Do you remember your first breath on SCUBA and how you felt?

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

I know this should be in the women's views forum talking about feelings and all that stuff, but I thought I would open up my latest feelings thread to the general population.
I have been thinking back on this last year of diving and how I "feel". I remember my very first breath under water. We ducked down in the pool. I had taken a healthy sized breath just before we ducked under. Held my breath for a second before I released and took in my first underwater breath. I was so excited and felt like I was on the edge of a great precipice ready to jump but not sure where the journey would take me.

For me, every dive there after, there is still some magic in that first breath below the surface and a feeling of here I go on another great adventure. A feeling a great excitement comes over me of water my day in the water will hold for me.

I can float on top of the water easily for long periods of time wthout any gear, but with gear I get very nervous. I don't know why, but I have always hated being on top in gear even with a fully inflated BC and I don't like breathing off a reg at the surface. If I put my face in the water, then I feel calm.

So how did you feel when you first began your certification journey and how have some of those same things still carried over until today?

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

OK I am getting some nice PM's about this thread. For the love of SCUBA post men!!! It is ok for men to have feelings about certain things and to share them in public. SCUBA is one of those things!! Now if you start posting about how your new shoes make you feel-- we will try to get you banned from the board.

 

[Garrobo]

I was surprised at how easily the reg breathed. Of course I tried it before jumping in the pool but it was different when under water. Since I spent a lot of time in and under water as a kid and did some free diving when I lived in Honduras I wasn't really surprised at anything else except maybe the weight and restrictions of the gear. Didn't have a clue that the tanks, BC ,etc. would be so heavy.

 

[RikRaeder]

Well, believe it or not, Leah, we do have feelings. They're under the pancreas, behind some nerves and stuff.
I remember my "first time" as if it were yesterday. I grew up with Jaques Cousteau and always wanted to dive. After a week of classroom stuff, swimming tests, etc, we FINALLY got to try the gear in the pool. When we got the go ahead, I crammed my face under the water and...hesitated. I knew the gear would work. I knew that I would be able to breath. I also knew that humans don't usually breath underwater, so I took a wee sip of air as I blocked the second stage aperature with my tongue. After my cautious trial, I was just fine and proceeded to sit on the bottom and suck away.
I too am quite comfortable in the water and always have been. I do get nervous after gearing up and before my first dive as well. For me, it's about being out of practice after three or so months more than anxiety over the gear. If I get a couple of breaths off of my reg before I go in, I'm happy enough with the gear. My rust-anxiety period has been decreasing as I get more experience. Last time it lasted about five minutes, then I felt at home. <sob> Sorry...I have to go....<sniff>

 

[Vie]

The first breath from a regulator underwater (in a pool) felt surprisingly unremarkable - I was more surprised at how noisy it was. The magical moment was my first OW dive in the sea, actually swimming in 30+ feet of water. I got certified almost by accident (in my mid 20s) so I was kicking myself (and still am) that I didn't take up scuba diving when I was twelve...

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

It felt weird, and it felt like a homecoming, at the same time... Hard to put into words...

 

[scubaaron2003]

I think most of our feelings are going to be the same. Scuba is not something you try and stay with accidentally. I would agree with Vie open water is much more remarkable.

Also don't forget the exhilaration of the first breath in open water without mask.

 

[GA Under Water]

My first Breath was weird. I remember thinking as I sank and with the top of my head still dry, "I need to get some air, go to the surface." I fought off the urge and had to force myself to inhale. The cold air that came was so exciting that my mask 1/2 flooded. Fortunantly, I had already been practicing the Mask clear

I haven't been able to stop thinking about being under water ever since.

 

[wardric]

When I was about 7 or 8, we lived in an appartment and had a big community pool where I learned to swim and hold my breath underwater. At about this age, I had a dream that I clearly remember. I dreamed I was in that pool, underwater and holding my breath when I suddenly decided to start breathing. I realized I could breathe quite normally but with a strange, different feeling than out of the water. It felt so good and I was soooo happy. Then I woke up. Of course I was disappointed. I did try it the next time in the pool since it had seemed so real, but of course it didn't work.

I was about 15 yrs later (1993) that I started my first scuba lessons. The first time I took a breath from a regulator in a pool, I suddenly had the exact same feeling as in my youth dream. It's hard to describe how happy I was. It was really natural and easy to me since I had already "experienced" it. Spooky, eh!

 

[waynel]

Same with me GA. There were 8 of us in my OW class, including my wife. The instructor lined us up along the side of the pool, motioined for us to go down. We all dipped our heads under the surface together, drew a breath, and all popped right back up together. That first breath on a regulator under water, for all of us, was intimidating. We all felt like we wouldn't be able to breathe. It just wasn't natural.

Leah, as far as being nervous at the surface with gear on...my wife feels exactly the same, even after one year of diving. She is perfectly fine when she descends, but just floating at the surface...nervous. I've heard other women agree with my wife on this. It would make an interesting study, if it hasn't been done already.