Open Water testing, Sharks, and a wife... oh my

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

The danger of sharks is so minimal compared to all of the other dangers faced diving, including just driving to the dive site.

Worrying about shark attack is like worrying about a grizzly attack while driving through Yellowstone. You really need to just keep your eyes on the road and feel lucky if you see one.

When you actually get into the water, I think you'll see what I mean. You'll be so focused on your skills and doing things safely and right, that sharks will naturally not be in the picture.

I dive an area known for Great Whites, but I don't think about it. The odds are staggeringly low. Where will you be diving? (besides Galapagos, which is sharky...) I don't know when the last time a nurse, whitetip or any of the commoner reef sharks attacked a diver, but it is EXCEEDINGLY rare and almost always provoked by the diver.

Worrying about sharks seems most common in people who haven't dove in the ocean, don't dive at all, or in divers when they are out of the water thinking about it. Tell her not to dwell on it. Once she gets in the ocean, it'll solve itself because she'll have plenty of other factors to think about, and I bet sharks never enter her mind.

Gregg

 

[wacdiver]

From all I have read and seen about the Galapagos is that it is NOT for beginer divers. I know you said it was next year but you have to consider how much training and cofidence you will have in your skills by then not just how many dives you have done. You can have 100+ dives in your log but if they are all shallow warm water reefs your experience is not as extensive as a diver with 50 dives but in different locations, depths and conditions. I would work on getting yourself and your wife comfy with diving first before even considering the more advanced dives like Galapagos. Try hitting the Fla keys and the Carrib there are alot of diverse dives there so you both can build up skills and confidence. I Would also WAIT until you have a higher credential than OW diver you should at least have Advanced OW ( BTW you should have at least 25+ diver before you take AOW) On a once in a lifetime dive like the Galapagos is (for most of us that are lucky enough to go at all) you want to be concentrating on the marine life and your surroundings (thats why you are there right?) you do not want to be worried about or concentrating on your SCUBA skills. Get the traings build your skills enjoy the 1000s of other easier diver first and work your way up to the Galapagos. It will still be there 2 years from now and you will be better trained and better prepared for it, and you will probably enjoy it more too.

As far as the shark thing with your lady, if she is given GOOD info about their behaviors and feeding styles, times , and fav spots she will feel a little more at ease. Knoweledge is power and if she understands them better she will have the power to control her fear. I myself was TERRIFIED of sharks before I began diving (I wouldn't even swim at the beach at night unless there were at least 3 other people in the water) After wathcing countless Discovery and Animal channel shows about sharks and having my first encounter with one (on my very first dive BTW) I have learned to respect them more that fear them. Not to say if I saw a Great White heading straight toward me that I wouldn't soil my wetsuit or run accross the surface of the water like Richard Prior in the the movie "the Toy" BUT as the others above have said there is alot of ways to avoid be shark food, just be informed.
ALSO if she is still adamant about not wanting to be shark bait you could invest in a shark sheild. It is an electronic device that goes withy ou on your dives. It emits a high frequency electronic pluse through the water that Overloads the sharks electro sensors (it is like a 6th sense they use to hunt prey, it detects electro currents in the water, like a fishes heart beat). They are expensive but I have seen them on documentaries and in many SCUBA Mags, they were tested and they work. Shark comming straight for a diver holding a speared and bleeding fish (easy meal) diver activates the sheild and the shark instantly turned away.
good luck on your certs
WAC