dotyj
Contributor
Hi all:
I did most of pool sessio #3 today. Everything except for CESA. I'll do the CESA next week.
Today I wore a large BCD, I'd been wearing a medium. I also used an AL80 tank, I'd been using an AL50. Next week I'll be back to using a medium BCD but I really liked the tank. The height was just right for me to sit on the deck with my legs in the water and kit up.
I managed to put the 3mm shorty on by myself this time. No easy feat for someone who can't stand. Whew.
Today I also dove with a brand new Tusa mask I bought yesterday. It has a good field of view through the lens and has side lens made of plasic. I really enjoyed using it. My mustache is still a problem though and I had to keep clearing my mask. Last night I trimmed under my nose and that helped, but my mustache is a bit thick, I should have trimmed it down a bit.
I did a side entry today. The side entry worked really well, though I still had trouble with my feet floating, so my instructor put a 1.5 pound ankle weight on each ankle. Turned out to be a tad too much though and we'll cut that down a bit on the next pool session.
I can live with side entries and my friends won't snicker when I talk about back entries.
My instructor quizzed me on the problem I had with disconnecting the low pressure inflator hose from my BCD two weeks ago. I told him I just couldn't do it. He asked what I could have done instead if it happened for real. I told him I'd given it some thought afterwards and said I could have pressed my deflate button. He said that was good but said I'd be better off to use the dump valve instead. He explained that the dump valve could more than keep up with a stuck inflator and demonstrated it for me before I finished kitting up. At least I was thinking in the right direction.
Since my current instructor is taking over for my last instructor he had me run through a few things I should have learned already. I practiced removing and replacing my mask underwater, retrieving a lost regulator, alternate air source use. The basics really.
We then did alternate air source swimming back and fourth across the bottom of the pool.
We practiced the fin pivot using both the power inflator and my mouth. I did well with the inflate button, but really messed up inflating manually.
When I went to inflate the BCD manually I blew way too much air into the BCD and shot upright. I pressed the deflate button and came back down and tried again. My instructor had fun watching me discover how little air I needed to put in my BCD. It was a fun exercise.
I performed the tired diver tow. First the tank valve tow, then swimming beside the diver using my right hand tucked under my intructor's right armpit area, then finally by pushing my instructor in front of me with his fins on my shoulders.
I had a lot of trouble with the last tow method, by then I was winded and felt like I was having trouble breathing. I had my snorkel in my mouth and found out I was taking shallow rapid breaths. NOT GOOD with a snorkel. I realize now that I should have done the last tow with my reg in my mouth instead so I wasn't so prone to breathing back my ow expelled CO. Not good at all. I can see where a tired diver can feel like he/she can't breath and panic. Pretty scary. I did finish the tow though and asked to take a break.
I felt great again in just a few minutes and we went back down and I practiced breathing from a free flowing reg. I really was sweating that one. I'd watched it domonstrated on the video on my computer and felt it looked really dangerous. My instructor was right there though and I knew I'd get help if I needed it. Well, I did great. Turns out it's no big deal, at least not in the pool.
By the time we finished the free flowing regulator drill, I was pretty fitigued so we swam around a bit then called it a day without having done a CESA. We'll do the CESA next week. I could barely pull myself up the ladder, but did so unaided. All in all I got a great workout today and improved my confidence a lot.
As my last instructor did, my current instructor demonstrated everything he wanted me to do and then had me do it.
My instructor is happy with my progress and pleased to see that I'm at ease in the water and learning to cope with learning to dive. I feel very confident about how I'm progressing.
I had a really good time today. Scuba diving might just be the best thing I've done in a long time.
Now the fun part. By early this evening I noticed that I have a sore throat and a runny nose. I don't feel well. I work for a school district and think maybe one of my co-workers or a student infected me with a cold or the flu. Crap. I'm calling in sick tomorrow and taking care of myself. I want to be well for next week's dive.
Thanks for reading.
I did most of pool sessio #3 today. Everything except for CESA. I'll do the CESA next week.
Today I wore a large BCD, I'd been wearing a medium. I also used an AL80 tank, I'd been using an AL50. Next week I'll be back to using a medium BCD but I really liked the tank. The height was just right for me to sit on the deck with my legs in the water and kit up.
I managed to put the 3mm shorty on by myself this time. No easy feat for someone who can't stand. Whew.
Today I also dove with a brand new Tusa mask I bought yesterday. It has a good field of view through the lens and has side lens made of plasic. I really enjoyed using it. My mustache is still a problem though and I had to keep clearing my mask. Last night I trimmed under my nose and that helped, but my mustache is a bit thick, I should have trimmed it down a bit.
I did a side entry today. The side entry worked really well, though I still had trouble with my feet floating, so my instructor put a 1.5 pound ankle weight on each ankle. Turned out to be a tad too much though and we'll cut that down a bit on the next pool session.
I can live with side entries and my friends won't snicker when I talk about back entries.
My instructor quizzed me on the problem I had with disconnecting the low pressure inflator hose from my BCD two weeks ago. I told him I just couldn't do it. He asked what I could have done instead if it happened for real. I told him I'd given it some thought afterwards and said I could have pressed my deflate button. He said that was good but said I'd be better off to use the dump valve instead. He explained that the dump valve could more than keep up with a stuck inflator and demonstrated it for me before I finished kitting up. At least I was thinking in the right direction.
Since my current instructor is taking over for my last instructor he had me run through a few things I should have learned already. I practiced removing and replacing my mask underwater, retrieving a lost regulator, alternate air source use. The basics really.
We then did alternate air source swimming back and fourth across the bottom of the pool.
We practiced the fin pivot using both the power inflator and my mouth. I did well with the inflate button, but really messed up inflating manually.
When I went to inflate the BCD manually I blew way too much air into the BCD and shot upright. I pressed the deflate button and came back down and tried again. My instructor had fun watching me discover how little air I needed to put in my BCD. It was a fun exercise.
I performed the tired diver tow. First the tank valve tow, then swimming beside the diver using my right hand tucked under my intructor's right armpit area, then finally by pushing my instructor in front of me with his fins on my shoulders.
I had a lot of trouble with the last tow method, by then I was winded and felt like I was having trouble breathing. I had my snorkel in my mouth and found out I was taking shallow rapid breaths. NOT GOOD with a snorkel. I realize now that I should have done the last tow with my reg in my mouth instead so I wasn't so prone to breathing back my ow expelled CO. Not good at all. I can see where a tired diver can feel like he/she can't breath and panic. Pretty scary. I did finish the tow though and asked to take a break.
I felt great again in just a few minutes and we went back down and I practiced breathing from a free flowing reg. I really was sweating that one. I'd watched it domonstrated on the video on my computer and felt it looked really dangerous. My instructor was right there though and I knew I'd get help if I needed it. Well, I did great. Turns out it's no big deal, at least not in the pool.
By the time we finished the free flowing regulator drill, I was pretty fitigued so we swam around a bit then called it a day without having done a CESA. We'll do the CESA next week. I could barely pull myself up the ladder, but did so unaided. All in all I got a great workout today and improved my confidence a lot.
As my last instructor did, my current instructor demonstrated everything he wanted me to do and then had me do it.
My instructor is happy with my progress and pleased to see that I'm at ease in the water and learning to cope with learning to dive. I feel very confident about how I'm progressing.
I had a really good time today. Scuba diving might just be the best thing I've done in a long time.
Now the fun part. By early this evening I noticed that I have a sore throat and a runny nose. I don't feel well. I work for a school district and think maybe one of my co-workers or a student infected me with a cold or the flu. Crap. I'm calling in sick tomorrow and taking care of myself. I want to be well for next week's dive.
Thanks for reading.
