2Bluewater
Registered
Hello
I live in NE frozen Ohio and have snorkeled the Caribbean for years. I tried 3 discover scuba courses before I felt comfortable enough to actually attempt certification. My last Discover scuba in Bonaire convinced me to go for it. In Jan 07 I did the pool and classroom here, then on Feb 12, 2007 I finished up in Ambergris Caye, Belize. I now have 11 dives under my belt and I can't wait to dive again.
From a beginners point of view here are some things that I have learned along the way:
1. I think that your Dive Instructor can make or break a training / checkout dive(s). I had great instructors both in the pool and open water. They were very patient ! My OW Instructor - Marciano Mendez from Amigos Del Mar was absolutely super.
2. Mind over matter - [FONT="]psychologically [/FONT]I told myself that I wouldn't go below 40-50 ft. I just wanted to go down just a little bit to see more fish and coral. Wasn't I surprised to learn that my last check out dive was going to be below my self imposed limit. Initially I had some reservations with doing skills at 60ft, but Marciano was great at talking me through the situation and making me feel completely in control. I did learn with Marciano's help that 60ft wasn't really any different than 40ft relatively speaking - it was all in my head.
3. Equipment can also make the difference between a comfortable dive and not so comfortable dive. On my first 2 Discover Scuba dives I had mask leaking problems, I was overweighted and I didn't have the right fins. On my last Discover Scuba, I had upgraded my mask and fins and I had an instructor who took time to get us weighted properly - I had a great time on this dive.
4. Dive Computers are awesome - I have a diver friend that lives in Houston and I would pick her brain about diving. One thing she said to me was "the best money I have spent was for my dive computer". Thanks to the folks on this board who wrote about a great dive computer deal at ScubaToys, I purchased one. All I can say is that I absolutely love it. There were so many things to think about - check for o-rings, getting used to rented BCDs and Regs, concentrating on breathing deep and slow, not holding my breath when I saw a shark or barracuda come too close or just trying not to be the one holding up the group by being last off the boat - I was thankful that my computer kept track of temps, dive start / stop times and SI's. I also found it easier to get a handle on my buoyancy because the digital depth readout gave me instant results. Sometimes I couldn't tell that I was ascending until I looked at my computer and I also found it's way to easy to slip into the depths.
All in All I've had a great time diving and can't wait to go again.
11 dives and counting.......
2Bluewater
I live in NE frozen Ohio and have snorkeled the Caribbean for years. I tried 3 discover scuba courses before I felt comfortable enough to actually attempt certification. My last Discover scuba in Bonaire convinced me to go for it. In Jan 07 I did the pool and classroom here, then on Feb 12, 2007 I finished up in Ambergris Caye, Belize. I now have 11 dives under my belt and I can't wait to dive again.
From a beginners point of view here are some things that I have learned along the way:
1. I think that your Dive Instructor can make or break a training / checkout dive(s). I had great instructors both in the pool and open water. They were very patient ! My OW Instructor - Marciano Mendez from Amigos Del Mar was absolutely super.
2. Mind over matter - [FONT="]psychologically [/FONT]I told myself that I wouldn't go below 40-50 ft. I just wanted to go down just a little bit to see more fish and coral. Wasn't I surprised to learn that my last check out dive was going to be below my self imposed limit. Initially I had some reservations with doing skills at 60ft, but Marciano was great at talking me through the situation and making me feel completely in control. I did learn with Marciano's help that 60ft wasn't really any different than 40ft relatively speaking - it was all in my head.
3. Equipment can also make the difference between a comfortable dive and not so comfortable dive. On my first 2 Discover Scuba dives I had mask leaking problems, I was overweighted and I didn't have the right fins. On my last Discover Scuba, I had upgraded my mask and fins and I had an instructor who took time to get us weighted properly - I had a great time on this dive.
4. Dive Computers are awesome - I have a diver friend that lives in Houston and I would pick her brain about diving. One thing she said to me was "the best money I have spent was for my dive computer". Thanks to the folks on this board who wrote about a great dive computer deal at ScubaToys, I purchased one. All I can say is that I absolutely love it. There were so many things to think about - check for o-rings, getting used to rented BCDs and Regs, concentrating on breathing deep and slow, not holding my breath when I saw a shark or barracuda come too close or just trying not to be the one holding up the group by being last off the boat - I was thankful that my computer kept track of temps, dive start / stop times and SI's. I also found it easier to get a handle on my buoyancy because the digital depth readout gave me instant results. Sometimes I couldn't tell that I was ascending until I looked at my computer and I also found it's way to easy to slip into the depths.
All in All I've had a great time diving and can't wait to go again.
11 dives and counting.......
2Bluewater
