remphish1 Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 I am going to The Great Barrier Reef soon. I am an ok swimmer and am generally freaked out by large fish but figure I shouldn't pass on this opportunity. I would snorkel normally but figured I would like to hear any personal scuba expierences you had. Is it difficult? Anything you can share.... Hopefully I can take the plunge and not let my nerves get the best of me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 If you have sinus problems you won't be able to stand the pressure past like 10 feet or so. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gogo Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 If you have a decent instructor, you'll have no trouble. As Chris mentioned, sinus problems would definitely be an issue. But if you're otherwise healthy and comfortable in the water, it's really not that difficult. Without some pre-training, you're not supposed to do real open-water diving, but you'll see plenty even if you only go down 10-20 feet. If you get to do any deeper though, it'll be one of the most amazing things you'll ever do (well, it was for me, anyway ). Definitely try to get a handle on the nerves. It's totally counter-intuitive, your body won't want to believe it, but you can really be just as comfortable breathing through the gear as you are out of the water. One of the first times I was out, there was a girl in the group who was having a hard time treading water with the gear on (totally psychological, you've got an inflated vest, so it should be no problem), and was getting really out of breath. So the instructor said "let's rest on the bottom". We all went down, sat on the sand 20 feet under, and caught our breath. It was an incredible feeling, and I was never nervous at all after that. Make sure you're OK with the mask (good fit, no leaks, because the salt water will not feel good in your eyes) and with regulating the pressure in your ears before you go to any depth, and after that it's truly a walk in the park... just underwater. Oh, and I don't know about large fish at the Great Barrier Reef. Where I've been diving (the Marianas islands), it's all small reef fish, which were maybe the most beautiful things I've ever seen. The only real difficulty I had: walking around with the gear on! I'm clumsy out of the water, and most of the dives I did started by walking down from the beach, or carrying the gear down to the bottom of a grotto before jumping in. I've been told diving from a boat would be much easier, so if that's what you're planning: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted March 12, 2008 Author Share Posted March 12, 2008 Ahh...interesting points to consider...thanks for the replies...keep them coming! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Smith Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 I'm certified as a sport diver and as a rescue diver and love it. Like they said sinus issues can be a problem. You must must must absolutely be able to clear your ears when you go down. Swimming is not really a major issue either, Most classes have you show that you can swim 200 - 300 yards and tread water for 15 minutes or so. I'm not such a great swimmer, but diving is no problem for me at all. Once below the surface there is no swimming involved. Breathing is 100% through your mouth, you use no arms only legs, the fins really help out. Most of the training for scuba is safety training. There is a little bit on how to use the equipment and a whole lot on how to save yourself if you get in trouble. Give yourself plenty of time to get the class in and your open water testing. If you reach the point where you are unable to get your open water testing in before your trip, you can always contact a vendor in Australia and get your open water testing over there. How cool would that be? My open water was in a borrow pit in Illinois. Borrow pits are those little lakes along the highway where they borrow dirt to build up overpasses, the Great Barrier Reef old be much cooler. Don't sweat the big fish, they are just as leery of you as you are of them. The greater danger when you dive is fellow divers who are dumb asses who endanger you with their recklessness. Case in point I'm fairly large (6'5" 240lbs) and on one dive was stalking a Jew fish almost as big as me. I was in a great spot to observe it for a while when a diver, not watching where he was going, completely pancaked me on the floor of the ocean. This guy should have seen me, but didn't because he was a DA. I lived and avoided him the rest of the trip, which sucks because I am trying to observe what is in the ocean and I have to keep an eye open for this goofball. Regardless you will have a blast with it if you get certified. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gogo Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Give yourself plenty of time to get the class in and your open water testing. If you reach the point where you are unable to get your open water testing in before your trip, you can always contact a vendor in Australia and get your open water testing over there.I totally agree. I did my open-water in Saipan, which was great, but I only realized later how lucky I was to get a really good, serious instructor. There are lots of instructors there, and it's probably the same in the more touristy diving areas in Australia, who will shortcut the training and take you on dives that you're not ready for, or take too many beginners in a group without enough qualified divers to keep an eye out for them. Definitely be careful and be smart about it, because it's so much more fun when you know what you doing, and you know that you'd know what to do if anything did go wrong. As I said before, it's just not intuitive. Being properly trained gives you the freedom to relax and really enjoy it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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