I went snorkeling in the keys for the first time.. Need help

[cwegescheide]

Well my fiancee and I went to the keys (Key West - I know, not the best place to snorkel/dive) We just wanted to try it since we were there. So we went out on a catamaran and snorkeled..

Now first things first... I've always found reefs fascinating but I've always had a fear of the ocean and that is what I want to overcome. I dove into the ocean and immediatley had a decent level of anxiety going (I know I'm a wus) but I really want to snorkel/dive since I really like watching show's and of course my own reef. I think what initially caused me to panic is the water was kindof dark where we dove and i could not really see anything. I think its the unknown lets my imagination get the best of me. So I was sitting there treading water thinking this is rediculous!!! There's 20 other people snorkeling and I don't see anything happening to them. So I finally got situated and stuck my face in the water and saw the bottom with some soft corals and grogorians and stuff and relaxed a lot.. It was cool from then on.

Is it normal to have this sort of anxiety? whats the best way to comforably get into the hobby and really enjoy it? I think in the next couple weeks I am going to go down the Key Largo and try it again. Anybody go thru the same thing when they started?

 

[r00onmac]

my fiance hates being in water where she cant touch the bottom if she wants to.. i tried to explain to her that with fins and a mask on you can touch the bottom at 40 feet with little to no issues but she doesnt want to hear it...

everyone is different... ive never liked the beach because of the sand and the ocean was always interesting but im not the strongest swimmer ever, but i just finished my NAUI certification and on my 5th dive i went 72 feet down into a shipwreck (something i never would have thought i could do)

you will like key largo better, the water is so much clearer and there is much more to see...

 

[cwegescheide]

OK yeah thats what a lot of people have told me. Largo is much better. I'm not going to give up without trying several times. I think I'd really like it if I give it time.

In a few weeks I guess I'll try Largo and see what happens.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[luminary]

You definitely need to make sure you're comfortable before deciding to try diving. I'd give the snorkeling a few more tries and see if you get more comfortable with it.

There's no reefs, but you can always try some snorkelling up here. Lots of crabs, fish, shells etc out on Clearwater beach. I've also heard that Ft. Desoto has some good snorkeling.

Is it just being in the open water that causes it? Do you get that way in pools as well? How about when you go into the water off the beach?

 

[cwegescheide]

Hi Luminary thanks for the response.. To be honest I think I've watched too many movies and I think my imagination gets the best of me!! I don't feel comfortable in murky water I tell you that..

Yeah I went this past weekend to over by highway 60 between clearwater and Tampa and took my snorkel and fins over there but the visibility was terrible. I'll have to try Ft Desoto. I would LOVE to find a good source for collecting snails and stuff for my reef too

In a swimming pool I am fine. No problems there. I just think I'd be doing myself a huge dis-service if I atleast dont try snorkeling since I am living in Florida now.

I might try and get over to Ft. Desoto this weekend and try over there. I think the key is good visibility for me in the beginning. After I got comfortable out there once i think I'll be fine.

Thanks for the ideas.

Chris

 

[onehundred20]

i'd say im like that only with lakes where you cant see a thing...reefs dont bother me really, I think your right about the imagination thing

 

[luminary]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7195842#post7195842 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cwegescheide
Hi Luminary thanks for the response.. To be honest I think I've watched too many movies and I think my imagination gets the best of me!! I don't feel comfortable in murky water I tell you that..

There's an underwater habitat that you can stay in down in the keys (you have to dive to get there, it's in I think 60 ft of water)...They have a full movie library for the people who are there and from what I've heard, they're all underwater horror movies . Nothing like watching the Abyss while you're in a habitat!

Just take you're time and ease yourself into it....This time next year you'll probably be like a fish...

Here's a hint...if you see something that makes you uneasy, just think "well, it could be a 6 foot damsel...then I'd really be screwed"

 

[Freed]

I'll have to come down sometime and we can go to the John Penekamp State Park in Key Largo. You can dive all you want just off the beach but there isn't anything in the way of coral at that particular spot. There's alot of fish and a deep drop off. There's also some real anchors and cannons just off the beach as well. You down? I'll stay at your place for a couple days and we can go there. Also, you can take dive trips with tour boats from Key Largo out to the reefs 5-10 miles off shore. $30-$50 for 4 hours or so last time I was there.

The hair algae is almost gone too. Let me know.

 

[Samala]

I think it is very normal to have some of this anxiety when you first start out. I distinctly remember freaking out on a snorkel when I was 12 when I sighted tarpon in the Keys and thought they were massive sharks. My uncle yelled at me from the boat many times "sharks aren't shiny Sarah!" before I could calm down.

As everyone else has mentioned, you have to do it more than a few times before you're at ease. Its a good thing to know that its normal though. Some people are also highly anxious when breathing underwater at first when attempting SCUBA as the psychological desire to surface for breath is sometimes overwhelming. It takes a little while for the mind to accept this new dimension, if you will.

I am definitely a paranoid diver in some scenarios but just keep reminding myself that its perfectly normal to be a little on edge as a visitor to an essentially alien world. The more you do it the more comfortable you are.

Now, night diving, you might have to nerve yourself pretty seriously to attempt that if you go so far. My dive buddies had to practically throw me off the boat for my first one. Like you, I do not do well with the idea of what is just beyond the reach of my torch. I still sometimes give in to the temptation to check my rear when night diving. Heck, I know a researcher or two who refuse to be at the tail end of a night dive group because of this. Even in some of the most innocuous habitats I dream up all sorts of things. When that happens, its best I've found to focus on something engrossing.. coral colors, octopi, other nocturnal animals, and try to forget the dark.

>Sarah

 

[Freed]

And yeah, I found it difficult to breath at first under water when I went snorkeling for the first time in Key Largo back in '94.

 

[cwegescheide]

Hey thanks everybody! I appreciate the encouragement.

Luminary: 6' Damsel???? Could you imagine that!!! :lol:

Sara: NO night dives for me!! :eek1:


Jeff - hey I PM'd you. Yeah come on down!! That would be awesome. Its about a 4 - 4.5 hour drive from Tampa to Key Largo. I am considering going down there this weekend actually. I'm determined to do this!! Your welcome anytime. I think I could hook us up with a free Marriott too maybe. I've got tons of points!

Thanks everybody

 

[SpinyLobster]

I'm not scared of anything except an extreme fear of sharks. I'm so scared of sharks that I obsess over them and shark attacks and constantly surf the web to find the latest info on attacks. I'm so obsessed with sharks that I'm sure that's the way I'm going to die, a shark attack. :lol: I just love the water though and can't get enough of the ocean.

What comforts me before I go snorkeling is researching the amount of shark attacks in the area where I'm going. Snorkeling in Hawaii I was nervous because of all the attacks there but once I saw all the great fish and tortoises I was alright. In Thailand I had no fear at all because of their low rate of attacks. I would never snorkel in Florida especially in murky water, bullshark for the win.

Crazy I know but it works well for me.

 

[discusfreak2005]

last week i went snorkeling off key largo for the third time, it was the first for my brothers and parents(im 15), and it was nice, i havent been to other parts of the keys but i do remember being kinda scared the first time i went into the water, i was of course freaked out by barracuda but now actually try to swim up to them to get better shots, theyre pretty chill, i loved messing with my family though who have about no knowledge of the ocean or anything in it so of course when there was a three foot nurse shark i almost made them cry, im sure they still hate me for it but largo is a great place with a bunch of reefs and such

a lot of places off largo are protected but im sure there are companies that run collection trips and such, which i would like to do eventually

make sure its not too windy the day you plan on going, we lost a day of snorkeling becasue of it

for a great sunset, head to islamorada, absolutely beautiful blue waters

 

[cwegescheide]

Ya know... I tell myself when I have an abnormal fear of something I
'm being rediculous. I will NOT though, swim in murky water. Thats just downright stupid. Thats why

i am going to Key Largo (I'm pretty sure I am anyways) this weekend to do it again!!!


BRING IT!!!

 

[goda]

i think you should jsut go take a dive class. you start out in a pool and for somreason being underwater most people seem to be calmer then when swimming on top also . if your scared of anything remembr that your safer on the bottom then at the surface.

 

[skylsdale]

I've ALWAYS loved water. Despite seeing Jaws 3 (in 3D) when I was a kid and having that nagging fear (even in freshwater lakes) of the chance that "there's something out there"...I've still been fascinated with aquatic environments. I've spent my life splashing and swimming around in streams, rivers, lakes, ocean shore, etc.

Two years ago I was finally able to get my open water SCUBA certification. Our final dives were over in Puget Sound. I was completely excited and ready to go. It was a shore dive along a jetti, and after we passed through a brightly lit kelp bed the gradual sandbed suddenly gave way to a small drop off. We descended over it, and at 35 ft. with 8-10 ft. of visibility, not being able to even see the waves above me (just a light green glow), and seeing the gravel bottom now completely covered with sunflower stars and spiny cucumbers and a jetti wall to my right that was festooned with anemones and lingcod and crabs darting into the crags and God only knows what else...and I started feeling anxious. In an instant I went from an idealized idea of what to expect to the realization that I was in an environment that was completely and absolutely foreign to me. I was became totally freaked out about the obscene amount of life that surrounded me in any given direction. That only lasted for a few seconds, and the rest of the dive was phenomenal. And so was the one after that.

Last year I got my advanced certification (night dives, deepwater, drysuit, etc.). I did a few more dives in the Sound, even a boat dive where I descended straight down to 50 ft. in about 10 ft. of visibility. Again, it was an anxious time not being able to see the bottom until it was right there, just staring at my gauges and the green soup around me...but once I was on the bottom, I didn't want to go back up.

IME, the pros easily outway the cons. And if anything, I think a small dose of fear is healthy and helps ensure that you don't do anything too stupid or risky, kind of like Samala said.

 

[cwegescheide]

Yes and I think its the fear that really makes you feel alive!! Nothing better than scaring the hell out of yourself to get the ticker going LOL