johndiver999
Contributor
Oh well, it's a long story, and not a nice memory, but...
ps. havent been to sea ever since, my environment of choice is different.
All of that would almost be funny if it wasn't so serious. You made some many errors, and must have learned a lot of lessons. I interpret the description as a cascade of errors which was precipitated by seasickness. Sounds like you were so compromised that you were completely overwhelmed (even from the very start and getting the gear set up correctly). BTW one foot waves is pretty calm- even on a small boat.
Your instructor should have drilled you before the entry and tried to encourage you NOT to dive. Even if you would have still chose to dive, after one or two of the errors you should have bailed on the dive.
Once you are overwhelmed, pissed off, and sick (and scared), it really becomes unlikely that you are going to make good decisions. I would say that rather than learning that you don't like the sea, you might be better served by cutting yourself some slack early and be willing to bail on a dive when the situation begins to look too challenging. That would be my take away lesson.
Not to be critical of you or anyone who suffers from sea sickness, but when I envision a "good diver" I think much more about someone who can handle rough seas, currents and all the challenges of handling themselves and gear on a boat way, way before I think about perfect trim, super low air use or being able to swim backwards in a quarry.