Just joined from Austin

[LoveTheMuck]

I’ve been reading the SB forum for years and just decided to join.

I got my OWC in Bonaire in 1997, dove once in Key Largo a couple of years later, then hit it hard in 2004 - new hubs was a diver! Hawaii, Bonaire, PNG (South New Britain and Kimbe Bay), Flower Gardens and Stetson Bank, Bonaire, Bonaire, Costa Rica...I have about 100 logged dives and 50 unlogged.

After a 10 year hiatus, I’m headed to the Red Sea next week and I’m freaking out. I booked a one-day boat dive with a local instructor - just him and me (but on a boat that belongs to a dive charter company). This was a last minute decision. I was just planning to float in the hotel pool.

I felt reasonably confident until I started reading Accidents and Incidents, almost none of which have anything in common with me, except that now I feel old (57), fat (I’m pretty round but I always have been as a diver), and COVID out-of-shape. The instructor assured me he would not take me on technically challenging dives. Great. I’ve done technically challenging dives - ripping current, 4’ chop at the surface, deep but not deco deep, night dives with bad vis and current, etc., but I am not and have no desire to become anything more than a competent, conservative diver.

Any tips on calming the eff down? The instructor knows my experience and I’m sure he’ll be checking my skills. I messed up by reading A&I, didn’t I?

 

[Lorenzoid]

Welcome to SB!

So if I understand correctly, the Red Sea will be the first time you have been diving in 10 years? If so, you could probably use what is called a "refresher course." Not just the instructor "checking" your skills as you dive but going over them in advance. If I were in your shoes, I would consider the day with the instructor to be a refresher course and I would make sure I used that specific term with the instructor so the instructor understands not just that I haven't dived in a long time but that I want a refresher course.

There is definitely some benefit to reading stories in the Accidents & Incidents forum. However, if you dive conservatively--stick to your self-imposed limits--then the more likely thing that can happen to you out of all the unlikely things that can happen to you is a health-related incident. I'm your age, increasingly feeling out of shape, and the (admittedly low) possibility of a medical event is the one thing that haunts me a bit.

I did a Red Sea dive trip several years ago, and it was great.

 

[LoveTheMuck]

I *think* he knows that this would basically be a refresher course, but I will either make that explicitly clear or I will take a refresher course beforehand. I initially thought I’d be OK with a checkout dive, but clearly, even if I haven’t forgotten a thing, my anxiety is through the roof.

Maybe reading about rebreather tragedies and Oceanic Whitetip attacks was a good thing.

Oh, and thanks!

 

[Lorenzoid]

I *think* he knows that this would basically be a refresher course, but I will either make that explicitly clear or I will take a refresher course beforehand. I initially thought I’d be OK with a checkout dive, but clearly, even if I haven’t forgotten a thing, my anxiety is through the roof.

Taking a proper refresher course beforehand would be ideal. Then you can make the most out of your dive day.

 

[Tripp]

Howdy and Welcome to SB from San Antonio!!! How could you not dive if you are going to be there? I bet you could do a quick refresher in a lake near Austin before you go, for safety and for peace of mind, so you can REALLY enjoy your Red Sea experience!!

 

[LoveTheMuck]

Thanks! Sorry for the delayed response! You’re absolutely right. The only reason I was hesitating is that the trip was planned at the last minute, and none of my gear has been used or serviced in a few years.

Also, TBH, as much as I love the diving part of diving, everything else is such a hassle. I’m a good diver - an instructor for a diving for science class I took even wrote it in my log book . But I have ADHD, plus I have to wear scop patches because I get seasick, and it’s a bad combo. I CAN get myself ready safely, but I don’t like to. I just needed a push.

 

[Regulatrix]

I’ve been reading the SB forum for years and just decided to join.

I got my OWC in Bonaire in 1997, dove once in Key Largo a couple of years later, then hit it hard in 2004 - new hubs was a diver! Hawaii, Bonaire, PNG (South New Britain and Kimbe Bay), Flower Gardens and Stetson Bank, Bonaire, Bonaire, Costa Rica...I have about 100 logged dives and 50 unlogged.

After a 10 year hiatus, I’m headed to the Red Sea next week and I’m freaking out. I booked a one-day boat dive with a local instructor - just him and me (but on a boat that belongs to a dive charter company). This was a last minute decision. I was just planning to float in the hotel pool.

I felt reasonably confident until I started reading Accidents and Incidents, almost none of which have anything in common with me, except that now I feel old (57), fat (I’m pretty round but I always have been as a diver), and COVID out-of-shape. The instructor assured me he would not take me on technically challenging dives. Great. I’ve done technically challenging dives - ripping current, 4’ chop at the surface, deep but not deco deep, night dives with bad vis and current, etc., but I am not and have no desire to become anything more than a competent, conservative diver.

Any tips on calming the eff down? The instructor knows my experience and I’m sure he’ll be checking my skills. I messed up by reading A&I, didn’t I?

Greetings from a fellow Austinite. Super-envious of your Red Sea trip. I'm not sure if you've already done the trip--if so,I hope it was great. If not, I suspect it will be amazing. I echo what the others have said about a refresher course. I began diving because my sweetie was OW certified but had gotten out of the sport due to having no dive buddy. It was very useful to her to take a refresher course.

 

[SlugLife]

Welcome!

How to calm down?

• Stay within your limits
  
• Dive with a buddy that respects your limits
• More dives.
• More training or refresher course
• Take it slow/easy.

"I messed up by reading A&I, didn’t I?"

Not really. Most accidents are several compounding factors. Take it from a more objective approach, where each accident is a learning experience. By being informed, you're less likely to have an accident.