Scuba, 13 years later

[katestine]

I have no cope this morning, and my head is itchy and I can't wash it, so you get a post.Jon and I went to a scuba refresher last night, just in case the dive shop on Grand Cayman decides to be anal about things. Last time I'd been scuba diving was almost 3 years ago and those people got all pissy when we were on the boat to the dive site and

Comments

[jadia]

I've always been very aware of the risks of scuba, and I also hated the mask test part. One of the things that really ameliorates the human error risks is being able to drill the emergency stuff till it becomes second nature and you're confident that you won't panic. But being in the frozen north, it's hard to motivate myself to really dive enough to get to that point. Mostly I got certified so I could go dive the Great Barrier Reef, which was 100% worth it. Diving did also get me to see the cutest translucent shrimp, and if I ever go back to the Cayman Islands I definitely want to dive with the sting rays. But yeah, I agree, in general, I probably prefer snorkling. So much less gear to deal with, and 90% of the fun.

[gmpe]

You don't have to dive to play with the sting rays. There is a huge sand bar and they come up to play (and feed on the fish people bring them.) You could snorkel if you wanted, but the water is only waist deep there. But the snorkeling was terrific, so imagine the scuba is as well.

[katestine]

So much less gear to deal with, and 90% of the fun.

This. (like so many hobbies)

[marcusmarcusrc]

I resisted scuba for a number of years, because I figured the brightest colors were at the surface so why put on a lot of extra equipment and risk and cost to go any deeper... but when I finally tried it, I found that I really really enjoyed the ability to just hover in the middle of the water, and the ability to move with just a thought (in contrast to snorkeling, where staying under takes effort and then you run out of air). Though I have to admit to never having scuba'ed somewhere that wasn't a tropical paradise, so I don't know if that feeling of weightlessness would be sufficient to entertain me - I'm guessing that the amazing coral & fish are a necessary part of a complete scuba experience for me.

[katestine]

I've scuba-ed on the Great Barrier Reef, the reef in Belize, Turks & Caicos, and the Virgin Islands :) Still liked seahorses and penguins better. Then again, I like rocks better than most people.

[kaylaraine]

Who are you diving with on GC? Kaite had really good experiences there and continues to dive with the same group she got her certification with there.