rollintrollinsharkie
Registered
My "oh-dear god" moment was on my 5th dive, the dive right after OW course. It was on Tulamben Bali, USAT Liberty wreck. Had a beautiful Australian instructor as my dive leader. During descent, my focus was completely on her, not knowing where the bottom was & didn't realize dark-brown, long 'tentacles' right below me. Hit those strange things with both of my feet & one of my arms but it was way too late (wore short sleeve, short legs wetsuit). I believe it was the most painful experience ever, hurts like thousands of bees/mosquitoes bites in a time. I gasped & almost let my reg out from my mouth (thankfully it didn't). I didn't want to show any weakness to her, so I pretended nothing happened & continued the dive. After around 5 mins, I felt extreme itchy sensation all over my feet & arm. After 8 mins, I saw dark veins around my feet & arm & decided to tell her. Wasn't really panicked (I managed to swim in control, with occasional scratching), but I got mad at her because she kept giving "I'm watching over you" hand signal ("OK" signal was all I need - culture differences). Turned out it was fire coral, and I prefer fishes more than corals ever since.