AOW Deep Dive

[Brilig]

Hmmmm. You are at 60 ft or so. Not used to depth. It gets dark and murky. In those conditions it could have been a dark nark coming on.

Steve, I couldn't agree more. In hind sight this was a risky thing for the DM to do. All he did was ask if anyone had a problem with going trough the tunnel. Those people could approach the wall by going over the top. This was only my 9th dive ever but I had already been to 100 fsw twice before in the cold dark waters of New England. Exploring a wreck no less with an insta-buddy that was gone by the time I got down the anchor line. Maybe times were different but when I got certified I didn't get any instruction on limiting my depth as a newbe. Just follow the dive tables. My standard issue dive tables even had decompression times listed. I never ventured beyond NDL limits. We were told to avoid that until we gained a little experience.
Ignorance is bliss. And I sure was having a good time!

 

[Myke green]

Changing subject, did you see all of the tuna crabs?

Coincidentally they were swarming at the canyon ledge. It was a moving cloud, I am told it was strange as they usually aren't there, an I remember seeing them usually around 30-35 feet after the sand dollar field. But this time those little buggers decided to be right at the damn ledge

 

[rabe]

I actually found the reaction to be very similar for me underwater compared to dry land. It is sort of an onset of anxiety increasing the closer I get to the edge.

With sufficent determination and focus I find I can move through that anxiety. I have climbed mountains and gone rappelling, for example. Moving through the fear is part of the thrill. It does not go away, but I guess it recedes? Anyway I know myself well enough to work through it, if need be. Focus answers many difficult things.

Thank you so much, very interesting!

 

[BertStevens]

I have vague memories of some one saying anybody can thumb a dive at any time for any reason. But I am sure I did not hear it on this board and I may be mistaken.

 

[Neilwood]

I don't find your experience to be too unusual especially if the briefing didn't cover going over the lip into a canyon. You certainly did the right thing calling the dive - if at any point you aren't having fun or are feeling out of control then the right thing is to call it, discuss why with your buddy and instructor and try it again when you feel ready.

I have a similar feeling with tall buildings - I am fine going up to 100+ floors inside the likes of One WTC but ask me to move right to the edge of a balcony even at a lower height with a barrier in front of me (such as the Rockefeller centre) and I get a tight feeling and feel my breathing and pulse race. I put it down to abseiling of a bridge in my early 20's where we had to climb over the edge barrier (and didn't have a safety rope until we were over on the outside). Lucky for me air is freely available up here so I can take my time and get used to it.

 

[mallbritton]

I think it was on my 3rd or 4th dive after being OW certified when I first swam over the edge of a reef and stared into the "the blue." It was very disconcerting and I actually got vertigo. I swam back over the reef, signaled the dive leader and while they dove for a bit along the wall I and my buddy swam along the top of the reef. Now, though, that kind of thing doesn't bother me.

 

[rabe]

I was talking with a buddy of mine yesterday, and she has the same problem.
If she has to stop at mid water to do safety or deco stop and she can't see the bottom, she's fine.
But, if she's on the edge of a wall, she's scared.
And is the same kind of fear/feeling that she has on dryland.
Fascinating.

 

[aquacat8]

I have read that fear of falling is a very universal primal instinct, something to do with baby monkeys falling out of trees. When I used to do indoor rock climbing the first time a person falls and gets caught by their belayer it is pretty intense for most people. Later it is fun.
I am impressed that OP ended the dive in a controlled manner. That’s what you’re supposed to do if you are freaking out—thank goodness this was not out-of-controlled, spit-out-the-reg, claw-to-the-surface panic! May I point out that courage involves walking (or swimming) through fear. If you’re not really afraid then you’re not really brave either. So I think OP was brave and this bodes well for handling other fear situations.

 

[TMHeimer]

I was talking with a buddy of mine yesterday, and she has the same problem.
If she has to stop at mid water to do safety or deco stop and she can't see the bottom, she's fine.
But, if she's on the edge of a wall, she's scared.
And is the same kind of fear/feeling that she has on dryland.
Fascinating.

Possibly because she knows how deep the bottom was during the safety/deco stop, but doesn't know how deep it is over the ledge?

 

[rabe]

Possibly because she knows how deep the bottom was during the safety/deco stop, but doesn't know how deep it is over the ledge?

nope
that's the first thing I've asked her, and she told me it doesn't depend by knowing or not the depth underneath
it's just the fear of the edge (she was saying that she feels the irrational fear of "rolling over" the edge and fall down), same thing she "suffers" outside the water