New diver, old mermaid saying hi from So Cali.

[Butterfly_fish]

Hi everybody! I have an interesting situation coming up this weekend but first a little background info for you:

I grew up living next to the beach and was in the water at the age of three. They couldn't keep me out of the water and ended up teaching me to swim in the very first week. I thought I was a Mermaid until the age of 14 where I found out I was just a human. :blinking:

I never learned to scuba dive when I was young. I had an awesome lung capacity and often dove and stayed down with my eyes open watching and listening to the critters. My dad called me his "little dolphin" and some other things we'll skip over for now. (haha)
I body surfed and was very athletic.

Now we fast forward 52 years: I have not been diving for 8 years and was just getting into it when my then boyfriend stopped diving altogether and my fins rested in the garage for years gathering dust. I had been certified, went on a few dives, then my equipment sat there all by it's lonesome. I eventually gained 25 pounds and also became Diabetic type 2. I also have a heart condition from the time I was a teenager. I have been FULLY checked out over the last 6 months with many expensive tests and the Cardiologist has said that I am ok to do anything and even if I push my heart super hard it is a beautiful one inside and out and so no worries mate. I have beautiful low blood pressure so cannot take Beta-blockers to lower my heart rate.

I work out about 2 hrs a day 6 days a week. I kayak, dance, ski, lift light weights, do spinning class and do Yoga regularly and I can exercise this way keeping my heart rate at a reasonable pace. If it does speed up too much I back it down immediately and slow my pace.

I DO have a heart handicap, love to dive and am hopeful of working within my limits. I have a great love for photography and want to take a lot of underwater photos. I would always do my very best in any diving situation to be an excellent dive buddy and know that for now I have to dive with strong, experienced divers, preferably a dive master with at least 100 dives under their belts and a patient nature. I even thought of paying a DM to go down with me for my first several dives so I could fully hone my skills until they were good enough to be a really good dive buddy.Because of my heart- that may never happen. My heart rate goes up very fast but comes right back down if I can rest a little bit.

I recently rejoined a dive club in my area: Channel Islands Divers and the first meeting I went to I found out they needed one more diver for the Catalina trip coming this weekend. It was a stretch in every way: New equipment, cramming online with videos and instructional reading materials, reviewing everything. Last weekend I was very fortunate to be able to test out a Rebreather at a local dive shop. It gave me a chance to get back in with scuba gear under close supervision. My weights were off center and under weighted at first and had to be corrected several times. My fins slipped off even after tightening but I finally made it down and stayed down for about 20-30 minutes. Everyone was kind, helpful and patient. I think divers are a special breed and for the most part are this way.
I have been reading on the forums and found these threads to be very helpful: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...514-what-if-what-do-when-things-go-wrong.html There are several threads that run off of the main subject and the info was very helpful and thought provoking so thank you very much to Cave Diver and all who contributed.

I found out from my (also newer) dive and hotel buddy that the tide will be low for my first 2 beach dives which makes it very difficult to get out of the water with a load of equipment. I am also petite which is a kind way of saying short so getting to that ladder and up it at the Casino may be almost impossible for me. I may not do the beach dives at all and wait for the boat dive happening the next day. I want these first OW dives to be easy, non-stressful and skill building. If I were rich I would pay a good DM to give me private lessons and dive with me a bunch of times. I would also do homework and study up along the way and get any questions I had answered. That is what I have been doing by looking at what books I could get at the library and am thinking of redoing my OW or at least a refresher course. This trip came up as a challenge and I am going to do what I can without expecting too much of myself or anyone else. I have put out some feelers to find out who might be willing to hold my hand so to speak for a dive this weekend and am hopeful that one or more people may step up. If they don't I will understand and find other fun things to do while in Catalina. Like the Zip-line tour or the Submarine Tours.

Opinions are welcome and please be nice as I am a newbie. Thanks.

This looks like a great site and thanks for making it so,
Buttefly_Fish

 

[ScubaBB]

Welcome aboard :cool2::cool2::cool2:

 

[DandyDon]

Very interesting. So are you already on Catalina? Avalon is a neat little town and there are lots of tours, but I hope you get to do some easy diving.

I DO have a heart handicap, love to dive and am hopeful of working within my limits. I have a great love for photography and want to take a lot of underwater photos. I would always do my very best in any diving situation to be an excellent dive buddy and know that for now I have to dive with strong, experienced divers, preferably a dive master with at least 100 dives under their belts and a patient nature. I even thought of paying a DM to go down with me for my first several dives so I could fully hone my skills until they were good enough to be a really good dive buddy.Because of my heart- that may never happen. My heart rate goes up very fast but comes right back down if I can rest a little bit.

I can't speak to your heart challenge but we do have an excellent Medicine forum for help, and of course DAN is an excellent source. I do hope you have DAN dive insurance too.

Hiring a private DM is an excellent idea early in diving. I don't know that a photographer can be a great dive buddy tho. I tend to follow my camera too much, altho I try to watch my bud. Photographers really need to train as solo divers with pony bottles.

Look around the forums here, join some discussions, and start some. Click my name and send me a Private Message if I can help find anything here.

 

[dwaters]

Welcome aboard!!!

Please feel free to drop on down to our local forum and join in our fun here:

SoCal

How did it go last weekend? Next time you head out to Casino Point or on a boat, let us know on the local forum and a great chance that someone here will be on the same trip..... Hope to see you in the water someday soon.

 

[mathauck0814]

0-24 dives and they had you on a rebreather? *whistle* You're braver than I.

That said, Southern California diving is some of the best in the world. Enjoy it!

 

[Butterfly_fish]

@ScubaBB~ Thanks for the welcome!

I have to say it was AWESOME to get down and hang with the fishes. The kelp beds seemed like Mother Earth's hair and were sparkling with gold in the rays of the sun. I could stay down there forever.

@ DandyDon~ On hiring a DM, although that didn't go as planned -I was fortunate to be able to have the company of a diver who came onboard to hang out with the crew and accompanied us on 2 dives. I know what you mean about photographers and the camera sure has a mighty pull of it's own. I caught myself absorbed in the lense and forgot to check around for a minute, which cured the bad habit quickly because I didn't see my dive buddy or Larry. Thankfully Larry was nearby and keeping an eye on both of us. He was very complimentary about our dive skills which was quite reassuring. We handed him some money because we wanted to thank him in a real way for being there by our side in case of stupidity or confusion. I added more below about the trip. Thanks for the pm offer and for stopping by to say Hi. : )

@Dave H20~ How it went: We had a bunch of people planned as possibilities for the Sunday dive and then the rain happened so a few people backed out. There was one super nice couple from our club but they had planned on diving deeper that day so we talked to the boat captain. He was not happy at all about our rusty-dusty skills but suggested we ask Larry if he would like to go with us. We were super happy that he accepted our company as we knew we were basic pains in his ass now and I would not have gone down if it hadn't been for him. Now I wish I had his email addy so I could write him and thank him again. I was pretty out of it after getting quite chilled and sitting out the third dive above deck. Even with my dive coat I ended up really cold in the rainy weather as the boat had only a partial cover. I was expecting dive boats like we have here which all have a cozy, warm and dry area below. I learned my lesson there and will have more warm gear for next time.
Since I had recently rejoined the dive club and didn't have more than about 3 email addresses my dive-mate emailed several people and asked if they would be willing to dive with us. Next time I will have people I know confirmed or pay a DM to go down with me. I was very lucky to meet Greg Sorensen from USC at the Casino. We had waited for over an hr for 2 divers we knew to come onshore to hook up with us and get back in the water so we could have our first dive with experienced divers. That's when I met Greg and noticed he was alone and quite competent. After he told me he had been diving for 40 years-much of that in Catalina- I got really excited and asked him if he would shore dive with us. He gracefully accepted. I didn't have enough weight and had pushed for more but the equipment guy really wanted me to have less. I could not get down and stay down no matter what I did, or how relaxed I was, or how much air I kept out of my lungs. So my dive-buddy could get in a good dive I hung out on one of the buoys and watched everyone. Like a kid in a candy store. I heard while there that off- season is really much less crowded at the casino which is good as any more people would have definitely been a crowd.

@mathauck~ I told the instructor that I was super rusty and hadn't dived much and she reassured me I would be fine. There was a DM in the pool at all times and at least one person up top to check the gear. I was so eager to get in the water and play with my bouyancy-I was really grateful for the opportunity!

Happy diving everyone,
Butterfly_fish

 

[Bogie]

Welcome!

It is great to see such excitement and positive energy.

 

[Butterfly_fish]

Bogie,

Thanks for the kind welcome. I appreciate it!

Butterfly_fish

 

[pasley]

Buterfly_Fish,
Sounds like your first times out went realitivly well. Glad you had a good time. From your description it sounds like you were either on the Sundiver Express (Long Beach) or the Raptor (Ventura) dive boat as both are fast boats but no warm lounge area inside to speak of. The lack of bunks below decks or an inside lounge is what makes these boats fast and efficent to operate in our local dive waters.

So to recap we have:
Female Age, well lets just say old enough to know their own mind.
Type II Diabietic
Back issues
neck issues
mobility issues
heart issues - sounds like a heart that beats too fast for no real reason (my daughter is like that).
Fatiques eaisly.
Cleared by a local doctor to dive.

All and any of the above are of course cause for concern and to pause to evaluate. I would suggest contacting Divers Alert Network (DAN) and locating a local Dive Medicine physician to give you a physical and evaluate your risk. Heart attack is the number one killer of SCUBA divers due to the stress of SCUBA, all the lugging of gear and then currents can put an unanticipated strain on you.

IF the dive medicine physicain clears you then you must decide if the risk and benifits of SCUBA are worth it. I would not encouage technical diving and would recommend limiting your dives to under 100 fsw, perferably 66 feet or less. Dive by the additional rules that apply to you for your medical consideratons. See Divers Alert Network (DAN) article on diabities forthe current rules on diving with diabities. These rules also include informing your dive buddies before you dive of all your medical conditons so they can make an informed decision about diving with you, This will involve them evaluating their own knowledge about what they would need to do to help you in an emergency (diabetic, heart etc) as well as their comfort level. Be sure to tell your dive buddy about your diabities and where you carry your Gluclose during your dive and to practice its administrationn in a marine environment and perhaps underwater.

Now for the big problem, the camera... Number one rule of diving with a camera, the person with the camera always leads. Otherwise the camera diver is quickly lost as they turn off to go..."oooh, look at that, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click...hey, where did everyone go?" The dive buddy assumes a position at least 6 feet and preferrably 10 feet off the bottom and 5 or so feet back where they can monitor the camera diver and look for the next photographic subject. The dive buddy also must be mindful of checking the camera divers air and NDL as the camera divers often loose track of time and sometimes forget to check it as often as they should.

 

[Butterfly_fish]

Pasley, Thanks very much for the info you shared and the links. I am most of the way through that DAN link and had read on different forums about diving and Diabetes before so I could be well-prepared. The boat I dove from in Catalina was the Scuba Cat.

Diabetes: I have a very well controlled mild version of T2 Diabetes and as a result my A1C is a beautiful 6.3. Hypos were the only thing I really have to avoid so I did that and enjoyed the Fritos and banana. : ) I had a good plan which I followed on the dives. I cut down my insulin a little each night and carbed up before I went into the water. I snacked between each dive and tested my glucose levels. I had glucose tabs with me and knew I wouldn't need them. Because I have such good control and a diet and exercise regime I follow regularly I knew how to handle it. I am lucky that I have a mild version and great control. My dive buddy had been informed of my Diabetes and what I had done so that the dives would go smoothly. I also informed her about what to do in times of hypos.

Heart: As I wrote above I was tested every which way by a Cardiologist (4 different heart tests like stress echos with 2D echo and dye/also bubbles in one) and my blood flow is also excellent in and out and under stress. It does beat fast and wipe me out so that I have to rest but I can exercise for long periods of time without over-fatiguing myself if I keep the intensity down. In cases of heavy current and other conditions that could be dangerous for me I will simply skip the diving altogether. I will check out the DAN info on the heart tests.

Cameras: We both had them and it was my understanding that the DM was leading. He kept an eye on both of us and I stuck closely by. I see your point about the camera leading and the buddy sticking like glue and checking gauges.
I do a lot of Yoga, Pilates, easier spin classes and dancing so that helps and I heal fast which is also a good sign. I am not overweight by much and my current doc thinks I am fine right where I am. I want to lose 25 lbs as that may take me off of insulin altogether.

Mobility: I am going to have to find a way to ease the pressure of carrying and toting my own gear which probably means more expensive service-oriented kinds of trips and will cost more. So that will mean less diving for me unless I am very fortunate and have someone who is happy to help. At the last dive meeting. I talked to a DM with tons of volunteer and pro experience about this issue and we are going to chat more about it very soon.

Thanks so much for all the info and hope to chat with you soon,


Butterfly_fish