commercial diving women

[divekyra]

I feel I am always trying to catch up when it comes to mechanical things, but mind you, I watch and learn. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses. I fit in a lot of pipes some guys don't; they can do some real tough work I can't; I have smaller hands that fit into tight places; they have more mechanical knowledge; and when it comes to a lot of the newer delicate equipment we handle these days I am often in charge of that and showing them how to handle it while they show me how to handle a motor. It all works out in the end.

 

[Mirjana]

I'm impressed!!!

Congrats to you, Kyra.....way to go

Wish you all the best.............

Hi Colleen,
I registered to this site just to answer you, well ok and I am sure I will check out other things and get into all sorts of trouble ha ha. I am a commercial diver, female, not Canadian but Mexican; as minority as you can get in the field (yep, I'm also short). I work inland in Nuclear Power plants. I made the jump from SCUBA instructor to Technical (cave diving) to commercial. If you are thinking about it do it OUT OF LOVE for diving. That is the only way you will make headway. I don't nkow if I am lucky or what but I started out with rough times and was convinced I'd write a book about how tough it is to be a female commercial diver. Closing in on my second year I realized that it was no longer as tough and that I have a few (not all: you cannot have EVERYONE like you) very close diver buddies at work who call me "little sister". It has been the most amazing time of my life. Colleen, if you love being in the water and are comfortable it will work for you. It will require a lot of hard work and determination and patience and yes, you must be in better shape than most of the guys just to keep up. I have trained in welding, burning, plasma cutting and coatings and I am certified in all except welding in nukes (I still hope to get certified for this someday). The pay sucks, the hours can kill but it's all worth it when you get to dive and you do a good job.
I do not have email access at home and I will be on the road but I check my email and I am more than glad to help you in any way, with any questions.
Kyra

 

[Bob3]

Old Thread Alert!

That's one of the beauties about this board; some questions (and commentary) remain pertinent a looong time.
4 years, eh? (almost 5) How time flies...

 

[divekyra]

Well, Colleen may have had her questions answered a long time ago, but here we are today talking about it. It's great and it's the reason why these threads remain.
Thanks Bob3 and Mirjana, for the remarks. I just wish we could get more people talking about this aspect of diving. I do commercial diving as does my husband but there are quite a few of us who still enjoy diving on our free time. Just a couple of months ago four of us went to Cozumel to do some recreational diving, we had a BLAST! It was great to actually have visibility and just enjoy the beautiful reefs and colorful fish. I went into a little tunnel and (strangely) got a little anxious and all I had to do was close my eyes and pretend I had to go to work and it went away. My husband and one of our friends both said they had to do the same!

 

[Mirjana]

myself, i'm really new to diving, therefore i dare not speak in the presence of true professionals

i've tried scuba the first time in egypt few years ago, but took me two years to actually join a club and be more serious about it

now there are over a dozen of us being really hooked on DIR, deep-diving, caves...it will take a while to get there....some more, some less serious, we're trying to make a team, and we're fortunate to have good instructors ...

i'm really interested in the experience, but i understand that making a living out of is whole another ball game.....

Well, Colleen may have had her questions answered a long time ago, but here we are today talking about it. It's great and it's the reason why these threads remain.
Thanks Bob3 and Mirjana, for the remarks. I just wish we could get more people talking about this aspect of diving. I do commercial diving as does my husband but there are quite a few of us who still enjoy diving on our free time. Just a couple of months ago four of us went to Cozumel to do some recreational diving, we had a BLAST! It was great to actually have visibility and just enjoy the beautiful reefs and colorful fish. I went into a little tunnel and (strangely) got a little anxious and all I had to do was close my eyes and pretend I had to go to work and it went away. My husband and one of our friends both said they had to do the same!

 

[divekyra]

I believe that ALL who dive have experiences to share. Speak up Mirjana don't be shy!
For example, I have never been to Egypt (I'd absolutely love to) so I bet you can tell a lot about it. It's great to have a club. While I was going to commercial diving school I volunteered at the Seattle Aquarium, it was as close to a club as I got and I loved the atmosphere of everyone having stories and experiences to share, all of us united by that love and awe we have for water and what lies beneath.
As for making a living out of it well, I do it for two reasons (beside the love of water), 1)I'd rather hold a wrench underwater than topside
2) I want to be able to afford nice diving vacations!

 

[sololady]

Hey there,

That was then, this is now - "Marni" - the first female Saturation diver in the commercial oifields!

Regards,
D.S.D.

Hi Dan

Just wondered when your "Marni" started diving in the patch.

Deba

 

[bridgeworks]

Hi Kyra,

I would like to contact you. I am a female commercial diver as well and would like to ask a few questions about all kinds of stuff.

My e-mail address: bridgeworks66@hotmail.com

Best wishes,
Brigitte Hackenberg

 

[divekyra]

Hi there!
Please do, I am sure I have question for you too!
My email address is divekyra@hotmail.com. As a matter of fact, this very moment the hotmail server is down and I can't get to my account but email me and I will check it tomorrow. I was out of town and just got back yesterday and saw this message.
Brigitte, I see here you're in Scotland?
Tell me all about you and what you do and ask away. The company I work for has about 200 full time divers and we are only 3 women. We were two full timers until last year.
Kyra

 

[bridgeworks]

Hi Kyra,

did you receive my e-mails?

Brigitte