Its October and we've already wracked up Open Water Diver, Dry Suit Diver, and Nitrox Diver. Now we know we're really in for it. Diving is fun! And we've learned by now that we aren't fair weather divers. We've decided to go for it - buying all our gear so we can get comfortable with it, and make many more dives right here in Monterey. Sounds like this isn't for everyone - there are plenty of people who don't see the point of all the hard work of cold water diving. Dry suit, lots of weight, poor visibility. But on the other hand, there is a lot to see, much of it on a small scale - you have to get right up close. I love finding something small and secret - unnoticed by most people, but yet a treasure. After a dive, I can keep the image in my mind of a perfect small anemone - not more than an inch across - different than any other anemone I've ever seen...
Looking forward to taking the Advanced class soon!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Going Alone?
Now that we had our Open Water certification, we decided to head back to Breakwater to try a dive on our own. No herd of students to jostle around with, just a chance to go out and see the fish in the spot we were already comfortable with.
We rented our gear, drove to Monterey, and got ready to get in the water. Looks a little rough out there. Hmmm.
Well, in the end, we learned a lot. Here's the list:
So it turns out paddling out into the high chop with a BCD that isn't holding air is not a fun way to start your first 'On my own' diving experience. But - we made it back in, and all our experiences together gave us a much better appreciation for what we're dealing with here. The goal is to dive and have fun, but diving in conditions beyond your experience or with unknown equipment can be dangerous.
Happily, conditions were much better on Sunday and we had two successful dives, learned more about working together, and saw lots more crabs and a few fish. The visibility was poor though - only about 5 feet.
One humorous tidbit ... Curtis' wetsuit had a lot of frayed edges, and the turbulant surf had washed in a lot of sea weed. Put the two together, and you have Curtis-monster-of-the-deep!
We rented our gear, drove to Monterey, and got ready to get in the water. Looks a little rough out there. Hmmm.
Well, in the end, we learned a lot. Here's the list:
- Make sure your BCD holds air before you get out in the water (scary to say the least)
- Don't try to put your fins on before getting in the water (at least at breakwater)... get past the surf zone and then put on your fins.
- Here's one - check the dive report before you go. Turns out 5-8 ft wind waves is not the same conditions as when we took the open water class.
- Make sure your compass is in the right way. In fact - check ALL YOUR RENTAL GEAR carefully to make sure everything is working right. Don't make assumptions!
So it turns out paddling out into the high chop with a BCD that isn't holding air is not a fun way to start your first 'On my own' diving experience. But - we made it back in, and all our experiences together gave us a much better appreciation for what we're dealing with here. The goal is to dive and have fun, but diving in conditions beyond your experience or with unknown equipment can be dangerous.
Happily, conditions were much better on Sunday and we had two successful dives, learned more about working together, and saw lots more crabs and a few fish. The visibility was poor though - only about 5 feet.
One humorous tidbit ... Curtis' wetsuit had a lot of frayed edges, and the turbulant surf had washed in a lot of sea weed. Put the two together, and you have Curtis-monster-of-the-deep!
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| From diving |
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