ShallowDiverDave
Contributor
My Wild Certification Adventure
I’ll make this as short as I can, which means it will be long, but it’s entertaining as it is an adventure that contains ups and downs throughout:
Prelude:
At the beginning of the year I did all the coursework (YMCA) for my OW in a month’s time, with the understanding that the checkout-dive-trip would be in the summer or fall months. Well, the summer trip was cancelled at the last minute. Finally after waiting another three months, the instructor planned for the fall trip to be this past weekend. This trip was to be a combo of Ginnie Springs and Boyton Beach diving. I was really excited about the trip and the opportunity to finally get my checkout dives. I decided to drive down to Valdosta (GA/FL border) the night before (which the instructor knew I was doing) so that I would be relatively close to Ginnie Springs.
Friday:
I worked all day Friday, and then made the 4 hour drive from Atlanta to Valdosta. I found a great hotel (Southern Inn) and set up shop (my computers for internet acces) in my king sized room (very spacious, and overkill for 1 person, but I was spoiling myself). I casually checked my email once I got everything set up, and saw the worst email subject of all time (TRIP CANCELLED). At this point, I had about enough of my instructor (there were more incidents than just this), and I decided to forget his existence in this world altogether. I was now presented with two options: wander into the depths of Florida in search of an instructor who could certify me in a weekend’s time, or drive all the way home (5 hours) and wait another couple months for the “possibility” to get my checkout dives with the current instructor. Considering everything, I easily decided on the former option.
So now, my PLEASE HELP thread on scubaboard was posted. Its purpose, asking for help from you guys, so that I could somehow get certified in Florida, in the following three days. Basically, my mission was to get certified at just about any cost (yes of course I wanted to be safe about it). At this point, my laptop battery was running dangerously low and I forgot to bring my charger. I ran down to the Best Buy and paid 100 bucks for a charger. However, as I purchased the battery, I told the guy behind the counter: “yeah, I’m going to return this tomorrow, see ya then”.
By this time, your responses to my PLEASE HELP thread began coming in on Friday night (thanks so much for your help everybody). I found numerous possibilities, but all of them ended up becoming dead ends or I’ll call you backs or maybes. Remember, I’m desperate and don’t have much time. The only glimmer of hope was a guy that goes by the name trekdiver out of Winter Haven, but he first wanted to see if I could get help in northern Florida (As I was just on the GA/FL border). He gave me a number that led me to three more numbers and finally to a maybe. I went to bed without any definitive solution.
Saturday:
I decided that no matter what, I would head south in the morning as trekdiver seemed to be my best backup plan if all else failed. I called every dive shop in Gainesville on the way down, asking if they could help me out. Most of their instructors were currently out teaching students or they thought I was crazy for even considering the idea of a weekend certification (I totally understood this). Keep in mind, all I really needed were the checkout dives, I was not a true beginner. But I told them all when I called, that I was willing to compensate for the short notice, and I was willing to learn and subsequently take any written test. So I kept driving south, gambling that trekdiver would work out in the end. I was damn near Winter Haven when I gave him a call. He said he would call me back in an hour. You have to realize, I was 600 miles from home on a whim. I got closer to Winter Haven and an hour had passed since the call, nothing. Finally, after a night of disappointments and a day of driving into oblivion without any certainty, he called and said he had a schedule laid out for MY CERTIFICATION. WOO HOO!
He told me what hotel to stay at and he later met me around 3 PM to look over the coursework. I proceed to take all the PADI quizzes and the final exam in about 2 hours time (I was already knowledgeable on the material, and had been studying scuba for months). We discussed the PADI dive tables and other subtle differences between YMCA and PADI. He gave me the dive plans for Sunday and Monday. I was delighted.
He left the hotel and I settled into my bed watching tv. Then it began: moaning and screaming from next door. I relaxed once I understood that no one was in terrible pain as the intent was obviously pleasure. However, I was concerned that the next door neighbor’s bed would come crashing through the wall at any moment. It was 7 PM by the way. After a couple hours it ended.
About 30 mins before I decided to get ready for bed, it began again. My only hope was that they would be done by the time I was ready for bed. Sure enough, almost right on queue, they ended just in time for me to fall asleep successfully. I set my alarm for 830. I woke up at 830 to the sounds of my animal friends next door. I was just happy I got sleep.
Sunday:
Lake Denton:
1st Dive:
The lake was small, but beautiful; it reminded me of lakes up north. It looked nothing like some of the trashy lakes we have back in GA. It was clean and clear. We practiced skills and did some underwater navigation. We followed a number of lines to a couple of small sunken boats. Max depth was 37 feet and water temp was a comfy 82 degrees. TBT=40 mins. Great first dive, and I’ll never forget it!
2nd Dive:
This was similar to dive 1 except we swam out to the center of the lake. My instructor’s comp read 47 feet. TBT=35 mins. We somewhat purposely kicked up the silt on the way out, so that on the reciprocal path I could be tested for a lower vis. No problems there and it was a very relaxing dive.
Sun Night:
Just as a note, my neighbors at the hotel clearly left because no noises were heard all night. I swam in the frigid pool at night and wondered how cold it was. I’m guessing 70, but I’m not very good at predicting yet. But, I could only last for 10 mins in a swimsuit so it was cold enough.
Monday:
This might have been the longest day of my life. I’ll keep everything short except the dives and the accident
Summary
8:00 - Drive 150 miles to Hudson Grotto
11:00 - 2 Grotto dives
3:00 – Drive 550 miles to Atlanta
10:00 – The Accident
Hudson Grotto:
Hudson Grotto is a spring with somewhat of an hourglass shape (rock formations throughout, like a rocky cylinder), with rope lines around in a circle at a 30 ft depth and 60 ft depth. Also, a dock at 20 ft. The grotto has at least 4 turtles and numerous catfish and other small fish. I was extremely surprised at how friendly the turtles were. Before my instructor’s giant stride, one turtle attempted to nip his fin, to which he responded: “hey, that’s mine”.
3rd Dive: Easily the best dive of the weekend. We did some skills on the platform at 20 foot. We then followed the 30 ft loop around the circle and headed down for the 60 ft loop once the instructor checked my air. He later said he was shocked how much air I had left, because most beginners haven’t learned how to control their breathing. Max depth 67 feet and the temp at depth was 26 deg C (78 F). TBT=37 mins. The instructor said he had a lot of fun on the dive, and so did I.
4th Dive: After a short 45 min surface interval, we did the 30 ft loop one more time and a few more skills, and then I was CERTIFIED. Max depth 40 feet with temp at depth of 27 C. TBT=30 mins. Best part was, the instructor let me lead most of the dive. I continually checked on him, as he did I all the dives before.
The Accident:
After driving 150 miles, then 2 dives at Hudson, then driving 550 miles:
It had been raining since I left Hudson and had gotten worse since entering Georgia. I made it to Atlanta. I turned a corner on I-75 almost out of Atlanta, when I saw a MAJOR accident in front of me, so naturally I began to slow down. Then it happened, BAM, I was annihilated from behind and pushed into the shoulder. I got out to see very little damage to my rental car. However, the person who hit me, his car was totally destroyed. This guy then proceeded to push his car across the entire interstate, in the middle of Atlanta (5 lanes), in the middle of traffic (due to another accident). THEN he took one look at his car, and began running away on foot. He never returned. A lady pulled up behind me and said: “I saw everything, he was driving like a maniac, I’m calling 911”. We heard all the cop cars and ambulances and fire trucks, but they all zoomed past us to assist the accident in front of us. I believe at least 2 people perished in that accident, so I understood this. When the cops finally made it to my accident, the officer asked me where the other guy was, and I told him, “hmm, not sure, I think he bailed”. He asked for a description of the now suspect, and then I was told I could leave. Funny thing was, two days before this, the rental agency calls me and says: “is everything ok sir?” to which I reply “everything is fine, except the car is destroyed” (kidding of course because this was 2 days before the real accident), she rather nonchalantly said, “oh that’s ok, you have coverage”.
Anyway, I’M CERTIFIED.
Differeneces between YMCA vs. PADI : Coming soon
I’ll make this as short as I can, which means it will be long, but it’s entertaining as it is an adventure that contains ups and downs throughout:
Prelude:
At the beginning of the year I did all the coursework (YMCA) for my OW in a month’s time, with the understanding that the checkout-dive-trip would be in the summer or fall months. Well, the summer trip was cancelled at the last minute. Finally after waiting another three months, the instructor planned for the fall trip to be this past weekend. This trip was to be a combo of Ginnie Springs and Boyton Beach diving. I was really excited about the trip and the opportunity to finally get my checkout dives. I decided to drive down to Valdosta (GA/FL border) the night before (which the instructor knew I was doing) so that I would be relatively close to Ginnie Springs.
Friday:
I worked all day Friday, and then made the 4 hour drive from Atlanta to Valdosta. I found a great hotel (Southern Inn) and set up shop (my computers for internet acces) in my king sized room (very spacious, and overkill for 1 person, but I was spoiling myself). I casually checked my email once I got everything set up, and saw the worst email subject of all time (TRIP CANCELLED). At this point, I had about enough of my instructor (there were more incidents than just this), and I decided to forget his existence in this world altogether. I was now presented with two options: wander into the depths of Florida in search of an instructor who could certify me in a weekend’s time, or drive all the way home (5 hours) and wait another couple months for the “possibility” to get my checkout dives with the current instructor. Considering everything, I easily decided on the former option.
So now, my PLEASE HELP thread on scubaboard was posted. Its purpose, asking for help from you guys, so that I could somehow get certified in Florida, in the following three days. Basically, my mission was to get certified at just about any cost (yes of course I wanted to be safe about it). At this point, my laptop battery was running dangerously low and I forgot to bring my charger. I ran down to the Best Buy and paid 100 bucks for a charger. However, as I purchased the battery, I told the guy behind the counter: “yeah, I’m going to return this tomorrow, see ya then”.
By this time, your responses to my PLEASE HELP thread began coming in on Friday night (thanks so much for your help everybody). I found numerous possibilities, but all of them ended up becoming dead ends or I’ll call you backs or maybes. Remember, I’m desperate and don’t have much time. The only glimmer of hope was a guy that goes by the name trekdiver out of Winter Haven, but he first wanted to see if I could get help in northern Florida (As I was just on the GA/FL border). He gave me a number that led me to three more numbers and finally to a maybe. I went to bed without any definitive solution.
Saturday:
I decided that no matter what, I would head south in the morning as trekdiver seemed to be my best backup plan if all else failed. I called every dive shop in Gainesville on the way down, asking if they could help me out. Most of their instructors were currently out teaching students or they thought I was crazy for even considering the idea of a weekend certification (I totally understood this). Keep in mind, all I really needed were the checkout dives, I was not a true beginner. But I told them all when I called, that I was willing to compensate for the short notice, and I was willing to learn and subsequently take any written test. So I kept driving south, gambling that trekdiver would work out in the end. I was damn near Winter Haven when I gave him a call. He said he would call me back in an hour. You have to realize, I was 600 miles from home on a whim. I got closer to Winter Haven and an hour had passed since the call, nothing. Finally, after a night of disappointments and a day of driving into oblivion without any certainty, he called and said he had a schedule laid out for MY CERTIFICATION. WOO HOO!
He told me what hotel to stay at and he later met me around 3 PM to look over the coursework. I proceed to take all the PADI quizzes and the final exam in about 2 hours time (I was already knowledgeable on the material, and had been studying scuba for months). We discussed the PADI dive tables and other subtle differences between YMCA and PADI. He gave me the dive plans for Sunday and Monday. I was delighted.
He left the hotel and I settled into my bed watching tv. Then it began: moaning and screaming from next door. I relaxed once I understood that no one was in terrible pain as the intent was obviously pleasure. However, I was concerned that the next door neighbor’s bed would come crashing through the wall at any moment. It was 7 PM by the way. After a couple hours it ended.
About 30 mins before I decided to get ready for bed, it began again. My only hope was that they would be done by the time I was ready for bed. Sure enough, almost right on queue, they ended just in time for me to fall asleep successfully. I set my alarm for 830. I woke up at 830 to the sounds of my animal friends next door. I was just happy I got sleep.
Sunday:
Lake Denton:
1st Dive:
The lake was small, but beautiful; it reminded me of lakes up north. It looked nothing like some of the trashy lakes we have back in GA. It was clean and clear. We practiced skills and did some underwater navigation. We followed a number of lines to a couple of small sunken boats. Max depth was 37 feet and water temp was a comfy 82 degrees. TBT=40 mins. Great first dive, and I’ll never forget it!
2nd Dive:
This was similar to dive 1 except we swam out to the center of the lake. My instructor’s comp read 47 feet. TBT=35 mins. We somewhat purposely kicked up the silt on the way out, so that on the reciprocal path I could be tested for a lower vis. No problems there and it was a very relaxing dive.
Sun Night:
Just as a note, my neighbors at the hotel clearly left because no noises were heard all night. I swam in the frigid pool at night and wondered how cold it was. I’m guessing 70, but I’m not very good at predicting yet. But, I could only last for 10 mins in a swimsuit so it was cold enough.
Monday:
This might have been the longest day of my life. I’ll keep everything short except the dives and the accident
Summary
8:00 - Drive 150 miles to Hudson Grotto
11:00 - 2 Grotto dives
3:00 – Drive 550 miles to Atlanta
10:00 – The Accident
Hudson Grotto:
Hudson Grotto is a spring with somewhat of an hourglass shape (rock formations throughout, like a rocky cylinder), with rope lines around in a circle at a 30 ft depth and 60 ft depth. Also, a dock at 20 ft. The grotto has at least 4 turtles and numerous catfish and other small fish. I was extremely surprised at how friendly the turtles were. Before my instructor’s giant stride, one turtle attempted to nip his fin, to which he responded: “hey, that’s mine”.
3rd Dive: Easily the best dive of the weekend. We did some skills on the platform at 20 foot. We then followed the 30 ft loop around the circle and headed down for the 60 ft loop once the instructor checked my air. He later said he was shocked how much air I had left, because most beginners haven’t learned how to control their breathing. Max depth 67 feet and the temp at depth was 26 deg C (78 F). TBT=37 mins. The instructor said he had a lot of fun on the dive, and so did I.
4th Dive: After a short 45 min surface interval, we did the 30 ft loop one more time and a few more skills, and then I was CERTIFIED. Max depth 40 feet with temp at depth of 27 C. TBT=30 mins. Best part was, the instructor let me lead most of the dive. I continually checked on him, as he did I all the dives before.
The Accident:
After driving 150 miles, then 2 dives at Hudson, then driving 550 miles:
It had been raining since I left Hudson and had gotten worse since entering Georgia. I made it to Atlanta. I turned a corner on I-75 almost out of Atlanta, when I saw a MAJOR accident in front of me, so naturally I began to slow down. Then it happened, BAM, I was annihilated from behind and pushed into the shoulder. I got out to see very little damage to my rental car. However, the person who hit me, his car was totally destroyed. This guy then proceeded to push his car across the entire interstate, in the middle of Atlanta (5 lanes), in the middle of traffic (due to another accident). THEN he took one look at his car, and began running away on foot. He never returned. A lady pulled up behind me and said: “I saw everything, he was driving like a maniac, I’m calling 911”. We heard all the cop cars and ambulances and fire trucks, but they all zoomed past us to assist the accident in front of us. I believe at least 2 people perished in that accident, so I understood this. When the cops finally made it to my accident, the officer asked me where the other guy was, and I told him, “hmm, not sure, I think he bailed”. He asked for a description of the now suspect, and then I was told I could leave. Funny thing was, two days before this, the rental agency calls me and says: “is everything ok sir?” to which I reply “everything is fine, except the car is destroyed” (kidding of course because this was 2 days before the real accident), she rather nonchalantly said, “oh that’s ok, you have coverage”.
Anyway, I’M CERTIFIED.
Differeneces between YMCA vs. PADI : Coming soon
