Am I being silly?

[hartl0602]

Am I being silly? I’m going on a cruise at the end of the month and had originally planed to dive in Cozumel, but as it gets closer I’m Terrified at the thought of drift diving. I just got certified over the summer and all my dives have been fresh water quarries. What should I do? I’m almost to the point of just taking a discover scuba in Cozumel so that I can get my feet wet so to speak…I’m not afraid of diving in fact I’m very excited to be diving in Ft Lauderdale post cruise, I’ll be there for 3 days and plan to dive day 2 and 3. I just can’t over come this fear, not to mention the fact that I know they will push me beyond my training (i.e. go to deep)

HELP!!!!

Sean

 

[robint]

Am I being silly? I’m going on a cruise at the end of the month and had originally planed to dive in Cozumel, but as it gets closer I’m Terrified at the thought of drift diving. I just got certified over the summer and all my dives have been fresh water quarries. What should I do? I’m almost to the point of just taking a discover scuba in Cozumel so that I can get my feet wet so to speak…I’m not afraid of diving in fact I’m very excited to be diving in Ft Lauderdale post cruise, I’ll be there for 3 days and plan to dive day 2 and 3. I just can’t over come this fear, not to mention the fact that I know they will push me beyond my training (i.e. go to deep)

HELP!!!!

Sean

relax. You will all be entering the water together and staying with a dive guide the whole dive, just drifting together. When you reach the end of dive, you will all do safety stop together and the when you surface the boat will be there to pick you up. They will not take you to any of the most advanced dive sites, they will keep it simple.

robin

 

[OldNSalty]

You should never do a dive you are not comfortable with and no, you are not being silly. I would think that a good DM has seen this problem before and if you speak with him about it you will probaly feel OK. If not, then if you would feel better doing a discover scuba-sure do that.

I have seen a few cold water divers get a little freaked when faced with the ocean but I think you'll find the travel dives to be at least as easy as what you've already done...then again, I've never been in a quarry so...

 

[dkktsunami]

relax. You will all be entering the water together and staying with a dive guide the whole dive, just drifting together. When you reach the end of dive, you will all do safety stop together and the when you surface the boat will be there to pick you up. They will not take you to any of the most advanced dive sites, they will keep it simple.

robin

Drift diving in warm, clear water is simple - you will have a DM, possibly pulling a surface marking buoy, all you do is float along, little exertion. I would add, however, that if you don't become comfortable with the plan and conditions, as described to you by the DM, then absolutely cancel the dive. Diving and apprehension do not mix well. If you do make the dive be certain to inform the DM that you are a new diver and have little experience.

 

[vladimir]

I think Robin is correct in what she says, but I am not as sanguine about the safety of the "trust me" dive that she describes. I believe you will actually be one of six or more people "staying with" the dive guide; as a beginner you may feel an obligation to follow him longer and deeper than is prudent. Be sure to manage your own dive plan and gas supply.

A typical drift dive in Cozumel is not particularly risky and I think after your first one you will be a lot more comfortable with the idea. Since, I assume, you are not traveling with a dive buddy, perhaps you should engage the services of a divemaster to accompany you and you alone for your first dive or two.

 

[Walter]

Take a safety sausage with you and learn how to deploy it (practice) before your trip. If you come up before the DM, deploy iy while on your safety stop. They practice live boating in Cozumel and a safety sausage is essential to making that practice safe.

Never make a trust me dive. Depend on yourself, not the DM, for your safety.

 

[ItsBruce]

If you are a new diver and have not trained for a drift dive, you might want to pass on this dive. While a warm water dive will be "easier" than a cold one, you may find you have weighting issues. And, a drift dive is a whole different experience. Remember the bit about dive within your training. OtH, if you have an instructor with you to give you training on the drift dive, they you are not beyond your training.

Walter is right, as usual, about a safety sausage and practicing with it. However, as a new diver in Northern Illinois, going on a cruise at the end of the month, you may not have the opportunity to practice deploying it.

 

[robint]

I think Robin is correct in what she says, but I am not as sanguine about the safety of the "trust me" dive that she describes. I believe you will actually be one of six or more people "staying with" the dive guide; as a beginner you may feel an obligation to follow him longer and deeper than is prudent. Be sure to manage your own dive plan and gas supply.

A typical drift dive in Cozumel is not particularly risky and I think after your first one you will be a lot more comfortable with the idea. Since, I assume, you are not traveling with a dive buddy, perhaps you should engage the services of a divemaster to accompany you and you alone for your first dive or two.

the point I am trying to make is that since he is diving from a cruise ship, they will group those divers together and are well aware that most cruise ship divers are beginners. They rarely take people far from the cruise ships to dive, meaning the dive sites are going to be shallower (all the deeper, more challenging dive sites are farther south). They may take them to Palancar Gardens, but that is an easy dive and not too deep or to Chankanaab which is a great dive with tons of fish. they aren't going to take the group deep, like to Columbia or Punta Sur. I think SandDollar Sports is the dive op used by all the cruise ships and they have a system down from what I have heard and read here on SB.

I was not insinuating that he should just "trust" the DM, I was trying to tell him that drift diving in Cozumel is not something to fear. Thousands of people dive there each month, from land-based dive ops and from cruise ships. There are good DMs and bad DMs anywhere, so no one should EVER just trust them to keep you safe - they are your dive guide only.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

I've got no "drift dive" certification, but I found my first drive dives to be really easy. Just follow the DM and stick with him and your buddy, then when you surface, the boat should be nearby and ready to pick you up. If you have to wait, then you just inflate your BC and relax. Warm, clear water makes the entire experience nice and enjoyable.

Don't do it if you aren't comfy, but don't freak yourself our mentally on purpose when it's unnecessary. Most important: have fun on your cruise no matter what you do!

 

[Ana]

If you are a new diver and have not trained for a drift dive, you might want to pass on this dive. While a warm water dive will be "easier" than a cold one, you may find you have weighting issues. And, a drift dive is a whole different experience. Remember the bit about dive within your training. OtH, if you have an instructor with you to give you training on the drift dive, they you are not beyond your training.

Walter is right, as usual, about a safety sausage and practicing with it. However, as a new diver in Northern Illinois, going on a cruise at the end of the month, you may not have the opportunity to practice deploying it.

That's right...

Even though the OP is a "better" diver because he was trained in cold water, it would be wrong to think that he may be capable to: jump in the water, stay to a certain depth, go with the current, decide to end the dive, surface with a marker that may require a couple of poofs of air to make it visible and wait for the boat to be picked up.

Walter thinks that a person can just take one afternoon to practice deploying an SBM. Specially in Northern Illinois, if it was Southern Illinois maybe but that would be pushing it too.