Hello! I recently received my OW certification and traveled to the Bahamas for my first OW dive and had a horrible experience thanks to my dive buddy (my significant other) abandoning me in during the dive. I ended up abandoning the dive and feel like I may never dive again if I don’t get back in the water soon but have no trust in my dive buddy. I checked into the group that I received my certification with and basically I would need to pay again to be recertified to have someone dive with me to help me get over the fear. Any help/suggestions? Feeling lost!
Hello from Savannah!
- Thread starter Mssn52
- Start date
-
- Tags
- #feelingdeflated
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Wookie
Proud to be a Chaos Muppet
Staff member
ScubaBoard Business Sponsor
ScubaBoard Supporter
Scuba Instructor
Get re-certified just to have someone dive with you? Sounds like someone is trying to separate you from your money! You could hire a DM or instructor to dive with you, but go through class again? Sounds fishy to me.
And no comment on the significant other. Wow.
And no comment on the significant other. Wow.
aquacat8
Contributor
Hi there, yes I do live in Savannah! Where in Georgia are you?
I was not clear from your post whether or not you actually got certified —was it during your open water certification dives that you did not finish the dive? If so you will still need to finish your certification, otherwise you’re now a certified diver. It sounds like you do need work on your skills, but this is not uncommon for newly certified divers.
Try to find out if there is a dive shop near you that allows you to practice in their pool and start there. Inquire at the local dive shops what their pool practice policy is and choose the shop that allows you to get wet! Another class, advanced open water for example, or peak performance buoyancy, will get you practice with an instructor. Relax, it takes time to get comfortable scuba diving and you are just at the beginning of your adventure.
From Georgia it is not a long drive down to Ginnie Springs where you and your buddy may also practice in an open water environment that is very much like a pool (as long as you don’t go into the caves!)
I was not clear from your post whether or not you actually got certified —was it during your open water certification dives that you did not finish the dive? If so you will still need to finish your certification, otherwise you’re now a certified diver. It sounds like you do need work on your skills, but this is not uncommon for newly certified divers.
Try to find out if there is a dive shop near you that allows you to practice in their pool and start there. Inquire at the local dive shops what their pool practice policy is and choose the shop that allows you to get wet! Another class, advanced open water for example, or peak performance buoyancy, will get you practice with an instructor. Relax, it takes time to get comfortable scuba diving and you are just at the beginning of your adventure.
From Georgia it is not a long drive down to Ginnie Springs where you and your buddy may also practice in an open water environment that is very much like a pool (as long as you don’t go into the caves!)
aquacat8
Contributor
If you’ve always loved the water you’ll be able to get over this. If it’s true that you didn’t finish your class and you may have to pay a bit more in order to do that. Don’t quit now when you’re almost there! You haven’t even gotten to the fun part yet. You may want a different instructor: usually there is a way that you can break up your training so that you would redo your open water part as an open water referral. Did you move away from your original dive shop or is it still nearby? Scubaboard has many amazing instructors who would be able to help you finish up, for example at Ginnie Springs. Which certification agency are you using… Was it PADI, SSI, what? You’ll need an instructor from the same agency I think.
aquacat8
Contributor
What about your buddy? Did he or she finish the class? If not then you both need to do it if you want to go on. What do you mean when you say your buddy abandoned you? Did they bolt for the surface or get separated? Where was your instructor?
aquacat8
Contributor
Sorry I’m still not clear on whether you got certified or not.
Wookie
Proud to be a Chaos Muppet
Staff member
ScubaBoard Business Sponsor
ScubaBoard Supporter
Scuba Instructor
I read it that she is a certified diver and was on her first dive after certification, and her SO (who may be a more qualified diver, and perhaps have patience issues) was not paying as careful attention to the OP as she may have wanted.
Here is my advice. Find your LDS. Many will let you play around in their pool with a DM/instructor to help you get comfortable in your gear. If your buddy has patience issues (I do also, so I get it), next time you go diving, hire a DM to dive with you until you feel relaxed and comfortable in the water. Sometimes diving with a group will allow you to find a buddy who doesn't come with all of the baggage that diving with your SO brings.
aquacat8
Contributor
Oh, my bad, she did say she was certified, I mistakenly thought this happened during her open water certification dives.
Similar threads
