What is your biggest Fear in diving?

[elmer fudd]

That's interesting, elmer. I've had LOTS of trouble with vertigo, but never felt like I was going to pass out.

I've had occasional bouts of atrial fibrillation for years, (controlled now), and at one point in the past I did pass out. I woke up next to the toilet with a fat lip from where my face hit it on the way down. My medications, (beta blockers+lisinopril), can also make me a little dizzy from time to time. So for me there's a bit of a precedent.

Both my GP and my cardiologist have given me the green light for diving, but when I'm feeling a bit of narcosis and vertigo that's what scares me.

 

[kanonfodr]

I fear OW instructors who think they know everything when they've never gone beyond recreational diving. That and large groups of newbie divers intruding on my dive, walking on the reef, screwing up the viz, etc. Everything else can be mitigated where I dive.

Peace,
Greg

 

[lulubelle]

Dive buddies with too many DSM IV diagnoses. Give me sharks ANY day.

DSM-IV Diagnoses and Codes-Numerical

 

[lulubelle]

I have two. 1) sharks believe it or not. The one coming out of nowhere..

2) strong current that could carry us well away from the dive site and to where SHARKS could have us for a snack, or to be stranded in open ocean.

Seriously, those are the two fears I have.

Well Randy, I guess NC wreck diving is out for you then. The Sand Tigers don't eat much for what it is worth.

 

[Sas]

Being hit by a boat is my number one worry. I have been hit by one already (nothing major still scared the crap out of me) and given 99% of my diving is done off a live boat I worry a bit about being run into when picked up or even as I am surfacing (though I always have an SMB up).

The second thing is up or down currents. I've been in some scary currents when wall diving... Normal current doesn't bother me as it is pretty predictable.

As far as marine life goes I'm scared of brittle sea stars :blush: 19ft tiger shark swimming over my head in Fiji, no worries, but a brittle sea star :scared: I don't even know why they freak me out but they do. I guess I'm scared of garden snails on land so some of my fears really aren't that rational

 

[tkdgodess]

I second tstorm. Drowning. Not coming home to my 2.5 year old & 10 month old. Life insurance is in place. I could have written her post.

 

[AdvancedAquarist]

Air Embolism and Drowning

 

[Mopar]

Barracuda. I don't like them.

 

[BioLogic]

I'll take those barracuda off your hands, Mopar. I've got a different monster under the bed.

On the other hand, moving water makes me uneasy until I've had the chance to gauge it personally. On that same Oriskany dive the most intimidating part was hearing about the procedures to deal with the current then stepping into that ocean. In Jackson Hole, the first dive was stressful because I didn't have a feel for how to deal with the strongish outflow.

On the other other hand, once I've had a chance to experience what I'm dealing with, I tend to really enjoy that water movement (so far I've not been in anything actually hard to cope with). The second dive on the O and the second in Jackson Blue were both a lot of fun, since I could relax and let the water move me in ways I could predict.

 

[1RUSTYRIG]

I fear what is sometimes unavoidable...you know what I am talking about....

It's a two and a half hour boat ride from San Pedro out to the Blue Hole. You stride down the pier with the confidence that a seasoned diver has. You know it's all going to be good because your Save-A-Dive-Kit not only holds spare straps and O-rings but a delectable assortment of real food (fruit and nuts don't cut it) and your trusty iPod. As you near the boat the hair stands up on the back of your neck. You strain your eyes to make out the shapes before you a little clearer in the low light of the morning. No...It can't Be...But IT IS!!!

That's right...Mr. Neglectful parent and his swarm of poorly behaving brats ages 13-16. You realize now that you are fated to spend the next 12 hours trapped with a bunch of snot nosed kids while 'dad' hits on the skanky single chick that stumbled onto the boat at the last minute.

Worst...boat ride....EVER!