New Diver needs advice

Hello,
Let me introduce myself my name is Jaime and
I am wanting to learn how to scuba dive.I love marine biology and ocean life. I am fantasizing about learning to dive however i have get nervous and a fear comes over me I have snorkeled in Puerto Vallarta and it was amazing but now i want to take it to the next level. I wanted to ask advice on where is a good place to learn how to dive for someone that is a little hesitant but wants to overcome her fears. I so badly want to prove this to myself make new friends and learn how to dive . Any advice or help .... I am located in south bay.

South bay? Where is that at?

Hey Jaime, welcome to the Norcal subforum. I'm actually getting my bachelors in marine biology. I love the topic and love ocean life as well.

Mind telling us what it is that makes you nervous of the water?

Learning to scuba dive is both an amazing and challenging experience. It's one that will test you both physically and mentally. It's not something you want to rush, if you're having trouble in the water due to apprehension or fear I would suggest getting over that first.
I know a lot of new divers who are perfectly comfortable in the water at the surface. Put them under the water though and it's a completely different story.
There's a lot more to scuba than one would think. It's not simply swimming around with a tank of air on your back. There will be safety protocols and skills that you'll have to learn and be able to accomplish in order to be certified and be a safe diver.

Don't let me discourage you though. Often all it takes a good talk between oneself and their instructor, for one to reach a big AH-HAH moment and overcome their fear and pass a skill.

If you really want to try this I would suggest trying a Discover scuba dive first. Any dive shop will have a program, simply they talk you through a few basic skills and instructions and then take you in the pool to try out scuba.

If you still like scuba after that then go ahead and enroll in a Basic scuba course.
Don't let anyone tell you one agency is better than the other. PADI, SDI, NAUI, they're all fully capable agencies. Their course instructions may differ but ultimately any good instructor from any agency can create great basic divers. It's all about choosing the right instructor for your Basic scuba certification course.

I can't recommend any specific dive shop, but I'm sure someone else on the Norcal forum will have a few thoughts.

Feel free to ask anymore questions that come to mind.

k ellis:

South bay? Where is that at?

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South of San Francisco and the East Bay, North of San Jose.

Here in Norcal we like naming our regions around the SF Bay.

I am afraid of havving a machine breathe for me and relying on it for air. I have been on lifesupport in the past.. so the thought of air going threw a machine deep underwater scares me. I have a friend who loves to scuba and has been urging me to try but I keep on letting my fear stand in the way

Ahh yes, that's a hard one to answer. If it makes you feel any better, this "machine" is completely mechanical, not electrical. So assuming the laws of gas and physics still hold true, you'll be fine.

In all honesty, gear failure is barely on the list for the cause of scuba accidents. This is a buddy sport, first and foremost. You'll always have a buddy to help you out should something go amiss. Most often a problem occurs because of human error, not equipment malfunction.
A basic scuba course will teach you how to prevent problems from occurring, such as using up all your air. They'll also teach you how to overcome those problems on your own and how to help another diver should those problems arise. Your buddy will have been taught all of this as well.

It's very safe. But I will admit you have to put faith into your equipment. The way I see it is we put our trust for our car brakes to work, for planes to be able to fly, for elevators to take us 20 stories and not drop us; I personally think I can put trust in scuba equipment. It's a personal preference of risk VS reward.

I can't really tell you anything other than that to change your mind or give your any more comfort.
I would definitely suggest giving a Discover scuba dive a try and see how you feel about it from there.

jaimeloves:

I am afraid of havving a machine breathe for me and relying on it for air. I have been on lifesupport in the past.. so the thought of air going threw a machine deep underwater scares me. I have a friend who loves to scuba and has been urging me to try but I keep on letting my fear stand in the way

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Scuba is different from life support machines in that the machine does not actually breath for you. You are in complete control of the device. It is not in control of you. You take a breath when YOU want to take a breath. You exhale when YOU want to exhale. When using the device you are in complete control of it.

I would check out a Discover Scuba at one of the shops. First it will allow you to experience what it is like using scuba in a shallow pool with just you face in the water. This allows you to feel what breathing scuba is like without being underwater.

Second, it allows you to evaluate instructors first hand. You can see what an instructor is like before making a hiring decision. Almost every scuba shop does discover scuba program either for free or for no cost.

jaimeloves:

Hello,
Let me introduce myself my name is Jaime and
I am wanting to learn how to scuba dive.I love marine biology and ocean life. I am fantasizing about learning to dive however i have get nervous and a fear comes over me I have snorkeled in Puerto Vallarta and it was amazing but now i want to take it to the next level. I wanted to ask advice on where is a good place to learn how to dive for someone that is a little hesitant but wants to overcome her fears. I so badly want to prove this to myself make new friends and learn how to dive . Any advice or help .... I am located in south bay.

Click to expand...

If you are looking in the Phone book, you'll probably find a few shops there. YP.com is a good resource if you don't have a yellow pages phone book.

Also, google is your friend as well. Just look up "Scuba Shops" And I'm sure you'll find one.

Well after posting this I found this ad on SB and went to the Contact page. Here's one that might be local.

Wallin's OnLine

Address
1119 Industrial Road
Suite G
San Carlos, California

I feel more comfortable in the water (scuba diving) than I do on land, and I still don't like snorkeling. It feels like breathing through a little straw and you don't know when you're going to get a mouthful of water. Also, I notice the 'squeeze' a lot more when snorkeling than when diving (the biggest pressure change is in the first few meters from the surface). Don't judge scuba based on snorkeling. They're very different.

There's a list of NorCal dive shops at
http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/ba_diving/