yes i'm scared of night diving!

[maggs_the]

Texas Flower Gardens.. August 2005.. 65ft.. 26 minutes.. three of us buddy'd up cause a friend's son didnt want to do the night dive. had no problems going down. got the hang of the flashlights and even saw a few things like a small 3 foot blacktip reef shark and a wall of baracuda on the safety stop.

fantastic!! but i guess it made me not quite so cautious. everything went so well... so on the second night dive, we had our 3rd buddy and did it again. only this time, when we hit bottom, i got disoriented and somehow seperated from my two dive buddies. there were dive buddies all around but i had no idea which ones were MINE! i knew that meant i was going to have to call the dive and i was panic'd with embarrassment and ready to cry into my mask when my sweetie found me. i have a different tank light so he could spot me. i wouldnt let go of him the rest of the dive and was NOT anxious to do another night dive..

Cozumel .. April 2006.. had met a great group of divers and they were doing the night dive and begging us to join. The dive site was one we'd done several times before... very slooooow current so, okay. even decided to take my camera (note to self, dont do that.. digital doesnt do well when it cannot focus before shooting) but within 2 minutes underwater, my primary light went out and since we hadnt PLANNED to do the night dive, i didnt have my secondary. still had my tank light so i held my buddie's arm as the incredibly swift current flushed us down a toilet in the dark.


Roatan.. May 2007.. absolutely unbelievable beauty during the day. no current. no problems?? my primary worked. my secondary worked. i only had one buddy to keep up with... but.. our group found an eel stalking it's supper so we had some AMAZINGLY inconsiderate divers who would bump into you to get better viewing positions and almost forced me and my buddy apart. fins came close to removing my mask and regulator and poor little Dorie the blue tang got eaten by an eel.

no... i think i'm done. someone like me should not be doing night dives.

[RoadRacer1978]

Sorry to hear the bad stories. Sounds like you had more than your fair share of bad night diving experiences. Just remeber they can be good and rewarding experiences though. Your very first night dive was and others can be just as great. Hopefully you won't totally give up night diving just yet, just pick your spot or the people you go with very cautiously. And think about taking a night diver specialty course if you haven't. You might pick up a few tips that would make you less aprehensive about night diving and help make the experience more enjoyable and rewarding.

[maggs_the]

actually, i did take the night and limited viz course and did my checkout dive at a lake where the viz was only 10 ft anyway and after dark.. boohaahaha.. shiver me timbers!!

but they said the same thing there... give it a chance in crystal clear waters.

and i know people out there LOVE the night dives... i'm not giving up but i'm not hankering for the next one either hehe..

[RoadRacer1978]

To each their own. If you don't care for it, then don't do it. Each person has their own feeling towards different aspects of diving. Glad you are not totally giving it up, but if it is not your cup of tea I don't blame you for not really wanting to try it again.

[Puffer Fish]

Originally Posted by maggs_the

actually, i did take the night and limited viz course and did my checkout dive at a lake where the viz was only 10 ft anyway and after dark.. boohaahaha.. shiver me timbers!!

but they said the same thing there... give it a chance in crystal clear waters.

and i know people out there LOVE the night dives... i'm not giving up but i'm not hankering for the next one either hehe..

Ok, so making a nite dive without a secondary is not the night's fault... I carry three lights and a strobe.

Getting seperated at night would have been a lot less of an issues, except there were other in the water.. which made it safer, but made the event possible to happen.

Diving with jerks is a totally different issue, and that happens during the day. I don't have that happen anymore, but I understand how hard that is to deal with at night. I will go cut the air hose on the next jerk I see diving, if that would make up for it.

You need to do one with limited people, clear water and no major current... waves... difficult issues. During classes, I aways had an assistant Inst jump in first to check the current, and if it was strong.. we called the dive.

So you had some really crappy dives, sound like they would not have been fun during the day...I would recommend you reconsider, but only if the people and conditions are nice.

[Capt Hook]

Don't sweat it, if you don't like night dives, so what.
I'm not a real fan of night dives myself.

[dludwig]

I had a bad experience on my first night dive but I plan to try it again, eventually

[Puffer Fish]

Originally Posted by dludwig

I had a bad experience on my first night dive but I plan to try it again, eventually

Night dives should be called a lot more than day ones, but for some reason, once people deside to do one, they want to go thru with it.

[gibson1525]

if you do try another night dive, try putting a tank light on your buddy. that way if you get separated he won't get lost in the crowd of other divers and you'll always be able to tell him apart.

[scubamike]

Night is the most relaxing type of diving. The reason why I like it so much is because you are only focused on where you point your torch or light. True I would be scared if my light died...but that's why you bring a backup.

Getting separated?? just surfaced after 3 minutes if you dont see anybody else.