What it's like to dive for the first time

[Fat old english bloke]

Only a pool dive, but I quite enjoyed it.

I’m just content underwater.

 

[34109411]

wet

Pressure was on i felt 2 ATM

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

In 1967 my dad took me out for my first dive to go spearfishing. Instruction: don't hold your breath and never ascend faster than your smallest exhaust bubbles. I was told the two upsides to diving was that you get to feel weightless and fly around like a spaceman, plus you get to kill something and bring it home for dinner. I have been hooked ever since.

 

[Ray and Pam]

Our first ocean dives on our own was at Carib Inn on Bonaire. I still remember the thrill of getting closer and closer to the drop off and the feel of being pulled down while passing over the edge... and I looked forward to the next time.

 

[fred32176]

Diving is really odd and really cool at the same time and becomes addicting. Being able to chill underwater and just relax, observe stuff and being able to hang out, while watching free divers have to go back to the surface was just really enjoyable. Coming out of the water with your gear makes you feel like a member of an elite club.

 

[Still Kicking]

I walked into my local dive shop and said how do I start diving? They said we're going tomorrow! Discover Scuba at Shaw's Cove, Laguna Beach .... 40' vis! I was hooked from the first second and enrolled on the spot. For the class, the vis never exceeded 5'. I am not sure how they pulled off that bait and switch

 

[Ukmc]

First time is like first time having sex. You think you know what you are doing, it is not the most spectacular but you don’t know that and amazed and then you are hooked for life.

 

[Mobulai]

I was lucky(how I saw it then at least)/unlucky (given the bad practice) that my 1st dive was off a boat, brother of a friend worked as a DM so he kinda let us be and focused on his actual customers

It was a 12m sand bottom so I guess he was also comfortable with that.
I didn’t even wanna do it, but luckily they peer-pressured me (I was afraid of exhaustion and wanted to only snorkel )

I was blown by how new the physical sensation of motion was vs swimming or snorkeling or even (bad attempts at) freediving; I found myself doing lots of flips (a la air in foot of drysuit) and trying to “walk upside down”

Then when I git a finger wag to not go all around like that, magic happened: I was at sitting on the bottom and looked up at the surface, sunshine shimmering at the surface — that was the moment I decided “this is peaceful AF and I really like it, I wanna keep doing it; maybe properly”

 

[boulderjohn]

I attended an introduction to scuba at a hotel pool in Hawai'i and did the introductory exercises. I had no trouble with the introductory skills, but the others did, so I swam around and had fun after each skill while he worked with the others. I eagerly signed up for the Discover Scuba dive the next day.

Well, the next day was Easter Sunday, and no one else signed up, so the instructor brought along his girlfriend. We violated the Discover Scuba depth rules as I did a full on 75-foot dive. It was fantastic, and I said that, yep, I would sign up for certification the next day.

That afternoon my wife and I found a beautiful deserted beach and discovered a key rule in Hawai'i--if a beach is deserted, there's a reason. I am sure there are now signs warning of the dangers of a shore break, but I had no idea then. I fought the surf, and the surf won. That evening the scuba instructor saw me in a sling, and my goal of certification was over. (My AC joint tear was permanent.)

That was many decades ago. It was 14 more years before I got certified.

 

[gamon]

At least some bots start interesting discussions.