Chronicles of the newbie

[Lake Mead Tony]

Alan Lee,
Get use to it. I got my first C card 35 years ago and still get that feeling about every dive. That's called living to dive. You got the bug bad, never loose it!

 

[alan_lee]

Well, I finally did my Open Water this weekend, and passed it! In fact, I just got home and settled down after washing all the stuff. Did the dive at the Malaysian island of Pulau Dayang. Did a total of 5 dives, and to be honest, the 2nd dive was a shocker! Had problems equalising, and so I kept blowing my nose real hard, and when I ascended, everyone noticed I was bleeding from my nose. Not to mention I had SO much problems with buoyancy control, which was completely my fault cos the big cavity in my skull was empty! Was so frustrated and demoralised by my performance, but decided to suck it in and go back in after a half hour surface interval. And boy was I glad I did! After the advice from the DI and DM, I kept equalising and so there was no pain in my ears, and I was so pleased with my buoyancy control, and mind you, I'm my own harshest critic! Did 2 more dives on the final day, and which went well. Bumped into a whole lot of humphead parrot fish and baby barracudas. Also saw a trigger fish that was either feeding or mating, cos we didn't wanna stick around to find out

Also learnt the importance of having my own gear! While it's no biggie, my inflator hose was leaking slowly, and the regulator also died on my last dive, all of which were rented. The replacement set, I had so much problems getting used to it cos it seemed to breathe differently. Also discovered the need for something to bang on the cylinder to attract attention, having a better pair of eyes to spot fishes, and having better knowledge of aquatic flora and fauna!

There's plenty more I can do to be a better diver, so I'm gonna be off diving in July with my girlfriend, as well as trying out my new BC and reg set.

Now, if only my ears would unclear soon. Am so tired of hearing my own voice resonating in my head!

 

[dive_lover88]

Hey congrats on your certification! I got mine the previous boxing day at the green waters of huntu. Invest slowly in a gd set up that will last you a long time,i got mine as a package and regret it so bad...
Cheers
Darren

 

[alan_lee]

Hey congrats on your certification! I got mine the previous boxing day at the green waters of huntu. Invest slowly in a gd set up that will last you a long time,i got mine as a package and regret it so bad...Darren

Cheers for that! Hantu? Gosh, my DM was talking to us about dives at Hantu and the lack of visibility.

My package isn't exactly the sort where the shop packaged the cheap stuff and flog them off. Rather, I put together what I wanted, and the shop gives me a better price for it.

 

[dive_lover88]

After my cert dive, i did not know what got into me and i went for a leisure dive there again!! My BC and regs are package,the rest are my own selection and had was given a heafty discount. Btw you dived with which operation? (This is a genuine qn with all respect, no flaming allowed!)

 

[David P]

Congrats on the dive! Just be carefull and don't blow your nose so hard, you can really hurt your ears! Dive safe and dive often!

 

[runamonk]

hehe congratulations! When I got home from my first pool session, I couldn't stop smiling and I also couldn't keep my eyes open from all the chlorine in the pool. We played so many games in the water with our masks off and such haha.

I think I wandered around my house talking to my wife the whole time with my eyes closed.

It didn't take much excitement from me to get my wife started on scuba. She's in love with it now too lol.

Welcome to the addiction.

 

[alan_lee]

Btw you dived with which operation? (This is a genuine qn with all respect, no flaming allowed!)

I learnt from Diventures, which ran the SSI certification.

David P: Gosh, didn't know that I could damage my ears from blowing too hard! :11:

First day back at work after dive, what a horror trying to wake up! That's in comparison to dive days, when I couldn't wait to wake up. Can't wait for July to come by! Wish I could sleep in today, then go down to the dive shop to check out gear, and maybe buy myself a birthday present!

 

[falloutx]

Congrats! I hope you are not like. I could not get anything done the following day after my Open Water. Overwhelmed and kept thinking of the next diving opportunity! July can't come too soon for me too!

Have fun and dive safe!

 

[ShawnJ]

Hey! New diver as well huh.. join the club.. I did my first dive two weeks back.. and now, i'm planning to do it once a month.. i'm considering doing my advance open water real soon cause thats the only way us newbies would experience night diving..
hmm, do you have a group of people you dive with? I've actually got a group of three of us newbies and it'll be great to have one more on board. Well take care then and do drop me a reply. adios