As I load up the gear and head to the pool I can’t help but feel nervous and excited all at once. My first Open Water Diver Course!!!
Being new and having a full class my boss offer to helps, I gratefully accept all the help I can get and so it begins, we’re off to the pool…
Remember guys diving is fun!!!!!!!!!!!
Confined water day one: Partial mask flood; overcoming fears can be challenging as we all know and when you don’t like water up your nose or on your eyes this skill can be a mission… stay calm your ok…. Tears begin to fill the mask and all I can think is oh no, they go to pinch the top to let water in but there’s no need its already partially full…now it’s time to clear it… before we know it we are at the surface and it’s time to calm down before we go back down and repeat it. After we complete the skill the smile was worth every tear and now it was time for the full mask flood. I’m worried wondering if my student is going to be ok I can see them getting braver and braver the further through the course they went, they are now able to do the swim without their mask, put it back on and clear it…. Without tears…. Overcoming a fear can be stressful but how accomplished do you feel once you’ve done it? Am I right?
Open water Dive 3: CESA (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent) now by far this is my least favourite skill while doing one at a time I had students waiting below I see one playing in the sand looking at this Banded Wrasse I try get his attention “remember no touchy touchy the fishy fishy” but it was too late the fish crept up and got him…the fish bit his finger…We go up…. Bleeding at the surface I hope to see a shark but we did not. I look at the bite and it did look sore, I offer to end the dive and go back in but no we go back down. What a soldier, persistence is something every good diver has.
They pass, YAY…everyone gets their open water everyone’s happy and then it’s time for round two my second open water class all by myself…
Aimey OWSI
