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bull kelp scare the crap out of me :(

fuzzybabybunny

fuzzybabybunny

Moderator<br>Digital & Video Cameras
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i got my wetsuit and fins in today (5/7 mm Henderson with 7mm hood, boots, gloves for 150 bucks) and did a short dive in breakwater cove by myself. i got so freaked out every time approached a bull kelp. they're massive! i don't know what's living in them either and i keep getting visions of sharks or dead bodies popping out in front of me from within their depths (thanks to that one scene in jaws i watched when i was little). i also feel like i could get tangled in them or they'll grab me and hold me there while i die. big masses of seaweed in less than perfect visibility freak me out in general. they make the otherwise light colored bottom all dark and sinister... every time i approach one or accidentally swim into one my heart goes nuts and i hightail it out of there.

is there some kind of phobia with this?

I also can't find anyone to dive with. they're all scuba divers.
 
i think i'm going to try cooking some seaweed toomorrow. go out to lover's point, collect some seaweed, and boil it on my stove for a minute with my instant rice and see how it turns out. there was some small soft leafy seaweed growing on some rocks that might be able to harvest. also some really fine seaweed like angel hair pasta. not sure if bull kelp would be good eating after just a minute's boil. i nibbled on one today, both the leaf and crunchy air bladder, and felt it too stiff and too "green" tasting.

anyone have experience cooking seaweed straight from the sea? or eating it raw?
 
To actually post a serious reply in this thread...

that's kind of a natural "phobia". It takes mental training to forget it. It's a fear of the unknown (why are dark places unnaturally scary for so many? this is why), as well as kind of claustrophobia - though being able to handle being in a diving suit and staying underwater might render that possibility null.

I'll get that - going into a dark unfamiliar area my body has a desire to move fast. And whenever I start getting a feeling of being smothered, I literally start kicking and squirming until I can get fresh air.
Some phobias are ridiculous, while some, in the milder forms, are basically instinct. A feeling of being smothered, to the brain, could lead to death. And something dangerous could be lurking where we can't see, so our brain would prefer to stay away from that. Survival instinct. Called phobias now because typically the only thing we humans need to fear is other humans.

Anything hiding in kelp likely won't be dangerous. Most sharks that are will actually attack humans won't be hiding in kelp. Sharks may indeed lay there, or wait for prey, but will be smaller sharks, or at least sharks that will typically just run from humans, or maybe approach with curiosity but not do anything.
 
Originally posted by: destrekor
To actually post a serious reply in this thread...

that's kind of a natural "phobia". It takes mental training to forget it. It's a fear of the unknown (why are dark places unnaturally scary for so many? this is why), as well as kind of claustrophobia - though being able to handle being in a diving suit and staying underwater might render that possibility null.

I'll get that - going into a dark unfamiliar area my body has a desire to move fast. And whenever I start getting a feeling of being smothered, I literally start kicking and squirming until I can get fresh air.
Some phobias are ridiculous, while some, in the milder forms, are basically instinct. A feeling of being smothered, to the brain, could lead to death. And something dangerous could be lurking where we can't see, so our brain would prefer to stay away from that. Survival instinct. Called phobias now because typically the only thing we humans need to fear is other humans.

Anything hiding in kelp likely won't be dangerous. Most sharks that are will actually attack humans won't be hiding in kelp. Sharks may indeed lay there, or wait for prey, but will be smaller sharks, or at least sharks that will typically just run from humans, or maybe approach with curiosity but not do anything.
Click to expand...


Remember - you have a better chance of getting hit by a stray bullet in LA than you do being attacked by a shark.
 
Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny
i got my wetsuit and fins in today (5/7 mm Henderson with 7mm hood, boots, gloves for 150 bucks) and did a short dive in breakwater cove by myself. i got so freaked out every time approached a bull kelp. they're massive! i don't know what's living in them either and i keep getting visions of sharks or dead bodies popping out in front of me from within their depths (thanks to that one scene in jaws i watched when i was little). i also feel like i could get tangled in them or they'll grab me and hold me there while i die. big masses of seaweed in less than perfect visibility freak me out in general. they make the otherwise light colored bottom all dark and sinister... every time i approach one or accidentally swim into one my heart goes nuts and i hightail it out of there.

is there some kind of phobia with this?

I also can't find anyone to dive with. they're all scuba divers.
Click to expand...


dude... breakwater cove is north of boston...
OF COURSE THERES NO ONE TO DIVE WITH... ITS TOO MOTHER EFFIN COLD TO BE IN THE WATER!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Where did you go? Carmel River State Beach?
But yeah, bull kelp is all around here. In fact its not even thick. When it's thick, it's like a carpet over the water.
 
BTW Fuzzy, these are Great White shark areas. Just thought I'd let you know 😉 Some dude got bit surfing a couple of years ago. In fact I myself have seen a shark there.
 
If you're worried about getting tangled up, take a big knife with you. If you're worried about sharks hiding, just get out of the water, you're probably beyond help.
 
I was there a few weeks ago for a conference.

A friend of mine did a beer bong through a bullkelp.
 
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