BabyDuck
Contributor
ok, kidding a bit about the last part...
but i did it! i didn't kill myself or others, and only did a few minorly boneheaded things. some snapshots -
i had a hard time getting in & out of little river, cow, & p3. i fell twice & have a gorgeous bruise on my hip. got a bloody nose, too. thank you to my buddies, da aquamaster & ron the tank monkey at cathy's - they were gracious at helping me get in & out, giving me valve lifts & advice on next foot placements.
i. could. not. remember. times. and. pressures. i'd have them all lined up in my head, but if mike (o'leary) asked someone else to start, they'd fly out. writing them might work in real life, but i couldn't do that in class because there was so much else to do. math in my head is a bad idea. i don't see myself ever being able to do ratio deco if i have to dive at the same time.
new drysuit. i didn't use it for the classes so i got chilly, but there was no way someone with a total of 3 drysuit dives should take a cave class in one. first i was way overweighted, then way head-heavy, and kept having she-p failures, and got soaked through my inflator & p-valve & exhaust...though i did have one day of diving it that was dry (spring water *and* pee) & weighted well, so i can see light at the end of that tunnel.
my computer is hard to work (though i fully admit it might just be me getting used to it - no deco experience up to now) on stops. the clock is on a page i have to push a button to get to, and that kinda sucked.
we were an odd group. larry has so much experience (several thousand dives to my 200), but i have lots more cave dives. ron has lots of cave dives, but i have lots more experience. just an observation - we worked together fine, i thought. and larry and i not only share the same brain, but the same lungs. our sac rates are soo close - we'd get out of a 75 min dive with 100psi difference.
i like how in mike's classes the drills are more...choregraphed, for lack of a better word. we did a great confidence-building entanglement drill, but knew it was coming and who was going first, etc. i know in real life things won't be like that, but i like knowing expectations when i'm being assessed.
i'm more comfy, i like being able to do some navigation, i still haven't hit thirds since i was using the drysuit out of class and that thing makes me *WORK* right now so i was calling or being called on way early but i think i'll like that, too! it's so exciting - the goal i've had since my first corrupting post-ow-cert dives in ginnie ballroom with bobby franklin is my reality. still haven't quite wrapped my head around that.
huge thanks to everyone who helped in any way, and that's a huge list, so assume you're on it if you're reading this. i love cave diving, i love everything about it, and i'm waiting to win the lottery to buy a double wide in nfl with a single wide out back for the gear & renting to friends.
but i did it! i didn't kill myself or others, and only did a few minorly boneheaded things. some snapshots -
i had a hard time getting in & out of little river, cow, & p3. i fell twice & have a gorgeous bruise on my hip. got a bloody nose, too. thank you to my buddies, da aquamaster & ron the tank monkey at cathy's - they were gracious at helping me get in & out, giving me valve lifts & advice on next foot placements.
i. could. not. remember. times. and. pressures. i'd have them all lined up in my head, but if mike (o'leary) asked someone else to start, they'd fly out. writing them might work in real life, but i couldn't do that in class because there was so much else to do. math in my head is a bad idea. i don't see myself ever being able to do ratio deco if i have to dive at the same time.
new drysuit. i didn't use it for the classes so i got chilly, but there was no way someone with a total of 3 drysuit dives should take a cave class in one. first i was way overweighted, then way head-heavy, and kept having she-p failures, and got soaked through my inflator & p-valve & exhaust...though i did have one day of diving it that was dry (spring water *and* pee) & weighted well, so i can see light at the end of that tunnel.
my computer is hard to work (though i fully admit it might just be me getting used to it - no deco experience up to now) on stops. the clock is on a page i have to push a button to get to, and that kinda sucked.
we were an odd group. larry has so much experience (several thousand dives to my 200), but i have lots more cave dives. ron has lots of cave dives, but i have lots more experience. just an observation - we worked together fine, i thought. and larry and i not only share the same brain, but the same lungs. our sac rates are soo close - we'd get out of a 75 min dive with 100psi difference.
i like how in mike's classes the drills are more...choregraphed, for lack of a better word. we did a great confidence-building entanglement drill, but knew it was coming and who was going first, etc. i know in real life things won't be like that, but i like knowing expectations when i'm being assessed.
i'm more comfy, i like being able to do some navigation, i still haven't hit thirds since i was using the drysuit out of class and that thing makes me *WORK* right now so i was calling or being called on way early but i think i'll like that, too! it's so exciting - the goal i've had since my first corrupting post-ow-cert dives in ginnie ballroom with bobby franklin is my reality. still haven't quite wrapped my head around that.
huge thanks to everyone who helped in any way, and that's a huge list, so assume you're on it if you're reading this. i love cave diving, i love everything about it, and i'm waiting to win the lottery to buy a double wide in nfl with a single wide out back for the gear & renting to friends.
