Imported post
Oh dear, where to start?
Ok, first open water non-dive. Jumped in the lusciously warm water of the Florida Keys, wind had picked up a bit, waves tumbling over my head. Took reg out of mouth to tell instructor that there was NO WAY I was staying here, and swallowed a bucket off water. Scrambled back to the boat, coughing and spluttering.
Second open water not-quite dive... Jumped in again, this time with benefit of a buoy line. Much happier about this. I pull myself down the line slowly, finally got to the bottom. Right. We're here. Cool. Now what. Been here, done that, time to go back up. (I had been at the bottom approx 1m). This u-turn approach gave my instructor the impression that I was bolting, so she started to pull me down. This in itself, made me extremely unhappy, and now I really WAS bolting!
Back on the boat, now well frustrated, not for me, this diving lark. Instructor perseveres. Come on, Yvonne, you're nearly there. Hm.
Third attempt - Back down on the line. Hanging on the bottom of the line looking around. Instructor signals "look! Fish!". Oh yes. And very pretty ones too. A bit far away though. Might actually have to let go of this line to get a little closer to the reef.... Houston, we have a dive! And I haven't looked back since.
So if you're just starting to dive, and your first couple of attempts left you thinking you'd NEVER get the hang of this... take heart and persevere. It's sooooo worth it.
And in an unrelated topic, can someone tell me where I can get one of those little square pictures on the side?