soltari675
Contributor
Last weekend I completed my Advanced Open Water. One more step in the right direction. I really enjoyed the course. It gave me some brief introductions to other kinds of diving. But what I liked most was the additional information and the emphasis on improving current skills. There were two of us taking the course this weekend.
On Saturday: Did a navigation adventure dive. Before the dive we spent about 30 minutes talking about the importance of navigation, where and how it is used for diving, methods such as measuring time or kick strokes, and tools such as our compass and natural terrain. We then spent a dive on a navigation course practicing by navigating to buoys that were about 15 feet down. We then practiced our navigation skills on more open water at about 30 feet, to find landmarks and attractions in the water. Throughout the rest of the weekend we practiced while we did our other dives.
Our second dive was a wreck adventure course. Before we made the dive we talked about the dangers of wreck diving. The equipment to use and what not to use. We learned what was acceptable without a full certification and what is not. We learned what to watch out for and things to keep a close eye on such as gas, time, and not getting lost. After the talk, we used our navigation skills from earlier and went to several mostly safe wrecks underwater. If anyone has been to Mermet Springs in Illinois you know where I was. We went in and around the 727, ambulance, school bus, and others. This was one of my favorites.
Our third dive was not really a requirement for the course, but was offered and we did anyway because it was useful. We practiced buoyancy, weighting, revisited our OW skills. Mostly we showed off that we remembered everything and had improved.
We practiced being completely comfortable no matter what under water. This comes rather naturally to me already, or so it feels. But it was good to be reminded about the skills we do not use often. We also practiced other forms of kicking that we hadn't before. Mostly frog kicking, doing helicopter turns, and backing up. I still need to work on going backwards, but the rest I got very well. We swam along the bottom and had a contest on who could swim closest to the bottom but not touch or kick up any silt.
Our fourth and final dive of the day was a night dive. I love these. Before the dive we talked about communication at night. Buddy skills. Navigation. The dangers and the benefits like different wild life and different view of the site. We did a dive only around 30-40ft. Visited some of the shallower attractions. We then practiced some skills with lights in our hands for multitasking and the limited visibility because it was at night. BIG catfish out that night.
On Sunday, our first dive was a deep dive. We went to about 85 feet. We did not spend a long time at this depth because of the temperature. It was 42 there. Before the dive we talked about equipment, like regulators made for cold water. (mine is!
), and the type of exposure protection. We talked about the affects of deeper water like the reduced bottom time and narcosis. We talked about the hazards and buddy skills. We talked about possible backup systems like a pony bottle, just in case. During the dive I found I can juggle bowling balls one handed. 
We swam around a while and then did some math problems. We also had a ball that you give to kids and you push the little shapes through the correct holes. We explored some of the deeper sites before coming up to warmer water above the thermocline, swimming around some more and then ending. We practiced and talked about safety stops and the procedure if you accidentally go over and have to do a deco stop, which we practiced.
The second dive on Sunday was a photography class. It's the one me and my buddy could agree on. Our instructor gave us some photography tips like focusing on the eyes, don't zoom, etc. But to make it really useful as a skill, he stressed buoyancy. I did the peak performance class back in February, so this was a review really, but still important. Again, we practiced getting close to a target, hovering very close to the bottom, but not touching and not silting. We used our newly acquired frog kicking skills to turn and move safely. I did get a few pictures. I need to learn my camera settings better. We also practiced multitasking. Taking pictures while controlling buoyancy and watching my buddy, etc. Using a small light too, and so on.
At the end we did one more dive. This was just a fun swim around the quarry to practice what we learned and enjoy the place. Overall this was a great weekend. I feel I am going to do the full deep and wreck course, followed by the rescue diver once I get more practice and experience.
On Saturday: Did a navigation adventure dive. Before the dive we spent about 30 minutes talking about the importance of navigation, where and how it is used for diving, methods such as measuring time or kick strokes, and tools such as our compass and natural terrain. We then spent a dive on a navigation course practicing by navigating to buoys that were about 15 feet down. We then practiced our navigation skills on more open water at about 30 feet, to find landmarks and attractions in the water. Throughout the rest of the weekend we practiced while we did our other dives.
Our second dive was a wreck adventure course. Before we made the dive we talked about the dangers of wreck diving. The equipment to use and what not to use. We learned what was acceptable without a full certification and what is not. We learned what to watch out for and things to keep a close eye on such as gas, time, and not getting lost. After the talk, we used our navigation skills from earlier and went to several mostly safe wrecks underwater. If anyone has been to Mermet Springs in Illinois you know where I was. We went in and around the 727, ambulance, school bus, and others. This was one of my favorites.
Our third dive was not really a requirement for the course, but was offered and we did anyway because it was useful. We practiced buoyancy, weighting, revisited our OW skills. Mostly we showed off that we remembered everything and had improved.
We practiced being completely comfortable no matter what under water. This comes rather naturally to me already, or so it feels. But it was good to be reminded about the skills we do not use often. We also practiced other forms of kicking that we hadn't before. Mostly frog kicking, doing helicopter turns, and backing up. I still need to work on going backwards, but the rest I got very well. We swam along the bottom and had a contest on who could swim closest to the bottom but not touch or kick up any silt.
Our fourth and final dive of the day was a night dive. I love these. Before the dive we talked about communication at night. Buddy skills. Navigation. The dangers and the benefits like different wild life and different view of the site. We did a dive only around 30-40ft. Visited some of the shallower attractions. We then practiced some skills with lights in our hands for multitasking and the limited visibility because it was at night. BIG catfish out that night.
On Sunday, our first dive was a deep dive. We went to about 85 feet. We did not spend a long time at this depth because of the temperature. It was 42 there. Before the dive we talked about equipment, like regulators made for cold water. (mine is!
), and the type of exposure protection. We talked about the affects of deeper water like the reduced bottom time and narcosis. We talked about the hazards and buddy skills. We talked about possible backup systems like a pony bottle, just in case. During the dive I found I can juggle bowling balls one handed. We swam around a while and then did some math problems. We also had a ball that you give to kids and you push the little shapes through the correct holes. We explored some of the deeper sites before coming up to warmer water above the thermocline, swimming around some more and then ending. We practiced and talked about safety stops and the procedure if you accidentally go over and have to do a deco stop, which we practiced.The second dive on Sunday was a photography class. It's the one me and my buddy could agree on. Our instructor gave us some photography tips like focusing on the eyes, don't zoom, etc. But to make it really useful as a skill, he stressed buoyancy. I did the peak performance class back in February, so this was a review really, but still important. Again, we practiced getting close to a target, hovering very close to the bottom, but not touching and not silting. We used our newly acquired frog kicking skills to turn and move safely. I did get a few pictures. I need to learn my camera settings better. We also practiced multitasking. Taking pictures while controlling buoyancy and watching my buddy, etc. Using a small light too, and so on.
At the end we did one more dive. This was just a fun swim around the quarry to practice what we learned and enjoy the place. Overall this was a great weekend. I feel I am going to do the full deep and wreck course, followed by the rescue diver once I get more practice and experience.
