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#28
My First Dive: Ungraceful to Graceful
Preston65 - 7/31/2022 11:10 PM
Category: Buddy Wanted
Replies: 4

There is not really a question in here - but I would appreciate any feedback!

I have always wanted to scuba. I got a window of opportunity to get certified a few weeks ago and did it.

After that, I took my first real open-water dive in Tampa last week. Here’s how it went:

1. Getting your gear assembled is much more difficult on a crowded / rocking boat.

2. We did about a 25-yard surface swim from boat to buoy - then to descent line.

The surface swim was not fun - but the descent was awesome!

3. My fault. We dove on a tug boat site. When I reached the bottom, I sat on the boat. Dive Guide was pissed I was disrupting the marine life. I forgot! Lesson learned.

4. My fault. After this I did a max-inflate on my BCD. Ascended too quickly. Tried to deflate my BCD but forgot to hold the BCD above my head. Again - I forgot & lesson learned!

5. After that - no problems & everything was awesome. The ascent was really cool too.

I’ve definitely got the itch to keep diving. I learned a lot more in those first 10 minutes of screwing up than I did in any of my dive training manual stuff.
#21058
LatitudeAdjustment - 8/01/2022 8:57 AM
1, Glad to hear you did it yourself and didn’t call in the DM

2, Surface swims on beach entries will be worse

3, Don’t sit on the bottom, I’ve seen sand patches that look like a dessert come alive certain times of the day

4, That’s not something you want to do again!

So was this actually one of your open water check out dives?
#12605
Eric_R - 8/01/2022 7:29 PM
From Preston65:After that, I took my first real open-water dive in Tampa last week

From LatitudeAdjustment: So was this actually one of your open water check out dives?

My take is first open dive after cert.
#7405
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GreggS - 8/02/2022 8:24 AM
From Eric_R: My take is first open dive after cert.

Yep, that’s my impression, too.

@Preston65, the first dive after certification is always a learning experience for most new divers. Mine didn’t go so well, either. I was using rental equipment and had a couple of mishaps with that. Thankfully, everything turned out okay.

But just keep diving. You’ve already learned a few "not to’s" and before long, you’ll get even more comfortable in the water and it will become like second nature to you. And trust me, even though you may feel comfortable in the water now, you’ll eventually realize how much of a difference more experience makes.
#243
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CarlaSea58 - 9/17/2022 8:53 AM
I’ve been diving for 20 years, close to 300 dives and believe I am still learning. Welcome to the underwater world.

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