OP
Happybunny
Guest
What a lovely welcome I'm really touched everyone thank you!!!
Richard my first ever dive was in Greece and it was awful reading a few threads here I think they call it the cattle boat dives or something similar.
Basically it was a ride on a boat to the bay with the very basics being explained on the way, 5 tourists at a time lined up on the beach whilst young lads (not even divers) put the gear on us. Mine was far too tight round my ribcage and I remember calling out and being told to wait. I couldn't wait and lost my temper, it felt like I couldn't breathe not a good way to start. It was adjusted fairly quickly I can tell you.
So then into the water we go and we had to go down ourselves to about 6 feet or so and line up at a rock and give the okay signal when asked. I still can't believe I got that far, the tank was hitting the back of my head forcing me to look down (I'd been told it shouldn't do that) it was very uncomfortable.
There were two instructors for us 5 which wasn't too bad I suppose but supposing my panic that time had been after the rock and deeper then it would have been one of the snorkelling lads at the surface who would have pulled us up and not the instructor.
Anyway I looked at one of the instructors and just suddenly thought I can't do this and signalled that I was going up with or without him LOL you were supposed to give the signal and then go up with him but I was already on the way signalling as I went.
Nothing happened that made me panic, no smile, no leaks I just felt very uncomfortable with the whole thing and actually didn't feel safe at all plus seeing all that water just didn't help.
When I broke surface the instructor who was Greek saw me crying and tried to joke "hey you're Scottish you're supposed to be brave" to try to relax me well of course that made me try again
but I lasted 5 seconds. I just knew I would panic further on and I'm convinced I'd have drowned for sure.
The difference in the two dives was like a 1* hotel and 5* no comparison. One on one dives, they always do it like that and as mentioned previously the guy who took me out was so well qualified, has been diving for more than 30 years and has a string of certificates.
He walked me out to about thigh high, flipped me on my back put my flippers on then he adjusted my mask etc then flipped me over onto my belly and made me breathe 10 times watching how I controlled it, I must have done okay then and only then did we start the descent. He held onto me the whole time via a handle on the back of the tank only letting me go to set me down on the rock. He reminded me to equalize by squeezing my nose, I had completely forgotten because I had only started to feel any pressure in them when we were at the 4 metres and his eyes never left me which is obvious by his lightening speed reaction to what became in effect a rescue.
One thing I remember thinking was he wasn't letting me get up there as quickly as I wanted to, obviously there were reasons for that it probably also explains why I fought him so hard.
I was so, so relaxed it wasn't real probably why I smiled which of course was a real embuggerance in the end!!!
It would probably be a better idea for me to do the course here at home instead of cramming everything in to a few days in Tenerife, this is something I will have to consider but I would really like Michel to instruct me.
I'm in no rush, I have a ton of things to learn I'm pig ingnorant about diving but I will go for a course one day hopefully soon.
Richard my first ever dive was in Greece and it was awful reading a few threads here I think they call it the cattle boat dives or something similar.
Basically it was a ride on a boat to the bay with the very basics being explained on the way, 5 tourists at a time lined up on the beach whilst young lads (not even divers) put the gear on us. Mine was far too tight round my ribcage and I remember calling out and being told to wait. I couldn't wait and lost my temper, it felt like I couldn't breathe not a good way to start. It was adjusted fairly quickly I can tell you.
So then into the water we go and we had to go down ourselves to about 6 feet or so and line up at a rock and give the okay signal when asked. I still can't believe I got that far, the tank was hitting the back of my head forcing me to look down (I'd been told it shouldn't do that) it was very uncomfortable.
There were two instructors for us 5 which wasn't too bad I suppose but supposing my panic that time had been after the rock and deeper then it would have been one of the snorkelling lads at the surface who would have pulled us up and not the instructor.
Anyway I looked at one of the instructors and just suddenly thought I can't do this and signalled that I was going up with or without him LOL you were supposed to give the signal and then go up with him but I was already on the way signalling as I went.
Nothing happened that made me panic, no smile, no leaks I just felt very uncomfortable with the whole thing and actually didn't feel safe at all plus seeing all that water just didn't help.
When I broke surface the instructor who was Greek saw me crying and tried to joke "hey you're Scottish you're supposed to be brave" to try to relax me well of course that made me try again
but I lasted 5 seconds. I just knew I would panic further on and I'm convinced I'd have drowned for sure.The difference in the two dives was like a 1* hotel and 5* no comparison. One on one dives, they always do it like that and as mentioned previously the guy who took me out was so well qualified, has been diving for more than 30 years and has a string of certificates.
He walked me out to about thigh high, flipped me on my back put my flippers on then he adjusted my mask etc then flipped me over onto my belly and made me breathe 10 times watching how I controlled it, I must have done okay then and only then did we start the descent. He held onto me the whole time via a handle on the back of the tank only letting me go to set me down on the rock. He reminded me to equalize by squeezing my nose, I had completely forgotten because I had only started to feel any pressure in them when we were at the 4 metres and his eyes never left me which is obvious by his lightening speed reaction to what became in effect a rescue.
One thing I remember thinking was he wasn't letting me get up there as quickly as I wanted to, obviously there were reasons for that it probably also explains why I fought him so hard.
I was so, so relaxed it wasn't real probably why I smiled which of course was a real embuggerance in the end!!!
It would probably be a better idea for me to do the course here at home instead of cramming everything in to a few days in Tenerife, this is something I will have to consider but I would really like Michel to instruct me.
I'm in no rush, I have a ton of things to learn I'm pig ingnorant about diving but I will go for a course one day hopefully soon.
