What things in diving give you the willies?

[CT-Rich]

Fun thread... much better than trolling people over their gear configurations!

Unfortunately, I don't get bothered by things that are an actual threat (sharks, props, etc.) What freaks me out is all these weird little invertebrates. Crawly little, sea slugs, arrow crabs, mantis shimp.... don't even get me started about sea cucumbers... OMG Horseshoe crabs! stay the hell away from me!

I don't trust invertebrates, never have. I know they have some agenda and by the time I figure it out, it could be too late.

I remember I used to clean the occasional boat hull and every little isopod that got knocked of the hull would instantly swim over and latch onto my wetsuit, hood and beard. Aside from the nightmare of getting them to let go of the wetsuit, the sensation of them wriggling in my beard was awful.

 

[tomfcrist]

European divers wearin just speedos on the boat....and if the speedo wasn't bad enough, the pubic hair hanging out the side of them was surely enough to give me the Hebee jebees.

But was she cute?

Lol. She was a dude...but yeah I guess if you are into that sorta thing.

 

[KeithG]

Blood worms on a night dive.

The swarm around your light is annoying.
the swarm pelting your mask and checks is disgusting.
the few that get in your hair and your ears is the willies....

 

[oldschool]

Unknowlingly swimming into a very large grotto in a local lake where vis was less that 1 ft. At the time I kept my cool, keeping contact with the roof and backing my way out until I found the lip of the entrance. It wasn't until my next dive in that lake several weeks later that it started to get to me. It took me several months before I could dive there again comfortably and enjoy exploring grottos. Wierd...

 

[DarinJ]

I have loved every dive ... until my son got certified. I won't tell him but it makes me nervous sometimes - just knowing that I need to watch him - not so much for him but for me and my peace of mind. What he does not know yet about diving - scares me to no end. But I love sharing the sport with him.

I couldn't agree more. The little mistakes that my son (12 years old) has made have all been minor and quickly fixed by him with no panic. But I lie awake at night stressing about the "what ifs"!


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[BRT]

For me it is how most of the lakes here go from viz to no vis at about 25 feet. I can hardly make myself go into that layer. I've been in the Hood Canal when the viz above 50' was almost nil and below that was just night diving but nothing bothers me like the dark layer in the lakes.

 

[lowviz]

For me it is how most of the lakes here go from viz to no vis at about 25 feet. I can hardly make myself go into that layer. I've been in the Hood Canal when the viz above 50' was almost nil and below that was just night diving but nothing bothers me like the dark layer in the lakes.

Nobody gave you the "words"? :shocked2:

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
― Frank Herbert, Dune

Recite same as you turn off visual and go to tactile. Ask any PSD diver...

 

[divin'dog]

I once dove on the 422' target ship in Cape Cod that was partly above water... It was much more intact than it is now. Later learned it was supposed to be off limits to divers. Approaching the ship underwater, it was a large dark eerie shape that gave me the willies. I had never seen anything that large underwater before. I felt better as I approached it and could make out some details. Then, my buddy and I see a huge opening on the side of the ship from about 50' away that had to be about 10'x10' that was probably used for loading. It was absolutely BLACK! That gave me the willies. Being curious, I point over to it and we mosey over. We're at the edge of the opening and I turn on my new huge rechargeable bright light and I stick my arm in with the light and try shining it all around... AND ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Not a thing. It was as black as it looked from 50' away! Now that really gave me the willies! We both looked at each other and shook our heads and got away from there quickly. I'm shivering now, just thinking about it.

Only other thing that gives me the willies is shutting off my light and being on the fringe of the light from other divers on a night dive. Kinda creepy to look away from the group of lights and into the darkness behind you.

 

[chillyinCanada]

As giffenk said about the blood worms on a night dive, while I find those extremely annoying, it was some other kind of worm that came to me on a night dive whilst on the Raja Ampat trip. No idea what they were. At least the size of a finger, narrow tail, huge grotesquely undulating head, kind of a grayish color, gross slimy things trying to touch me, get into my wetsuit. Eeeeewwwwwwwww I'm willied all over again.

Other things mentioned like bucking boats and motors give me much concern but as for the willies, those worms take the cake.

 

[shoredivr]

The unseen and undetected toxins, poisons, radiation, that we allow to seep into our waterways, into the ocean. For example, medication such as estrogen in the birth control pill, is not broken down by ingesting it. The levels of estrogen in the Great Lakes is affecting fish life, reducing fertility rates, etc.
Now multiply that by things like the coal ash spill in North Carolina, what's left over from Fukushima and BP Gulf blowout, leaky barrels of toxic waste, sewage, the Pacific Trash Vortex….
I guess it's back to that root cause - humans - again.

---------- Post added February 28th, 2014 at 01:27 AM ----------

As giffenk said about the blood worms on a night dive, while I find those extremely annoying, it was some other kind of worm that came to me on a night dive whilst on the Raja Ampat trip. No idea what they were. At least the size of a finger, narrow tail, huge grotesquely undulating head, kind of a grayish color, gross slimy things trying to touch me, get into my wetsuit. Eeeeewwwwwwwww I'm willied all over again.

Other things mentioned like bucking boats and motors give me much concern but as for the willies, those worms take the cake.

I'd want a wetsuit hood…..

Ugh, that just reminded me of finishing a dive in the Niagara River in the summer, and surfacing through some weeds. Which of course deposited dozens of wriggling larvae of some kind all over my buddy's hood. Thank god, not mine, lol. He jumped around for quite some time trying to get them off...