Attention Scuba divers!

Would you like to experience a bit of this:



Ok, it's not Lake Zurich, but it's only 3 hours away. If you dive with us we can go there for a short trip. Here's one from Lake Zurich:



Zurich Divers offers divers and would-be divers the chance to practice their hobby right on their own doorstep. Language is no longer a barrier for you. Switzerland has one of the best organised local diving infrastructures of any of the countries I've lived in. We can even get 24-hour fills of air and enriched air nitrox right next to the lake!

Anyway, you can view a schedule of upcoming courses and events here.

To summarise:
May 21-22 (weekend) - Open Water Diver - confirmed - 2 places still available

May 26-29 (long weekend) - Rescue Diver / Apprentice Tec Deep Diver / Event (depending on registrations)

June 4-5 (weekend) - Advanced Open Water Diver - confirmed

June 8 (Wed evening) - Meet and greet event (drinks)

June 11-12 (weekend) - Specialty courses according to demand

June 15 (Wed evening) - Pool training / scuba review / discover scuba

June 18-19 - (weekend) Open Water Diver

June 29 (Wed evening) - Pool training / scuba review / discover scuba

June 30 -July 7 - Possible date for Red Sea trip

July 6 (Wed evening) - Meet and greet event (drinks)

July 7 - July 14 - Alternate date for Red Sea trip

July 13 (Wed evening) - Pool training / scuba review / discover scuba

July 27 (Wed evening) - Pool training / scuba review / discover scuba

Aug 3 (Wed evening) - Meet and greet event (drinks)

Mark

Sounds very exciting, any cure for chlosterphobic (not sure about the spelling LOL) ??? I almost went scuba diving at catalina island in california, but chickened out last minute....

Hi Nathalie,

Tell me honestly - what was it that made you chicken out? Did you think a shark would bite you, or that you'd drown? Weren't comfortable with your instructor. Had you ever been in a swimming pool with SCUBA gear before, or were you heading straight for the open water?

When you do the open water course you start first with some theory so you are comfortable with all the procedures. Then we put the gear together, then we do certain exercises in the pool. Once you are comfortable in the pool we move into the open water.

There's no magic cure for these fears - everyone has them to a certain degree. However I tend to recommend masks with low volume and a wide field of vision - much more comfortable. This may help to minimise it. But at the end of the day getting over these fears is often about tackling them head on. Before you know it you've beaten them. Remember also that during the course you'll be watched like a hawk if you don't look sure of yourself, nothing will happen to you.

If you think diving is scary, you should try sky diving. I did it a couple of months ago - the AFF (accelerated free fall) course. Now dangling from the wing strut of a small aircraft at 11,000 feet and having to let go by yourself is quite something I can tell you. It took me about 10 jumps to fully get over that fear! There's some videos of me doing the jumps here if you want to see them

Mark

I can't view the videos, it says connecting, but nothing happens and i really WANT to see those videos. OMG you actually had the courage to jump from a plane??? I think i would faint while jumping out and no parachute would open up ...

The reason i chickened out scuba diving, yes you are right, mainly because of
total fear of sharks. At catalina islands are normally sharks. The thought
of a shark approaching from behind would still hunt me in my dreams. Also i am
afraid of the dark, just the not knowing, what is below me......kwim.

I always wanted to go scuba diving as i imagine the "peace" and silence under water, must be out of this world.... I would love to experience that

Hi Nathalie,

I just had to respond to your post! I am a diver. I do enjoy it but like you, I suffer from the same fears! A few years ago I couldn't even stand by the side of the lake because its dark!

Anyway, a little over a year ago someone suggest I should try diving so that I could see whats under there and maybe I wouldn't be so afraid. So, I figured I would try it once and if its a disaster well, at least I tried. The dive was a success and I went on to do my Open Water.

Diving opened up a whole new world. I can now handle being on a boat (something I could not do before) and I even enjoy my dives. Yes, sometimes I have a little panic and there are times when I can't face going into the water. But once I'm in its amazing!

I have even gone to shark infested waters to see some sharks! The first shark dive we did I was very busy NOT noticing sharks. But after a few dives I decided to be brave and take a look. To be honest the sharks kept well away from us. All that metal and bubbles and the noise... I don't think they wanted us around at all! The closest they came was approximatly 30m and they usually ignored us!

I would definatly recommend trying it out. Find an instructor you feel comfortable with and just go for it. Mark taught me and he is very patient.

Hi Nathalie,

With the videos try saving them to your desktop first, then double clicking them. If that doesn't work you might not have the xvid codec installated on your machine. You can download it here.

I guess Lynn already said what I would have said about the diving - sharks are very misunderstood and very shy creatures. The really sad part is that we are not only afraid of them, but also wiping them out from our oceans. Fear stops many people from learning more about them. If more people went diving with sharks and just spent time enjoying them the situation might change

Mark

I will try again to upload the videos, as i REALLY want to see them

About the scuba diving, yes i think dear Spielberg ruined that one for me and
many others as well. But you know i truly will think about it, as i need to get
over that fear sooner or later and maybe if i would start at a lake, KNOWING that there are no sharks...... what you think? NO i just need to get over the fear of the darkness

Strangely people always imagine that the lake is dark, but this isn´t really true. From the surface when we look down it appears dark because the light has to travel down, reflect back off a darkish bottom and get back to our eyes. When you are there however, it is not so dark. Each lake has different visibility, which can vary with the seasons. Right now in Lake Zurich there is very good visibility so even down at 40m there is light. Later on, during the summer, it will be dark at 30m, but quite light at 10m.

People are often aprehensive about decending for the first time in the lake, even after training in the swimming pool. But they descend with a visual reference, looking at a chain, or following a gently sloping bottom with their instructor right next to them. Soon they discover that it wasn´t half as scary as they imagined, and once they start looking at fish, or getting busy with their exercises then everything is forgotten

Mark