mullen1200
Registered
Padi Open Water Course
Okay so my very first ocean dive we had a moderate to strong current with 4-5 foot waves. Given I had never even done a giant stride before (with gear on). So I land in the water. And I'm buoyant as heck, and I'm being pushed back by a really strong current back towards the boat. I struggle to realize why I cant go down and I figure that I have too much air in my bcd. I let a lot out, get my head under and swim as hard as I can to the line. (This is the sea emperor by the way, 50 feet deep on the top). I manage to grab a hold of the line. The current is so strong on the surface that it keeps me and my instructor/partner very horizontal. It was strong enough to make me want gloves just for the line. Okay so that dive was kinda cool. A bit boring cause there weren't a lot of fish, but it was a cool first experience.
Second dive....Was going great..till we do the safety stop, and my Attention deficit butt gets me into a lot of trouble. So we are at a safety stop with 2 minutes left. Im relaxing, not paying attention to anything really. Next thing I know, I'm at 4 ft, almost at the surface and everyone is down at 15ft still. Nobody had noticed. So naturally, not wanting to look like a moron I rocket myself back down, in a hope not to look dumb. I push as hard as I can, overshoot them down to 23 or so feet, and all of the time I hadnt equalized once.
Next thing I know im in such a WORLD OF PAIN in my left ear that im in near tears/moaning. I point at my ear a couple of times and someone comes and grabs onto my shoulders and tries to tell me to equalize. Truthfully, I was really confused on whether I should try to force it or not. I was trying but it wasnt working because I went way too far without equalizing, and a bunch of fluid had blocked it, probably cause of the acute pain/trauma or whatever. I really don't manage to equalize much and we surface. I get out and hold my ear for about 15 minutes before I even move. I really cant believe that I did that, I knew much better, and I had good teachers. It was just a lack of attention and thinking before doing that got me in trouble. Im such a calm person, and I never ever panic (near auto collisions..etc..)Anyways.. I was almost into a panic state at that point.
Yeah, it really really sucked. Especially since I had to do two dives the next morning. I made it sound like a lot more of an ordeal than it really was but it did suck. I would have put it off if I wasn't going to the Caribbean in a week. The next two dives I couldn't enjoy at all because we went down way too fast for me on my first one, I should have really signaled them to go slower. It was way way hard for me to equalize. So I was in somewhat bad pain the whole time I was down there. The second dive I explicitly told my instructor that I had to go real slow, so I just followed the line behind them and took my time to get to the bottom, and it was way easier. Saw a couple of cool fish, and a huuuuge lobster, that I only got a glimpse of.
Funnily enough, I had a blast just leaving the Intracoastal in waves that big. I got up on the bow of the ship and held on for dear life. I swear to god we were going up and down 15 feet every wave. I put a knee under a bar, held on with both hands and went along for the ride. When it was safe
D) I headed back down and got ready. Swimming in a strong current isn't fun at all, but it was a cool experience at least, if not tiring.
I was really surprised to find that my TOES were killing me this morning. I suppose its from 4 dives, with no muscle at all in my toes. From the fin kicking I suppose.. It was so sore it hurt to walk/stand.
Very lengthy post, props if you mangaed to get through it all.
Okay so my very first ocean dive we had a moderate to strong current with 4-5 foot waves. Given I had never even done a giant stride before (with gear on). So I land in the water. And I'm buoyant as heck, and I'm being pushed back by a really strong current back towards the boat. I struggle to realize why I cant go down and I figure that I have too much air in my bcd. I let a lot out, get my head under and swim as hard as I can to the line. (This is the sea emperor by the way, 50 feet deep on the top). I manage to grab a hold of the line. The current is so strong on the surface that it keeps me and my instructor/partner very horizontal. It was strong enough to make me want gloves just for the line. Okay so that dive was kinda cool. A bit boring cause there weren't a lot of fish, but it was a cool first experience.
Second dive....Was going great..till we do the safety stop, and my Attention deficit butt gets me into a lot of trouble. So we are at a safety stop with 2 minutes left. Im relaxing, not paying attention to anything really. Next thing I know, I'm at 4 ft, almost at the surface and everyone is down at 15ft still. Nobody had noticed. So naturally, not wanting to look like a moron I rocket myself back down, in a hope not to look dumb. I push as hard as I can, overshoot them down to 23 or so feet, and all of the time I hadnt equalized once.
Next thing I know im in such a WORLD OF PAIN in my left ear that im in near tears/moaning. I point at my ear a couple of times and someone comes and grabs onto my shoulders and tries to tell me to equalize. Truthfully, I was really confused on whether I should try to force it or not. I was trying but it wasnt working because I went way too far without equalizing, and a bunch of fluid had blocked it, probably cause of the acute pain/trauma or whatever. I really don't manage to equalize much and we surface. I get out and hold my ear for about 15 minutes before I even move. I really cant believe that I did that, I knew much better, and I had good teachers. It was just a lack of attention and thinking before doing that got me in trouble. Im such a calm person, and I never ever panic (near auto collisions..etc..)Anyways.. I was almost into a panic state at that point.
Yeah, it really really sucked. Especially since I had to do two dives the next morning. I made it sound like a lot more of an ordeal than it really was but it did suck. I would have put it off if I wasn't going to the Caribbean in a week. The next two dives I couldn't enjoy at all because we went down way too fast for me on my first one, I should have really signaled them to go slower. It was way way hard for me to equalize. So I was in somewhat bad pain the whole time I was down there. The second dive I explicitly told my instructor that I had to go real slow, so I just followed the line behind them and took my time to get to the bottom, and it was way easier. Saw a couple of cool fish, and a huuuuge lobster, that I only got a glimpse of.
Funnily enough, I had a blast just leaving the Intracoastal in waves that big. I got up on the bow of the ship and held on for dear life. I swear to god we were going up and down 15 feet every wave. I put a knee under a bar, held on with both hands and went along for the ride. When it was safe
D) I headed back down and got ready. Swimming in a strong current isn't fun at all, but it was a cool experience at least, if not tiring.I was really surprised to find that my TOES were killing me this morning. I suppose its from 4 dives, with no muscle at all in my toes. From the fin kicking I suppose.. It was so sore it hurt to walk/stand.
Very lengthy post, props if you mangaed to get through it all.
