I thought I'd share some insight into what my new PADI course was like for those considered taking the course or wanting to get into SCUBA diving. My initial question was really which course to take: PADI or NAUI and a while back I posted that same question here only to get a mixed review and that ultimately the best course to take is the one with the best instructor as they make the course.
Funny enough this same question came up during our first night and the answer was quite simple. Take which ever one you want. Both are recognized world wide and both achieve the same end result. It was compared to that of a first aid course. A first aid course from the Red Cross vs St John Ambulance will yield the same training but they just have different methods and approaches. I thought that was a reasonable answer and we all agreed to it.
So PADI it is and off we go..........
DAY 1
Our first day was relatively simple and there was some administrative stuff to do before we began. Fill out your name a few times, emergency contacts, and the ever famous medical questionnaire. After signing our life away and writing down our instructors name and "resort" number (this is simply a dive shop in the middle of the prairies in Canada with no water to be found) we were ready to go. We met our instructor and got a brief overview of who she was and why she does what she does followed by all of us telling our name and indicating why we wanted to get into diving (I personally took a couple intro dives off the Whitsunday Islands on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in May/June of 2009 and have been itching to get back into it).
As far as presentation and organization goes these guys seemed pretty good. We got our PADI Kits in these blue zippered bags and began going through it all. They look like this:
Because today was our first day and we only just got our books there was no quiz or tests to be taken yet. In fact because we hadn't done any reading our homework was to read the first 2 sections and prepare for 2 tests next time. We meet one day per week with each day being a different section over 5 weeks. Now me being the person I am and took it upon myself to pre-read the entire book before day 1 as a friend of mine is a Divemaster and to be honest it's a very good idea. You really do get alot of insight from the book and it prepares you for what you will be doing in the pool each session. I found that having read this book ahead of time allowed me to fully understand what and WHY things were done the way they are. It also allowed me time to formulate some questions if I didn't understand something and then address it in the classroom (my book was also published in 1990 so there are surely to be changes but the majority of the information will likely be current).
As far as book work and classroom went there wasn't a whole lot. Instead we watched a movie (a bit cheesy) which really just summarized the first section. Trust me the book goes into a lot more depth (pardon the pun). Next we had demonstrations on how to put your BCDs backpack onto the tank, secure it, and attach your regs. One person got up to do a demonstration on how to put the BCD on and all the straps that had to be tightened etc. Two of the most important things that were stressed in the class were: DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH - EVER!!!, and when you remove your regs from the tank REPLACE THE DUST CAP. The order in which you setup and then tear down the equipment was performed as well as how to clean and rinse everything afterward.
Next we got our BCDs, regs and a tank and loaded it all into the back of my truck and set off to the pool.
Once at the pool the first thing we did was dip our BCD into the pool to prepare it to be attached to the tank. Having done that we needed to make sure the BCD was at the right height on the tank and that the yoke was pointing in the right direction and had the proper O ring in it. A quick attachment of the regs to the tank (finger tight), the low pressure hose to the BCD inflator, and the SPG clipped on we made sure everything all secure and ready to go. Next we put the SPG away from us and turned on the air. All the hoses stiffened up and then we checked our pressure. We all ensured we had 3000PSI/200 Bar and everything looked good. We breathed from our regs and octopus to ensure they worked properly and didn't taste stale or off.
The obvious next step would be to put it all on and jump in but first to test our fitness level we all jumped in and went to the deep end to tread water for 10 minutes. I can honestly say I haven't done that in probably 15 years now but it was simple. Our instructions for putting on our gear will change every week. Each week we will do a different entry style and this first time was to pull our gear from the pool deck into the water and put it on in the water in the shallow end. For those who have never done this before it was quite humorous. I don't think anyone remembered to loosen ALL the straps first before attempting this and I was certainly in that group. Once figured out we settled any weight issues and then began to breathe from our regs above water. All the instructions were given first above water including a review again of the hand signals and what was to be expected.
The next few moments for some were a totally new experience. Breathing under water was a new experience for many and I think a few didn't trust it and quickly surfaced. Having done this before I had no problem going under and just breathing normally. I found my reg to be very easy to breathe from and exhalation was flawless (I can't say the same for my trip to Australia 2 years ago, it was very difficult to breathe in those regs, this time was perfect). Once we were all comfortable and underwater we gave the ok signal and then proceeded to do our skills. First the instructor performed them then came to each of us to try them.
Those skills included the following: taking the reg out of your mouth (hold it downward to prevent free flow) and then put back in your mouth and exhale sharply to clear the water and continue breathing. We then did the same exercise using the purge button. Next we took the reg out and threw it aside and did a recovery by sweeping your hand by your leg and finding it then clearing it. Our next skill was to clear a partially flooded mask. We were instructed to let a little bit of water into the mask and then clear the water out by pressing on the top of the mask and exhaling from your nose while tilting your head back. Finally we showed the out of air signal and then took our instructors octopus and breathed from it for 30 seconds while holding arms and then recovering our own reg and that was it. Our skills for the day were done and we (as buddies) were clear to swim about the pool for something like 15-20 minutes.
Being adventurous I decided to take it one step further and did more reg recoveries, including reaching back behind my head to find the 1st stage reg hose attachment to find my 2nd stage in case the sweep method failed. I also took my mask and snorkel off completely at the bottom of the pool and then proceeded to put it all back on and clear all the water. I have never done this one before and the urge to breathe in from your nose is strong but I knew not to and managed to do this all quite effortlessly. I know I did get a bit of water in my nose but just continued breathing slowly from my reg and had no problems. I also tried switching back and forth from my 2nd stage reg to my own octopus and back (simulating a reg failure if your buddy wasn't close by - which s/he should be) then topped it all off by surfacing and doing a reg to snorkel to reg swap. You may wonder why I started doing extra stuff like this. Well the answer is simple: I have already read the book and these skills are coming up in the next pool sessions
One of the upcoming skills will be to breathe from a free flowing regulator. When I read about this and watched YouTube videos on this (and all the other skills required for the course) I was a bit terrified. I thought, there is no way in hell I'm doing that one I'm going to drown. I told some of the other students about this one and they all almost had a heart attack and questioned how it worked and pretty much shared my sentiments about wanting to do it. I thought, screw it, I'm going to try it and went under about 6 inches (in very shallow water), put half the reg in my mouth and held down the purge button to simulate a free flow I then very carefully started to breathe in and to my amazement it worked perfectly. I couldn't believe how easy it was to do. No one else was ready to try this just yet and I don't blame them but having thought it would be impossible to do and afraid of drowning I now have no problems doing it.
After our free swim we were signaled back to our instructor and then were told to ascend by kicking, spinning, and deflating our BCD. Yes, deflating. You would think the obvious choice would be to inflate it to allow air to help you surface and while in water only 6 feet deep there isn't much problem with this but it does become a problem much deeper. As you ascend the air in the BCD expands and continues to expand as you go up. Just as you breathe out while surfacing to prevent lung over expansion you also need to RELEASE air from your BCD to prevent it from over expansion (even though it has valves to automatically dump air once too full). It isn't until you are on the surface that you then inflate the BCD to help you float on the surface.
Finally we had to take all our gear off and we had to do it the same way we put it on. In the water. This was relatively painless and then we handed our tanks up to someone on deck and then got out ourselves and we went through the disassembly process. Turn your air off and then purge the regs to release all the pressure. You can't take the first stage reg off the tank while pressurized. I decided to try something a bit different. Rather than just holding the purge button down I decided to breathe from the reg and slowly turn my air off. I wanted to know what it felt like to breathe out a tank and completely run out of air (while out of the water). Once the air is off or out I only got one breath from the lines and that was it. There was nothing after that. This is a strange feeling and certainly one everyone should try just so they can recognize this feeling. Finally a quick rinse of everything and we were done for the day.
Being a big guy I need to address the issue of getting a bigger BCD and more weight on my weight belt. I think I'll head to the dive shop now to take care of that. Also I forgot I have a GoPro HD camera, I think next time I'll bring that along with me and make a couple YouTube videos for people to see. See you next week..........
Funny enough this same question came up during our first night and the answer was quite simple. Take which ever one you want. Both are recognized world wide and both achieve the same end result. It was compared to that of a first aid course. A first aid course from the Red Cross vs St John Ambulance will yield the same training but they just have different methods and approaches. I thought that was a reasonable answer and we all agreed to it.
So PADI it is and off we go..........
DAY 1
Our first day was relatively simple and there was some administrative stuff to do before we began. Fill out your name a few times, emergency contacts, and the ever famous medical questionnaire. After signing our life away and writing down our instructors name and "resort" number (this is simply a dive shop in the middle of the prairies in Canada with no water to be found) we were ready to go. We met our instructor and got a brief overview of who she was and why she does what she does followed by all of us telling our name and indicating why we wanted to get into diving (I personally took a couple intro dives off the Whitsunday Islands on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in May/June of 2009 and have been itching to get back into it).
As far as presentation and organization goes these guys seemed pretty good. We got our PADI Kits in these blue zippered bags and began going through it all. They look like this:
Because today was our first day and we only just got our books there was no quiz or tests to be taken yet. In fact because we hadn't done any reading our homework was to read the first 2 sections and prepare for 2 tests next time. We meet one day per week with each day being a different section over 5 weeks. Now me being the person I am and took it upon myself to pre-read the entire book before day 1 as a friend of mine is a Divemaster and to be honest it's a very good idea. You really do get alot of insight from the book and it prepares you for what you will be doing in the pool each session. I found that having read this book ahead of time allowed me to fully understand what and WHY things were done the way they are. It also allowed me time to formulate some questions if I didn't understand something and then address it in the classroom (my book was also published in 1990 so there are surely to be changes but the majority of the information will likely be current).
As far as book work and classroom went there wasn't a whole lot. Instead we watched a movie (a bit cheesy) which really just summarized the first section. Trust me the book goes into a lot more depth (pardon the pun). Next we had demonstrations on how to put your BCDs backpack onto the tank, secure it, and attach your regs. One person got up to do a demonstration on how to put the BCD on and all the straps that had to be tightened etc. Two of the most important things that were stressed in the class were: DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH - EVER!!!, and when you remove your regs from the tank REPLACE THE DUST CAP. The order in which you setup and then tear down the equipment was performed as well as how to clean and rinse everything afterward.
Next we got our BCDs, regs and a tank and loaded it all into the back of my truck and set off to the pool.
Once at the pool the first thing we did was dip our BCD into the pool to prepare it to be attached to the tank. Having done that we needed to make sure the BCD was at the right height on the tank and that the yoke was pointing in the right direction and had the proper O ring in it. A quick attachment of the regs to the tank (finger tight), the low pressure hose to the BCD inflator, and the SPG clipped on we made sure everything all secure and ready to go. Next we put the SPG away from us and turned on the air. All the hoses stiffened up and then we checked our pressure. We all ensured we had 3000PSI/200 Bar and everything looked good. We breathed from our regs and octopus to ensure they worked properly and didn't taste stale or off.
The obvious next step would be to put it all on and jump in but first to test our fitness level we all jumped in and went to the deep end to tread water for 10 minutes. I can honestly say I haven't done that in probably 15 years now but it was simple. Our instructions for putting on our gear will change every week. Each week we will do a different entry style and this first time was to pull our gear from the pool deck into the water and put it on in the water in the shallow end. For those who have never done this before it was quite humorous. I don't think anyone remembered to loosen ALL the straps first before attempting this and I was certainly in that group. Once figured out we settled any weight issues and then began to breathe from our regs above water. All the instructions were given first above water including a review again of the hand signals and what was to be expected.
The next few moments for some were a totally new experience. Breathing under water was a new experience for many and I think a few didn't trust it and quickly surfaced. Having done this before I had no problem going under and just breathing normally. I found my reg to be very easy to breathe from and exhalation was flawless (I can't say the same for my trip to Australia 2 years ago, it was very difficult to breathe in those regs, this time was perfect). Once we were all comfortable and underwater we gave the ok signal and then proceeded to do our skills. First the instructor performed them then came to each of us to try them.
Those skills included the following: taking the reg out of your mouth (hold it downward to prevent free flow) and then put back in your mouth and exhale sharply to clear the water and continue breathing. We then did the same exercise using the purge button. Next we took the reg out and threw it aside and did a recovery by sweeping your hand by your leg and finding it then clearing it. Our next skill was to clear a partially flooded mask. We were instructed to let a little bit of water into the mask and then clear the water out by pressing on the top of the mask and exhaling from your nose while tilting your head back. Finally we showed the out of air signal and then took our instructors octopus and breathed from it for 30 seconds while holding arms and then recovering our own reg and that was it. Our skills for the day were done and we (as buddies) were clear to swim about the pool for something like 15-20 minutes.
Being adventurous I decided to take it one step further and did more reg recoveries, including reaching back behind my head to find the 1st stage reg hose attachment to find my 2nd stage in case the sweep method failed. I also took my mask and snorkel off completely at the bottom of the pool and then proceeded to put it all back on and clear all the water. I have never done this one before and the urge to breathe in from your nose is strong but I knew not to and managed to do this all quite effortlessly. I know I did get a bit of water in my nose but just continued breathing slowly from my reg and had no problems. I also tried switching back and forth from my 2nd stage reg to my own octopus and back (simulating a reg failure if your buddy wasn't close by - which s/he should be) then topped it all off by surfacing and doing a reg to snorkel to reg swap. You may wonder why I started doing extra stuff like this. Well the answer is simple: I have already read the book and these skills are coming up in the next pool sessions
One of the upcoming skills will be to breathe from a free flowing regulator. When I read about this and watched YouTube videos on this (and all the other skills required for the course) I was a bit terrified. I thought, there is no way in hell I'm doing that one I'm going to drown. I told some of the other students about this one and they all almost had a heart attack and questioned how it worked and pretty much shared my sentiments about wanting to do it. I thought, screw it, I'm going to try it and went under about 6 inches (in very shallow water), put half the reg in my mouth and held down the purge button to simulate a free flow I then very carefully started to breathe in and to my amazement it worked perfectly. I couldn't believe how easy it was to do. No one else was ready to try this just yet and I don't blame them but having thought it would be impossible to do and afraid of drowning I now have no problems doing it.
After our free swim we were signaled back to our instructor and then were told to ascend by kicking, spinning, and deflating our BCD. Yes, deflating. You would think the obvious choice would be to inflate it to allow air to help you surface and while in water only 6 feet deep there isn't much problem with this but it does become a problem much deeper. As you ascend the air in the BCD expands and continues to expand as you go up. Just as you breathe out while surfacing to prevent lung over expansion you also need to RELEASE air from your BCD to prevent it from over expansion (even though it has valves to automatically dump air once too full). It isn't until you are on the surface that you then inflate the BCD to help you float on the surface.
Finally we had to take all our gear off and we had to do it the same way we put it on. In the water. This was relatively painless and then we handed our tanks up to someone on deck and then got out ourselves and we went through the disassembly process. Turn your air off and then purge the regs to release all the pressure. You can't take the first stage reg off the tank while pressurized. I decided to try something a bit different. Rather than just holding the purge button down I decided to breathe from the reg and slowly turn my air off. I wanted to know what it felt like to breathe out a tank and completely run out of air (while out of the water). Once the air is off or out I only got one breath from the lines and that was it. There was nothing after that. This is a strange feeling and certainly one everyone should try just so they can recognize this feeling. Finally a quick rinse of everything and we were done for the day.
Being a big guy I need to address the issue of getting a bigger BCD and more weight on my weight belt. I think I'll head to the dive shop now to take care of that. Also I forgot I have a GoPro HD camera, I think next time I'll bring that along with me and make a couple YouTube videos for people to see. See you next week..........
