Very nervous about "deep" dives
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firstdive2005
Contributor
Hi diver84-and hopefully welcome to scuba for you and your wife. Great words written so far. I did the same thing as you. Sat at 15fsw and at the three minute mark realizing I should be bolting for the surface was forever frozen to recapture that thrill.
For sure there are dive spots that can give you your desire to stay shallower. When I did my certification at Cozumel at Villa Blanca the depth was 25fsw. Later I did do a 60fsw dive but I did not do any skills like mask removal for instance. It was basically a check out dive for comfortability. I did make sure that I was very comfortable with my minor skills before I got that deep. For instance, for me it was very nescessary to be comfortable with my mask off and able to breathe. That was just me. I was 47yrs in 05 when I got certified. But I had several dives in before I did any lessons as my friend owned a dive shop at St. Lucia. I never did go deeper than 30fsw at his site. Anyway I sure hope you do take the plunge it is so rewarding. I still like to snorkel with my wife. But I tend to dive down alot.hahaha.
As for is scuba for you, well to me, I think so. You just have jitters that usually go away with the experience you will learn. By the way I am envious that you get to do this with your wife, I dive with a lot of people but alas my wife cant dive. To me it is a blessing to see a married team diving together. start the fun.
For sure there are dive spots that can give you your desire to stay shallower. When I did my certification at Cozumel at Villa Blanca the depth was 25fsw. Later I did do a 60fsw dive but I did not do any skills like mask removal for instance. It was basically a check out dive for comfortability. I did make sure that I was very comfortable with my minor skills before I got that deep. For instance, for me it was very nescessary to be comfortable with my mask off and able to breathe. That was just me. I was 47yrs in 05 when I got certified. But I had several dives in before I did any lessons as my friend owned a dive shop at St. Lucia. I never did go deeper than 30fsw at his site. Anyway I sure hope you do take the plunge it is so rewarding. I still like to snorkel with my wife. But I tend to dive down alot.hahaha.
As for is scuba for you, well to me, I think so. You just have jitters that usually go away with the experience you will learn. By the way I am envious that you get to do this with your wife, I dive with a lot of people but alas my wife cant dive. To me it is a blessing to see a married team diving together. start the fun.
Well, here's an update for everyone. Last month my wife and I got certified. It turns out you can't tell the difference between 15, 30, 45 and 60 feet in the Caribbean. We bottomed out around 65 feet on our 8th dive of the week, and we didn't even notice a difference until I checked my SPG. I did suck my air a lot faster down there though.
Herk_Man
Contributor
This is an old thread but here's something interesting you can do to put this situation in a different context for someone that gets "fearful" of "deep" dives. Go out on your sidewalk or lawn and take 20 fairly long strides from a landmark. Now look back where you came from. This is all the farther above you the surface will be at 60 feet. Ain't nuttin' but a ting.
My wife was a nervous diver when she first got certified. Told me that she wanted to limit her dives to 30 feet if possible and certainly nothing deeper than 40. For the first few dives we did just that and she loved it. And like a lot of new divers who are diving with someone experienced, she would drop things out of her crosscheck, like her depth. So on one of our dives later in the trip, I just gradually tooled along a reef, deeper, and deeper, and deeper. Reversed things for the return and got out. Later on she was checking her dive computer to fill out her log book. "Hey," she said "We were at 75 feet on that last dive!" When I asked her if she noticed anything terrifying about it she just blushed. Hasn't been an issue since.
[And yes, I realized later that we'd busted her recreational limits. I just forgot about it at the time. My mistake but the point still stands. It's just not that big a deal if you pay attention to your NDL.]
My wife was a nervous diver when she first got certified. Told me that she wanted to limit her dives to 30 feet if possible and certainly nothing deeper than 40. For the first few dives we did just that and she loved it. And like a lot of new divers who are diving with someone experienced, she would drop things out of her crosscheck, like her depth. So on one of our dives later in the trip, I just gradually tooled along a reef, deeper, and deeper, and deeper. Reversed things for the return and got out. Later on she was checking her dive computer to fill out her log book. "Hey," she said "We were at 75 feet on that last dive!" When I asked her if she noticed anything terrifying about it she just blushed. Hasn't been an issue since.
[And yes, I realized later that we'd busted her recreational limits. I just forgot about it at the time. My mistake but the point still stands. It's just not that big a deal if you pay attention to your NDL.]
Aggiebq86
Contributor
One thing I would add is that you should feel comfortable performing any of your skills at any depth you are diving. A regulator problem, flooded mask, or any of the basics could happen at any time. Not just in shallow water. If you are not comfortable retrieving your regulator at 50', don't dive that deep.
Aggiebq86
Contributor
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