Never say Never... my first dive in Doubles

[Mo2vation]

Well - it happened.

Anyone who's been around me knows that I've firmly held the stance against moving into Tek diving - Nothing against Tek, really. Its just that my long term objectives we simply developing into a guppy diver with mad skills.

Then I dived Osborn Banks in SoCal, and everything changed.

So I've eaten my words and begun the march to Tek. My principal buddy and I, along with 1 and possibly two other committed souls will be taking GUE Tek 1 in the Spring 2007.

At present we're accruing the stuff, fitting the stuff, and now, diving the stuff.

Did my first pool dive in a borrowed pair of doubles. I was in there for about two hours with Claudette. We were trimming, face planting, high-kicking, CG-ing, valve drilling, air sharing, slow ascenting and just having a hoot.

What a learning experience. Loved it. SO glad to took some advice from a good friend (thanks, T) and got in the pool first. Not that the pool remotely resembles the ocean, but it gave us a chance to fit the stuff, route the hoses, etc, etc.

Tomorrow (Wed) night we'll be splashing (surf willing) at Vets with them. Can't hardly wait.

Next week we'll be spending an evening with our instructor reviewing the practice routines and making sure we're not drifting far afoot.

Its a lot to learn - and I couldn't be more extited about going back to school. Its been over 3 years and over 500 dives since my Fundies public humiliation. The next few months should be interesting, and make for more than a couple silly ScubaBoard posts.... :11:

I'm fired up!

---
Ken

 

[webhead]

I think you'll enjoy it as this kind of diving will teach you more than just how to stay buoyant and will open up some great dive sites to you. And if you ever want to step over to the dark side.....CCR....you'll find plenty of friends there too.

 

[MHK]

Next week we'll be spending an evening with our instructor reviewing the practice routines and making sure we're not drifting far afoot.

---
Ken

Ken,

We better make that this week or this weekend, I might be busy next week ;-)

 

[TSandM]

Like I said, DIR-F is a gateway drug.

Please write profusely about this experience, as you did with Fundies, so I can, once again, prepare myself through your accounts . . . Although I am not as far behind you on this one

 

[headhunter]

I look forward to reading about your journey! I'm on the road behind you and it will be nice to be diving in doubles again.

It will be different for me now though, since I'll have more than one second stage, more than one first stage and an isolator valve. It's just plain scary when your find you old gear on a table in the booth for the Historical Diving Society.

I've got the tanks and now need to get bands, a manifold and 2 more sets of regs.

...and so it begins.

Christian

 

[TSandM]

I've got the regs -- I just have to figure out what tanks I can carry and trim out. I have a pair of LP 72s which is probably what I'll end up with, just because I have them, if I can figure out how to dive them without standing on my head.

And I used to worry about whether my jewelry matched my clothes . . .

 

[Archangel]

Ken and Claudette:

So proud of you! You two are my DIR mentors and I love and thank you so much for being so patient and kind to gently bringing me into the fold. Much good luck, many gaffaws, and lots of laughs during debriefs as you return to where I sit today attempting to dial in my bouyancy.

Cant wait to watch you two with valve drills . . . three valves raised to the third power exponentially equals taskloading x 9 :11:!

Love,

Tevis

 

[Mo2vation]

I've got the regs -- I just have to figure out what tanks I can carry and trim out. I have a pair of LP 72s which is probably what I'll end up with, just because I have them, if I can figure out how to dive them without standing on my head.

And I used to worry about whether my jewelry matched my clothes . . .

Avoiding the face plant is a simple 5 step process, really. Here's what I did to avoid being seen "diving standing on my head..."

1) Ken goes into pool with giant 112's. Claudette goes into pool with diminuative 72's

2) We both drop, expell all wing gas and lie prone on the cee-ment bottom in about 4 feet of water (man, pools are clear.)

3) We both puff tiny puffs into wing, and start to slowly rise off bottom (so we can see if we're doing the nose pivot, fin pivot or hopefully something in between.) I come up off bottom wearing the monsters in prone, perfect trim. Miracle of miracles. I surface fist pumping and wooting. I look over, and see 'dette's fins and legs kicking out the top of the water... I look into the pool and she's glass down, completely lawndarted into the cee-ment. (<-Ken tries not to laugh at this point)

4) Claudette exits pool with reddish nose, marches over and adds four-pounds of tail weight. Re-enters pool and executes the remaining 110 minutes of alloted play time in perfect trim. We trade off so I can see what diving 72's is like, and I give her the Silos. We're both in perfect trim, playing and giggling and blowing water rings. We trade back and finish in our own tanks...but I'm thinking I like these baby doubles.

5) For first public apparence tonight, I use her perfectly trimmed 72s baby doubles, and I make her go into the water with a set of AL50's for the first time....


I mean, I know I'll avoid a public face plant... using her trimmed out, tail-weighted baby double 72's that she's already given the nasal appraisal to. Don't know about her in the Al50s...

Hey - sand is softer than cee-ment, right?



This will be fun tonight. Surf willing.

No silos for surf... I'll be practicing with her 72's and she with the Al50s.

So in short - you can avoid a head stand by going to school on your buddy.


---
Ken

 

[Mark Vlahos]

Ken,

I hope you have fun tonight. Casino Point is a good place for the first dive with the silos, a boat might make me a little nervous. For me it was fresh water springs and grottos in Florida. The key is to have it be in as controlled an environment as possible. If the surf knocks you over with the monsters on your back you are toast, just head back out to deep water and try the exit again.

Mark Vlahos

 

[cmalinowski]

... For me it was fresh water springs and grottos in Florida.

me too. Just a few weeks ago.

can't wait to get back into them. I went from having two single e8119's to having those, plus double al80's, plus double pst95's, plus single lp121's. I'll probably be doubling up the 119's or 121's now too. Almost purchased hp100's... probably not too far down the road... although LPs are nice in FL...

I did realize that doubles really requires doing the math on weighting for the end of the dive, especially if you are doing two dives on that one set. I got way light at the end of dive two... my mistake, but it was a nice lesson.

Chris