[Karen W. (OP)]

Does anyone have experiences to share and if so do you have pictures to share?? Places you have been . Tell me what it was like to do that?

Michael.. You went diving on Vacation eh??? Take any pictures, and was it awesome?

[Alandriel]

10 views and still no posts?

Surely I'm not the only diver here on this board??


BTW Karen, never believe the 'really BIG fish stories' ~ always take away about 33%
refraction - that's why)  []


What's it like?
Oh gosh, how you describe awe and bliss and the feeling of being ever so priviledged and lucky all wrapped in one?
That about sums it up - at least for me  []

Pictures?
Nope - sadly no pictures. I've got some old slides but don't have a scanner and the VHS I put together years ago and recently had done over into a DVD came out so badly I would not even attempt to rip some pics out of that.

Most awesome encounter?
Apart from the hammerheads and the oceanic whites I've mentioned elsewhere... hmmmmm.... tough one really. I've seen so many increadible sights (I've stopped logging my dives once I got over 1000 - mostly in the Red Sea; diving was my life once)

on a pinch - probably the dive we had off Safaga (Southern Red Sea) where we chanced upon a family of dolphins with babies and they did NOT run away (as they usually do when 'hearing' bubbles). They 'swam with us' for about 80 minutes. I was never so angry in my life not to have opted for the heavier 15lt tank.

[DoctorBeaver]

It's not as exciting as swimming with beavers  []

[Alandriel]

It's not as exciting as swimming with beavers  []

Water's too cold  []

 []

[DoctorBeaver]

It's not as exciting as swimming with beavers  []

Water's too cold  []

 []

Well get a water otter to ot the water!  []

[Andrew K Fletcher]

In a harbour in Majorca, I went snorkelling with a friend and swam about 3 kilometres without realising it because it was so fascinating. I turned around and there were hundreds if not thousands of tiny fish nibbling at my toes, guess they were as fascinated as I was. While watching the shoals, I looked down and could see some fairly large fish weighing about 8-12 pounds and looked like silver dollars. But carried on swimming the water was clear and visibility amazing, then I looked down and saw what at first looked like a clump of seaweed but right in the middle of a large silvery sand bar. So decided to dive down and take a closer look. This seaweed had eyes and was very curious following me and making eye contact. I realised this was my first octopus.

I returned to the surface and took another breath diving down again, this time with the intention of touching the octopus, which didn’t seem huge at first. I almost touched it, then to my amazement it suddenly blew itself into a huge shape trying to make itself look threatening to warn me off, it was about 1.3 metres in circumference including legs which were not fully extended either. Then like something out of a scifi movie it turned itself into a torpedo shape and shot off at an amazing rate. This was definitely the highlight of my holiday.

Only ever had one go with tanks and that was in a swimming pool on a free trial for about 15 minutes. I did enjoy it but love the freedom of a snorkel and fins.
 

[ukmicky]

Karen

Scuba diving is one of the best things i ever did and i cant wait till next time. Its also a little bit scary when you stand on the sea bed for the first time 40 feet below the surface in crystal clear WARM water and look up and realize how far  away the surface is and all that is keeping you alive is a piece of plastic in your mouth which your instructor then tells you to remove and throw with the air hose its connected to behind your back.  However once your training is over you very very quickly forget that your breathing through a mouth piece when you see how beautiful everything is down there. You can be swimming along over a reef on your own one minute and the next minute be engulfed by a large shoal of the most beautiful marine fish of all shapes and sizes you could imagine. It is truly awe inspiring,something Ive always wanted to do and i'm so glad that i finally got the guts to do.

[Karen W. (OP)]

10 views and still no posts?

Surely I'm not the only diver here on this board??


BTW Karen, never believe the 'really BIG fish stories' ~ always take away about 33%
refraction - that's why)  []


What's it like?
Oh gosh, how you describe awe and bliss and the feeling of being ever so privileged and lucky all wrapped in one?
That about sums it up - at least for me  []

Pictures?
Nope - sadly no pictures. I've got some old slides but don't have a scanner and the VHS I put together years ago and recently had done over into a DVD came out so badly I would not even attempt to rip some pics out of that.

Most awesome encounter?
Apart from the hammerheads and the oceanic whites I've mentioned elsewhere... hmmmmm.... tough one really. I've seen so many incredible sights (I've stopped logging my dives once I got over 1000 - mostly in the Red Sea; diving was my life once)

on a pinch - probably the dive we had off Safaga (Southern Red Sea) where we chanced upon a family of dolphins with babies and they did NOT run away (as they usually do when 'hearing' bubbles). They 'swam with us' for about 80 minutes. I was never so angry in my life not to have opted for the heavier 15lt tank.

That sounds so cool.I bet it was really really nice. Why did you stop... was it to have your family! Have you ever taught your daughter to dive? If so does she Like it! It seems it would be a great thing to do with your children!

I would so like to be under there and do that.. But I don't know how to swim and have actually been resuscitated on one occasion and pulled out on a couple more..! LOL I still can't help wanting to try it!

[Karen W. (OP)]

It's not as exciting as swimming with beavers  []

YES i am sure your right! LOL!

[Karen W. (OP)]

Karen

Scuba diving is one of the best things i ever did and i cant wait till next time. Its also a little bit scary when you stand on the sea bed for the first time 40 feet below the surface in crystal clear WARM water and look up and realize how far  away the surface is and all that is keeping you alive is a piece of plastic in your mouth which your instructor then tells you to remove and throw with the air hose its connected to behind your back.  However once your training is over you very very quickly forget that your breathing through a mouth piece when you see how beautiful everything is down there. You can be swimming along over a reef on your own one minute and the next minute be engulfed by a large shoal of the most beautiful marine fish of all shapes and sizes you could imagine. It is truly awe inspiring,something Ive always wanted to do and i'm so glad that i finally got the guts to do.

I bet that first few times was scary.. did you get to see any really cool things when you were under? What kind of fish did you see where you went?

[Karen W. (OP)]

In a harbour in Majorca, I went snorkelling with a friend and swam about 3 kilometres without realising it because it was so fascinating. I turned around and there were hundreds if not thousands of tiny fish nibbling at my toes, guess they were as fascinated as I was. While watching the shoals, I looked down and could see some fairly large fish weighing about 8-12 pounds and looked like silver dollars. But carried on swimming the water was clear and visibility amazing, then I looked down and saw what at first looked like a clump of seaweed but right in the middle of a large silvery sand bar. So decided to dive down and take a closer look. This seaweed had eyes and was very curious following me and making eye contact. I realised this was my first octopus.

I returned to the surface and took another breath diving down again, this time with the intention of touching the octopus, which didn’t seem huge at first. I almost touched it, then to my amazement it suddenly blew itself into a huge shape trying to make itself look threatening to warn me off, it was about 1.3 metres in circumference including legs which were not fully extended either. Then like something out of a scifi movie it turned itself into a torpedo shape and shot off at an amazing rate. This was definitely the highlight of my holiday.

Only ever had one go with tanks and that was in a swimming pool on a free trial for about 15 minutes. I did enjoy it but love the freedom of a snorkel and fins.
 

Wow That would have scared me to death.. I see the big octopus in 20,000 leagues under the sea! LOL... A big Giant squid.

I imagine it was the highlight of your trip. sounds wonderful! I bet you would love to go back and do it again..

reading all your accounts makes it sound so cool and way fun! I can't even imagine how wonderful it must be...

[Andrew K Fletcher]

Yes, I will be going back to snorkel again, it was pretty amazing for me, but I can only imagine how much more thrilling it would be to have tanks and go exploring some of the wonders of the oceans bounty. Don't know how I would react if I saw a shark hurtling towards me.

Which just reminded me of when I was swimming and snorkelling in Lanzarote from a beach that resembles the Sahara desert, except for the colour of the sand which was dark and volcanic in origin. Anyway, again lots of smaller fish and a few bigger ones but pretty boring compared to Majorca, so as I was coming out, I turned to face out to sea again watching the waves rolling in to break thinking about trying a surf board, when I saw what appeared as a large black ominous looking figure flashing across a wave in front of me from right to left, appearing to ride the wave but never showing itself clearly.

Guess I will never know what it was, suspecting either a shark or a seal judging by its size, though probably just a large clump of seaweed or a bin liner, though there was no flotsam or jetsam on the beach.

[Karen W. (OP)]

Yeah that could be a little worrisome! LOL I would have gotten scared at that point! LOL.. It sounds like a great past time.

[Alandriel]

That sounds so cool.I bet it was really really nice. Why did you stop... was it to have your family! Have you ever taught your daughter to dive? If so does she Like it! It seems it would be a great thing to do with your children!

I would so like to be under there and do that.. But I don't know how to swim and have actually been resuscitated on one occasion and pulled out on a couple more..! LOL I still can't help wanting to try it!

I stopped because after 2000+ dives you've seen it all, done it all and are thoroughly sick of fish stories []
Well, not quite - but yes, I think one does get tired of it though I don't think I'll never stop entirely. Give me a nice warm ocean anywhere and a dive shop and for sure I won't be able to just pass by.
I'd love to teach my daughter - but she'll do much better getting taught by someone else. Too much mother/daughter stuff there going on I'm afraid. Plus - she's a bit of a chicken but I'm sure one day she'll take the plunge, even just to make sure that all the stories I've told her are actually true  []

You should go for it, there's no excuse NOT to dive unless you have a no-no from your doc. I've had groups of terminal cancer patients dive, blind people, deaf people, people with disabilities, people with no arms and legs.... I'm not kidding. It's a wonderful thing and if you get to a specialized organization you can make it come true. It is truly fabulous - you don't need to go for a dive course, just a dive experience under qualified supervision. YOU WILL LOVE IT  []



To Michael:



Where did you start learning and what qualification do you hold, looged dives?

[Alandriel]

Sorry - forgot to reply to Andrew: snorkling is great fun and I'm glad you're enjoying it. Many times there are things you can only really see on snorkel - as the wildlife runs/swims away from the noise of bubbles. Plus you never run out of air!  []
The thrill with diving is to go where ....  []the fish hang out and you can go hang out with them, or stick your nose in a cave or wreck.


edit to add: I didn't know about your health problems Karen, sorry. Only just read up on it. Diving - scuba diving, with a tank - would not be a good idea for you in your current situation. However, you could try snorkling - but only if water does not stress / panic you. It can actually be very relaxing to float in the water totally weight free just breathing easy from a snorkel ~ seeing pretty fish is always a bonus, but the feeling by itself once you relax into it is pretty awesome.

[ukmicky]

Not a very good pic because the camera wasnt very good, taken at a depth of only about 4 to 5 meters. Only contains two species of fish as i was away from the reefs where most of the fish like to swim.

[Karen W. (OP)]

WOW!!!!! Michael thats a heck of a picture and just think you took it! YAYYYYYYYYYY! So cool! YES I really do want to go under.. do you have to know how to swim if you have a tank? or does kicking and moving your arms suffice! LOL!

[Karen W. (OP)]

 Does breathing make it easier to swim? LOL I want to do that!

[ukmicky]

Weights, your Buoyancy control device and how deep you breath controls your depth and all you do is kick with your flippers to move about. Its really easy.

And no you don't have to be able to swim first and i meet someone who couldn't swim before they learnt how to SCUBA. However being able to swim increases you confidence in the water and so speeds up your learning. Most people can do it, even disabled people who cant use their legs do it as they have special hand flippers to aid there movement.

You do have to be careful though if you have certain medical conditions like asthma which i have but even people with asthma can do it these days provided you haven't had a recent attack.

 

[ukmicky]

Does breathing make it easier to swim? LOL I want to do that!

I guess breathing helps people to do most things  []