Do you remember

[Sas]

My OW was not very enjoyable actually (though not because of the quality or anything like that, just my poor ability). The pool session went alright and then I did eight OW dives. To be honest I did not enjoy most of the dives other than the final two dives where I finally learned how to do a mask clear properly. My first ocean dive I couldn't clear my mask underwater and ended up surfacing - it was a 4m pier dive though and for the rest of my course I was freaked out about having to do that at 18m as I knew I could not just bolt for the surface then. I just found it so miserable being underwater and having to keep doing mask clears (I had to do extra as I sucked) as I hated it. Also my instructor would pull of my mask unexpectedly as he knew I struggled with it so having that meant it was not so relaxing (though I am glad he did that as it got me over the whole thing).

To be honest, given how much I hated the majority of my OW course and how much I sucked at diving, I am surprised I kept it up. However, things fell more into place after the class luckily and now I am pretty obssessed with diving.

 

[Ardy]

Mine went a bit like this in Cape Town 1973.

Mitch ( a guy I worked with): "Do you fancy learning how to dive?"

Me: "Yeah sounds great"

Mitch: "Meet me at the swimming pool at 10am Saturday morning"

Me: "See you there"

Mitch then showed me how to put the gear on and I tried breathing from the twin hose. "Seems easy enough" I said.

"Right lets see how you go in the pool" "Oh! by the way, dont come up quickly it aint a good thing to do" I jumped in the pool swam along the bottom and thought this is fine but after a few laps of the pool it was getting a little boring so I came up.

"How was that." "It was fine but apart from a 5c piece didnt see anything interesting."

"Good jump in again and this time swim around the perimeter of the pool" So I did this and Mitch announced "How about we try a dive tommorow off Clifton Beach"

I dived in two rugby jerseys and have never been so cold in my life.

 

[HisLovelyBride]

Good point! Keep it up, and stay diving.

My story is boring. A dozen pool dives and a dozen more both in here in LA, Laguna and Catalina.

My wifes story is much better, but I'll let her tell it.

I think it is "more interesting" because he was so very happy that I decided to start diving.

It all started after my journey through breast cancer. My hubby took me to Hawaii and signed me up for snuba on a snorkling trip. I loved the freedom of not having to come up for air. In addition, my little brush with mortality made me more eager to embrace life and God's creation underwater is just so amazing.

When we got back from Hawaii, my hubby gave me Open Water training as a Christmas gift. I did the online book work and all the pool work locally and my training culminated on another trip to Hawaii for our 30th wedding anniversary and my 50th birthday. I had an amazing instructor in Kauai, Kaki, :cool2: and my first open water dive was during the sunami of 2006. We came out of the water to hear helicopters telling folks that is was now safe to re-enter the water. We were underwater when the warnings were made and missed the warnings and didn't even feel the sunami. We would joke around and say that we went in in Kauai and came out in Oahu.

That was a little more than 2 years ago and I now have logged 80+ dives and am totally hooked. While I do prefer warm water diving, but living in So Cal, I would never get wet if I waited for warm water. My sweet hubby got me a dry suit and we dive whenever we can. I love diving with my husband, it is a great way to spend time together. We are truly lucky to have this great activity to share.

 

[Timoblue]

First OW for me was hearing my teeth chatter through most of it.. I was surprised to find them all in place when i climbed out of that cold January quarry.

Loved the buzz and never looked back.

 

[Diver0001]

I took mine at the university. In terms of the theory etc. it was a standard PADI course but we spent more time in the pool than most students do. We had two pools. One was 3 or 4 metres deep at the deep end and the other was for a high-diving platform and it was 10 metres deep IIRC. I don't specifically recall what it was like to do most of the excercises except that I found hovering a challenge and the rest went right the first time I tried it. I took to diving like a fish to water. The thing I remember most vividly about the OW course was the wonderful smell of wet neoprene....

Check out dives were 6 OW dives in a common training location North of Vancouver.

Did the AOW at the university too. They put us through the wringer on that. I think by the time I finished AOW I had something like 20-odd dives. We did 4 dives just on navigation alone. Got a deep and night specialty card during AOW as well.

R..

 

[InTheDrink]

I took mine at the university. In terms of the theory etc. it was a standard PADI course but we spent more time in the pool than most students do. We had two pools. One was 3 or 4 metres deep at the deep end and the other was for a high-diving platform and it was 10 metres deep IIRC. I don't specifically recall what it was like to do most of the excercises except that I found hovering a challenge and the rest went right the first time I tried it. I took to diving like a fish to water. The thing I remember most vividly about the OW course was the wonderful smell of wet neoprene....

Check out dives were 6 OW dives in a common training location North of Vancouver.

Did the AOW at the university too. They put us through the wringer on that. I think by the time I finished AOW I had something like 20-odd dives. We did 4 dives just on navigation alone. Got a deep and night specialty card during AOW as well.

R..

And to think I thought my time at university was fun

Which degrees do you get to do diving? You're going to tell me you majored in English Lit or something aren't you! No fair...:depressed:

 

[Diver0001]

The scuba course wasn't part of the cirriculum. We organized it via the student union.

My degree is in Computer Science and English Literature.

R..