Should I get certified?

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Hi, I'm new to this board but have been reading messages for the past few days and just wanted to see if anyone had any opinions on my situation:

So I've been scuba diving exactly once, about 2 weeks ago when I went on one of those "Discover Scuba" things in Grenada. I'd never even been snorkeling before this, but had always wanted to try diving. I can pretty safely say that I was "the nervous one" in our group of 4. Freaked out and surfaced the first time we had to submerge all the way in the pool, freaked out and surfaced again when I couldn't equalize my ears in the deep end, then freaked out one last time going down the line off the dive boat when I realized that a bunch of water was coming in through my regulator. They told me it was normal, so I went ahead and did the dive (and swallowed about a quart of seawater along the way, but I guess that's "normal"?). The dive itself was amazing, but I was still, well, a little nervous for most of it, and by the end (we were down for 30 minutes), I was definitely ready to come back up.

So, here's my question: Should I get certified? I really felt like I was excessively nervous (my boyfriend did everything with no problem), but am still attracted by the idea of diving. Is this anxiety something that I could expect to get over once I get some more practice, or is it just something that could make diving more dangerous for me in the long run? I've been thinking about certification a lot since we went, but my boyfriend thinks I'm crazy considering what a wuss I was about the whole thing - so I just wanted to see if anyone else could offer up some opinions, experience, etc., to help me out? Thanks...
 
Some people lose the fear. If you really want to get into it, find a good dive shop and tell them you want to take your time...and then go for it.
 
Swallowing a quart of water..... I know that I dont swallow any with my Regs, I dont think that that would be normal. anyways Diving is not for everyone, It should be something that you want to do, not something that someone else wants you to do.

I was a little apprehensive the first time (in March) but it was something that I have always wanted to do. I did see other people that were there for the wrong reasons (either status of being a diver or friend/spouse wanting then to get certified so they have a dive buddy) and generally they did not enjoy it.

But I do think that taking the complete course is the best way to find out if its for you, the instructors that I had were great, made you feel good about what you were doing and supported you all the way. (I still dive with them as part of the local dive club here)

anyways thats my $.02

Diving is a awsome sport and to be honest, since I have been using my own regs and stuff, I find I enjoy it a lot more, Since its my life on the line, I know that my regs and equipment is serviced....

anyways hope I didnt turn you off diving,
cya
Ken
 
water coming in through the regulator is not normal. You shouldn't have to put up with that. You should be able to dive for an hour and ingest zero seawater.
 
If, after your "experience" you still want to learn, then go for it. First, find a good shop and instructor. Ask the divers where you live for recommendations and, when you go to set up to take the class, let the instructor know of your experience in Grenada. Knowing what problems you were having will give him a starting point in helping you overcome them. Water coming through the regulator is not normal btw. You may get some water in your mask or reg when changing them under water but you will learn how to clear them.

My first scuba was a Discover Scuba also, but on Bequia, just north of Grenada and had a great experience. But, now having my Open Water Certification, I wouldn't recommend Discover Scuba. They just can't teach you enough in the short amount of time to understand the equipment and to be really safe. This is just my opinion, your mileage may vary.

Good luck and hope it works out for you!
 
manders440:
So I've been scuba diving exactly once, about 2 weeks ago when I went on one of those "Discover Scuba" things in Grenada. I'd never even been snorkeling before this, but had always wanted to try diving. I can pretty safely say that I was "the nervous one" in our group of 4. Freaked out and surfaced the first time we had to submerge all the way in the pool, freaked out and surfaced again when I couldn't equalize my ears in the deep end, then freaked out one last time going down the line off the dive boat when I realized that a bunch of water was coming in through my regulator. They told me it was normal, so I went ahead and did the dive (and swallowed about a quart of seawater along the way, but I guess that's "normal"?). The dive itself was amazing, but I was still, well, a little nervous for most of it, and by the end (we were down for 30 minutes), I was definitely ready to come back up.

It's not normal to have water in your regulator. If you put it in upside down and try to clear it, you will get a mouth full of water. If you don't have a good bite on your regulator, you could get water in your mouth, but it shouldn't be coming out of the regulator.

It takes training to scuba dive; breathing underwater is not a natural thing. You shouldn't go deep when you can't equalize your ears. Problem is that you didn't have *enough* training to know what to do when you can't equalize your ears, etc. You knew how to surface and you did it which may have prevented an eardrum rupture.

You can always try open water classes. You will feel a lot more confident in the water after learning all the skills. I don't see how anyone could learn them in one day. I couldn't. You can also spend some time snorkeling and see if you like that. Try some skin dives with a snorkel in a pool and see how that feels.

You won't really know until you try and there is no shame in trying and then deciding that scuba diving is not for you. Go for it!
 
Hey, you liked the dive right, get certified. You'll soon learn the skills, which will build confidence. Doesn't take long to realize drinking sea water is a bad idea...........
 
Some Discover Scuba things are better than others. If they told you sucking in water is normal instead of doing something about it that was a bad one and they're full of it. You'd probably have a much better experience with a good instructor in a real class.
 
Yes, you should get certified.

You encountered problems, you overcame them, despite having zero experience in the area, and you still want to dive again.

I can't think of anything better that says get certified and dive.

Breathing underwater isn't natural, having water come out your reg is really strange, yet you handled it all. Most people aren't comfortable on their first dives.

If you can write "but am still attracted by the idea of diving" then you should dive.

Xanthro
 
I took part in a discover scuba dive last year while in Curacao.
I had done a fair amount of snorkeling in the past but like you really wanted to try diving.

Well we get the gear on and head into the water. Everything around me was sooooo cool looking I thought that I was really going to enjoy the morning.

Well, after a few minutes I got really tense and had to surface, after a short rest we tried descending again but again I had to surface. Finally after a couple more tries (with a very patient instructor) I called it quits. I can't tell you how disappointed I was. I was really bummed and spent the rest of the day in a kind of funk.

But in spite of that experience I still had a strong desire to learn. After returning home from vacation I went to a nearby dive shop told them what happened and said that I wanted to try another discover dive which they gladly setup for me.

Well the second discover dive comes, I hit the water and I'm kinda nervous again. But after a few minutes I relaxed and had a blast.

Aftwards I started searching around not necessarily for a dive shop to take my OW training from but an instructor to take my OW training with. And as the story goes I was certified last March and am loving it.

So, a bad discover dive experience turned out OK.

I would stress that if you decide to pursue your open water certification, look around for a solid instructor in your area. Get references, meet with the instructor. Make sure that you get along, make sure that the way they teach fits you. And make sure that the instructor is an active diver and not just someone who used to dive and now just teaches.

Good Luck,


manders440:
Hi, I'm new to this board but have been reading messages for the past few days and just wanted to see if anyone had any opinions on my situation:

So I've been scuba diving exactly once, about 2 weeks ago when I went on one of those "Discover Scuba" things in Grenada. I'd never even been snorkeling before this, but had always wanted to try diving. I can pretty safely say that I was "the nervous one" in our group of 4. Freaked out and surfaced the first time we had to submerge all the way in the pool, freaked out and surfaced again when I couldn't equalize my ears in the deep end, then freaked out one last time going down the line off the dive boat when I realized that a bunch of water was coming in through my regulator. They told me it was normal, so I went ahead and did the dive (and swallowed about a quart of seawater along the way, but I guess that's "normal"?). The dive itself was amazing, but I was still, well, a little nervous for most of it, and by the end (we were down for 30 minutes), I was definitely ready to come back up.

So, here's my question: Should I get certified? I really felt like I was excessively nervous (my boyfriend did everything with no problem), but am still attracted by the idea of diving. Is this anxiety something that I could expect to get over once I get some more practice, or is it just something that could make diving more dangerous for me in the long run? I've been thinking about certification a lot since we went, but my boyfriend thinks I'm crazy considering what a wuss I was about the whole thing - so I just wanted to see if anyone else could offer up some opinions, experience, etc., to help me out? Thanks...
 

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