Got OW certified in 2009. First dive was in 2010 in Playa w/ Dive . . . Since then I haven't dove and I'm afraid of drift diving. . . . This is normal for noobs right? Do I really have to totally geek out on scuba to enjoy it? As I will only be able to dive once a year? I just want to be able to enjoy it and not stress because I'm afraid of being "lost at sea" again. The Tarpon experience was incredible yes, but I've been to afraid to dive again. What should I try next? Suggestions?
You have received some good advice, and seem to be encouraged by it. I will echo some of the advice, but my primary point is to further reassure you about your reaction, and encourage you to jump back in.
First, I think your reaction is not uncommon for a noob. I won't say 'normal' or 'abnormal', just that it frequently is the case. Some people even get freaked on their first post-certification dive and never come back, which is a shame. You haven't mentioned much about your OW training, although we might presume that it was done in an inland lake / quarry / whatever environment, where the firsh were small, the current non-existent. Or, maybe it was even a Caribbean 'resort course'. In either case, it probably wasn't a drift dive, that didn't involve close encounters with really big fish. Drift diving for the first time can easily be a bit daunting, particularly if you don't feel you have control of your buoyancy, don't really know how drift diving is done, don't yet have the confidence that the boat really will be following your bubbles and will be there to pick you up when you surface, etc. So, don't beat yourself up over the anxiety.
Personally, I think even many 'geeked out' divers, if they are honest, will acknowledge just a wee bit of anixety ocassionally at the start of a dive, when they haven't been in the water for awhile, or they are diving a new spot. I readily admit it. I dive a reasonable amount. I dive deep. I dive cold and dark. And, yet, when I get ready to drop off a boat off the NC coast into 140 feet of water, I sometimes feel butterflies right at the point I start that back roll. They go away immediately after I submerge, but they are there. It is normal.
Two years ago, my dive buddy and I did a dive trip to the St. Lawrence - first time for us. We read descriptions of the various dives, to decide which ones we wanted to do. I remember one description talking about how great a drift dive it was, but that the diver should make sure to 'keep to the LEFT' at a certain point, lest you end up in the middle of the channel with the lakers (big ore ships) going by. That got my attention, just reading it, and I initially suggested we not do the dive. We did it anyway, it turned out to be a spectacular, easy, no-brainer dive, where I was giggling most of the way as I sped along the rock walls that looked like huge stairsteps turned on end.
And, the first time I encountered a really big tarpon some years ago (swimming along the Hilma Hooker in Bonaire and just literally almost ran into it), it definitely got my attention, and di wonders for my heart rate.
So, after the confession comes the 'echo' part. I agree with bubbletrubble - why not prepare BEFORE you take that once a year vacation? It doesn't hurt, and will probably help, to do a scuba review in a pool, just to remind yourself of the basics.
Christi's suggestion of a private DM is a great one. You have someone in the water with you, wherever you drift, there they are. They are there to stay with you (or, at least, they should be), you are not trying to stay up with them. They are familiar with the conditions, and can give you advice before the dive, and signal you during the dive.
I love drift diving. It is so relaxing. But, it may be a bit of an acquired taste. So, sample it gingerly at first, in order to learn to enjoy it. It will be worth the effort. I also love spicy food. But, I will take very small bites of a habanero pepper at first, just to see how hot it is, rather than putting the whole pepper in my mouth at once.
