suggestions on how to get a person into diving
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Trisha
Contributor
I will point out that my husband is lukewarm on swimming, could care less about beaches, but loves to dive. Once he's underwater with his camera, all is good.
Swimming on the surface bothers him. He does it, but does not like it. So even diehard divers have issues.
The gear is heavy -- use a dolly to get to the beach.
The gear is expensive -- rent or borrrow good BCs, regs and wetsuits. Get a good mask, snorkel, fins and boots. Save for a good set of regs and a basic computer. Henderson hyperstretch suits are expensive, but easy to get on.
Lakes and quarrys are cold -- add a lycra skin or pantyhose and synthetic top first.
Dive boats are expensive -- shore dives and spring dives are not. Air fills are resonable.
Fear of water / creatures / drowning -- can't help you there.
The learning curve -- good instructors will take their time teaching the basics. If you can drive a car, you can dive. And it's safer in the water than on the way to the beach -- fewer idiots out to ruin your day!
One more option -- does she have a friend who might like to try scuba classes with her? That might take the pressure off trying to please you, instead of concentrating on her own enjoyment of a new sport.
Swimming on the surface bothers him. He does it, but does not like it. So even diehard divers have issues.
The gear is heavy -- use a dolly to get to the beach.
The gear is expensive -- rent or borrrow good BCs, regs and wetsuits. Get a good mask, snorkel, fins and boots. Save for a good set of regs and a basic computer. Henderson hyperstretch suits are expensive, but easy to get on.
Lakes and quarrys are cold -- add a lycra skin or pantyhose and synthetic top first.
Dive boats are expensive -- shore dives and spring dives are not. Air fills are resonable.
Fear of water / creatures / drowning -- can't help you there.
The learning curve -- good instructors will take their time teaching the basics. If you can drive a car, you can dive. And it's safer in the water than on the way to the beach -- fewer idiots out to ruin your day!
One more option -- does she have a friend who might like to try scuba classes with her? That might take the pressure off trying to please you, instead of concentrating on her own enjoyment of a new sport.
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It helps to find out why she's skittish.
My ex-wife wasn't interested at first. Turned out she just wasn't comfortable in the water ... mainly because she couldn't swim very well, having grown up in a culture where girls spend their lives being told what they COULDN'T do because of their gender.
At any rate, she is very avid about photography ... so what eventually caught her interest was the prospect of taking pictures underwater.
So when she decided to give it a try, we started out with swimming lessons ... and about two months of regular (three times a week) practice with her swimming skills. Once she could swim pretty well she signed up for a four-week YMCA (now SEI) OW program. By the end of the course she was quite enthusiastic about scuba diving ... because the progression allowed her to develop some comfort and confidence in the pool before we ever headed out to OW.
Bottom line is that you need to consider her reasons for not wanting to do it. If it's simple lack of interest, let it go ... not everyone needs to be a scuba diver. But if there's some other reason that's preventing her from wanting to try it, then see if she's interested in addressing that reason. Do it at HER pace. Avoid the quickie certifications ... they don't work well for people who need time for mental or physical adjustments to being in the water.
And whatever you do, don't pressure her to take scuba lessons ... that never works out well. The only legitimate reason for anyone to get into recreational scuba diving is because they want to ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
My ex-wife wasn't interested at first. Turned out she just wasn't comfortable in the water ... mainly because she couldn't swim very well, having grown up in a culture where girls spend their lives being told what they COULDN'T do because of their gender.
At any rate, she is very avid about photography ... so what eventually caught her interest was the prospect of taking pictures underwater.
So when she decided to give it a try, we started out with swimming lessons ... and about two months of regular (three times a week) practice with her swimming skills. Once she could swim pretty well she signed up for a four-week YMCA (now SEI) OW program. By the end of the course she was quite enthusiastic about scuba diving ... because the progression allowed her to develop some comfort and confidence in the pool before we ever headed out to OW.
Bottom line is that you need to consider her reasons for not wanting to do it. If it's simple lack of interest, let it go ... not everyone needs to be a scuba diver. But if there's some other reason that's preventing her from wanting to try it, then see if she's interested in addressing that reason. Do it at HER pace. Avoid the quickie certifications ... they don't work well for people who need time for mental or physical adjustments to being in the water.
And whatever you do, don't pressure her to take scuba lessons ... that never works out well. The only legitimate reason for anyone to get into recreational scuba diving is because they want to ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
All excellent ideas about snorkeling and an Intro course at a nice resort with warm water and good marine life ... now see if you can find a place with a female instructor doing the Intro ... this could help her trust and comfort level about the whole idea of being UW.
a22shady
Contributor
If anything If she is willing to do it. Set-up a time for a discover Scuba. Make sure its at a place that has a pool and has the DM/instructor to be very patient with the her.
I have a similar type situation going on in my household. My family lives in New Jersey and both of my sisters are 8 and 10 so getting closer to the time when they can get a junior diver certification. My mom, my sisters and my step father are all excellent swimmers but their household is plagued by what I call "association".
If my mom says water is cold, then my sisters automatically repeat. If one sister says she does not like something, other one follows suit... Both of them have inherited that from my mom who in her own way makes things worse for herself by constantly fantasizing about how crappy something might be. Here is an example.
My mom would love to dive but one time long ago she got sea sick on a boat.. so naturally her main argument against not diving is that she would get sick and blah blah blah. To make story short I was able to persuade her to at least try diving from shore. Now because my mom keeps reciting her mantra.. both of my sisters are following in suite so my ONLY option of getting them to dive at all is to go to the Keys.. rent a house on a beach, borrow a few sets of gear and or that snuba thing and getting them to try. If they like it.. which I am sure they will.. it will be that much easier to get them certified.
There are a few things that are mandatory when trying to get someone into scuba diving.
#1 They must be comfortable in water. Meaning that they should be jumping in the pool, doing some laps, comfortable swimming in a lake etc.
#2 They must be comfortable diving into water.. no not from a jump board but being able to dive into water and swimming under water at least a few seconds.
#3 Do not make their first experience a bad experience.
#4 Do it one step at a time.
If my mom says water is cold, then my sisters automatically repeat. If one sister says she does not like something, other one follows suit... Both of them have inherited that from my mom who in her own way makes things worse for herself by constantly fantasizing about how crappy something might be. Here is an example.
My mom would love to dive but one time long ago she got sea sick on a boat.. so naturally her main argument against not diving is that she would get sick and blah blah blah. To make story short I was able to persuade her to at least try diving from shore. Now because my mom keeps reciting her mantra.. both of my sisters are following in suite so my ONLY option of getting them to dive at all is to go to the Keys.. rent a house on a beach, borrow a few sets of gear and or that snuba thing and getting them to try. If they like it.. which I am sure they will.. it will be that much easier to get them certified.
There are a few things that are mandatory when trying to get someone into scuba diving.
#1 They must be comfortable in water. Meaning that they should be jumping in the pool, doing some laps, comfortable swimming in a lake etc.
#2 They must be comfortable diving into water.. no not from a jump board but being able to dive into water and swimming under water at least a few seconds.
#3 Do not make their first experience a bad experience.
#4 Do it one step at a time.
Don't force her. Nothing more miserable than the person day 1 during class "i'm here because my SO dives" If she wants to she will express interest. Otherwise she is going to be one grumpy learner in a class of people who want to be there.
That said, I've been married to a man for 13 years, all 13 of them I've been an instructor and has NO Desire to dive. Zero. His loss, my escape. He won't even try when I've offered one of my male coworkers to take him, and various macho-men types have tried.
Don't push her. Maybe go snokelling with no mention, no nagging, not a whisper of scuba and she might bring it up.
That said, I've been married to a man for 13 years, all 13 of them I've been an instructor and has NO Desire to dive. Zero. His loss, my escape. He won't even try when I've offered one of my male coworkers to take him, and various macho-men types have tried.
Don't push her. Maybe go snokelling with no mention, no nagging, not a whisper of scuba and she might bring it up.
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