Oct 2012 - Learning to Scuba

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Parent Category: South Australia

Category: Adelaide

Created: Friday, 26 October 2012 11:22

There are a great many things I intend to do in this life, and I am rapidly approaching the end of the trial phase. Soon, I will move onto the phase 2, which is lifestyle. Phase 2 can only begin though once I knock off a number of experiences:

1. Travel to all fully populated continents (Antarctica is on the list but is not part of phase 1) - Done

2. Under my own steam, hike to altitude and see the world above - Done (currently 4700m, but I'll top that in Phase 2)

3. Enter the bowels of the Earth and the world below - Done (Naracoorte Caves and Kelly Caves, Kangaroo Island)

4. Fall to the Earth without dying - Done

5. Explore the world aquatic - In Process

I have chosen to pursue Scuba Diving through a local PADI Dive store that was recommended by a couple of friends who said they were the best and most friendly dive store in the state. The PADI Open Water licence has a few stages to it - Theory, Confined Water, and Open Water. When we signed up, we received our PADI theory kit and as part of the training package our first dive kit:

1. Mask

2. Snorkel

3. Fins

4. Boots

The theory part involves reading through two books, highlighting points and answering quizzes to gather the technical information required for the exam. Sometimes this is done in class or you do it in your own time (as we did) and go to a class for a quick refresh and exam. The part that I had the most difficulty with is the hand signals. It's not that the gestures are unfamiliar, just that the meanings are different. The sign for 'going up' is the same as 'OK' from my experience. A small hindrance but not much of one.

The refresh and exam took around 3 hours and it was here that we met our instructor Adam. The revision was quick and the exam relatively easy. There was a question that I read differently than intended to which I had to explain my reasoning thus highlighting that I understood the various conditions but other than that it was all good.

As we left the dive shop, we gathered our kit for the confined and open water dives:

1. Wetsuit

2. vest with hood

3. BCD (Buoyancy Control Device)

4. Regs (Breathing, monitoring and control apparatus that you connect with your air cylinder)

5. Weight belt (For humans are surprisingly buoyant, especially in a wetsuit)

6. Air Cylinders

There's quite a bit that goes into a full dive kit and it weighs a bit, but if you want to breathe underwater safely this is what you need.

The following Night we met up with Adam at the Aquadome in Elizabeth for our first confined water dive, our first chance to take the theoretical and make it practical. The first step is construct our kit and test to make sure that it works.

Next comes the proof that you have the minimum physical fitness required for Scuba - swim 200m in any stroke in any time without stopping, 10 minutes treading water without stopping.

Then comes the exciting part - breathing under water - well almost, you have to get into your gear first. The first time you try to get in a full body wetsuit (7.5mm or more thick) is an interesting process. It's very tight and difficult to get yourself into without looking like a beached fish flopping around on the shore (getting out is just as interesting as you try to find the peel points of the suit). Suit on, boots on, time to take the BCD, mask and snorkel, and fins to the edge of the pool to finish dressing. One thing that must be accepted about Scuba is that there is very little chance of moving suavely on the surface while in your kit, at least not at first and probably not for quite a while. Getting the rest of the kit on is a clumsy process but nothing like the floundering of the wetsuit. And before you know you know it your fully dressed, in the water, regulator in your mouth and face down breathing.

Its an odd experience, aside from having something in your mouth against your gums, the air that flows into your mouth and lungs is crisp, cool and thick. You can actually feel the air moving inwards, filling up your cavities. Once you release the draw, air begins bubbling out of your nose and mouth, oxygen and nitrogen tickling skin. A second later you are exhaling and the small trickle becomes large orbs floating out and upwards, erupting in sound as well as sight. The trick with breathing under water is to go slow, deep and steady and never hold your breath (It's a safety thing as when you descend the air gets more dense and ascending brings expansion due to the changes in pressure).

You then move in to a number of skill drills: swapping out your reg and replacing it underwater, clearing your mask, signalling to your buddy, safety moves with and without your buddy, buoyancy skills, changing your BCD and weight belt under water and at the surface, emergency manoeuvres. There are quite a few different ones to practice and pass although, the likelihood of ever needing to use some of these is apparently very low (but low doesn't not mean never).

Adam says that the most important skills to walk away with from these drills is buoyancy and breathing. If you can control where you are in the water and keep control of your breathing very little can go wrong that you can't control.