Never say Never (12 dives later)

[CindyMac]

My first never was "I am never, ever going to Scuba dive. My head will get wet. I won't like it, anyway." Boy, was I wrong! Did a DSD in Grand Cayman and was immediately hooked. The first thing I did when I got home was sign up for classes.

Second never was "You will never get me in the water after August willingly." Well, I got in the water at our local quarry this past Sunday. It was divine!

Now my husband complains he can't keep me out of the water. The guy who was trying to get me in is trying to keep me out!!! He jokes now that if he wants to find me, he just has to go up to the quarry or to the dive shop.

I'm now up to a whole, whoppin' 12 dives and Nitrox certified. I experienced relatively little panic going down and was so thrilled about that! A first!!!

We had a blast Sunday. We tagged along with a group from one of our LDSs. They were doing open water checkouts. This instructor is very particular and doesn't just grant a cert - you really work for it! He had a couple of other divers helping him. We were diving with the assistant quarry master who is a tech diver. He is really helping both of us with our trim and buoyancy. My husband is not a fan of quarry dives, but I keep telling him that it's not about seeing cool stuff, but improving and refining your skills. After the 2nd dive of the day, he conceded I was right (yay, me). He said that was his best dive ever in relation to comfort, control and learning how good buoyancy feels.

After I downloaded our dives from our computers, both our profiles were improved!

I am one happy, happy diver. Bonaire is just over a month away for us!!!!

 

[Diver0001]

Wow. If they could turn enthusiasm into electricity you could run your whole house!

Well done.

One thing I'm curious about is the phrase "relatively little panic". To me panic is kind of the station at the end of the line.... "relatively little panic" comes across to me like saying "slightly pregnant". Would you mind explaining in more detail what was going on?

R..

 

[tye1138]

Congrats! Its awesome you decided to take the leap! A lot of people just become vacation divers and never take it to the next level with local diving. There is always something new to learn, always some skill to practice and if you enjoy diving for just being wet, you'll be in good shape! I personally don't care where I dive, I just love being in the water.

I understand what you mean by "very little panic going down", you were nervous, but resolved your nerves. It does become all second nature some day.

 

[TMHeimer]

Congratulations. I have run across a number of people who seemed to have similar fears--Won't like it, head going underwater, etc. Some found that scuba just wasn't for them. You obviously are not one of these. It sounds like even with your suspicions that you wouldn't like it, you must have been quite comfortable in water already. It amazes me that some who couldn't even swim and previously had little serious contact with the water will take up scuba. Enjoy the tropics!

 

[Paulmal]

You are going to love Bonaire, tons of shore diving, but not a lot else. My favorite vacation spot.

 

[TSandM]

Great to see apprehension turning into enjoyment! I suspect you were talking about anxiety, rather than panic, right? (You have to realize that panic is a word that really worries dive instructors, because panic -- loss of rational thought as a result of fear -- is very dangerous in divers.)

 

[CindyMac]

Anxiety is probably a better word. I'm a bit of a control freak and my previous descents were not as smooth as those on Sunday. I felt more in control, so I really didn't have to settle in to the dive. I usually took about 5-10 minutes to really get the breathing slow and steady. I have a perfection thing, too. I want to be as good on the 12th dive as the person who has 50 dives under their belt. Unrealistic, I know, but I'm working on it. I was with people I trust implicitly. I just don't want to look like a complete idiot. My feet stayed beneath me, instead of making their way over my head. I leveled out and made a much more deliberate descent.

I am usually very calm in stressful situations. Used to run codes on children when in worked in Peds Intensive Care as a nurse. No room for panic there! I knew what to do and I did it. Some things are starting to feel like that for me in diving.

One thing did come up. Our friend told my husband I should never be lead swimmer - I was like a human torpedo. He had trouble keeping up with me. I thought I was slow, just kind of moseying along looking at the sites, such as they were. I'm not the fastest person on land, so this was a complete shocker! I checked on the hubs frequently and knew where he was, but I never thought I would be considered fast in the water!

 

[spectrum]

CindyMac, some people get into diving and just bumbel around haphazardly hoping to get good. Your motivation to excel will serve you well. Just keep diving with a spirit of continuous improvement and you will have a fine time.

Right now you're diving on adrenalie. Work on slowing it down so you are effortless in the water. Slowing down and developing situational awareness will be big steps in being a fine dive leader. Remember, never say never. It's in leading dives that you attain a whole next level in satifaction by taking your buddy on a well excuted pleasureful dive. It's also where you will hone your navigation skills.

Pete

 

[tye1138]

I have a perfection thing, too. I want to be as good on the 12th dive as the person who has 50 dives under their belt. Unrealistic, I know, but I'm working on it. I was with people I trust implicitly. I just don't want to look like a complete idiot. My feet stayed beneath me, instead of making their way over my head. I leveled out and made a much more deliberate descent.

Nothing wrong with that at all! I don't think its unrealistic either, I think its pretty easy to figure out buoyancy and awareness of your surroundings. But take your time, diving is a slow sport, not a fast sport.

Its always fun analyzing divers and giving feedback on how they can be better. One thing I look at is their hands. You'll notice, the most comfortable divers, have their hands right under them, sometimes arms crossed. Maybe checking their gauge briefly every once in a while and managing buoyancy/comfort with a squirt of air in the BC or drysuit.

 

[TMHeimer]

CindyMac, Leader or follower, just remember that the most important thing is to always be close enough to your buddy so you can help each other. The most common formation that I know of is for the follower to be off to the side (maybe 5 feet--depends on visibility) and a bit behind. And the leader should check VERY frequently to make sure he's still there. He may stop to look at something and the leader doesn't know that. A speed should be agreed on so that the follower has no trouble at all keeping up and does not witness those dissapearing fins, especially if poor viz. Assuming I have a good buddy, I prefer to be the follower--less turning on the neck. As far as not wanting to look like an idiot, I recall feeling the same way. Everyone else has done the equipment routine, etc. lots of times and you haven't. That feeling will eventually switch around and you'll think "jeez, what's the story with that guy"?