Greetings from the Central Valley

[DryCaver]

Hi, all.

I'm contemplating taking an introductory scuba class, so I thought I'd come see what all everyone has going on. It's always a good idea to find new hobbies that require more gear!

AM

 

[wnissen]

Welcome, I'm only a few minutes away from San Joaquin County, where are you? Do you have any spots nearby to dive?

 

[sea_otter]

As a diver who recently got hooked on caving, I love to see cavers getting hooked on diving! The Monterey area offers some of the best cold water diving in the world. Definitely worth your while.

 

[TMHeimer]

Welcome to the Board. Go for it. Do you have a lot of "water" experience (swimming, surfing, etc.)? I always think snorkeling is a good lead up to scuba. Those that have snorkeled a fair bit find some of the scuba skills (especially those involving the mask and breathing) to be a piece of cake. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[DryCaver]

Welcome, I'm only a few minutes away from San Joaquin County, where are you? Do you have any spots nearby to dive?

Hi!

It's all Fresno all the time. One could dive in Millerton reservoir, but most folks seem to go to Monterey. At first I wasn't going to say that, then I thought it might be fun to see if it flushed out people wanting to tell us why Millerton is the best place ever....

AM

 

[DryCaver]

Welcome to the Board. Go for it. Do you have a lot of "water" experience (swimming, surfing, etc.)? I always think snorkeling is a good lead up to scuba. Those that have snorkeled a fair bit find some of the scuba skills (especially those involving the mask and breathing) to be a piece of cake. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Thanks!

I have less experience than might be useful, although I did swim for exercise for a while before I went back to running. Mostly I'm hoping that years of paying attention to breathing from the perspective of somebody that teaches relaxation breathing as part of therapy packages for anxiety will be helpful. I'm thinking there should be a bit of crossover in the self-monitoring useful to learn to consciously relax, whether underwater or not.

I'm also hopeful that my experience as a vertical caver will be helpful. After a lot of experience I am completely relaxed hanging hundreds of feet above the ground on rope because I know and trust my gear. In an interesting twist, I found physical anxiety returned when I went ziplining- it wasn't *my* gear, and I wasn't controlling it. The cues were wrong. However, it was one zip to adjust, so there seemed to be a lot of transfer. Too bad diving doesn't much involve rope.

AM

 

[DryCaver]

As a diver who recently got hooked on caving, I love to see cavers getting hooked on diving! The Monterey area offers some of the best cold water diving in the world. Definitely worth your while.

That's where they tend to take people from here for check off dives, so I see it in my future. Also pairs well with visiting the otters at the Aquarium, so double win. Glad you are checking out the caves- so many wonderful things to see.

AM