Buoyant1
Contributor
Hi, I just want to say that I feel the same way- I'm a new diver and I don't like going deeper than 30' and I've seen the most incredible sea life in my shallow dives anyway.
I was rather unfortunate in my OW certification experience it seems after reading these posts- I did my skills in 20', but due to the reef depths where I was certified (Boynton Beach, FL)- my DM made me do my certification dives at 60' and it scared the hell outta me. I was told there was no choice in the matter- I wish I had known about scubaboard before then. I started hyperventilating and came up from a dive early (after a safety stop of course) my DM made me do two additional dives at 60' to get my certification! She made me feel really bad about being scared- even though I know it's normal. So my recommendation is talk to your dive shop about your concerns first- it's totally normal to be nervous and in fact I saw a lot of her students after me chicken out completely on their certification dives and they never came back- it ruined the experience for them! Go at your own pace, enjoy it, and don't let anyone make you feel bad about it- it's supposed to be recreation!
Wow...sounds like your instructor was a sadist! Crazy stuff! Most of the instructors I know evaluate the divers before taking them deeper than the original dive plan. I think they mostly try to keep the newer divers above 30-40 feet during their cert dives, but if the diver(s) are showing that they can be proficient enough, they'll venture a little deeper on the last dive. The best advice I can give is to ask your instructor what the plan for the certification dives are. If they think you are ready to venture deeper, and you are not, then it's best to get that out from the start. I was a little concerned about going below 15-20 feet when I did my OW dives, then I was concerned about over 50 feet, and used to look for sites that stayed above that. Now I feel I can do any dive within recreational limits (and maybe even push it within reason) and not be overly freaked out by it.
You do what YOU feel is right, don't let anyone push you into something in which you aren't comfortable or trained to do! The theme with a lot of people here is that this is supposed to be fun! And it is!