I always loved Sea Hunt as a kid, but one thing or another kept me from pursuing my interest in Scuba. When the scuba doors in my life finally opened, I unexpectedly ran head on into an old nemesis; claustrophobia, specifically the fear of restriction. Putting on a 7mm wetsuit, especially the hood and gloves, was an exercise in panic mind control. After getting certified in 51*F Monterey Bay in Sept 2004, my wife and I didn't dive again for two and a half years. I loved being under the water, but I hated getting there. I know that claustrophobia is one of those phobias that can be conquered so I decided to study and practice what I needed to overcome my fear.
My wife and I took a refresher course in February 2007. In April 2007 on a trip to Puerto Aventuras, MX she and I went diving for the first time since OW certification. Our first two dives in the ocean were fine, nothing spectacular or memorable. Then my wife wanted to dive a cenote. WHAM! Instant feelings of claustrophobia. I explained my claustrophobia situation to the dive shop. They gave me the assurances I needed and we decided to give the cenote a shot. Within seconds of descending the "wow" factor took over and I did not have a single instance of claustrophobia. It was on that dive that the bug bit me hard.
Not including OW, we now have 47 dives. Our last dives this year were on May 18th. Due to a physical condition I've been unable to dive for the entire summer. That is about to come to an end and we're already coordinating schedules to get back in the water. ScubaBoard has kept me sane while I've been landlocked. This place is as positively addicting as diving and definitely therapeutic when one can't dive.