Nikolai, I think you had one of the most valuable experiences you could have had on this dive, and handled it very well. I've had two near-panic moments underwater, and the first was on my 2nd OW dive in class. I made it through that without bolting, and that experience was critical in managing the second one, which was getting completely disoriented with a flooded mask over an unknown depth bottom (that one was scary!) You now know what it feels like, and next time, you'll take control of the situation well before you did. And you did the right thing, which was slowing your breathing. I would be willing to be good money that the biggest issue in your situation was CO2 retention from excessive exertion and inadequate ventilation underwater.
My advice to you, and to emttim, is to work your local forums on SB for dive buddies. Both of you live in areas where there are VERY good divers -- responsible, careful people, with good team skills. Riguerin is one of those people, and I would highly recommend hooking up to dive with him. Monterey also has a group of welcoming, skilful divers. In the process of corresponding to set up a dive, you have a chance to talk about relative experience levels, goals of the dive, and any personal "things" you have. (Mine is buddy awareness -- I'm not interested in doing ANY same day/same ocean diving, ever.) This will set you up for a much better diving experience.
I've only had one less than pleasant experience diving with someone I made connections with on Scubaboard or other boards, and it wasn't scary -- it just wasn't a lot of fun.
Don't let bad buddies dissuade you from diving! But if buddy behavior is a big deal for you, you might think about gravitating toward divers who put team cohesion as a high priority underwater.
My advice to you, and to emttim, is to work your local forums on SB for dive buddies. Both of you live in areas where there are VERY good divers -- responsible, careful people, with good team skills. Riguerin is one of those people, and I would highly recommend hooking up to dive with him. Monterey also has a group of welcoming, skilful divers. In the process of corresponding to set up a dive, you have a chance to talk about relative experience levels, goals of the dive, and any personal "things" you have. (Mine is buddy awareness -- I'm not interested in doing ANY same day/same ocean diving, ever.) This will set you up for a much better diving experience.
I've only had one less than pleasant experience diving with someone I made connections with on Scubaboard or other boards, and it wasn't scary -- it just wasn't a lot of fun.
Don't let bad buddies dissuade you from diving! But if buddy behavior is a big deal for you, you might think about gravitating toward divers who put team cohesion as a high priority underwater.