn't about to fork over more money for fins and a dive bag when I had my own fins and small Akōna snorkel bag. I mean surely some of the stuff I have is "good enough."

 

[SATurner]

Open Water Certification: (E-Learning)
Having left the dive shop, I made sure the owner knew I was serious about learning. He knew I had started the PADI e-learning. He knew I wanted to get certified. We both knew December 2022 wasn't going to pan out. He said, "maybe we can make it work in January 2023." I don't think he realized how determined I was at this point.

I went through the online training at a fairly decent pace. Trying not to race through it in one weekend, and trying to understand it instead of just "study for the test." Some of it seemed very much like common sense. Some of it was new and didn't really make a lot of sense. At first, I tried keeping up with imperial and metric at the same time and to be honest, that was just silly. I failed miserably. I knew I had to let one go. Looking at the info, metric made a lot of sense and it was easier. I mean add 10m = add 1 bar, simple right? It made sense. It kept the math easy. Did I mention I am in the United States? I believe somewhere the founding fathers made a rule/law that said "we shall not use metric here!" Oh the shame, I had learned and wanted to use the metric system.

With the e-learning completed, I went back to the dive shop trying to encourage (but not pester) the owner into committing to a training class in January. There was a lot of delicately trying to get me to understand that learning to SCUBA in the middle of winter when an indoor pool wasn't available wasn't an easy thing to accomplish. I couldn't be deterred. I knew I had to increase the stakes. I doubled down and went for the Advanced Open Water Certification e-learning.

I laid out a plan for the owner that would potentially include me getting two certifications over the course of a long weekend. I asked him to send me a link to Advanced Open Water e-learning so that he would get the "credit" for my purchase rather than PADI getting all the glory. Together we started to hatch a "if it all goes perfect" plan for January.

I would do pool time on Friday, three (3) Open Water dives on Saturday, three more on Sunday, and then we'd go out into the Gulf on Monday for three more dives. If everything went perfectly, I would have two certifications and even more "reason" to use with the "budgetary committee" as to why I should dive frequently.