Boogyman Effect

[Snoweman]

The last time I was in Cozumel, I did the normal dive and came up for my safety stop. During my safety stop, I got pushed over the edge of the wall (I was floating over the deep end of the pool).

This freaked me out a little bit. I tried to fin back over the reef, but the drag of the safety sausage and getting hung up in some sargassum really kept me from making any progress in this endeavor.

I know it's somewhat irrational, but I can really imagine some bull shark or other creature looking up from the blackness below and saying, "Lunch!!".

I pretty much don't get this while night diving, which I think is a little weird. I don't think I got it trying to dive with whale sharks in Belize. It's only over the dark abyss that this happens to me. Does anyone else get bugged by the "boogyman"?

 

[rongoodman]

At Bloody Bay Wall in Little Caymen when you swim out past the drop off you're hanging over several thousand vertical feet of water. Similarly at Turks and Caicos, where on some moorings the boat swings out over the deep. Quite the spot to do your giant stride off the back off the boat!

 

[The Chairman]

I've gone hunting in 5,000 ft of water and did not experience this. I guess it's a personal thang.

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

At Bloody Bay Wall in Little Caymen when you swim out past the drop off you're hanging over several thousand vertical feet of water. Similarly at Turks and Caicos, where on some moorings the boat swings out over the deep. Quite the spot to do your giant stride off the back off the boat!

Red Sea in Sinai also has similar characteristics, jumping off the boat to see a beautiful coral wall dropping sharply at a 90 degree angle to 200-300M and sometimes even more.

While it does make me more alert prior to the jump i wouldn't say fear is a factor. just added precaution.

 

[txgoose]

Before scuba, I would get these feelings a LOT when swimming in turbid and/or deep water. Thankfully, this seems to have abated with my increased time underwater. I haven’t felt this is the last year or two. I understand the emotion. I also hope that it gets better for you.

 

[Snoweman]

Before scuba, I would get these feelings a LOT when swimming in turbid and/or deep water. Thankfully, this seems to have abated with my increased time underwater. I haven’t felt this is the last year or two. I understand the emotion. I also hope that it gets better for you.

I snorkelled in Maui back in 2013. I left the people I was with to head back to beach because I felt my back getting burned. I tried to snorkel back, but started getting into turbid water. I bee lined it out of the turbid water and straight to the shore. I walked back to our spot on the beach.

That was the year a lot of shark attacks had happened, and a lot of the incidents happened in turbid water. I wasn't going to let a shark confuse me as a meal.

 

[Doc]

I know it's somewhat irrational, but I can really imagine some bull shark or other creature looking up from the blackness below and saying, "Lunch!!".

It’s called situational awareness. You’re no longer on top of the food chain. Good thing to have a keen grasp thereof!

 

[Scott]

This is where you look into the depths and enjoy the view of whatever is going to pass by. If the boogyman is going to get you, they;re going to get you, might as well enjoy the view while it lasts.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I’ve heard the term “dark narc,” but now I’m going to add “boogeyman effect” to my scuba vocabulary. Thanks!

 

[Snoweman]

I’ve heard the term “dark narc,” but now I’m going to add “boogeyman effect” to my scuba vocabulary. Thanks!

I wish I could take credit for it. Before I got certified, I was talking with a guy that claimed he was an instructor. He said that he would have his class get in the water during a night dive and ask them, "Is anyone being bit?". He said he would jump in after they said they were fine. He was the one that gave me the term.