Bazooka Joe
Contributor
I loved the post because it is exactly how I feel; I was a person not all comfortable in the water. The love for my wife and my wife's love of water drove me from my feels in inhibitions to seek at least a remarkably truce with fears and demons.
As a child I always wanted to scuba dive, man how I wanted to be one of those kids in the cartoon Sealab, but my lack of swimming always threw a wrench into that plan and nearly drowning by the hand of my brothers did not instill a love for all things liquid.
Roll forward 40 years more or less, my with our friend conspired against me and decided to put all my bravado to the test. We all enrolled in OW class, they passed I removed myself from the class, I was not afraid of too many things I just could not clear my mask! Well the instructor came over after the class, talked with me for awhile and told me "I have never had anyone fail, they may quit and you can...but I have seen you in the water and you can do this". So that left me with almost a year of practicing clearing my mask, reading scubaboard Íaughing good naturally at myself and basically taking it all in stride. Well, almost a year to the day I finally got OW cert'd and was off and running, AOW and Nitrox came next, same great instructor. My wife has been my dive-buddy and partner through the whole thing and we got my 14 year old son involved he is becoming a good safe diver in his own right with none of my fears, but all of my caution.
Now I dive every chance I get and if I don't get chances, I make them.
My wife wants to know if I can actually have a 5 minute conversation with anyone in the world and not have a scuba tank fall out of my mouth.
Whenever I dive I always have a camera and take an absurd amount of pictures to which I will show anyone my pictures which mostly include at least 25 of my wife fins at any giving direction.
While my wife complains that I waste my air "jetting around trying to get the perfect shot" I tell her, "that's ok, cause you will share? won't you?
I have 80 dives in a little over a year and I too suck, but anytime I want to feel better about my diving skills I can just take a cruise then do a diving shore excursion, after watching people flounder around over weighted and out of control my wife and I just hang to the back of the group and shrug our shoulders at each other, she then lifts her fin up and I take a picture of it.
Things I have learned along the way:
It does not take 34 pounds of lead to make me sink in water! Thank you LDS for selling me that much.
I can convince you that you want to become a diver; I cannot make you a better diver. Only time, practice, skills and good sense of humor can.
I do look uber cool in my dive gear, as long as I do not have to walk in it.
I can do a giant stride?.doesn't mean I like to.
Diving cost money, if you cut costs you're going to cut safety.
Plan for the unexpected
Practice for everything.
Don;t get pissed when your dive partner flips you the bird underwater. (Yes, honey I still love you)
Listen, don't talk
If you ask a question listen to the answer.
The Divemaster has a job to do, get you back on the boat alive, after that everything else is a bonus.
If a woman on the boat falls out of her bathing suit while shimming out of her wetsuit, do not yell BOOBIES!
It's your job to track the guy with the float flag, not his to track you.
I love to dive, if you don't well, there must be something wrong with you.
There may not be anything you need in the dive shop, but there is always something you want.
Joe
As a child I always wanted to scuba dive, man how I wanted to be one of those kids in the cartoon Sealab, but my lack of swimming always threw a wrench into that plan and nearly drowning by the hand of my brothers did not instill a love for all things liquid.
Roll forward 40 years more or less, my with our friend conspired against me and decided to put all my bravado to the test. We all enrolled in OW class, they passed I removed myself from the class, I was not afraid of too many things I just could not clear my mask! Well the instructor came over after the class, talked with me for awhile and told me "I have never had anyone fail, they may quit and you can...but I have seen you in the water and you can do this". So that left me with almost a year of practicing clearing my mask, reading scubaboard Íaughing good naturally at myself and basically taking it all in stride. Well, almost a year to the day I finally got OW cert'd and was off and running, AOW and Nitrox came next, same great instructor. My wife has been my dive-buddy and partner through the whole thing and we got my 14 year old son involved he is becoming a good safe diver in his own right with none of my fears, but all of my caution.
Now I dive every chance I get and if I don't get chances, I make them.
My wife wants to know if I can actually have a 5 minute conversation with anyone in the world and not have a scuba tank fall out of my mouth.
Whenever I dive I always have a camera and take an absurd amount of pictures to which I will show anyone my pictures which mostly include at least 25 of my wife fins at any giving direction.
While my wife complains that I waste my air "jetting around trying to get the perfect shot" I tell her, "that's ok, cause you will share? won't you?
I have 80 dives in a little over a year and I too suck, but anytime I want to feel better about my diving skills I can just take a cruise then do a diving shore excursion, after watching people flounder around over weighted and out of control my wife and I just hang to the back of the group and shrug our shoulders at each other, she then lifts her fin up and I take a picture of it.
Things I have learned along the way:
It does not take 34 pounds of lead to make me sink in water! Thank you LDS for selling me that much.
I can convince you that you want to become a diver; I cannot make you a better diver. Only time, practice, skills and good sense of humor can.
I do look uber cool in my dive gear, as long as I do not have to walk in it.
I can do a giant stride?.doesn't mean I like to.
Diving cost money, if you cut costs you're going to cut safety.
Plan for the unexpected
Practice for everything.
Don;t get pissed when your dive partner flips you the bird underwater. (Yes, honey I still love you)
Listen, don't talk
If you ask a question listen to the answer.
The Divemaster has a job to do, get you back on the boat alive, after that everything else is a bonus.
If a woman on the boat falls out of her bathing suit while shimming out of her wetsuit, do not yell BOOBIES!
It's your job to track the guy with the float flag, not his to track you.
I love to dive, if you don't well, there must be something wrong with you.
There may not be anything you need in the dive shop, but there is always something you want.
Joe
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