Was I under educated for the situation?

[divotsmom]

We're at a resort in Cancun, they are doing the demonstrations at pool side. Looks fun so we jump in and do the hand signals, swinging the arm to get the resporator, clearing the mask etc.

We decide to give it a try. We're told that it is a 25' dive so I am fine, since I am a bit closterphobic and have always felt that I wouldn't do very well.

To make a long story short, I got down the rope to my buddy, now it is pouring rain with huge swells and everyone gathers in a circle,everyone takes off and I freak return the surface and am completly disappointed with myself.

My brother and nephews come up about 30 minutes later so completly enthusiactic. My brother bungies and jumps out of planes and he said it was the coolest thing he had every done. The boys regail me with stories about the thing they got to see. My brother did read his meter when we were in our circle and it did read 50'.

My nephews are 12 and the twins are 13 and we think this could be a really cool thing to do on vacations together as they hit those teenage years.

My friend's who dive, think that if I went though a complete educational program that I would have more convidence in the equipment and they also felt that for a first dive we went a little deep.

We want to plan a November vacation to Cozumel (newbie suggestions from this board), should I give a certification course a try and should we find a dive situation in Cozumel that stritckly does newbie dives?

I really want to find an activity that we can all learn together and enjoy but I don't want to be the one waiting on the beach for them to return.

Thanks for any encourgement that you can give me. All your comments and suggestions on this board are so positive and reassuring I 'm just afaid that the pool was so easy that I can't do a real dive. Should I just be snorkeler, not there's anything wrong with that.

Pam

 

[alcina]

If you think that diving is something you might like, then by all means do the whole course. Those little Discover Scuba Experiences like the one you did in Cancun can either be wonderful or terrible! They are definitely not enough to make all people feel comfortable diving!

But the whole course, on the other hand, is built to do just that. You should find an instructor who teaches at the student pace and who you like the "feel" of when you talk to her/him. If possible, do your course NOT on your holidays. Use your holidays for relaxing, fun dives.

If you do your course on holidays, allow extra days for more fun dives and also in case of delays in the course of any reason (weather, ears, need more time to practice etc).

You really sound positive about the whole thing so I think you'll do great!

Let us know how it all goes.

And, yes, I think you should find an operator in Coz that will tailor to your needs: small groups, gentle dives, some support & guidance. If you have several divers in your group you can even reserve a boat all to yourselves and/or hire your own private dive master - well worth it.

 

[H2Andy]

Those little Discover Scuba Experiences like the one you did in Cancun can either be wonderful or terrible! They are definitely not enough to make all people feel comfortable diving!

[snip]

And, yes, I think you should find an operator in Coz that will tailor to your needs: small groups, gentle dives, some support & guidance.

i totally agree. i think you need to give diving another chance. your "introduction"
to diving was not exactly the best way to do it. hey, it works for some poeple,
but not for all.

i definetely would look into taking a full course, doing the OW dives (usually 4)
under supervision.

maybe you'll decide that diving isn't for you after all. but there's a good
chance that you'll just love it and it will open up a whole new world!

but if you dont try, how are you ever going to know????

 

[theskull]

Yes, you were undereducated for the situation. But it was (should have been) a very closely supervised situation to add in the safety factor that you hadn't learned.

The purpose of the Resort Course is one of 2: 1. Get you interested enough to go take a class and learn to do it right. or 2. Collect a fee for providing a "did that, got the t-shirt" experience for those who just want to try it once.

Since you are not turned off after having a less than exciting experience on the first try, I would venture to predict that you will love the real thing once you have actually been taught how to dive. When selecting your instructor, do share your experience and feelings about it with him/her so they have a basis of your initial comfort level to work from.

Don't worry -- be happy!

theskull

 

[Scubakevdm]

I 'm just afaid that the pool was so easy that I can't do a real dive. Should I just be snorkeler, not there's anything wrong with that.

Pam

Sounds to me like you'd love it! I might recommend spending a little bit more time with it and getting private instruction. A good instructor can help you be alot more relaxed, and help you to be more confident. The course that you took seems like it was kinda fast paced, maybe too fast. Take your time, be comfortable and enjoy yourself!

 

[divotsmom]

Thank you for your responses, I think that my eagerness to find an advanture we can all learn together will out weigh any concerns I have about my own insecurities.

We all plan to get certified before we even plan our vacation, my suggestion, so that I am not let out of the experience.

My concern is that all entry level certtification in western CO. is done in a pool and does not truely represent a real dive.

To be honest I would be better to drive 20' with no apperatise and swim around then to have all the equipment and weight (which I could hardly carry to the edge of the boat) then to have no "control" of the situation. Maybe I have hit on something. "Control". I have to feel in control of the situation, hence education, to truely ENJOY the experience.

For anyone who has or knows very active and adventurance young teens I think that this could be a really good bonding experience. So much can go wrong in these years that we just want to have something that they love so we can threaten them with vacations for good grades with for the next five years. (ha, ha)

Thanks again, Pam

 

[HammerNoMore]

Discover Scuba is not much of an education. Locally we do ours in a pool, but the resorts tend to use the nice blue oceans they have.

Diving can be overwhelming for those who are not used to being underwater. However, I've seen a people who can't even get into the water with a snorkle the first time go on to get certified.

My personal recomendation would be to shop around locally. Find a shop that instead of doing the 2 weekend certification, does the course over a number of weeks (6 is a good number).

James

 

[rollinssm]

Thank you for your responses, I think that my eagerness to find an advanture we can all learn together will out weigh any concerns I have about my own insecurities.

We all plan to get certified before we even plan our vacation, my suggestion, so that I am not let out of the experience.

My concern is that all entry level certtification in western CO. is done in a pool and does not truely represent a real dive.

To be honest I would be better to drive 20' with no apperatise and swim around then to have all the equipment and weight (which I could hardly carry to the edge of the boat) then to have no "control" of the situation. Maybe I have hit on something. "Control". I have to feel in control of the situation, hence education, to truely ENJOY the experience.

For anyone who has or knows very active and adventurance young teens I think that this could be a really good bonding experience. So much can go wrong in these years that we just want to have something that they love so we can threaten them with vacations for good grades with for the next five years. (ha, ha)

Thanks again, Pam

divotsmom (Pam)

All certification classes should start in a class room and confined water. what is confined water, it is a pool or such. In a pool is where you learn the basics and practice. Then the instructor will take you to the open water. This open water might be a lake, or spring or ocean. The Instructor will do 4 to 6 dives with you, and have you do some of the same skills you did in the pool. The Instructor will take you down to about 60 feet. Before the Instructor signs his name on the dotted line to qualify you as a real honest to goodness diver, you will be an honest to goodness diver. New to the adventure granted, but you will be a diver. They do that in Colorado as well as here in Georgia and just about every where else in the world.

From the sounds of it you'll do just fine.

 

[cmcarver]

The Shop I certified thru had it so that you take the classroom work and pool dives but you could use more pool dives to gain confidence in the skills you need to learn. In fact 6 of the 10 people in my class didn't do the first available checkout dives just so they could practice and get confident in the gear they were using. Everyone learns at different paces. You should be able to find a Dive shop that will be glad to take their time to get you confident. Also some dive shops do a Try scuba in pools so you could do a dive in a pool to see if you like what SCUBA has to offer.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

We want to plan a November vacation to Cozumel (newbie suggestions from this board), should I give a certification course a try and should we find a dive situation in Cozumel that stritckly does newbie dives?

I really want to find an activity that we can all learn together and enjoy but I don't want to be the one waiting on the beach for them to return.

Thanks for any encourgement that you can give me. All your comments and suggestions on this board are so positive and reassuring I 'm just afaid that the pool was so easy that I can't do a real dive. Should I just be snorkeler, not there's anything wrong with that.

Pam

If you're ambivalent about it then perhaps a good approach would be to try to line up an Open Water course at your local YMCA, rather than taking the class at a dive shop. The structure of the YScuba class will allow you to try something like a "Discover Scuba" dive before committing to the full-blown course ... typically after your first two classroom sessions. If you decide it's really not for you, you don't get stuck with the cost of the full course. On the other hand, if you decide to continue, the YScuba program provides an excellent Open Water program that places an emphasis on being comfortable in the water, as well as teaching the usual Open Water skills.

Be prepared to spend more time on this class than you would at your local dive shop ... the pace of the class is considerably slower. The good news is it's probably going to cost you less.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)