First dives after certification nervous

[scubanurse]

Hello all,

We are finally getting ready to do some diving in clear water. Heading to Cozumel next Sunday. I am very excited as well as very very nervous. Those of you who have been with me through certification know that I am afraid of open water. I know that I was able to complete OW it at the lake and that Coz should be much better, but I am still nervous. I am worried because we are traveling with people who are very expeienced ( our instructor for one) and I am afraid the dives will be too advanced. I have read that diving in Cozumel is difficult because of the currents. I am also scared of going over the side of a wall and freaking out when I can't see anything below me. I know this sounds silly but I am really worried about it. Any tips for how to handle currents or vertigo would be greatly appreciated. The other thing that concerns me is bouyancy. We have three mil wet suits and are planning on wearing gloves to protect ourselves but I do not want be all over the place and damaging reef. There is shallow diving in front of the resort and we will get in the water there to determine weighting prior to going out on the boat is there anything I can do to help with bouyancy or is this just something that comes with practice. I am sorry this is so long. I am so excited about being able to dive and actually see things, that I don't want to ruin it by being so anxious. The feedback from this board helped me so much with my OW dives. Some times I guess you just need alittle reassurance.

 

[Uncle Pug]

...worrying now won't help then. Really... your bladder won't explode.

My Rx: "Take a vacation from your problems"

Go to a video store and rent "What About Bob." Watch it several times and see if you can find the hidden meaning.

 

[O-ring]

Doing some warm-up dives outside the resort makes sense to me. The last thing you want to do is jump in with all the reservations you mention.

Those of you who have been with me through certification know that I am afraid of open water.

What is it about open water that worries you?

I am worried because we are traveling with people who are very expeienced ( our instructor for one) and I am afraid the dives will be too advanced.

They should tailor the dives to accommodate the least experienced people in the group. Do not be afraid to voice your concerns if they start taking you somewhere you are uncomfortable going.

I am also scared of going over the side of a wall and freaking out when I can't see anything below me.

Your plan should put you more at ease with this...by checking your weighting etc. outside the resort, you should be fine without a bottom. You can pick points on the wall you are next to and use those as references to maintain your depth. Check your gauge frequently so you don't stray too deep.
Are these going to be "led" dives with a DM leading you guys around? Might not be a bad idea for the first days dives to build up your comfort and confidence. I am sure you will do fine!

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I've never been to Coz but the places I have been didn't take the inexperienced divers to complex dive sites. The first dives are usually on an easy site so DM's can assess group abilities. Remember, if you're not comfortable with a dive you can always abort it at any time.

Walls are cool, I saw my first one on Grand Turk. It's not as scary as you imagine. The wall usually isn't perfectly vertical, coral and sponges don't grow that way, the wall will have some topography. When you look down you will see BLUE. It literally looks like you're in front of a blue screen like the weather people on t.v. use. It actually looks FAKE. When you are diving along the wall you're usually close enough that you don't notice the blue, you're looking for fish, eels, shrimp, etc. and it feels just like a dive over any other coral head. Remember to look out into the blue occasionally, you may see a turtle or some other critter swim by!

Buoyancy, make sure you do that shallow water check. Relax, breathe slowly and deeply during your dive. Make sure your gear isn't dangling, the octopus should be in its holder and the console clipped to your bc. Personally I prefer to run my console under my left arm so the hose is between my body and the bc strap, this helps keep it from flopping around and all I have to do is look toward my chest to see it.

Currents. Drifting is fun, you just relax and look at the pretty scenery while the current does all the work. Use the current to your advantage every chance you get. If you are swimming across the current it will usually pull on your mask enough to allow water to enter if the current is moving quickly.

You are going to have an awesome time! Believe me, I have freaked out about everything you can possibly imagine and I had a great time on my Grand Turk trip even though I was initially terrified. You will probably feel like you're in an aquarium, I actually kept putting my hand in front of me because I swore I was going to hit the glass side eventually! It was so beautiful it didn't seem real!

Good luck and happy diving!
Ber

 

[deignor]

Scuba Nurse-
After my OW check out dives and about 5 extra practice dives in a quarry, I headed off to Cozumel. I was as nervous as you are- convinced I would bash into coral, be horrible with buoyancy, etc.
First, you are lucky to have experienced divers going with you. Tell them you are a newbee and ask them for feedback, tell them you are nervous, ask them to watch out for you, etc. I did that and got great suggestions to improve my trim and buoyancy. I also told the divermaster leading us that I was a newbee. They watched me for weighting, I ended up ditching tons of weight by my third day as I relaxed.
Walls- I was nervous about them too. I stayed close to the DM on those dives (we joked I was up his butt and if he stopped quickly, my head would ram his ---)!
Currents- they can be tough if you are swimming into them and it gets tiring. But if you are with them, it is the closest thing to flying. I wanted to put my arms out and fly but that created more drag! Just don't fight the current, flow with it!
You will see so many critturs- sea turtles, tons of fish, etc. It was the best diving I have ever experienced and I am still in awe of it! I felt less nervous as the days went on and started to just be amazed by the beauty.
I am still nervous before any new diving and I tell the people who are more experienced or the DM everytime. I think it natural to be nervous.
Go, enjoy yourself and let us know how it goes when you get back. I am jealous, take me in your suitcase.
Diana

 

[MadReefer]

YUK YUK YUK...hidden meaning...you kinda funny Pug.

Scuba Nurse,

you indicated you will be diving withyour instructor. You shoudl find that empowering!!
MTCW...get a set of wrist slates (Dive Rite or Trident)...you can communicate your concerns underwater much better to the DM or Dive Leader or your buddy. this will help you to feel more confident.

Best advice for apprehension regading the deep blue, Dive more...and just enjoy it. COz is a great place to do your first real open water dives.
Have a great time!!!

Mad

 

[norcaldiver]

I went to Hawaii with only a few dive under my belt and my wife (who became my wife while we were there) doesn't dive. So I was really nervous about diving with NO ONE I new. I had the plans made and reservation on a boat before we got on the plane.

When we got ther and checked into the hotel, we were on the 5th floor. I walked over and looked out the window to check out the view of the beach and noticed these little dark spots that were moving around and seemed to surface every now and then. I asked the bell boy if he knew what they were and he said "Oh, turtles, we have lot's of them here, they're sacred you know..." I told him how happy I was to see the life so close to the shore and mentioned how promissing this looked for diving to my wife. He said, You know you don't have to dive to see the good stuff here, you can save your money and snokel and see just as much.

He was right! I canceled the boat and my wife and I spent most of the week floating 50 yards off shore behind the hotel with mask and snorkel. We saw all kinds of fish, turtles, you name it.

Did I miss the dolphins, yeah, but I got about a ba-zillion pictures of turtles and every kind of fish.

Best of all, I wan't nervous and got to spend more time with my wife.

My point? Go have fun, it's a vacation after all. If it doesn't feel right, grab the snorkel and stay on the surface, you might find just as much with out even putting on a tank (gasp).

 

[Paco]

Scuba Nurse,
I was nervous too during my first Coz dive and I'm not really sure why. I guess I get that way whenever I dive at a place for the first time. As I relaxed, though, I had a great time. One mistake that I did make was not keeping my arms close to my body, so I drifted a bit faster than the other divers. At one point, my buddy (whom I didn't know before the dive) had us duck behind a large reef where there was no current and we waited for the group to catch up. Of course I was the first to get low on air because of the hard breathing I was doing at the beginning of the dive. The DM instructed me (us) to do our safety stop while he continued with the group, but I could see him continually look up to check on us. I'm sure that you will be diving with a DM and they are very good at helping out.

Gloves? I thought they weren't allowed there to keep people from touching that which should not be touched.

Also, you didn't mention the resort you're staying at, but the snorkeling and shallow diving is pretty good behind the Plaza las Glorias.

You'll have a great time.. Enjoy!!

Paco

 

[Starfish]

If you are closer to town at Cozumel there is a very nice beach access at the Barracuda Hotel (all hotel beaches are accessible to any of the public). And if you are diving with Dive Paradise, they have an on-site shop.

With D.P. or not you can get in the water and check you bouyancy and have a sand bottom right there. D.P. does part of their Advanced classes there because there is a small row boat sunk there, navigation lines and hoops to practice swimming through, a very small start of a reef, and other things to see like a sunken bicycle. You can check the map for the layout in the D.P. dive shop.

As for the boat dives, like everyone has said, let the DM know and they will help. You may want to only go on the afternoon boat dive you first day, as they are to shallow areas and usually not to the walls.

I have a sneaking suspicion that once you get your first dive under your weight belt, you will be wanting to be the first person off the boat!

 

[Birdman]

I think its calming to keep in mind that if you really do find yourself somewhere you don't want to be underwater, you can just go "up" (...preferably slowly with a safety stop). When I was a newly certified diver going off to an advaced dive location in Mexico with advanced divers, I ultimately found myself wanting to be "down" rather than "up" when I actually did the dives.