Diving 101

Had my first pool lesson of the open water diving course the day before. The most painful part might just be the treading water portion of things, but other than that everything was relatively easy.

Kneeling at the bottom of the pool with the full scuba pack and wearing the scuba mask feels slightly disorientating at first. The scuba mask blocks out almost all peripheral vision, and looking around involves lots of head-turning, sideways and up-down. I couldn’t even see below my buddy’s chest without having to tilt my face downwards. For someone who prefers racing goggles (the kind without the rubber padding) when swimming because of the extra light and peripheral vision, this takes alot of getting used to. Let’s just say, I thoroughly understand how a horse with blinkers feels now.

Breathing through the regulator was easier to get used too. I guess the habit of not closing my mouth while swimming helped a little.

After staying submerged in the pool after a wet cloudy day for more than 3 hours, it got pretty cold. I was shivering in the pool, even with the full body wet suit.

What we covered in the lesson:

1. Identifying and wearing our gear: the BCD, regulator, tank, mask, snorkel, fins, weights.
2. Basic underwater commands
3. Drills:
   • learning to read the gauge (SPG?)
   • learning to clear a half and fully-filled mask underwater
   • leaning retrieve the regulator and to clear it underwater
   • learning to putting our masks back on
   • learning to control our bouyancy
   • learning to swtich between the snorkel and the regulator
4. Packing our gear

Our second and final pool session is this evening. Like the day before, it looks like yet another drizzly cloudy day. I always have worse luck than a black cat.