dbulmer
Contributor
A shocking answer: You improved so much that you deprived your buddies of their entertainment (namely you)
Divers learning to be competent even outstanding - na, it'll never catch on !
When did you feel comfortable diving?
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A shocking answer: You improved so much that you deprived your buddies of their entertainment (namely you)
Divers learning to be competent even outstanding - na, it'll never catch on !
dvankirk
Contributor
I think that I felt comfortable from the get go, but becoming a self-sufficient diver added a new level of security - especially in zero viz or with a new buddy.
clownfish60
Contributor
I didn't dive much between OW and Advanced (maybe 10 dives over a two year period)... but I was comfortable with the diving I did do.. mostly local lakes and springs. Once I took Advanced, I started getting together with some others in the class and we averaged about six dives a week for nearly two years.. that definitely increased the comfort level. Most of this diving was local lakes, Viz was 0' to 20' depending on time and location... and we worked on skills (Nav, Search and Recovery, Night diving (Viz was better) and lots of deep dives). etc. After that...I was very comfortable in any water, any viz, and any time! lol! It just takes time and practice (and staying wet a lot!)
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USFpsychDiver
Contributor
I did the 'get certified right before the dive vacation' thing so my first post-OW dives were on a boat full of people who all appeared to me to know what they were doing and it still took me several tries to get my 1st stage oriented right in the tank valve (and once I did get it on right had to take it back off because I'd forgotten to undo the bungie holding it to the side of the boat). I was rocking back and forth and rolling side to side in the water and popped to the surface by mistake early in the dive and hit my back to the boat pressure 15 minutes in to the dive and had to share air with the DM. I wasn't comfortable, but I loved it anyway (it was in the Bahamas).
I continued to struggle with bouyancy and trim for the next year or so, the next 50 - 60 dives, and while I did have some improvement, I never really felt in control in the water.
Somewhere between dives 80 - 100 I took Cavern training one-on-one, and couple of days of nailing down buoyancy and trim, doing line drills and following a line in a blackout mask, and practicing real buddy awareness and the next time I went in to open water I was completely at ease, could float perfectly neutral and propel myself wherever I wanted to go with almost effortless little fin flicks. That intensive, one-on-one skills training made all the difference.
I still struggle some diving doubles when task loaded, but am very much at ease with a single tank in the open water.
I continued to struggle with bouyancy and trim for the next year or so, the next 50 - 60 dives, and while I did have some improvement, I never really felt in control in the water.
Somewhere between dives 80 - 100 I took Cavern training one-on-one, and couple of days of nailing down buoyancy and trim, doing line drills and following a line in a blackout mask, and practicing real buddy awareness and the next time I went in to open water I was completely at ease, could float perfectly neutral and propel myself wherever I wanted to go with almost effortless little fin flicks. That intensive, one-on-one skills training made all the difference.
I still struggle some diving doubles when task loaded, but am very much at ease with a single tank in the open water.
I'm one of the lucky ones. I felt comfortable from the first day of pool work.
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dbulmer
Contributor
Jesting aside, what Bob (NWG) said rings very true for myself.
Diving with people you know who actually care enough about you to tell what you sometimes don't want to hear can really help as it forces you to confront your weaknesses and those weaknesses are often the most basic dive skills - the other thing is to heed the warning in the PADI OW book which states that not every dive is going to be a good one and when it isn't a good dive to undertstand what went wrong so that you don't repeat the experience.
Diving with people you know who actually care enough about you to tell what you sometimes don't want to hear can really help as it forces you to confront your weaknesses and those weaknesses are often the most basic dive skills - the other thing is to heed the warning in the PADI OW book which states that not every dive is going to be a good one and when it isn't a good dive to undertstand what went wrong so that you don't repeat the experience.
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1. My first post cert. dive was at Vortex Spring. I was very comfortable except when my tank slipped (didn't know what had happened). It was a solo dive as I couldn't secure a buddy, though there were lots of others around in the water, including a class. Guess I was shy about asking to tag along for fear of doing something stupid. I was a bit anxious about my first OW checkout dive, though not scared. I had snorkelled for a lifetime but had never gone like 20' deep. No problem. In fact, I never had any problem increasing depth, right through the Deep Course. BUT, when swimming from a beach and getting into chest high water or deeper I still and always will get the heebeejeebees--perhaps because I have no tank to breathe from in an emergency? Not so much with snorkelling, but I still don't like going down 10' or so without a tank.
2. I was comfortable from the get go--after I got properly weighted, that is--no more bobbing up & down. But again, I was a water person since childhood. As the OP said, I can imagine (and have seen) the problems someone who isn't comfortable in water to begin with can have. And I marvel at why in the world they would go right into scuba--some ad in the paper or on the internet?
3. A real diver? Maybe sometime after dive # 20 or so? I took Rescue after #26 and felt a lot more real after that and began practising the 20 OW skills now and then on dives. Then at #158 I took DM and began REALLY practising the skills to complete the course (and still do of course). I imagine way to many people were slack in practising skills after OW, like I was.
2. I was comfortable from the get go--after I got properly weighted, that is--no more bobbing up & down. But again, I was a water person since childhood. As the OP said, I can imagine (and have seen) the problems someone who isn't comfortable in water to begin with can have. And I marvel at why in the world they would go right into scuba--some ad in the paper or on the internet?
3. A real diver? Maybe sometime after dive # 20 or so? I took Rescue after #26 and felt a lot more real after that and began practising the 20 OW skills now and then on dives. Then at #158 I took DM and began REALLY practising the skills to complete the course (and still do of course). I imagine way to many people were slack in practising skills after OW, like I was.
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Hi Freewillie,
Trust me, you are not the first one to be nervous about your first dive on your own, and you will not be the last. Don't beat yourself up about it. Going diving with people you didn't know certainly didn't help either.
For me, my dive instructor was a good friend and co-worker. So, when I went diving after my class, it usually included my instructor too. That was both an advantage and disadvantage. I was able to do lots of diving and get comfortable with a bit of extra security, but the first time I went diving with different people was another story.
I was invited to go night diving off a friends boat. There would just be three of us and they would be hunting for lobsters. At this point, I had been on several dives and I felt comfortable...that was until I hit the water. Not more than 1 minutes after we descended, my buddies took off hunting for lobster and I found myself alone. Then I got a little tangled in kelp and was seconds away from an all-out panic attack. Deep breaths, stay calm, remember my training (sound familiar?). I regained my composure, cut myself out of the kelp and returned to the boat to wait for my buddies. My mistake was somehow thinking that the other two divers were going to "take care of me".
So now that I've shared my story, I hope you see that you are not alone. Since then, I've had many amazing dive experiences. I've swam with sharks, I've explored shipwrecks, and I've dived to 250'. Just know that there will be times in your diving adventures where you will have moments of doubts, but it is how you react them. Stop. breathe. think.
Good luck and happy diving!
Trust me, you are not the first one to be nervous about your first dive on your own, and you will not be the last. Don't beat yourself up about it. Going diving with people you didn't know certainly didn't help either.
For me, my dive instructor was a good friend and co-worker. So, when I went diving after my class, it usually included my instructor too. That was both an advantage and disadvantage. I was able to do lots of diving and get comfortable with a bit of extra security, but the first time I went diving with different people was another story.
I was invited to go night diving off a friends boat. There would just be three of us and they would be hunting for lobsters. At this point, I had been on several dives and I felt comfortable...that was until I hit the water. Not more than 1 minutes after we descended, my buddies took off hunting for lobster and I found myself alone. Then I got a little tangled in kelp and was seconds away from an all-out panic attack. Deep breaths, stay calm, remember my training (sound familiar?). I regained my composure, cut myself out of the kelp and returned to the boat to wait for my buddies. My mistake was somehow thinking that the other two divers were going to "take care of me".
So now that I've shared my story, I hope you see that you are not alone. Since then, I've had many amazing dive experiences. I've swam with sharks, I've explored shipwrecks, and I've dived to 250'. Just know that there will be times in your diving adventures where you will have moments of doubts, but it is how you react them. Stop. breathe. think.
Good luck and happy diving!
sealionesse
Registered
I was comfortable right off the bat too. Of course, I always loved water, swimming, being in the ocean, etc. I was a lifeguard in my teen years too. So I had a head start. It gets easier and more relaxing for most people over time. Like another poster said, don't worry about it. Hey, improving is always good, right!
I remember my first open water dives (two on the first day)... On the very first dive I was kneeing in line with my fellow students there in the sand at about 30 feet. The swaying back and forth in the surge was kind of relaxing. There wasn't much to look at while waiting for my skills to be tested, but then when I focused my eyes right in front of me I saw krill for the first time! (I was probably cross-eyed in retrospect). It was so relaxing...and peaceful... I kind of felt at home in a way... sitting there on the ocean floor with my eyes crossed.
Then it was my turn for skills, I went though the whole rig-a-ma-roo and then the instructor got to me and signaled to me to show how much air I had left, I looked at my gauge and signaled back to him. He asked me again and I signaled again. Then took the gauge and looked himself then looked at me. Then we all swam off.
When we got back to the shore, he asked me if I was holding my breath (I wasn't). I don't think he believed me and I think he kept a closer watch on me the second dive. On that dive we calculated SAC rates.
At one point on that second dive, the taste of salt in my mouth (from the swim out and from doing the out of air drills) was starting to gag me though and I threw up a little... just a bit. But it was enough to make the reg taste bad. I took my reg out of my mouth, put my octopus in my mouth, and swished my reg around and purged it hoping that would clean it out. The instructor saw this of course and came over to make sure I was okay. I signaled back "okay" and he watched me a bit and then we continued on.
When we got back to shore from that dive, he said he realized I wasn't holding my breath, I was just relaxed. He also asked me why I did what I did with my reg and I said, "oh, I just threw up and was cleaning it out."
We calculated our SAC rates on the beach. Mine was really good and he told me that SAC rate was like someone who had been diving for a while. He said that, combined with the calmness in which I handled the vomiting, lead him think I must be a natural for diving
I still keep in touch with my basic instructor (and take classes from him). And he remembers my first open water experience too! Guess I made an impression.
I remember my first open water dives (two on the first day)... On the very first dive I was kneeing in line with my fellow students there in the sand at about 30 feet. The swaying back and forth in the surge was kind of relaxing. There wasn't much to look at while waiting for my skills to be tested, but then when I focused my eyes right in front of me I saw krill for the first time! (I was probably cross-eyed in retrospect). It was so relaxing...and peaceful... I kind of felt at home in a way... sitting there on the ocean floor with my eyes crossed.
Then it was my turn for skills, I went though the whole rig-a-ma-roo and then the instructor got to me and signaled to me to show how much air I had left, I looked at my gauge and signaled back to him. He asked me again and I signaled again. Then took the gauge and looked himself then looked at me. Then we all swam off.
When we got back to the shore, he asked me if I was holding my breath (I wasn't). I don't think he believed me and I think he kept a closer watch on me the second dive. On that dive we calculated SAC rates.
At one point on that second dive, the taste of salt in my mouth (from the swim out and from doing the out of air drills) was starting to gag me though and I threw up a little... just a bit. But it was enough to make the reg taste bad. I took my reg out of my mouth, put my octopus in my mouth, and swished my reg around and purged it hoping that would clean it out. The instructor saw this of course and came over to make sure I was okay. I signaled back "okay" and he watched me a bit and then we continued on.
When we got back to shore from that dive, he said he realized I wasn't holding my breath, I was just relaxed. He also asked me why I did what I did with my reg and I said, "oh, I just threw up and was cleaning it out."
We calculated our SAC rates on the beach. Mine was really good and he told me that SAC rate was like someone who had been diving for a while. He said that, combined with the calmness in which I handled the vomiting, lead him think I must be a natural for diving
I still keep in touch with my basic instructor (and take classes from him). And he remembers my first open water experience too! Guess I made an impression.
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