Discover Scuba Diving...positive or negative experience?

[rmkrause]

I did DS in a pool at a LDS, it was $25, and while just in a pool - found the concept cool enough to just go for it all and do PADI OWD. I was pretty confident I'd like diving. Did the PADI eLearning shortly after and then did OW while on vacation. Definitely was worth the $25. Diving is awesome.

On the other hand, the wife had a bad experience during the DS - the instructor didn't have a mask that fit her well so she had a lot of difficulty equalizing, and the experience really turned her off the idea of doing scuba. When I did my OWD I think the only reason she was willing to give it another shot was the fact I told her about all the sea turtle and rays and whatnot I was seeing on my check out dives.

We got her own mask and snorkel and my forth check out dive also served as a DSD dive for her - she was scared descending the first time due to the bad previous experience but was fine with the better fitting mask - got to swim along side a sea turtle and in general found the experience awesome.

My first OWD was supposed to be a DSD with the wife, which didn't work out when she got seasick while snorkeling earlier on. So, my first OWD was also a DSD and was shared with another woman doing a DSD - she had a rental mask that presumably didn't fit her that well, was scared to begin with, and she couldn't deal with the mask getting water in it - she'd instantly shoot to the surface. After about 5 minutes she called it quits.

[Lulubelle]

I tried DS on a whim, had some funds to blow from an award trip to Cancun that could not purchase "stuff". I had a terrific instructor, it was a fabulous experience, and I went back and did my OW with him the following year. I always thought that scuba looked like a PITA and couldn't figure out why people did it when they could just snorkel.

Really, it was the instructor who made it fabulous. Fortunate accident, I really love it down under.