I almost DIED in Grand Cayman!

[davezwife]

What do I hope people get from this?

Well,
1) that maged_mmh likes his popcorn snarky.
2) any level-headed person can experience anxiety, and it CAN overtake you
3) ask more questions. Never presume. be over-educated about the dive you're about to do, even if it's in a place where a 3 legged mouse could surface swim out to and teach his newborn blind mice to dive.
3.5) You are not necessarily what a plastic card says you are
4) love your dive buddy like your life depended on it. Love 'um on shore more (if it's your mate)
5) sensible women can turn inside out in unpredicatable situations
6) tiny sea urchins in hands hurt. alot. for days.
7) and that I don't have to feel bad if I never dive again. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. But I sure as chit 'aint gonna feel bad about it. Diving isn't for everyone. And I'm ok with that.



ps - and Funk, it was not the surface swim that almost did me in. :::shaking my head and walking away from you::::

 

[ScubaSteve]

4) love your dive buddy like your life depended on it. Love 'um on shore more (if it's your mate)

I am not sure my dive buddy (male) is going to like this one very much or if my girlfriend will be too pleased either :shocked2:. I am glad you took something away from the experience and that your intentions with sharing were to in fact help someone else. A post for pity deserves pity (but not for what the poster thinks) but a post to help is a good casue indeed.

 

[funkcanna]

ps - and Funk, it was not the surface swim that almost did me in. :::shaking my head and walking away from you::::

What was it then? Maybe I missed the real issue amongst all of your comments about freaking out on the surface etc etc.

I apologise for any offence I may have caused by saying you struggled with a surface swim.

I wish you well.

 

[maged_mmh]

What do I hope people get from this?

Well,
1) that maged_mmh likes his popcorn snarky.
2) any level-headed person can experience anxiety, and it CAN overtake you
3) ask more questions. Never presume. be over-educated about the dive you're about to do, even if it's in a place where a 3 legged mouse could surface swim out to and teach his newborn blind mice to dive.
3.5) You are not necessarily what a plastic card says you are
4) love your dive buddy like your life depended on it. Love 'um on shore more (if it's your mate)
5) sensible women can turn inside out in unpredicatable situations
6) tiny sea urchins in hands hurt. alot. for days.
7) and that I don't have to feel bad if I never dive again. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. But I sure as chit 'aint gonna feel bad about it. Diving isn't for everyone. And I'm ok with that.

well, I expected you to add:
- Don't be afraid/shy to call any dive off, no reasons given.
- Establish & know you limits, or should i say comfort zone.
- do not assume that your buddy baby-sit you (navigation?) -be self sufficient
- prepare & enquire about local dive site specific info (most convenient entry/exit, sea life, hazards (urchins?), potential interests/avoidances,...etc)
- equip appropriately as per site/dive type may dictate.
-Oh, DO NOT use split fins in choppy surface/high tides/currents... where long surface swims are expected (Where you using one? )

Honestly I never mean any sarcasm, I completely understand your disappointment & terror back then.
the "lessons learned" question from our buddy above; was actually the most useful attempt to address your dilemma; after all, this is why you posted your story in the first place: to try to swallow all what happened, and to get an idea whether you took the right decision giving up diving. - my speculation.

if you really try it, sit away from this forum, put some "love songs" records on (personal preference: Dean Martin), grap a pencil & paper, and think the same question over - what did i learn?
only then, you'll discover what went wrong, and if it is of any interest to you in the future you'll be able to at least minimize/mitigate those areas of deficiency/challenge, by further training, better preparation, having a guide on each dive... (speculating again: maybe you get back into diving one day)
You do not need to feel bad about it; after all problems build experience, experience leads to confidence, but sometimes confidence leads to arrogance & recklessness... pace yourself.

after doing that, post it here in a brand new thread, if you felt like it, and maybe you won't, as the lot of us mocking kiddish arrogant triathletes as we are, able to swim tens of kilometers relentlessly we are ... Just maybe some newbie (translation: still fresh uncorrupted member) may stumble upon that new post and might be of use to him what he/she read one day (0.000000001% chance)

Now I'm gonna fetch some ice, my fingers are aching.

 

[FishOutUvH2O]

What do I hope people get from this?

Well,
1) that maged_mmh likes his popcorn snarky.
2) any level-headed person can experience anxiety, and it CAN overtake you
3) ask more questions. Never presume. be over-educated about the dive you're about to do, even if it's in a place where a 3 legged mouse could surface swim out to and teach his newborn blind mice to dive.
3.5) You are not necessarily what a plastic card says you are
4) love your dive buddy like your life depended on it. Love 'um on shore more (if it's your mate)
5) sensible women can turn inside out in unpredicatable situations
6) tiny sea urchins in hands hurt. alot. for days.
7) and that I don't have to feel bad if I never dive again. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. But I sure as chit 'aint gonna feel bad about it. Diving isn't for everyone. And I'm ok with that.



ps - and Funk, it was not the surface swim that almost did me in. :::shaking my head and walking away from you::::

. . . the "lessons learned" question from our buddy above; was actually the most useful attempt to address your dilemma; after all, this is why you posted your story in the first place: to try to swallow all what happened, and to get an idea whether you took the right decision giving up diving. - my speculation.

maged_mmh has it right. This was why I asked the question. You alone on this board are uniquely qualified to answer it from a first person perspective and possibly help prevent it from happening to someone else. I can't speak for anyone else on the board, but I for one have no desire to learn every lesson the hard way. If I can learn from someone else's experience, I'm fine with that. Part of being a community is sharing resources. And sharing your experience (the good, the bad, and the ugly) can be a valuable resource for the dive community. It may not feel like it to you, but, for more reasons than one, it's always a good day when we have the opportunity to ask the person involved what lessons can be learned.

 

[ChristineH]

Thanks for sharing your story. Just so you know, I LOVE diving but my husband does not, so we still go on dive vacations but he visits the islands or as we also like to call him our "land Opt" where he spots cool places to visit or to eat at. Usually where there is good diving, is also a great place just to chill and enjoy life. My husband meets me at the boat to hear all of my dive stories and of course...he also spoils me by taking care of my camera and loading it onto my computer. So, even if diving isn't for you, you can still enjoy that part of it with your husband! We have made some great friends from our dive vacations and usually extend them to do trails or other adventuresome things....Best wishes for you and your family.

 

[TSandM]

davezwife, I remember reading your threads before this trip, about your worries about walls, and your lack of confidence in your buoyancy control. I think the trip overfaced you, and you were probably carrying so much underlying anxiety that it was easy to lose control.

I have done surface swims where I was working against tides and against the wind, and it's hard work, and sometimes you get that horrible feeling that you are getting nowhere, and the little voice in the back of your head starts gibbering about, "What if I can't get back?" In every case, relaxing and continuing to swim has solved the problem, even if it has required more time that I would have preferred to spend surface swimming.

I doubt that you nearly died on this dive. I do not doubt that you felt that way.

If the anxiety that diving causes you is too much for the rewards that it brings you, then quitting is precisely the right answer. I gave up skiing, because I broke bones doing it, and I simply didn't love it enough to make the layup time from the injuries worth my while.

However, I think there are things about your diving that could be addressed to make it accessible to you, if you were so inclined. Better fitness, better swimming, better buoyancy skills, and more experience in less challenging surroundings could completely change your experience and your outlook. I do not want to push that on you, because I honestly believe that some people should not dive -- not because they are inept (because I was) or unfit (because I was) but because they cannot control their anxiety (which I have always been able to do). If that's your issue, enjoy the beach and the sand and the sun, and perhaps do some snorkeling in shallow water to enjoy the marine life, and don't push your luck with diving.

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

Reading a few comments on here are reminding me about a recent thread about why people feel the need to be rude. Why does every little comment have to be dissected?

DavezWife you are not alone! We had a somewhat similar story in Grand Cayman in terms of not being able to swim back to shore easily due to rough surf. Now we look back at it and laugh but it was not so funny at the time. We were on our first dive trip ever (OW cert at that time) and were staying at Cobalt. We had an entire week of boat/shore diving with no incidents. On our last dive day we decided to do an afternoon shore dive on their house reef. They have a bit of a swim out to the reef, I think the day prior we had taken out scooters so we got to the wall quick. They had also had some poor weather over those last couple days and a few times pulled the ladder up. When we went out it wasn't too bad. Essentially we used up to much air to make it all the way back to shore and surfaced maybe a few hundred yards from shore. The surf was considerably worse and we struggled to swim back, we even tried to go back under on what little air we had and weren't getting anywhere. I could see the diveshop and we are drifting further along the coast, being the newbie I was I inflated my Safety Sausage and am waving it around and I know they can see us. That entire shoreline is iron shore so we weren't sure where we were going to end up, my husband and I are arguing with each other at this point. Eventually I spot coral steps leading to the backyard of a house. We make it to the shore line and are banged around a bit by the coral. I'm thinking "please don't be home who ever lives in this house" as we walk through the backyard to the street like it happens everyday. We end up walking back to the hotel down the road past a bunch of houses. The best part was when someone from the hotel drives by us, waves at us and then proceeds to drive to the hotel while we hike back with our tanks on our backs! We get back to the shop and their like "yeah we saw you out there". I don't know what I expected them to do since they don't usually have boats at their dock. Later we found out the staff had a get together and they were all razzing the person who just drove by us without asking if we were okay. They did however give us our scooter rentals for free from the prior day because they felt bad. Suffice to say it was a learning experience and I can't get enough of diving. For one moment though the panic was definitely there, I wouldn't be human if there hadn't been some.

 

[davezwife]

Thanks for all the condesending pats on my head folks. Like I dont' feel chitty enough about the situation, some of you feel the need to pick it apart and TELL ME how it really was. Cuz you were there. Laying unconscious in the water with me. a big'ol "whateverrrrrrr" for ya on that.

Thank you to those that simple acknowleged the story and didn't prune or pick.

 

[kidsdream]

Numerous posters (including myself) gave thanks for your willingness to share your story. But you are unrealistic to not expect comments and "suggestions".

The more experienced of your listeners have had difficulty to look at this as a life or death situation any more than somebody who runs out on a freeway after getting a flat tire and then freezes as cars wiz by. You could die in either situation but...

Your best course of action may be to stop reading the posts (as will I) and enjoy what ever you plan to do for the rest of the day, the rest of your life. I truly mean that in the most positive light as the value of this thread is certainly dimishing.

Have a great day.

Thanks for all the condesending pats on my head folks. Like I dont' feel chitty enough about the situation, some of you feel the need to pick it apart and TELL ME how it really was. Cuz you were there. Laying unconscious in the water with me. a big'ol "whateverrrrrrr" for ya on that.

Thank you to those that simple acknowleged the story and didn't prune or pick.