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Creep Factor

A

Arkie John

Active member
Creep Factor


In 1982, it seems I swallowed half of Lake Ouachita trying to get certified, but I had fun. It was a six week course and eventually I got certified. Having lots of confidence I set out to dive as much as I could. Even though I was not a card-carrying sho-nuff certified diver, ever-so-brash with
 
Why don't ya try countin' sheep ?,,,,,,,,"I would.....but I'm afraid of them". :lol: Well guess what Arkie ? Me too !! If these guys here really knew what a wuss I truly am, I'd be voted off the forum. So I'll just stick to trying to make myself look good amongst my peers. I don't remember the last time I swam in a lake. I prefer to see what's attacking my toes. :lol: (Dirty water doesn't help the situation) Heck......that's gotta be a bit creepy down there. Fun tale ! :thumbup:
 
...laughing her azz off, she said, "Hey bubba, you GOTTA put that on the forum." So, I did.

Glad you liked it and thanks for postin'!

aj
 
You will understand this even better when you read the pm I have sent you. I was working the key hole at Hanama bay on Oahu, Hi. Its only 10 feet maybe and I'm on my knees detector in one hand fanning sand with the other when a 3 ft long Moray eel (sp) swam under my belly,(and other things) , between my hands and gave me that grin. That special grin that says next time I may stay for a snack next time. I also screamed and I believe people on shore must of heard me. I still have that creep factor and I haven't been in the ocean since 1989. Best to all, Mike
 
Down by my parents boat yard one summer when I first got into scuba, salt water, I had just gone down to clean out the intake for the lobster tanks. They would get loaded up with seaweeds etc. Only about 60 feet of water there but it was cooler water, and early spring, so the deeper the better as the fresh water is closer to the surface and you can loose lobsters that way.

I decided to roam a little as it didn't take long and had a full tank of air. I was headed away from our docks and up river a little. Now this is a big river,and to give you an idea how big it is and deep they run the nuke subs up it to the Groton Sub base. Anyhow, I'm not up in about 20 feet of water and rooting around in seaweed and kelp like stuff in quiet spot when all of a sudden right in front of me and all around is carcass of beef. My instincts were to get away from it, that creep factor you mention, only to run into more of them. Well I stopped dead, tried to figure it out and then realized that the Beet Brothers Super Market must of tossed a bunch of bad meat or had cleaned them off as much as they wanted and tossed them over board to be taken away by the out going tide. I never forgot that creep factor and can still see it. Not sure what I was expecting to be attached to it all, but it was something I never wanted to find in the water.
Anything dismembered, gets my attention in water or land.....

Funny or not what your mind does to you in unfamiliar circumstances.

George-CT
 
what kind of fish bit you? Do you have Squaw fish down there, or Sucker fish? Just your luck to find a Gar huh?:lol:
I know about the "creep factor" too and admit it. Worse for you with the nasty critters you folks have in fresh water:yikes:
 
Alls I know it's like Mike Tyson said after Buster Douglas fight in 1990. With his uncommonly high-pitched voice he said, "He hit me haaard. He hit me really haaard." :punch: :rofl: I can tell you it was NOT a 'peck' from a little bream or perch. Probably a silly bass.

aj
 
The cops called me up and asked. I said okay [in my youth it seemed like an 'adventurous' thing to do [help cops and the relatives, do my civic duty, etc.]

Anyway, not something I would EVER want to do again.

Fair winds

Mikie
 
And that was a lot creepy.!!!A moving mountain just coming towards you !!!:):

fair winds

Mikie
 
there is still a creep factor on occasion. I have written about some of them in the past. The time I was in Cass Lake alone and something grabbed my leg several times and pulled on it. The time of my first wreck dive on Lake Huron. Most any dive in a lake with poor visibility. Being on bottom with poor vis is not a bother but the drift from the surface to the bottom, especially if it is deep, can bring out a tenseness in my. Once my eyes are focused on an object, be it bottom or a weed bed, I feel the tenseness just fall away.

There is little in fresh water that can hurt you other than yourself. Panic kills and that time I thought I had lost my line while diving under the ice alone was the only time I ever felt panic at all and I just filled my suit with enough air to hold me against the ice and forced myself to relax. Then I turned my brain back on and solved the problem.

I had a buddy panic with the hookah and if I had not been there he could have drown. He was a big sucker and in full blown panic when his mask flooded. I grabbed him and held him up. The fact that he could have just stood up didn't enter his head and he could have drown. Panic is bad for a diver.

I have been in heavy current in the St Clare river and had 1000ft freighters go right over me and that was pucker time but I just grabbed hold of something and enjoyed the view. It was pucker time but with me, when it really gives me the puckers is when I can not see my surroundings. When you can see you can deal with it but when you can not your imagination runs wild.

That shark dive on St Maartin is an example. I was the first one down in 50 ft of water and there were sharks all over the place, maybe 20 maybe 50, I don't know but I was not frightened at all but I could SEE!! That made all the difference. I made a dive out of Panama City Fla once, one of my first ocean dives. The vis was about 2 ft max. We got to the wreck and there were fishermen on it. We asked how long they were staying and they said that they were leaving because sharks were biting their catch in half before they could get them in the boat. Oh Great. That was a sucky dive for me. New to the ocean and poor vis and sharks. We were there to spearfish too. I was glad when that dive was over!

Yes it can be scary at times but there is very little danger down there, even in the ocean if you are trained, practiced and don't panic
 
your imagination. People talk about big snappers and gars. I have never heard of either bothering a human unless the human was being stupid.

I don't know what grabbed my fin and jerked me on Cass Lake. There is nothing in there to hurt me but it spooked me after a couple times and I got in my boat and finished my dive across the lake
 
..."creep factor" in each dive initially. I just say to myself, "here we go again" and take the plunge. Like you, once I see the bottom, I 'm good. But following an anchor line down into the unknown is not cool for me. The anchor line is better than nothing at all though.

Thanks for posting.

I don't do CURRENT or ICE neither!!! :lol:

aj
 
sometimes with a free decent that it gets a bit spooky, especially if it is in a strange spot and I am alone. I remember once in Lake Huron on a wreck and my buddy and I were in poor vis and it was a hundred ft to bottom. No anchor line, just dump the BC and start dropping. It got darker and darker and I could not see crap, just kept dropping. Finally I stopped and found I was right in the center of the boiler room and it was spooky as heck.
 
those sea lions gotta be big under the water. Scary stuff
 
I hate free decents...even 25 foot ones. Not my cup of tea, especially with the added variable of current. I suppose that THAT all comes with more experience. I have logged less than 150 dives and am not "open water" certified. I guess with a little more training
and experience I might come to accept it better. But for the kind of diving I do...I won't be getting an open water certification.


So for now, I'll just stay topside and be your tender on black water, free decent dives. :lol:

aj
 
n/t
 
...depth gauge and compass. Maybe this will make me realize that even though I can't see much of ANYTHING in dark water, that my new toy will give me the information and I can settle a little sooner.

Plus, I am comtemplating purchasing a full-face mask sos I won't be havin' cotton mouth after hours of suckin' air through my mouth.

The more you acquaint yourself to diving the better you will become...especially once you are certified. You will practice your survival skills and how to deal with such things as a flooded mask or a malfunctioning regulator etc etc etc and you gain confidence.

But methinks there will always be a wary little 'creep factor' whenever taking the initial plunge below the surface.

Thanks for posting.

aj
 
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