Babs-Would-Be-Diver
Registered
Well I finally did it. Qualified on 22 June 2006. St Lucia
OW dive 1 went smoothly shore dive to 30 feet. Quite similar to a resort dive really. However I had problems equalising then I got a cold and had to wait a week.
OW dive 2 was interesting. Boat dive. There was a day of heavy rain in St Lucia and where we were diving the visibility was only around 12 ft max. Used a line to go down. My instructor had me do the fin pivot test, out of air procedure etc. No problems. On the actual dive however I was unhappy. My neutral bouyancy is quite good as i have had a lot of practice but the visibility was so poor that I was worried about proximity to sea urchins. I found a sandy spot and indicated to the instructor to settle there. I then wrote on her slate, "no visibility, dont like it!" She agreed and asked if I wanted to do some more of the skills instead and I did these without any problems.
OW dive 3 in the afternoon was much better. Visibility around 40-50 feet. One instructor, one dive master, 2 divers plus me. We dived around a reef and saw lots of Moray Eels and lobsters. Lobsters are out of season in St Lucia at the moment but it was fun watching them. After the morning dive , this dive was great and I felt quite confident.
I thought it would be a good idea to rest for one day before attempting Dive 4.
OW dive 4. Skills. weight belt removal and replacement was fine. I had purchased my own weight belt and had practised blind fold in the swimming pool at the resort to get it right prior to the test as this skill i had difficulty with.
The final dive to 60 feet was at the Lesleen wreck at Anse Cochon. The same site I had dived in January! Hovering test went fine and the dive was great. 55 minutes and just me and the instructor. No one else was diving the wreck so it was wonderful. We used a line so that I could take time equalizing and also for safety coming up as there was a current at the surface which was less noticeable below 50 feet.
The final skill for me, scuba unit removal and replacement I failed. By this time I was tired. The water was choppy and the current was putting me off. I discussed this with my instructor and we agreed that I would try again the following day. She kindly showed me an alternative method to the one I had learnt which worked much better. So I passed. My female instructor was excellent. I insisted on assembling the equipment each time and doing the buddy checks. She answered all my questions and was very clear on the signals for the test. The CESA was fine, no problems at all! I thought it was quite funny that all the underwater skills went very smoothly but that the scuba removal and replacement turned out to be a problem. When I finally did it it was in front of an audience of watersports staff and a cataraman full of guests going out on an evening cruise who thought the “tank between the legs” procedure was a hoot!
My thanks to Eget at Eastern Caribbean Diving at Windjammer Landing for her kindness and support when taking me through the qualification and also to Mary at Island Divers Ti Kaye for the first OW dive who suggested I waited a week before attempting it again. Very sensible advice.
So, finally I am a qualified diver. Only one problem, I accidentally took in a lungful of very bad seawater through my snorkel on the last day and was very ill on the way home including on the plane. Thanks to Virgin Atlantic for looking after me and supplying oxygen at one point. I have not eaten for the last 2 days! Still, greatly looking forward to my next diving. Thanks to that one dive with limited visibility I will have less qualms about diving in England now.
Thanks to everyone on this board for their support.
Best wishes
Babs "Would be ADVENTURE Diver"!
OW dive 1 went smoothly shore dive to 30 feet. Quite similar to a resort dive really. However I had problems equalising then I got a cold and had to wait a week.
OW dive 2 was interesting. Boat dive. There was a day of heavy rain in St Lucia and where we were diving the visibility was only around 12 ft max. Used a line to go down. My instructor had me do the fin pivot test, out of air procedure etc. No problems. On the actual dive however I was unhappy. My neutral bouyancy is quite good as i have had a lot of practice but the visibility was so poor that I was worried about proximity to sea urchins. I found a sandy spot and indicated to the instructor to settle there. I then wrote on her slate, "no visibility, dont like it!" She agreed and asked if I wanted to do some more of the skills instead and I did these without any problems.
OW dive 3 in the afternoon was much better. Visibility around 40-50 feet. One instructor, one dive master, 2 divers plus me. We dived around a reef and saw lots of Moray Eels and lobsters. Lobsters are out of season in St Lucia at the moment but it was fun watching them. After the morning dive , this dive was great and I felt quite confident.
I thought it would be a good idea to rest for one day before attempting Dive 4.
OW dive 4. Skills. weight belt removal and replacement was fine. I had purchased my own weight belt and had practised blind fold in the swimming pool at the resort to get it right prior to the test as this skill i had difficulty with.
The final dive to 60 feet was at the Lesleen wreck at Anse Cochon. The same site I had dived in January! Hovering test went fine and the dive was great. 55 minutes and just me and the instructor. No one else was diving the wreck so it was wonderful. We used a line so that I could take time equalizing and also for safety coming up as there was a current at the surface which was less noticeable below 50 feet.
The final skill for me, scuba unit removal and replacement I failed. By this time I was tired. The water was choppy and the current was putting me off. I discussed this with my instructor and we agreed that I would try again the following day. She kindly showed me an alternative method to the one I had learnt which worked much better. So I passed. My female instructor was excellent. I insisted on assembling the equipment each time and doing the buddy checks. She answered all my questions and was very clear on the signals for the test. The CESA was fine, no problems at all! I thought it was quite funny that all the underwater skills went very smoothly but that the scuba removal and replacement turned out to be a problem. When I finally did it it was in front of an audience of watersports staff and a cataraman full of guests going out on an evening cruise who thought the “tank between the legs” procedure was a hoot!
My thanks to Eget at Eastern Caribbean Diving at Windjammer Landing for her kindness and support when taking me through the qualification and also to Mary at Island Divers Ti Kaye for the first OW dive who suggested I waited a week before attempting it again. Very sensible advice.
So, finally I am a qualified diver. Only one problem, I accidentally took in a lungful of very bad seawater through my snorkel on the last day and was very ill on the way home including on the plane. Thanks to Virgin Atlantic for looking after me and supplying oxygen at one point. I have not eaten for the last 2 days! Still, greatly looking forward to my next diving. Thanks to that one dive with limited visibility I will have less qualms about diving in England now.
Thanks to everyone on this board for their support.
Best wishes
Babs "Would be ADVENTURE Diver"!
