What to expect being a new diver?
I wish that someone would have written something like this years back when I first took my open water certification. FEAR & ANXIETY was the underlying emotions for the whole course.
Fear of being lost; can’t breathe properly; cannot handled the equipment or simply this is not the sport for me and what have I got myself into?
Anxiety built up as the course progress… what if I run out of air, what if my buddy is a freak & what if I can’t do all the underwater skill that is required of me?
FEAR Not & Replace the ANXIETY with excitement!
Since I have done my open water, I have progressed to take more diving courses from advanced to now an instructor. Diving has opened up a whole new world to me (and to many divers out there as well). An amazing & magical underwater kingdom that words simply ain’t enough to project. Each experience is always so differently good & engaging, even if you are visiting the same dive site. Another way to put it “ Each dive is always an unique experience by itself”.
So after you got certified as an open water diver, equipped with 5-6 dives in your log book, the journey into the amazing underwater has just begun. You are filled with enthusiasm to plan for your next dive trip and go on your next dive without the watchful eyes of your instructor. But before you do that, there is a few things I would like to share 3 simple tips so that you could embark on this sport safely & enjoyably.
- Own your own GEAR
If you have not already own your soft gear – mask,snorkel, fins, go get them. It is important to be comfortable and relaxing underwater to enjoy diving. Safely ensue when we have less thing to bother us during our dives. No mask too tight, mouth piece too small, regulator too heavy or wetsuits too tight or loose etc. So ultimately, you want to be owning your own wardrobe of the full TOTAL DIVING SYSTEM. With that, you will increase your comfort underwater by folds!
2. Practise
Don’t wait till your next dive to practise your skills. Finning is the most fundamental and yet most overlook skill. Many people think that they could naturally fin but the truth remains that millions, if not more, corals & marine environments are destroyed by poor finning techniques or method. Unfortunately, new divers are the “first hand” culprits. So grab your gear & head to the pool to practise your finning. Swim laps with your mask snorkel fins!or do a refresher session before your diving trip to freshen up your muscle memory.
3. Do your Advanced level & continue diving
After open water certification is your advanced level course (known as Advanced Adventurers in SSI). You will get to learn and expose to more variety of diving (Night or Limited visibility/Deep/Navigation etc) to increase your confidence & competence. Do more leisure dive trips to continue enjoying the magic of diving; make lots more like-minded friends & get a lot of chance to practice while having fun!
That’s all for now new divers!
…Care to Dive & Dive to Care…
With lots of love, LP#76910