frightened of the water

[fran]

Hello

I am 48 years old and have a very great fear of the water. (due to a swimming accident when I was 10). Last year I went to Egypt on holiday and with a lot of encouragement from my husband - together with a HUGE life jacket, went snorkelling in the Red Sea. I even got so far as to get into the sea from a boat!!!! This is beyond my wildest dreams as for the last 7 years I hadn't even been in the sea at all (not even up to my knees).
I can just about manage kicking my legs and breathing at the same time so long as my long suffering husband holds my tightly onto my hand!!

I loved seeing the fish and the coral reefs and am desperately trying to overcome my terror of being in deep water.

Can anyone recommend a place in the world where I could go snorkelling (complete with May West Life Jacket) with my husband that would be safe. I have discovered that so long as I have plenty to look at underwater I can manage OK, as there is a lot to keep me interested and occupied, my fear is pushed to the back of my brain. It is when there is wide open space and nothing to see that I panic and stop breathing.

Am open to any suggestions but a place with warm water is far more preferable than somewhere cold.

thanks

Fran

[Chris Cherrington]

Hi there. A friend of mine is in the same position from an incident when he was a wee small tot.

I took a friend to Menorca a few years back - she wanted to learn to dive and it was a good break for me. We dived together a bit after she finished the course, but before then I snorkelled round the rocks in the warm clear water. I saw sea-slug and baraccuda as well as the usual reef fish. I'm not a big fan of snorkelling but I can recommend that venue. The food and accomodation were good to and there are lots of nice things to do on the island. Flights are cheap to Mahon - try teletext.

We stayed at S'Algar and dived with S'Algar diving centre. they should be able to help you with a suitable BC if you need it.

Have fun

Chris

[PeteM]

Can anyone recommend a place in the world where I could go snorkelling

Any of the Red Sea resorts, Sharm el Shiek, Eliat, Dahab etc.
Maldives
Java
Great Barrier Reef in Australia
Belize

[Annie]

Hi Fran,

What about John Pennekamp Park, off Ley Largo in Florida?

They are set up to take non-divers, and people who've never snorkelled, so should be quite safe. The depth is about 6 metres, and there is loads of sea life on the reef.

http://www.pennekamppark.com/snorkeling.html

Have fun

Annie

[Lookup]

Dear Fran,

you have no need to be frightened of water if you know you can stand up.
Why dont you come to tarpum bay , Eleuthera, Bahamas. The water is warm so you can stay in all day, the bay is shallow right out to the reef and you can see everything because the water is crystal clear. You can spend all day snorkeling in front of the house enjoying the fish and crustaceans with your snorkel.
Wear a T -shirt though because it is hot
http://www.bahamasbay.com/Activities/Snorkeling/snorkeling.html

[sharkhunter]

Hello

I am 48 years old and have a very great fear of the water. (due to a swimming accident when I was 10). Last year I went to Egypt on holiday and with a lot of encouragement from my husband - together with a HUGE life jacket, went snorkelling in the Red Sea. I even got so far as to get into the sea from a boat!!!! This is beyond my wildest dreams as for the last 7 years I hadn't even been in the sea at all (not even up to my knees).
I can just about manage kicking my legs and breathing at the same time so long as my long suffering husband holds my tightly onto my hand!!

I loved seeing the fish and the coral reefs and am desperately trying to overcome my terror of being in deep water.

Can anyone recommend a place in the world where I could go snorkelling (complete with May West Life Jacket) with my husband that would be safe. I have discovered that so long as I have plenty to look at underwater I can manage OK, as there is a lot to keep me interested and occupied, my fear is pushed to the back of my brain. It is when there is wide open space and nothing to see that I panic and stop breathing.

Am open to any suggestions but a place with warm water is far more preferable than somewhere cold.

thanks

Fran

Fran, here is another option, how about trying SUB aquanauts for an undersea experience, bit like a min sub of your own. It will give the the idea of what it's like scuba diving. here is the link, it can be done with Stuart cove in the Bahamas. http://www.sub-bahamas.com/ It may just help get you over your fear. They are excellent at Stuart Cove, very well organised...I think you love it. They also do guided Snorkel trips to the reefs and you can see sharks as well, don't worry the sharks are very freindly. ;)

PS: Eleuthera, Bahamas sounds really really cool and I'm thinking about it after seeing the other post and the website and hearing what sort of stuff you'll see there, especially the chance of seeing Mako Sharks....COOL! Sounds very adventurous snorkeling to me, but that's just how I like it. ;)

My wife did her first ever snorkel in Turkey in 2004 at the age 47 as she had always had a great fear of being out of her depth, but once she slowly built up here confidence she was off trying a discover scuba. Now she is a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver with near on 100 dives and has done a lot of adventurous diving from extreme current diving with manta and white tip reef sharks in the Maldives to Shark diving and feeding in the Bahamas and now feels quite at home in the water and IMHO looks more experienced than some other diver who have 100's of dives . All she talks about these days is our next dive trip, which makes my life easier as I'm always off diving on holiday, now I got my wife as my buddy. :cool:

Good luck with overcoming that fear, once you do you'll never look back. ;)