Next we covered why a wet suit is important even in warm waters. Tropical waters are usually in the 80s which means you can still get hypothermia if you're in them long enough. The average human body temperature can only decrease by about 4 degrees before hypothermia sets in and as your body loses heat 25 times faster in water, that decrease can come at some point even in very warm waters. It is also good to protect against things like fire coral which can leave a lovely rash. Real scuba suits are also very different from the wet suits one gets at Dick's for half the price that are recommended for wind surfing, water skiing, etc. The difference is in the air that is captured in the rubber layers. In cheaper suits it is a series of random air pockets that can be easily compressed. When this happens there is little air to keep the warmth in. In true scuba suits there are uniform rows of spheres that resist compression and thus hold in heated air more efficiently at greater depths and thus greater pressures. The bubbles do wear out after usage so it is always best to have your own suit and not get someone's hand-me-down. Also, "there are two types of scuba divers: those who pee in their suits and those who lie about it," said our instructor Marc. It heats up a cold environment very quickly.
Mask information was discussed next; mainly, how to keep mask squeeze and sinuses pain from happening. With the mask one must exhale through one's nose and for sinus equalization one should blow gently out one's plugged nose to clear the eustachian tubes. Swallowing and wiggling the jaw can help this problem as well.
At the pool we took what was taught and applied it. After changing we had to strap on our BC to our cylinder correctly. I didn't tighten the valve enough because air was leaking but I think it wasn't entirely my fault, it was a tricky attachment. We have to make sure to breathe out of both primary and secondary regulators so the valves are lose and we don't accidentally inhale a spider that crawled in it or something. Once these were on we had to help each other to get them onto our backs and then helped each other again to put on the fins. We did this with a "figure 4" that had you crossing your leg so one foot rested on the opposite leg, one hand held onto your partner and the other put the fin on. We shuffled to the edge to do the big stride jump into the deep end. You covered the regulator (which was in your mouth) and put your fingers on your mask to keep that tightly in place. Your other hand kept the pressure and depth gauges pressed against your chest.
I needed to step out more and not bend my backward leg so my fin didn't catch. we made sure we were floating correctly and headed over to the shallow end to go over skills learned two weeks ago. My only problem was not putting my regulator downward when we let go of it so bubbles came out at me and I ascended right away. Two wrongs. Just need to keep the mouth piece facing the bottom. We all remembered to exhale as we found our regulators to breathe through and so we got to go toward the deep end pretty quickly. We slowly sunk to the 12 ft as we kept equalizing our sinuses. I found it easier than I expected it to be since when I go straight down without gear my ears hurt so much. We were allowed to swim around for a while and two other divers taking a photography class were taking photos of us. I saw at least two spirals of black hair among other chunks of hair and debris. Very glad for chlorine after viewing all this. Each one of us had to practice one of the missing regulator maneuvers while in the deep end which went well.
We headed back to the shallow end to practice sharing air. Ashley did the same thing I did earlier with not keeping the mouth piece facing down. This was pretty easy to trade off and we practiced signalling okay to each other and the signal for "out of air". The cardinal rule for diving is to never run out of air!
After practicing this a few times we went back down to the deep end and practiced neutral buoyancy. I was slow at it but we all managed to maintain it. After this we practiced exiting by the ladder as though we were exiting by a boat's ladder. you keep your mask and regulator in place and just take off your fins, put one on each wrist, and climb out. The change in atmosphere is noticeable when you don't have water buoying your cylinder. We get to work with the aluminum cylinders next time. These are lighter but wider.
Next week is labelled as "play time" so I'm not sure how much new stuff we will learn but fun stuff at least. About a month until we actually go out in open water!
0 comments:
Post a Comment