I am a nervous and new diver!

[gavinjones1]

Hello everyone! I have been diving once on the Great Barrier reef with an instructor for 25 minutes - it was the mosst thrilling experience of my life but I was terrified before getting into the water. Mywife and I are flying to Cancun on the 23rd Ferbaury and I'd like to know if there are any local shore diving beginners dives I could do with an instructor. I'm very nervous about going out on a boat...

Looking forward to anyone who can reply!

Gavin

 

[Doppler]

Hey Gavin: you have correctly tagged diving as an awesome experience. Does not sound like you are certified... and taking a proper open water diver course would be a good start.

Take it slow. Find a shop / instructor where they empathize with your situation. Try to relax (deep breathing) and watch the show... diving truly can be a wonderfully fulfilling gig.

Have fun.

 

[dkktsunami]

Gavin, you have used the words "thrilling", "terrified", and "nervous" in three short sentences. None of these is really compatible with safe scuba diving and it does not sound as if you have even the basic open water certification. A dive that begins with the diver "working up his courage" is a dive that might attract the long hand of Darwin. Take the proper courses, be comfortable in the water ......it doesn't sound as if you are even at ease on a boat. This might not be for you.........

 

[kelemvor]

Gavin, it sounds like you probably did a "discover scuba" with an instructor. There's certainly no shortage of instructors in Cancun. Google for "cancun scuba". If you want to dive more often than the occasional (and expensive) discover scuba type deal, get hooked up with a local instructor. You could do classes in Cancun, or bookwork locally, and in water class in cancun, or do it all in cancun. Personally I'd do the class local, then do fun dives at the tropical vacation destination.

Just because you're certified, doesn't mean you have to dive with just you and a buddy. Operators will be happy to provide you with an in water dive guide for a nominal fee. It will likely be much less than what you'd pay for the "Discover Scuba" instructor.

As for the boat.. I'm pretty sure there are shore based dives in Cancun. That's where you gear up on the beach and swim on out yourself. If the boat is intimidating, this might be a good choice until you have more comfort in the water.

In general, the better trained you are the more comfortable in the water you will be. The more comfortable you are in the water, the more you can enjoy the experience. That's my opinion, anyway.

There are several dive shops that will teach you to dive in London. A quick google search shows that one of them is running a groupon for a 79 pound PADI class at the moment. You also have the famous "British Sub Aqua Club" in London. Usually the more expensive (and longer) classes are worth the extra time and money.


Good diving!

 

[Scuba-dan]

I just came back from Cancun and I used Scuba Cancun shop and they were very safe and they had 1 DM for every 4 divers. They had shallow dives almost everyday if that is what you are looking for.

 

[beaverdivers]

Welcome to SCUBAboard!

I believe a shallow shore dive with an excellent instructor is a very good next step.

If you are ready do a complete open water course.

Good Luck & Good Diving!

 

[Bryan Cunningham]

Hi Gavin, welcome to the board. It sounds like you did a discover scuba dive. While fun, it is not meant to be a substitute for learning to dive. By doing an organised SCUBA course, you will find yourself much more comfortable in the water. This will not only increase your enjoyment of the sport, but your safety too. So happens I have just written a short blog about the easiest ways to get into the sport. Time to learn to dive. It’s safe, fun and a very easy sport to get into.

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[TSandM]

A lot of the fear associated with an introductory dive like what you did is fear of the unknown, and fear of being out of control or lacking competence. The previous posters who have recommended a course are spot on, because what a class does is to expose you to the underwater environment in a controlled, graded fashion, building skills so that you KNOW you can do what you need to do during a dive. Once you finish your confined water exercises, you know that you can manage your buoyancy, handle a flooded mask, and even deal with an incident that interferes with your gas supply. Competency builds confidence, and a lot of your nervousness will vanish.