I’ve just finished an Open Water, only with 3 people of which 2 went on to do their Advanced which was fun and today I’ve had the morning off which was good as we had been out for Kirstys (Flat mate) leaving meal and didn’t get home till quite late. She’s only gone for 8 weeks, anything for a few G&T’s 😀
This afternoon I walked down to the ECO office, met up with Simon and then went for a late breakfast in Cafe Del Sol …the service in there today was shocking ..I sometimes wonder why we eat there. Oh well, nothing to moan about really.
Breakfast eaten, we walked to Crystal and met a bunch of DMT’s (Dive Master Trainee’s) who were signed up to help out with the ‘Junk Yard clean up’ and I met Linda to assist her with Reef Check. This is the first time she’s taught the course on her own, so having me around as support/back up is nice ..plus I can give her some teaching tips
Mr GrassHead is no longer ..sad I know but he did last a long time..
The brief outline of the course is to understand and dive to depths and times where you must complete decompression stops before surfacing to prevent Decompression Sickness (commonly known as “The Bends”)
Studying the large manual on our recent visa run, the first 50 pages informed me of how many ways I could die, how risky it was, and how I should not do it??! Encouraging eh?
On the first couple of dives, we went to 10m and did a few skills… I found my buoyancy so different wearing 4 tanks instead of the usual 1, but managed to sort it after a while.
Over the next few days, building up slowly to deeper depths, I was put through trial after trial, testing my problem solving skills, ensuring that I would be able to solve multiple problems at depth, even with the effects of Nitrogen Narcosis.
The final day of the course was spent at Sail Rock, which is a couple of hours away. On the way out, I prepared my gear, thought about my plan for the dive and the potential problems I could face. After thinking everything through, and having a moment of quiet to chill…. I was ready.
The first dive, we descended to 46m and stayed there for 20 minutes. This amount of time at this depth put me way into needing decompression stops on our ascent. We started up and I switched gases from my air to a mix with a higher percentage of oxygen. Then we spent the next 30 minutes completing stops to the surface.
The final dive, we hit 48m ! Â Completing the drills that I needed to do at this depth needed me to be super focus since narcosis was a factor that would slow down my thinking. However, I focused and got the job done. Coming up for our decompression stops, this time I gas switched a couple of times, ending on my final gas mix at 6m which was 100% Oxygen.
All done, and I got a big round of applause back on the boat, which was nice… After all that, its time for a day off… not really a day off, but just from diving…
A very Happy Birthday to our nephew William. We hope you have a lovely day! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU !HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU !HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR WILLIAM !HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU !
What’s been happening ..Simon has finally started his Deep Tech Diving course which he’s loving. He’s certainly finding it physically & mentally challenging. I had to massage the whole of his back with tiger balm which is very unusual. Using muscles that he’s not used in a long time ;-D I think he has an exam later on today and this mornings dives are much deeper ….GO SI!!
Here is a picture during the setup on the first day.. He has 2 tanks on his back.. Add another 2, which is 4 tanks on every dive…. and it gets heavy!!
I on the other hand finished a three person Advanced course and now have the day off. It’s not so busy at the moment. This morning I woke around 8am, got up and cleaned the whole of the house, sorted out my wardrobe, washed all the bird poo from the balcony and did some washing. So a pretty productive day so far. I do need to walk down to Crystal to collect my bike, so I’ll probably shower and then be on my way, taking the rubbish and recycling with me.
Sad news on Mr Grasshead, his hair is thinning and he’s looking rather tired these days ..photo to follow very soon.
