Certified Diver

I am now a certified diver! I should have my temporary certification paperwork tomorrow and the dive shop should have my permanent c-card in a week or two. We completed four dives over two days at Lake 16 in Allegan Michigan. Lake 16 is a relatively small lake but it has a nice dive platform at fifteen feet. When we first waded into the lake it was cool for just a minute as a bit of water made its way into my suit. The water quickly warmed up and, for the rest of the day, I was extremely comfortable. The surface temperature was about 60 degrees and it was about 45 degrees at 50 feet. For our first dive we swam out past a sandbar and then descended to the platform. Tom had told us that it was normal to be nervous about our first open water dive but, to be honest, I wasn't really concerned at all until we got down to the platform. Once down on the platform visibility was about ten feet and we were deeper than we ever had been. I had just a minute of mild nervousness when I considered clearing my regulator under these conditions. Once everyone was down, Tom had us each clear our regulator. It wasn't any big deal and wasn't any more difficult than it had been in the pool. From that point on I wasn't really worried. Tom had us descend down a chain from the platform to a sunken speedboat which was at about 52 feet. Although notably colder it was very cool to stand on the boat and swim around it. When we made it back to the surface one of the members of the class remarked that she hadn't seen the boat... she didn't realize that she had actually been standing on it. Fortunately on day two Tom took us back to the boat. He actually wrote the word boat in the algae on the boat... which caused the person who hadn't seen it to laugh and fill her mask with water. Oops. During our second dive we cruised around at a fairly shallow depth. Tom said that he saw some fairly large fish but unfortunately I missed them. I did see a large school of very small fish, about one inch long, that we were swimming through. It was cool because they didn't seem scared of us at all. Until I moved my hand towards them they didn't seem to even notice me. It was too bad that the visibility was only ten feet. From what Tom was saying it was at least triple that a couple weeks ago. Nonetheless, I was excited to see some actual marine life.

For our first day dives my buddy Marty was a bit over weighted. It turned out that he was actually carrying 40 pounds of lead. As a result he needed to put a huge amount of air in his BCD to stay neutral. This makes depth correction extremely difficult with the end result being that Marty shot up to the surface accidentally on two different occasions. Once Tom identified the weight problem buoyancy control was much easier. In fact, by the second day everyone was doing much better with buoyancy control.On day two we went back down to the boat below the fifty foot mark. Unfortunately, one of my classmates had trouble equalizing due to some congestion and had some serious ear pain. We all came back up to the surface and she ended up going back to shore. She looked to be in some fairly serious pain but fortunately seemed to be quite a bit better an hour, and some Sudafed, later. She was actually able to complete the fourth dive with us and, since the first dive was long and deep enough to count, was able to get certified. Day two was also the day we tried navigation. This shall henceforth be referred to as the navigation debacle. Marty and I were tasked to take turns swimming out on a specific heading and then returning on a reciprocal course. After some underwater miscommunication between Marty and I started out with me leading. Unfortunately my focus on the compass impaired my ability to find and read my dive computer resulting in a moderate change in depth. While we were supposed to be swimming at 15 feet we actually ended up at 32 feet. We noticed this because it became much cooler and the water became much clearer. After some minor issues we eventually found ourselves at the boat again and made it back to Tom. When it was Marty's turn to lead we headed out on heading at right angles from the rope we started at. I was tasked with counting his fin kicks and signaling him to stop and turn around at 25 kicks. Unfortunately Marty ended up a bit deeper and farther ahead than I was when he hit 25 kicks. I managed, barely, to grab his fin but he didn't notice and kept on going. I didn't catch up again until he hit 50 kicks. At about this point we managed to sink into the lake bottom, kicking up a huge amount of silt. Visibility became so poor in the immediate area that I couldn't see Marty when he was two feet away. We ended up holding on to each other's straps for a couple minutes to swim out of the silt before we could find our way again. Since we seemed to forget our reciprocal course we didn't end up back at the rope. In the end we had to surface to get our bearings and then go back down to get back. Overall it was a funny experience that made me realize I need some serious work on navigation.

It was a fun experience and I'm ready to go out again. There's some talk of some people going out this Wednesday which would be great fun. All of us in the class exchanged contact information so that we can get together and dive with people of comparable skill level. I'm definitely looking forward to my next dive!

Confined Water Dive 5

Last week we completed our final classroom section as well as our final confined water dive. The classroom portion consisted of a review of the last chapter of the Go Dive book as well as a review of some of the other important concepts we'd be likely to see on the final exam. The exam was fifty questions and consisted of mostly multiple choice with a couple matching or ordering questions thrown in. I completed the test fairly quickly and felt pretty good about my answers. While I was waiting for everyone else to finish up, Terry showed me his Nitrox tables as well as the PADI wheel. Looking at the Nitrox tables I was impressed with how much bottom time you can add by diving with a higher percentage of Oxygen. I think Nitrox will definitely be on my list of certifications to pursue.

The PADI wheel isn't that much more complicated than the tables but seemed like a bit of a pain for the benefit. I worked through a dive plan using the wheel and worked the same plan using tables and ended up with the same results (which startled me since I was just going off the little instruction card for the wheel). Personally I think I'll stick with tables and use my computer to track my dives

In the end everyone passed the final exam. I ended up getting two questions wrong, both of which were things I shouldn't have missed but misread/misunderstood when reading the question. Oh well, bragging rights for getting them all right would have been nice but when it comes down to it I don't think anyone else will ever care about my written exam score for PADI Open Water certification.

Because the exam took so long we were a bit late getting into the pool. We practice some skills including a swimming emergency ascent without mask which we simulated by swimming horizontally for a period with Tom followed by a slow ascent. Swimming without a mask is a real pain and I was thrilled to put it back on. We we finished up, cleaned up, and packed our gear we all left. It was a bit weird knowing that it was the last time we'd use the pool and that the next time we met we'd be doing our open water dives.

Dive Equipment

Weekend after next I will, provided I pass the test, be a certified open water diver. As I approach that happy day I find myself thinking about equipment more and more frequently. To have a full rig I'll need to acquire:

• Buoyancy Control Device
• Regulator
• Octo
• Gauges (pressure, depth, and compass)
• Dive Computer

In my normal fashion I have spent altogether too much time researching my options. I've talked to everyone I can find at my lds (local dive shop) and have combed scuba sites like ScubaBoard. After much consideration I am leaning towards a non-traditional version of a backplate and wing setup for the BCD. This setup is favored by technical divers and is becoming more common for recreational divers. The specific model I'm looking at is the Dive Rite Transpac. Technically it's not a BP/W since it doesn't have a hard backplate; however, it is a wing setup with a bit more padding than normally found on a BP/W rig. With the Transpac you take the harness and attach a wing. The wing I'm currently looking at is the Trek wing although the Venture is also a contender. The thing I really like about this setup is that the harness is very simple, it's a modular design that can handle a variety of setups, and it makes buoyancy control in a prone position easy. The Trek wing can handle single or double cylinders which is a nice bonus.

The regulator and octo I'm looking at are also made by Dive Rite. The regulator is the RG2500 and the octo is the RG1215. The RG2500 with optional environmental package can be used in any condition including freezing cold water. It's Nitrox ready and breathes very easily. There are several other regulators I'm still considering including the XS Scuba Seaair Tri-Metal which also looks good and was a Scuba Labs Tester's Choice and Best Buy.

The computer I'm looking at is the Dive Rite Nitek Duo which supports two different gasses (for example 40% O2 for the dive and 100% O2 for the deco stop). It has all the bells and whistles (some literal) that one would expect to find on a full featured dive computer. The Oceanic Versa Pro is also a contender and is a bit cheaper. I am certain that I want to go with a wrist mount computer. As one person pointed out, "sometimes I have trouble finding my console in a hurry but I always seem to know where my wrist is." I was originally considering the hoseless air-integrated computers but decided against them based on interference concerns.

For gauges I'm leaning towards a wrist-mount compass or a compass clipped to my harness on a retractor. Either would keep it off the console, thereby limiting the size of the console I need. The console would have only the SPG (pressure gauge) and possibly a depth gauge. The depth gauge is dependent upon whether I also pick up a bottom timer with depth gauge. I'd like to have a backup depth monitor so that if my computer was to die I'd be able to continue the dive off tables.

For now I'll continue with the rental equipment and investigation. Soon, but after my cert dives, I'll look at buying some or all of the equipment. Until then I'll continue to look at the pretty pictures and hang out at the lds.

Confined Water Dive 4

Well, I successfully completed my fourth confined water dive. During the knowledge review this week we went over dive tables and how to plan dives. I had read up on these already and didn't have any real issues. A couple people had minor difficulty including one person whose dive table instruction book had been destroyed before he had a chance to read it. I loaned him mine for the week so that he has a chance to look through it. By the end of the knowledge review everyone seemed to have a decent understanding of the dive tables and could probably plan a couple dives without any real trouble. Most of the difficulty is introduced when you add a third dive to the sequence and it doesn't seem likely that any of us will need to worry about that in the immediate future.

We practiced ascents and descents which would have been dramatically more interesting if the pool was more than seven feet deep. As it was ascending and descending wasn't all that big a deal. I do appear to be one of the people whose ears are affected by very minor pressure changes since I needed to equalize frequently even in seven feet of water.

We practiced removing and replacing our scuba unit both on the surface and underwater. It wasn't terribly difficult other than the issue I had with my body wanting to float to the surface once I became detached from my BCD and the 20 pounds of lead weight which it contained. Finding the buckles underwater is kind of a pain but isn't really hard if you take your time. It did; however, make me desire my own equipment so that I could begin to get use to it.

One of the buddy procedures we practiced this week was signaling out of air and buddy breath followed by your buddy handing you his octo. When it was my turn to signal out of air it took my buddy a good thirty seconds to find his alternate before he could hand it over. It was a pretty telling example of why we practice these things and why it's critical to be comfortable with your equipment.

Once we had completed the required skills, Tom gave us some time to swim around and practice stuff. I spent most of my time practicing buoyancy control with my BCD and by controlling the amount of air in my lungs. I was fairly happy with my performance as I hovered at about five feet although I did bob up to about two feet a couple times. The class this week was great fun and I'm looking forward to the final confined water dive next week. After that it's off to Lake 16 (a particularly unimaginative name for a lake) where we will do our open water dives.

Confined Water Dive 3

My third confined water dive was dramatically better than my second. After the usual knowledge review section we all went out to the pool to practice skills. This week we geared up while outside the pool with the help of a buddy. The 7/5mm wetsuit makes this exceptionally hot work and once you’re all geared up you can’t wait to get into the water. It’s difficult to imagine doing this in 90 degree weather outside. Tom mentioned that when he’s gearing up he tries to pace himself to the slowest person who’s getting ready so that he’s not all geared up and waiting on people. Now that I’ve stood around wearing a heavy scuba unit I completely understand why that’s important. It may be comfortable underwater but on the surface it’s just heavy and awkward.

We entered the water by crouching down and falling in backwards which struck me as a spectacularly simple way of getting the water. Once everyone was in we started in on some skills. First, we all removed our masks completely while underwater and then put them back on. It wasn’t all that difficult except for the fact that you have a tendency to get some water up your nose. It’s also a bit disorienting with your mask "off and bubbles from your regulator getting in your face. I can definitely see why losing your mask would be problematic during a dive. All but one person in the class did fine with the mask removal. The person that had trouble had a “water up the nose” problem and ascended to the surface.

To work on our buoyancy we practiced the fin pivot on the bottom of the pool. We put just enough air in our BC to make us neutrally buoyant on the bottom and then used air in our lungs to pivot ourselves up and down. There’s about a three second delay from the time you fill your lungs to the time that you actually start moving up and a similar delay from emptying them to moving downwards. This makes the fin pivot more of a timing maneuver than anything else. Once I got the hang of it the procedure wasn’t that difficult. I’m quite certain my overall buoyancy control would still be classified as abysmal; however, I felt pretty good about it given it was my second time underwater with scuba.

This week was also the first time that I had a back inflate type BCD instead of the jacket style that I had used the week before. Based on my extremely limited experience I believe I’m a fan of the back inflate BCD. It seems to be more stable, there’s less complexity at the front of the harness, it’s more comfortable, and I had an easier time maintaining a streamlined prone configuration underwater. About the only negative was that when floating at the surface I needed to lean back a bit to avoid pitching forward.

All in all, this dive was quite a bit more fun due, in large part, to my greatly increased comfort level underwater. Hanging weightless underwater is a ton of fun and I’m looking forward to sights underwater that include more than pool walls, filters, and the occasional swimmer.

Confined Water Dive 2

It’s been a busy couple weeks and I’m finally getting around to writing about my second confined water dive. This was the first dive in which we actually used a full scuba setup since there was an equipment shortage at the dive shop the first week. This was also the first week that we all wore wetsuits which, in my mind, was a great thing. A 79 degree pool feels quite warm for the first hour or so but at the hour and a half mark it starts feeling decidedly chilly without an exposure suit of some sort.

After the relatively boring knowledge review section of the class Tom took us out to the pool where he demonstrated the proper method for setting up our scuba unit. For the uninitiated, the scuba unit consists of the buoyancy control device, regulator, octo (aka alternate regulator), gauges, weights, and scuba tank. Once we had all put our units together and tested to make sure we had pressure, Tom had us put the gear into the pool with the BCD partially inflated. We all got in the pool and, with some help, got into our gear.

We practiced swimming with the gear and switching back and forth between snorkel and regulator while swimming. Then we moved to the deep end of the pool and descended to the bottom. Tom demonstrated the mask clearing process and had each of us try it in turn. For this exercise we were supposed to let our mask fill to just below eye level by letting in a trickle of water. Once the mask was partially flooded we were to clear it. Unfortunately when it was my turn I let in a bit too much water and completely flooded the mask. It wasn't a big deal as I just cleared it anyway but Tom did joke about it when we made it back to the surface... apparently I wouldn't have any problems the next week when we practiced clearing a completely flooded mask.

We practiced clearing our regulators both by blowing the water out and by using the purge button to clear. Both methods were simple and didn't really pose any problems for anyone in the class. Once we had completed the exercise Tom gave us some time to swim around and get comfortable underwater. To be honest I wasn't entirely comfortable underwater at this point. My breath control was poor which meant that I periodically aspirated small amounts of water which was a little freaky. Overall I left feeling relatively good but hoping that the next class would be more fun and that I would be more comfortable.