What things in diving give you the willies?

[CT-Rich]

So many experience and interesting people have been wasting there energy on a troll hunt (myself included)....

I thought the core question that Foxfish was asking about sharks was kind of interesting, even if his execution was really slanted and poorly stated. What I would like to introduce that might actually be of value to Newbies and fun for the troll hunters.

What things in diving give you the willies? When I started diving going down the anchor line and seeing nothing but green in any direction made me really claustrophobic. I would imagine seeing shadows in that weren't there. It bugged the heck out of me and I had to really actively think past it over time.

The animal that gives me the willies, even though I would run into one diving in the Northeastern US is the box Jellyfish. I find them the most terrify animal in the ocean.

What were the things that made you nervous as a new dive? Either animals or situations? As condition of this discussion, snarky responses are allowed, but only in good cheer.

 

[gcarter]

Overheads. I am probably a bit claustrophobic. Poor vis doesn't do that to me though.

I did two dives on the Daryaw last summer, 5 days apart. The wreck is upside down and the standard dive passes you under the hull to stay out of the current, and then drift back across the top to the anchor line.

1st dive SAC was 0.86 which is a bit on the high side but not terribly abnormal for me as I am a bit of an air hog (but improving, avg. 0.75 on the year, low 0.56) and my SAC tends to be a bit worse first time I dive a site.

Second dive was 1.1. Apparently knowing what was coming caused me more stress than I was conscious of. No interest in doing that dive again, and I am certainly done with overheads no matter how benign they seem.

Hoping to see a shark or three when I go to Florida in May

 

[knotical]

Anticipation of my first night dive (ever 50 years ago). I remember expecting to not be able to see anything except in the narrow cone of my light and was concerned about something coming at me from the darkness. Once in the water and discovering how much I actually could see, it was a blast.

 

[scubastingray]

Not so much willies related, but the night before a day of diving/a dive trip i struggle to sleep. I feel like a kid on christmas eve.

 

[boulderjohn]

I think the things that would give me the willies are all theoretical; that is, I think they would give me the willies if I encountered them, but so far I haven't encountered them.

I agree on the box jellyfish. On the other hand, if I saw it, I should be able to avoid it. If I neither saw it nor avoided it, it would give me something other than the willies.

I would be concerned if I saw a Humboldt squid looking like it was going to be aggressive toward me. I understand those buggers can be mean, and they have the capacity to hurt.

I have had sea snakes swim between my legs--didn't worry me at all. I have so far never done anything but admire sharks, but I don't hunt or do anything that is likely to get them interested in me.

 

[bygolly]

We have lakes around here that are stained a tea colour and when you look down from the surface all you see is black, not deep blue or dark green.....just dark black. That still gives me the willies especially on brightly lit days. Just doesn't seem right when you look down. I can descend OK on those days as long as I have an anchor line for reference and a bright dive light to illuminate the line. Oddly I will night dive there without a thought.

 

[drrich2]

1.) Doing a negative entry & realize I'm sinking fast, my air's off or had a malfunction, and being unable to get buoyant to the surface, drowning. Yes, swimming up, ditching weights, etc..., can deal with this.

2.) Smashing my teeth into a ladder trying to re-board in rough seas, or having the thing zip up, and come down on my head before I grab hold of it.

3.) Getting too close to another diver who's re-boarding, and falls back, his tank smashing me in the face of head.

4.) Being torn into by a large shark (extremely unlikely, but yeah, I saw some Jaws movies growing up).

5.) Large barracuda zipping in & taking my hand off, or the like.

6.) Getting tangled up in a dangerous jelly fish or Portuguese Man-O-War.

7.) A large moray wanting a lion fish handout getting in my space, and going after one of my hands. I like looking at the big greens; not so fond of the idea of one checking me out.

8.) Fear that there'll be buddy separation, my buddy will drown, and I will be blamed.

9.) Being separated by current from the dive boat & lost several hours to a day. Yes, I have an SMB. But I don't carry a bottle of water or a head covering, and getting dehydrated and my face roasted by the tropical sun doesn't sound fun, even if I don't get hypothermic (also a risk).

10.) Fear that someone will film me diving, then post the video on ScubaBoard starting a big discussion of what an awful diver I am, and using me as an example to others of what not to do.

Those are the thoughts that bug me diving.

Richard.

 

[uncfnp]

1.) Doing a negative entry & realize I'm sinking fast, my air's off or had a malfunction, and being unable to get buoyant to the surface, drowning. Yes, swimming up, ditching weights, etc..., can deal with this.

2.) Smashing my teeth into a ladder trying to re-board in rough seas, or having the thing zip up, and come down on my head before I grab hold of it.

3.) Getting too close to another diver who's re-boarding, and falls back, his tank smashing me in the face of head.

4.) Being torn into by a large shark (extremely unlikely, but yeah, I saw some Jaws movies growing up).

5.) Large barracuda zipping in & taking my hand off, or the like.

6.) Getting tangled up in a dangerous jelly fish or Portuguese Man-O-War.

7.) A large moray wanting a lion fish handout getting in my space, and going after one of my hands. I like looking at the big greens; not so fond of the idea of one checking me out.

8.) Fear that there'll be buddy separation, my buddy will drown, and I will be blamed.

9.) Being separated by current from the dive boat & lost several hours to a day. Yes, I have an SMB. But I don't carry a bottle of water or a head covering, and getting dehydrated and my face roasted by the tropical sun doesn't sound fun, even if I don't get hypothermic (also a risk).

10.) Fear that someone will film me diving, then post the video on ScubaBoard starting a big discussion of what an awful diver I am, and using me as an example to others of what not to do.

Those are the thoughts that bug me diving.

Richard.

OMG Richard. Have you considered counseling!

---------- Post added February 26th, 2014 at 10:25 PM ----------

My greatest fear is waking up one morning and discovering I am the subject of the latest Near Misses and Lessons Learned thread on SB! :shocked2:

 

[LindaSSF]

I sympathize with the dark lake water. Growing up on the lake at my grandparents' place, there were a few deep holes that had my imagination running in overdrive. I could deal with the water moccasins and gators, but the black unknown?!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bentley Hamm]

OMG Richard. Have you considered counseling!

I recommend alcohol, it would be much more cost effective than the amount of counseling required for that many issues...[sarcasm]

disclaimer: I've never met Richard & I'm only kidding...this was what popped into my head reading his list