AOW Deep Dive

[Mr Carcharodon]

So why were you scared on the edge of the canyon? Were you concerned that you could not control your buoyancy and would fall into the abyss? Assuming that was it after the fact do you think that was reasonable at the time, and is it now based on what you know? No one will judge you (or should) for being hesitant going into a new situation. After all worrying is what keeps us out of trouble.

 

[Bierstadt]

Kudos on recognizing your limits at that time and on that dive. I am not sure there is anything more important in diving than understanding yourself.

I am very much afraid of heights and I have stared over cliffs underwater and I did not like going over the edge one little bit. So I totally sympathize. My response was a laser focus on my bouyancy and gauges. Better that than staring into the abyss.

 

[Myke green]

Thank you all for your words of wisdom, yes even you Mr. Therapy guy , although I dont suffer from any hydrophobic or aquaphobia or any water related phobia's. To clarify a bit reflecting on it now and observing other divers POV video on the exact location I was at 66 fsw the drop takes a sharp dive appx 10 more feet onto a shelf roughly 25 ft wide than drops again some and repeats until apparently it bottoms st 600+ ft. If this were the crystal clear warm beautiful paradise waters of the tropics where you could see blue forever I'd be set. However at the wall vis went from 20 ft to the 8-2 ft range combined with an overcast day with no direct light it got dark and murky, to the point where the shelf was not visible. I was trying to stay off the bottom and maintain perfect neutral bouyance but alas no luck. All in all I'm thinking that conditions coupled with it being the first deep dive ever made for a shock rather than awwwwwww feeling and that triggered an urge to bolt. However I managed to control some breathing unfortunately not from diaphragm and signal to my buddy to surface and end dive. I guess spooked when it got pitch black

 

[rongoodman]

One of the fun things at Cocos Island is letting go of the rocks when it's time to ascend and having the current sweep you away to do your ascent and safety stop in the blue. On one dive we dropped in and hung below a large bait ball for about 45 min, watching the sharks and other predators feed. There was no way of telling how far below us the bottom was.

 

[tep]

Those steps can be intimidating, for new divers, or even more experienced divers who learned in clear warm water.

I know it was for me for a while, and that's where I learned to dive. I finally decided to take the deep course, and we did the 130' dives right around that spot. And I still do most of my dives there at < 70-80.

Keep diving the area, keep hanging out on the ledges at 50-60 (or whatever), and learn the area.

I suspect that eventually, you'll become more comfortable with the tops of the ledges and become very curious about "what's just a little farther down there".

And if that doesn't happen, that's fine, too. There's lots of interesting stuff to see along the tops of the ledges.

Every one should dive where they want to, and how they want to, and at the limits they happen to choose on any particular dive.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Going deep can be seriously intimidating for anyone, so don't feel bad. Getting comfortable is probably just a matter of simply getting more dives under your belt; definitely no need to rush. I've been diving for about 15 years, and eighty feet is usually plenty deep enough for me. However, I have done my share of deep vertical wall dives and can relate to the rush; especially in current. ...That was until I did one at night!

Dropping strait down a vertical wall below 120+ in total darkness with a few cheap flashlights is definitely one of the freakiest experiences I have ever had.

I generally skip all that sort of stuff these days.

 

[rabe]

I am very much afraid of heights and I have stared over cliffs underwater and I did not like going over the edge one little bit. So I totally sympathize. My response was a laser focus on my bouyancy and gauges. Better that than staring into the abyss.

I'm very curious about this: do you fell something like fear of heights when you are on the top of a tower on the dryland or it's a different feeling?


Off topic (or maybe not): astronauts, during their first walk out in the space can feel either an extreme fear, or get completely lost in the magnificence of the big void and trying to get free in the dark (I'm pretty sure I'd feel the second one)... I found all of this very interesting...

 

[Streydog]

I understand being creeped out about that. My 10th dive after my OW I dove a wall dive in Dominica called L'Abym, they told me it was 1500' deep. I really wish I hadn't known that until after the dive.

 

[ystrout]

Is it ridiculous for a diver who panics during a routine dive to see a therapist? Who knows, I don't, it was just a suggestion.

Why do some divers see the beauty and others become overwhelmed with fear when confronted with the same exact non-threatening, benign situations?

I guess if it gets better with training and experience than it's a nonissue regardless of the underlying cause. This thread does make me wonder how common it is for divers to freak out during their first wall dive, I don't suspect it's all that often but I don't really know.

People just react differently to different experiences. I have done the dive OP is talking about many times. The first time I did it, I was blown away by how fast it drops. Not scared or nervous, but in awe. But I grew up in the ocean surfing, boating, diving, etc. so it was not a big step for me.

But when I went skydiving the first time, I was super nervous in the plane ride up. Once they opened the doors and the adrenaline kicked in, I was fine. But I was terrified when we were preparing on the ground and in the plane ride up! Some people aren't phased by that at all.

I don't have any underlying issue, it's just something that's scary for new people. Doing anything that can potentially lead to death (however unlikely) can cause panic.

 

[Brilig]

Back in 1985 I was a new diver with only a few dives logged. I was diving in Rum Cay Bahamas and on one dive the DM took us (6 divers) down to a rather plain looking sand bottom at 30 fsw and as described on the boat motioned for us to follow him down a small hole. The passage wasn't tight but there wasn't extra room either. I just followed the fins in front of me until it was almost too dark to see anything but my glowing gauges. My depth gauge was now to 80 fsw when I could see a faint blue glow ahead past the two divers ahead. At 100 fsw we swam into the brilliant blue light on the side of a vertical wall. It was beautiful! I moved out from the was and got the thrilling feeling of hovering over the abyss.