Weeks 6 and 7

08/01/11 and 08/08/11

Writing this more than a week after our last class, everything blends together. It was mainly discussion of dive tables and practicing how to read them during Week 6 and then more dive practice in the pool. I think this was the week we practiced taking off our masks under water and putting them back on as well as taking off our BCs and putting them back on. Last week we took our test and everyone passed. I got 2 wrong although I had changed one from the correct answer to the wrong answer. We did mainly review of skills such as finding the regulator and purging ours masks. All but three of us did the dry suit diving so they took a while to get in the water, having to suit-up and get the excess air out. We practiced dive belt release and the emergency buoyancy ascent which I needed to flare more for. We also practiced taking our BCs off and sitting on them, a different way to take it off to adjust something at the surface rather than underwater. Ashley had to go one flipper again because she left one boot at home. Luckily, due to her sprained foot earlier this summer, she had plenty of practice. This one-footedness made pushing and pulling me difficult. These skills were practice for being with a tired diver that needs help getting to the boat or shore.

We are all signed up for the open water dives this coming weekend in Skaneateles Lake for both Saturday and Sunday morning. I am excited and a little nervous. We have to pick up our rentals for the dives before Saturday and make sure everything is together the night before. The dives are early in the morning and we should be done by noon. I am hoping to find a trip during my spring break or winter break where I can go more tropical and perhaps get my advance diving certificate. Next update will be about diving in an actual lake!