Although your open-water certification gives you the basics for safe scuba diving, it can’t teach you what it actually feels like once you’re on your own (with a buddy, of course). Scuba lessons will come one dive at a time, and you’ll probably learn things about yourself, and the underwater world, that you weren’t even expecting.  Here's what most divers figure out in their first 10 dives. 1. You will breathe too fast at first Excitement, novelty, and mild nerves...

As divers, we all remember the first time something went wrong underwater.  Maybe your mask wouldn’t stop leaking or a fin strap broke at 60 feet. Maybe you put a bit too much air in your BCD or a stray current sent you drifting a little higher than you meant to go. Maybe you were paying attention to too many things at once, such as your depth, your breathing, your buddy, or your gear, and a feeling of task overload...