Think back a little...what were you like as a new diver??

[ClayJar]

I feel strange saying it, but I really did take to diving like a fish. I'm an avid knowledge junkie, so I started by reading *everything* I could get my hands on. My degree's in chemical engineering, so the physics was trivial, and I love logical thinking, so it was fun finding the useful bits floating in the "You're gonna die!" stew.

As for how I got where I am today, I've always had a distinct love of helping people. Once you toss in a distinct love of breathing underwater, there's really only one logical outcome, eh? :biggrin:

 

[Centrals]

1. Never dived beyond 18m until AOW certified(20 dives later).
2. Followed the dm closely.
3. Really enjoying the sensation of "floating" under water, still is.
4. Spent a lot of time on breathing control instead of enjoying the scenery. Take it for granted nowadays!!
5. Spent more time checking on the spg.
6. Dumping and inflating bc continuously.
7. Careless kick.
8. Should be more...

 

[Thalassamania]

Just shy of four feet tall, the tank used to hit me in the calves as I kicked and I had trouble getting the double hose mouthpiece in my mouth.

 

[Napoleon_wrasse]

as a new diver; the feeling was ....

[video=dailymotion;x688au]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x688au_yasashisa-ni-tsutsumareta-nara-yumi_music[/video]

if I have been enveloped in tenderness
surely everything reflected in my eyes will be a message

 

[jseteroff]

I still am by all accounts a brand new diver. I just did my 10th and 11th dives on Sunday. But I got certified in 2009 while I spent a year in South Korea. Having spent the majority of my life in the water pretty much everything came easy to me. I struggled with removing a weight belt at first, most likely due to the fact that I was severally over weighted. I believe I had on 30lbs for a 3mil wet suit. I remember that on the first open water dive, we dove in a small bay about 100yard from where some fishermen had nets in the water. They were apparently concerned that we were trying to steal their fish, because they called the Korean Police, who yelled at us for quite a while after we exited the water. The remaining dives after that went pretty well, I remember not being comfortable with navigation(still am not) but I managed to come back up in the exact right place. I think this may have been due to luck more than skill. I barely used any air compared to the other students, and on all the dives was withing 250psi of both the instructor and the DM.

Fast forward 2 years to this summer- I have arrived in Panama City, FL, Decided that I wanted to start diving again, so I bought a set of gear, and proceeded to do a dive at local marina, with no refresher course, which probably was a mistake. I had some gear issues which I was able on a later dive. However that initial dive after 2 years made me do some real thinking. While my Buoyancy skills are better than the average new diver (I was told Sunday by the DM on the boat that she would have had no clue that I was making my 10th dive after watching me) I think that I am still over-confident. My 3rd and 4th(8th and 9th overall) dives this summer I followed my buddy down to 75ft and never gave it a second thought. I went out on the boat and dove to the sand at 75 ft for my and felt comfortable. However doing some reflection, I followed my buddy to those depths on all 4 dives. I tend to follow more than lead. I'm not afraid to lead, but I always want to yield to the more experienced person. I don't think I would dive past where I feel comfortable, but I do wonder if my comfort level might just be greater than my skill level.

 

[Rich Keller]

As a newly certified diver, I saw that my group had very different experiences..

My hubby was a fish from the beginning and never had an issue(Ok..he told me he was nervous at the beginning).

Another girl in our group did everything asked of her but she told me she was nervous and is still nervous yet excited about diving

I almost quit the first night, but hung in there...managed all the skills..had ear issues..but stuck with it. I am far from comfortable, but hoping experience will help (going out on Saturday again).

Then there was one in our class that was kinda spastic. Not certified.

SO...what were you like? And how did you get to where you are today??

TIA
Elizabeth

I was already a water rat before I started diving. I bought a tank, regulator and a book on how to use them. Started local and shallow, put a lot of hours it and got better with time. I am a firm believer that more hours in the water will serve you better then most of the training courses available today. I did get certified 4 years after I started diving so I could continue to get my tanks filled, been diving for 41 years now.

 

[kylgod253]

SCARED TO DEATH OF DCI!!!! i would spend hours after a dive just waiting for symptoms to kick in. i would fart and think to myself "was that a nitrogen bubble??!!!" or see a zit and speculate on whether or not it was nitrogen leaking from my pores. i eventually read the statistics and focused on the fundamentals ( dont ascend more than 60fpm, ALWAYS do a 3 min safety stop @ 15 feet and never push the NDL's ) eventually, i didnt die. im still here. hi. im ok. never had more than tingly fingers after a dive ( which subsided after 30 minutes ) and nothing worse. you'll be ok. i ( dont really ) promise.

just be safe ;-)

 

[CamG]

Ah EFB this will be interesting thread to watch.
I can sum my beginnings up as a "TRAIN WRECK!"
It is a story that I have shared many times but not chronicled in one place as of yet.
Needless to say I learned to RELAX, TRUST both gear and skills, TRAIN like a madman.
The pool was a disaster, sensitive to chlorine and chronic nose breather so it was about as comfortable as self abusive behavior.
As a youngster I suffered near drowning twice so I carried a lot of baggage into the pool sessions.

My salvation was I chose the right instructor a lessor would have told me to go home!
My first OW dive sealed the deal I exited the water and one week later purchased all my gear and have not looked back once!
That was 2007 and as Devon has mentioned already the most amazing lesson I have learned is that no matter what level you reach there is so much more to learn out there!
Perhaps that is why I can not get enough of diving, IT NEVER CEASES TO CHALLENGE ME!

Meeting a friend today to work on some Side Mount configuration shake down dives.
It always stays real, fresh ideas, learn new techniques, go to new environments, make great friends, SCUBA has been for me what many are looking for MOTIVATION to live outside the hum drum life!
I can go to work on monday and not really enjoy my occupation as long as I know on the weekend it is time to DIVE!

CamG Keep Diving....Keep Training....Keep Learning!

 

[jscott099]

Younger, thinner, and my savings account had more money it.

 

[molina67]

I had always wanted to get certified and finally did. When I first went under the water I thought it was the coolest thing in the world and after a few minutes of not breathing correctly I started to get a little apprehensive. Then I remembered to take slow deep breath and to exhale completely and felt better. My wife had issues from the beginning. She would shoot to the surface like a missile but after a few tears and tries, she got certified. Our 1st time out by ourselves was a lot better, I guess not having the pressure of performing in front of a complete stranger was much better. I can't get enough of Diving now.