What's is scuba diving REALLY like?
- Thread starter jadeyy
- Start date
ROTFLMAO. I am sure that is true!!!
tkeracer619
New member
I'm on my second year as a certified diver. On my 5th open water dive ever I helped rescue a panic stricken diver in 30ft of water. She survived. On my 15th dive ever we "misplaced" a diver for an hour but he was found about a mile north of us...
Both of those situations sorta tossed me in the deep end out of the gate. I am now motivated to pursue my rescue diver certification and have also learned what not to do from others actions first hand.
Whats it like? Well, its probably easier to image like space. You are out of your element so whatever street cred you have at home is useless. You feel extremely vulnerable at first, especially when you come face to face with sealife as big as you are that has teeth the size of your middle finger. You now realize what it must be like for that little copopod trying to survive in your tank.
That soon gives way to relaxation and excitement. For me this happened after that 5th dive. Knowing that all those little things I took seriously in class actually worked I think made my subconscious a little more comfy. This year I was swimming around upside down, sideways, staying level, and able to work on breathing exercises to extend my bottom time. I was able to focus on marine life. Film some cool stuff. I was not always the first up and out of air. It is spectacular and I plan on getting into re-breathing setups after a while. On one of our dives we dropped two divers off and didn't see them for almost 4 hours. They were just sitting on a ledge watching what comes by in the deep blue for the whole time, must be amazing!
I am what they call a Dramamine diver. I have to take 24h Dramamine the night before and 1 hour before I get to the dock. If I don't, I'm chumming that water. If I do, no problems. If you are on a boat AND you get sick let them know but jump back into the water. The sickness will be gone by the time your feet touch the water.
Is it worth it? Heck yea! Every penny. It may change some opinions you have with keeping saltwater tanks.
Plus, how the heck else are you going to experience stuff like this if you're not certified?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDVLPSnjjZI
Some advice I got that I believe has helped me out was initially to invest in a few things...
-Classroom and pool dives on the weekends, not vacation. Open water dives on vacation, you get 4 dives and equipment for cheap compared to normal.
-My own mask and snorkel. Price is irrelevant, how it fits is important.
-My own fins. The more relaxed you are the longer your air will last. Having some high end fins that will help you move through the water easier then heavy duty rentals will go a long way in saving air. If you don't want to run out so quick, buy some nice fins. Side effect is you better really be in good shape or you won't be able to walk the day after a long swim.
-My own booties, my own gloves, and my own dive computer. I picked up a Suunto Zoop used in pool training for under $200. This tool isn't required but most all divers will have one. It makes keeping detailed logs and profiles easy plus its nice to dive with two and hopefully the rental gear will come with its own.
-A safety sausage!
-A cheep shorty wetsuit for fishing (snorkeling) afterwards... My routine in Maui is usually... Dive at 5:30am, snack, remove some tan lines, eat a fish taco for lunch, snorkel till 3, margaritas till sunset under palms.
I am in the water probably 5 hours a day.
Both of those situations sorta tossed me in the deep end out of the gate. I am now motivated to pursue my rescue diver certification and have also learned what not to do from others actions first hand.
Whats it like? Well, its probably easier to image like space. You are out of your element so whatever street cred you have at home is useless. You feel extremely vulnerable at first, especially when you come face to face with sealife as big as you are that has teeth the size of your middle finger. You now realize what it must be like for that little copopod trying to survive in your tank.
That soon gives way to relaxation and excitement. For me this happened after that 5th dive. Knowing that all those little things I took seriously in class actually worked I think made my subconscious a little more comfy. This year I was swimming around upside down, sideways, staying level, and able to work on breathing exercises to extend my bottom time. I was able to focus on marine life. Film some cool stuff. I was not always the first up and out of air. It is spectacular and I plan on getting into re-breathing setups after a while. On one of our dives we dropped two divers off and didn't see them for almost 4 hours. They were just sitting on a ledge watching what comes by in the deep blue for the whole time, must be amazing!
I am what they call a Dramamine diver. I have to take 24h Dramamine the night before and 1 hour before I get to the dock. If I don't, I'm chumming that water. If I do, no problems. If you are on a boat AND you get sick let them know but jump back into the water. The sickness will be gone by the time your feet touch the water.
Is it worth it? Heck yea! Every penny. It may change some opinions you have with keeping saltwater tanks.
Plus, how the heck else are you going to experience stuff like this if you're not certified?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDVLPSnjjZI
Some advice I got that I believe has helped me out was initially to invest in a few things...
-Classroom and pool dives on the weekends, not vacation. Open water dives on vacation, you get 4 dives and equipment for cheap compared to normal.
-My own mask and snorkel. Price is irrelevant, how it fits is important.
-My own fins. The more relaxed you are the longer your air will last. Having some high end fins that will help you move through the water easier then heavy duty rentals will go a long way in saving air. If you don't want to run out so quick, buy some nice fins. Side effect is you better really be in good shape or you won't be able to walk the day after a long swim.
-My own booties, my own gloves, and my own dive computer. I picked up a Suunto Zoop used in pool training for under $200. This tool isn't required but most all divers will have one. It makes keeping detailed logs and profiles easy plus its nice to dive with two and hopefully the rental gear will come with its own.
-A safety sausage!
-A cheep shorty wetsuit for fishing (snorkeling) afterwards... My routine in Maui is usually... Dive at 5:30am, snack, remove some tan lines, eat a fish taco for lunch, snorkel till 3, margaritas till sunset under palms.
I am in the water probably 5 hours a day.
Last edited:
Saltliquid
New member
When scuba diving for the first few dives, you experience extreme claustrophobia and as you go deeper then 30 to 40 feet, usually by 70 feet the way the pressure and the changes upon gases with in you, impacting on you over all and changes your ways of thinking and also the change in how you perceive things is quite daunting initially, then as time goes on you are reminded that this world you are in wants you dead and all around you as you look closely, it is all about kill of be killed.
The extreme beauty that is all around you is so diverse it can become quite breath taking, especially if you keep a reef tank at home, this allows you to recognise what many sports divers have no idea that they just put their fin on it.
Some times you might experience thermo clines, usually at the 60 to 80m feet mark appearing before you as a blurring of the waters, this is because of two completely different waters under the other. If you can balance your BCD you can literally hover then reach through this zone of maybe 25c where you are through to the next at times being down to 13c, now that’s an experience.
Over my 40 plus years of scuba and free diving getting my FAUI ticket in 1970, twice now the ocean by a second or two,very nearly killed me, and quite close, it is to many times to mention.
Sharks are nothing compared to the current, long spined sea urchins and poisonous creatures.
It takes some time to find your way with this sport due to all of us reacting to how the ocean impacts on our minds and bodies so very differently, but when you can remain vigilant while semi relaxing down there and except that it is out to take your life if you are silly enough, then can enjoy being a scuba diver.
The extreme beauty that is all around you is so diverse it can become quite breath taking, especially if you keep a reef tank at home, this allows you to recognise what many sports divers have no idea that they just put their fin on it.
Some times you might experience thermo clines, usually at the 60 to 80m feet mark appearing before you as a blurring of the waters, this is because of two completely different waters under the other. If you can balance your BCD you can literally hover then reach through this zone of maybe 25c where you are through to the next at times being down to 13c, now that’s an experience.
Over my 40 plus years of scuba and free diving getting my FAUI ticket in 1970, twice now the ocean by a second or two,very nearly killed me, and quite close, it is to many times to mention.
Sharks are nothing compared to the current, long spined sea urchins and poisonous creatures.
It takes some time to find your way with this sport due to all of us reacting to how the ocean impacts on our minds and bodies so very differently, but when you can remain vigilant while semi relaxing down there and except that it is out to take your life if you are silly enough, then can enjoy being a scuba diver.
r-balljunkie
Registered Reefer
Last dive, it was trigger mating season. Nothing like an 18" titan swimming towards you. Screw the sharks.
Amen to that. I have one chase me for 100 yards. I tried to beat him (her?) off with my camera equipment to no avail. Never an issue with sharks, I have encountered sharks many times (usually shark tails).
diving is something i have wanted to do from the time i was a child. pretty sure i was switched at birth because not a single person in my immediate family showed any sort of interest in it (or any other hobby i wanted to try, for that matter).
now i'm old with fake body parts so i will live vicariously through you guys!
now i'm old with fake body parts so i will live vicariously through you guys!
Well, on some of my liveaboard trips we had folks in their 70's and 80's who partook in the diving.
i have friends who go to balize a couple of times a year. had many chances to go with them but my then-husband got seasick just looking at their underwater videos so it was something we just never did. i am full of regret.
now that it's just me, 2 danes and 4 pot bellied pigs, it's almost impossible for me to get away from home for more than a day or two. don't even get me started on the hassle it is to go through airport security with tin hips!! hehe
now that it's just me, 2 danes and 4 pot bellied pigs, it's almost impossible for me to get away from home for more than a day or two. don't even get me started on the hassle it is to go through airport security with tin hips!! hehe
r-balljunkie
Registered Reefer
one of my dive buddies has a titanium / carbon fiber leg.
no favoritism....he hauls his own gear and gets up and down the ladder like the rest of us.
c
woodnaquanut
Active member
Did you know that there is a rule on dive boats? 150+ y/o dive for free!
Wonderful thing about diving is once you are in the water you are weightless. As long as you are reasonably fit and don't rust you'll have a great time.
Find a pig/dog sitter and then get wet!!
Reefdiver77
Premium Member
What is scuba like??
What is scuba like??
I decided at the age of 10, shortly after JFK dedicated the dam on Greers Ferry Lake in AR (one of the last ceremonies prior to his asasination), that I wanted to be a diver "when I grew up". I witnessed divers diving shortly after the lake was open. They were bringing up all sorts of neat things. Fast forward 13 years. As a newlywed, I twisted my husbands arm to get certified. We were NASDS certified in 1977 by Doug McNeese (Junior as we called him),who went to high school with us. His family owned the Dive Shop in Memphis. He is currently owner of SSI. We have been diving together 37 years and married 39 years in June. Diving is my passion. I live for my vacations every summer. All of them have to involve diving. I feel very free and weightless and very much at peace. I am so peaceful at my safety stop at 15 ft. looking down to the bottom and up at the sky. When I do mental imagery, in an attempt to relax, this is what I imagine. I actually cry into my mask at the safety stop on my last dive our last vacation of the year, because I know it will be 9 months until we dive again. So yes, it has been worth every minute and every penny!! We have gone from horse collar bc, no auto inflators, no computers, no octopus rigs to what we have now. We are now 60 and are eagerly awaiting our trip to the Florida Panhandle June 28 for 2 weeks followed by another week at the end of August. Jump in, you will not regret it!!
What is scuba like??
I decided at the age of 10, shortly after JFK dedicated the dam on Greers Ferry Lake in AR (one of the last ceremonies prior to his asasination), that I wanted to be a diver "when I grew up". I witnessed divers diving shortly after the lake was open. They were bringing up all sorts of neat things. Fast forward 13 years. As a newlywed, I twisted my husbands arm to get certified. We were NASDS certified in 1977 by Doug McNeese (Junior as we called him),who went to high school with us. His family owned the Dive Shop in Memphis. He is currently owner of SSI. We have been diving together 37 years and married 39 years in June. Diving is my passion. I live for my vacations every summer. All of them have to involve diving. I feel very free and weightless and very much at peace. I am so peaceful at my safety stop at 15 ft. looking down to the bottom and up at the sky. When I do mental imagery, in an attempt to relax, this is what I imagine. I actually cry into my mask at the safety stop on my last dive our last vacation of the year, because I know it will be 9 months until we dive again. So yes, it has been worth every minute and every penny!! We have gone from horse collar bc, no auto inflators, no computers, no octopus rigs to what we have now. We are now 60 and are eagerly awaiting our trip to the Florida Panhandle June 28 for 2 weeks followed by another week at the end of August. Jump in, you will not regret it!!
thenewguy997
New member
Is it bad for your lungs?
r-balljunkie
Registered Reefer
not particularly, even if you dive blended or trimix gasses (helium, nitrogen, oxygen) in more advanced "technical" diving IF you stick to your training.
repetitive deep dives however are not good for your joints, and can lead to early onset of arthritis. How deep?? 250 to 500+ feet dives.
dont worry, 99% of dives are within the recreational limits and you shouldn't see any physiological lasting effects.
jump in and enjoy.
Saltliquid
New member
If you change depths with out normal breathing, then yes!
Some people with a lung wall weakness and it is common, if you change depths quickly and sort of breath slowly and if you maybe change depths quickly by chasing something to catch or to get a pic of it, this forces some air through the membrane of your lungs and up next to the oesophagus it goes and can choke you.
I take this risk all the time as I skip breath a great deal, lucky I know what I am doing even if it is supposedly the wrong thing to do while breathing under water.
One of our local commercial collectors we knew well use to deco on pure oxygen, he was down for ever each day and had hip and shoulder joint replacements by 45, so much necrosis its not funny.
thenewguy997
New member
Crazy lol. I just asked bc i plan to scuba in my lifetime and was watching a reef show and they said something about how if you dont do something right your lung could burst or something liks that
TFP Marine Biologist
.Registered Member
If you do not breath properly you can put yourself at risk of expansion injuries. The gas you breath at depth is compressed, and you are under pressure also. As you rise in the water column the pressure is reduced, and the gas in your lungs expands, so holding your breath, or rapidly rising without exhaling is dangerous.
