After diving the Spiegel on the 3rd day, I was on cloud 9 and at that point things began to click for me. I use to struggle to get on the boat but after that 3rd day it was getting easier for me. I also became very efficient at getting my gear set up in between dives and actually developed a routine with setting up and breaking down my dive gear. Four dives a day was an ambitious task but doing all those dives made me more proficient and organized. Also at this point I began to improve my buoyancy and on every dive I'd work on it for half the dive, then I'd sightsee the rest of the time. I still have work to do but I could see the difference and Joe could as well. He also noticed that my air consumption was good for a new diver. I calculated my SAC rate to be as low as 16 psi/min to a high of 22 psi/min. If time wasn't an issue, we made it a point to dive for at least an hour on the shallow reefs, so that was another milestone and accomplishment for me.
Since I was in Key Largo I wanted to take advantage of training in the ocean, so I signed up for Night Certification. That was a grueling day as I had 4 recreational dives during the day and then that evening had to do 3 additional dives for the night cert, so on that particular day I did 7 dives. Diving at night was surreal, there was a lot of activity by the sea life but because it was a training dive for certs, I could not bring my camera. It was a cool experience, especially seeing the lights of the other divers.
Later on I discovered that Joe had a DPV. I was trying to register to take that course but no shop in my area had one. When I found out he had one, he agreed to teach me the class for the cert, so I took the online course and the next day we went to the Spiegel. This was the most fun class I've had and to end our second dive we took a tandem "lap" around the entire wreck and soon afterwards began our ascent.
I also wanted to practice deploying a DSMB. I did not want the certification as I felt as if I practice it, that would be good enough. We went through the entire process as if it was a class and I actually got it right on my 1st attempt. Each diver is different and has different goals, mine was more about learning and getting better and not so much earning certifications. Joe respected that and he taught me very well, he helped me with my BCD and dive setup and he gave me as much information as I could digest.
Miscues
The one great thing about doing so many dives is that situations are bound to occur that have to be quickly dealt with. During the DPV class my octo had detached and the exhaust from the DPV caused a free flow. Between the noise of the vehicle I didn't know I was free flowing but Joe caught up with me and fixed it. After everything was settled we began to make our ascent. At the safety stop Joe gave me his octo, I really didn't need it but he explained that it was a good thing for me to experience and practice, using the octo. So from this miscue, I learned to adjust my computer so I can see the tank pressure reading while riding a DPV. We also readjusted my octo so that the exhaust wouldn't hit it.
On another dive my buoyancy was horrible, I sank like a rock, even after putting air in my bcd. I thought I heard bubbles and I signaled Joe. What had happened was during the decent, I tugged a bit to hard on the deflator line and it pulled it out of place. Whenever I would add air, it would escape. Joe was able to reconnect it and we were able to safely finish the dive. Once we got back on board it was permanently repaired. The last miscue was the scariest. We were diving the Duane and there was NO current and it was crystal clear. I got so caught up with the wreck and the sealife that I didn't pay attention to my depth. Diving on Nitrox, my max depth for that dive was 111ft, I had dipped down to 105ft. It was an eye opening experience, I knew the limits but was distracted and was within 6 feet of getting in trouble. Joe took the time to explain that I needed to be more aware. The good thing about these miscues were I had an experienced Divemaster with me to help out. More importantly I recognized issues and how to troubleshoot them, should they happen to me in the future. Staying cool and calm is also vital.
Conclusion
I had a wonderful time, it turns out that the repetitive diving helped and I was getting better at different tasks and I improved my skillset. I'll still will be practicing my buoyancy but I'm thrilled that it is much improved and I've gained a lot of confidence as well. To any new divers out there, if you want to be a better diver, my advice would be to just dive as much as you can and with a Divemaster/guide to help and nurture you.
Stats
8 Days, 38 Dives (4 dives a day)
11 Deep Dives
14 Wreck Dives (Multiple dives split between the Spigel Grove, Eagle, Duane and Benwood)
13 Reef Dives
Night Certification
DPV Certification
Since I was in Key Largo I wanted to take advantage of training in the ocean, so I signed up for Night Certification. That was a grueling day as I had 4 recreational dives during the day and then that evening had to do 3 additional dives for the night cert, so on that particular day I did 7 dives. Diving at night was surreal, there was a lot of activity by the sea life but because it was a training dive for certs, I could not bring my camera. It was a cool experience, especially seeing the lights of the other divers.
Later on I discovered that Joe had a DPV. I was trying to register to take that course but no shop in my area had one. When I found out he had one, he agreed to teach me the class for the cert, so I took the online course and the next day we went to the Spiegel. This was the most fun class I've had and to end our second dive we took a tandem "lap" around the entire wreck and soon afterwards began our ascent.
I also wanted to practice deploying a DSMB. I did not want the certification as I felt as if I practice it, that would be good enough. We went through the entire process as if it was a class and I actually got it right on my 1st attempt. Each diver is different and has different goals, mine was more about learning and getting better and not so much earning certifications. Joe respected that and he taught me very well, he helped me with my BCD and dive setup and he gave me as much information as I could digest.
Miscues
The one great thing about doing so many dives is that situations are bound to occur that have to be quickly dealt with. During the DPV class my octo had detached and the exhaust from the DPV caused a free flow. Between the noise of the vehicle I didn't know I was free flowing but Joe caught up with me and fixed it. After everything was settled we began to make our ascent. At the safety stop Joe gave me his octo, I really didn't need it but he explained that it was a good thing for me to experience and practice, using the octo. So from this miscue, I learned to adjust my computer so I can see the tank pressure reading while riding a DPV. We also readjusted my octo so that the exhaust wouldn't hit it.
On another dive my buoyancy was horrible, I sank like a rock, even after putting air in my bcd. I thought I heard bubbles and I signaled Joe. What had happened was during the decent, I tugged a bit to hard on the deflator line and it pulled it out of place. Whenever I would add air, it would escape. Joe was able to reconnect it and we were able to safely finish the dive. Once we got back on board it was permanently repaired. The last miscue was the scariest. We were diving the Duane and there was NO current and it was crystal clear. I got so caught up with the wreck and the sealife that I didn't pay attention to my depth. Diving on Nitrox, my max depth for that dive was 111ft, I had dipped down to 105ft. It was an eye opening experience, I knew the limits but was distracted and was within 6 feet of getting in trouble. Joe took the time to explain that I needed to be more aware. The good thing about these miscues were I had an experienced Divemaster with me to help out. More importantly I recognized issues and how to troubleshoot them, should they happen to me in the future. Staying cool and calm is also vital.
Conclusion
I had a wonderful time, it turns out that the repetitive diving helped and I was getting better at different tasks and I improved my skillset. I'll still will be practicing my buoyancy but I'm thrilled that it is much improved and I've gained a lot of confidence as well. To any new divers out there, if you want to be a better diver, my advice would be to just dive as much as you can and with a Divemaster/guide to help and nurture you.
Stats
8 Days, 38 Dives (4 dives a day)
11 Deep Dives
14 Wreck Dives (Multiple dives split between the Spigel Grove, Eagle, Duane and Benwood)
13 Reef Dives
Night Certification
DPV Certification
