Scuba Diving Course - Dives 2 & 3

A dive day for me and I was excited, looking forward to the next instruction session despite an early start.  The antihistamines I took last night have left me feeling a bit tired but caffeine in a Red Bull soon perked me up again.  After breakfast Paul and I made our way to Hippocampe Dive School for the 8:45am start.  A group of divers were already heading out to the rubber ducks, having met at 8:30am and prepared for their dive.  There was only me for the morning's diving instruction; 2 or 3 other people had cancelled due to illness so I ended up having a one to one session with Wolf, one of the instructors.

Getting a helping hand over the rocks

After put my diving gear together and got suited up, Wolfe and I headed to the water's edge where the rubber ducks had been anchored earlier.  Paul left us to it and went snorkelling in the water nearby.  Once in the water I was taught the basics such as clearing mask underneath the water, emergency breathing from a spare regulator, hand-signals, looking at depth gauge and air pressure gauge console, 'neutral buoyancy' and more.  Along with the instruction there was time to see different fish species and explore the nearby rocky underwater coastline, making learning a pleasurable experience.

I suppose my very first dive on Monday should have been done in shallower waters rather than from the rubber duck in deeper waters but with a group of mixed-ability divers, including those doing 'taster' dives, it made it difficult for in-depth beginners' tuition that day so I had dives 1 & 2 in reverse!  I suppose, in a way, it also gave Wolfe some sort of idea of my swimming capabilities and water confidence so my training could be tailored accordingly as well; bearing in mind that there is a course to follow though!

Paul finished snorkelling around about the time that I emerged from the water and was there to give me a helping hand so that I didn't slip and fall on the rocks.  It's amazing how HEAVY all the equipment is as soon as gravity takes hold and the weight made me feel very unsteady.  I insisted, though, that I carried my load back to the dive school but let him carry my somewhat much lighter flippers and hand 😉.  Paul had to help me get my wetsuit off - I simply didn't have the strength to pull it off, but he kept to the sidelines while I dismantled the equipment because I need to be able to do so myself apart from when I couldn't disengage the octopus/regulator from the air tank.  The coupling had tightened from the sea water and I couldn't unscrew it.  Paul loosened it for me and I was on my own again.

 For this afternoon's diving session I was asked to go through a section of the theory book.  This I managed to do over the next 2 to 2½ hours - a nice long lunch break.

Paul and I made our way back to the diving school for my afternoon dive.  Once again I had to go through the usual process of putting the equipment together, putting the tight wetsuit on and heading fully loaded to the waiting rubber duck.  I found willing hands to help me down the rocks into the water so that I didn't slip; took my diving gear off in the water and handed it to one of the diving instructors before getting into the rubber duck with a group of divers.

Once again the divers were a mixed bunch and I was asked to go with Lou-Lou, an older diving instructor.  He was a kindly-looking chap and took everything in his stride with those who he took under his wing - that being me and 2 others who had not dived for a while and were doing a bit of a refresher dive.  It was a nice dive, seeing a variety of fish - barracuda, wrasse, bream, salema and many others.  It also gave me the opportunity to put into practice what I had learned this morning - more so practicing an 'emergency' when Lou-Lou had 'run out of air' and needed a spare regulator.  This was something that he did with all 3 of us and he seemed pleased that we had accomplished the exercise swiftly and successfully.

Back on the rubber duck the wind whipped through our hair as the 2 rubber ducks sped back to shore, the mood was jolly; the divers seemed in high spirits from their dive.  Paul was waiting for me on the shore and gave me a firm hand as I left the water and walked over the rocks.  I was grateful that he took my goggles and flippers.  I was bent almost double from the weight of the air tank combined with a weighted belt as I staggered the short distance to the diving school  To others, it may have looked a funny sight, but boy did my knees suffer!  As soon as the equipment came off - I felt as if I was walking on air.  What a 'weighty' difference.  Once the equipment was washed and stored away and I joined other divers at a table to fill in my log book.

I look silly with a sun hat but I didn't want get a sunburnt face

Wolfe later took me and 3 youngsters to one side, sitting us at a table for a tutorial session as well as asking us questions, probing our learned knowledge as well as our yet to learn' knowledge to see if common sense and our thoughts would give us the correct answer.  2 youngsters were doing their junior divers' licence, another lass had done a course before but her previous diving school had not given her a log book or any paperwork even though she had been told that she had passed.  So she had had to start all over again this year to get her paperwork.  She had certainly not forgotten what she had learned last year though, and it stood her in good stead.  During the theory time Paul sat quietly with me and listened patiently, using the time to refresh his own diving knowledge.

On reflection, I perhaps looked a bit silly wearing a sunhat in the rubber duck but it was a vital way of keeping the sun off my face until I went into the water.  I also found the peak of the hat kept the spray off my face a bit.

After 2 diving sessions in one day I'm a bit tired.  Fortunately I've got a day's break between diving again so I can recuperate.  It will also give me time to go through some diving theory too.