Scots Taffer on 28/7/2008 at 02:06

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Anyone here got a PADI certification (or equivalent)? If you don't know what I'm talking about it's professional certification for scuba-diving.

I dove off the Great Barrier Reef on Friday past and had a great time. It was a nerve-wracking experience for someone who has a chronic fear of the deep, but that's partly why I did it. I'm pretty taken with the concept now and am very keen to get certified so I can do it in any spot where it looks worth doing, so any stories about certification, diving etc are welcome.

We were on holiday at the Whitsunday islands in North Queensland and only a short catamaran trip away from Reefworld, a floating building at the barrier reef that allows for underwater viewing, patrolled snorkelling, taught scuba-diving and docking for semi-submersible vehicles that take you on a fish-eye view of the reef itself.

On that note, when we got taken out by the submersible we got the usual spiel of the "reef's being highly protected as it only grows at a rate of 2cm per year" while we're being told this the guy piloting the boat accidentally rotors off a century or so of coral growth. GG.

The rest I'll leave for my (http://www.howdoiblog.com/thalassophobic-no-more/) blog post.

demagogue on 28/7/2008 at 03:20

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I also have a NAUI license, from 1997.
I've dived in the Red Sea and off Israel, Sea of Japan, off of Rio, and off the Southern Thai islands which is just heaven.

My natural reaction is such the opposite of your story, Scots... I love being underwater. When I was young I used to just hover underwater for hours (not all at once). And when I started diving, I love the feeling of being entirely immersed and in this other-worldly universe with all this colorful life around, brushing past schools of fish and the most interesting coral. I get so calm; I love it.
There's also archaeological diving where you go down to look at underwater towns or ships, which is also fascinating.

I know one horror story (re: my brother's high school friend), but judging by your blog entry I don't think you want to hear it! Let's just say the manufacturers settled for $3 million and went out of business, and the guy owns his own shop now.

theBlackman on 28/7/2008 at 04:11

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Scots. I love diving and "Free diving" is my preferred method. I'll just offer two little pieces of advice, three actually.

1. Tank, or free diving, take about 20 minutes just bobbing around and maybe dropping 3 to 5 feet underwater before you start your real dive. This allows you to get the mental framework and allows your body to adjust to the physiological differences. The result is a more enjoyable dive, longer bottom time (you won't suck through your tank like you were in a race), and more comfort.

2. Use your hands to move you from place to place while at the bottom. Reach out and get a rock, pull and COAST to your next vantage point. Using your fins to speed you from place to place is extra work, which means using more air, and your hand to hand movement gives you more control.

3. DRINK LOTS OF WATER. A wet suit is very dehydrating. So have a good couple of glasses before you dive, and be sure to guzzle a lot when you are back on the boat or shore.

You can help with a simple exercise at home. If you shower, practice putting your face in the stream and breathing through your mouth. This accustoms you to being underwater and comfortable when breathing. The natural reaction of a human is "FACE IS UNDERWATER" DON'T BREATH. The more used to the water on the face you are the more relaxed you will be when diving.

Go for it and have fun. But, be extremely careful near, in, or on wrecks if you get to that. Cave and wreck diving will eat a careless diver.

crunchy on 28/7/2008 at 05:52

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I've had my PADI license since July 1990. Lots of stories over the year but 2 memorable ones:

For our first dive in the open ocean during the course, our instructor loaded us up on a rubber ducky and took us out. After dropping anchor, he gave us a pep talk about what we would be doing but the most important info was once we hit the water was to head to the anchor where we would meet and make sure everyone was there before heading off. Problem was since we were in a rubber ducky, 3 people on one side and 4 people on the other, we simply did a back flip into the water. All seven of us went in different directions, the clarity of the water was less than a few feet and doing the backflip into the water was very disonrientating. After getting myself sorted (working out which way was up) I looked around and couldn't see anyone. Mild panic quickly set in. I immediately started whipping my head about trying to see anyone and started to chew through my oxygen. After calming myself, I started to think things through. I then remembered the instructions for meeting at the anchor. Quickly I found the rope and followed it to the sea floor only to find one other person there. Then a shadow emerged from the gloom, it was the instructor leading one of my fellow idiots. Then he swam off again. One by one he led them all to the anchor. One important thing to remember when diving is those immortal words by the late Mr Adams - DON'T PANIC!

Another time I was diving on the Great Barrier Reef with my sister. We were nearing the end of our dive and slowly making our way back to the boat. We just entered a canyon in between 2 coral bommies and at the other end we could see the boat (or at least the emergency tank dangling at the end of a rope) and another couple of divers just starting their ascent. Suddenly they stopped and drifted back to the sea floor as a fucking huge shark swam past. Thankfully it kept on swimming and didn't turn into the same canyon as my sister and me. We got to the end of the canyon, looked around to see if it was still in the area then headed up.

Unfortunately I am currently located in landlocked Canberra and have not been diving in a long time.