Opinions anyone?

[Guba]

Well, at least she acknowledges her "limitations". As long as she knows the proper way to address them, all is well. That's opposed to "freaking" if she should violate her self-imposed bottom and doing a Polaris to the surface, of course.

As for the fear of heights, I used to be extremely afraid of them. However, when my wife and I started having kids, I worried about transferring that fear to them. I also got fed up with having a fear that couldn't be controlled or at least coped with, so I took up rock climbing! Took a while and I started out on low walls, but slowly I overcame the panic that I once felt at being suspended. I wound up teaching my Boy Scouts how to rappel and such. Do I still have the fear? Possibly...but I don't let it keep me from enjoying the view and gaining access to some pretty cool sites.
Perhaps, one day, the persons in question will tire of their fear and decide to confront them, descending to greater depths in order to see what's there. If so, good for them. If not, well, that's good for them, too.

 

[kidspot]

Thanks for the thoughts... my thinking was something along the lines of... while I respect the diver setting their limitations, I wonder about using a dash to the surface to solve all your problems. I'm assuming the ascent would be controlled, but if something goes wrong you never know how if that gets thrown out the window.

As the person is a newer diver, I'm guessing inexperience is part of the issue and over time may (unless there is a phobia of sorts) go by the wayside- as they learn to solve problems underwater, trust their buddy, etc. Just got me thinking when I heard the comment.

Sounds like the person in question is more confident in the surface than their training and buddy's response time. If they have a regular buddy to dive with (you?) perhaps some frequent OOA drills, building to them being repeatable at any stage in the dive without undo stress being involved will ease their mind and give them more confidence in their buddy's ability to respond in a short period of time (not saying the buddy is incapable of this, but this diver needs to KNOW that their buddy is able to do so based on experience)

I say this because I have a buddy who stays close enough that our elbows bump frequently during the dive ... do I mind? Nope - it's where they are comfortable and confident.

Just my 2 psi

Aloha, Tim

 

[booth22]

Thanks for the input, pretty much what I've been thinking. No, it's not a regular dive buddy of mine, just an friend of a friend, etc. I agree with setting your own limits, and sticking with them, I suppose it's the idea of automatically using the surface to solve their problem... at least that was how I first took it when I heard it.

Oh well, thought it would give something good for discussion!

 

[wulvrine74]

I say as long as you are Scuba Diving it's no bodies business how deep you are going.
Have fun with it and be safe. You should never go any deeper then you are comfortable going, ya know?!
http://scubaburg.com

 

[rawls]

I think that they will probably become more comfortable with experience. For now, they need to do what is comfortable for them. I think it shows good judgement.

 

[The_DivePirate]

Heck if you were only going to dive to 30', gear would be cheaper, A snorkel, weight, fins, and mask. Pretty cheap

 

[WI Scuba Dave]

Heck if you were only going to dive to 30', gear would be cheaper, A snorkel, weight, fins, and mask. Pretty cheap

That is a fairly unproductive comment. I hope I am reading you wrong, but to me it sounds as though you are insulting her and suggesting she should only be skin diving since she has an aversion of going past 30 feet. That certainly would not help her to get past that fear - and there is certainly plenty of fun to be had using scuba at that depth.

 

[fisherdvm]

Smart man/woman! The sea is prettier with light. I always thought, the prettiest reefs were the one I snorkled over, to get to the wall on the shore dive. I always enjoyed the dive back over the shallow more than the wall. Don't have to carry the dang light to see the colorful fishies.

Also, you have enough air to last you till your stomach rumbles for lunch.

A dive is a dive is a dive.... It takes as much to practice bouyancy at 30 ft, as it does at 100 ft. Actually, it takes more practice, as you don't have to squirt as much air to your BC to shift your neutral point. And a slight increase or decrease in depth affect your neutral point more than at 100 ft.

 

[3-Ring Octopus]

The sea is prettier with light? Bah...it isn't pretty until you're in the "deep'n'dark", picking around holes and under ledges with your light to see all the pretty and yummy and HUGE Dungeness crab.... Of course, the "deep'n'dark" around here starts at 35'...so.... LOL

I say have fun, be safe, and dive within your comfort limits. All that time with greater bouyancy shifts is sure to make her a better diver in the long run anyway...

Cheers,
Austin

 

[DiveRich]

Whatever floats her boat, so to speak, is fine. She might decide to go deeper with more experience. But as long as she works on her skills, let her be comfortable.