Great first afternoon on Wednesday. I will say, ocean diving is VERY different than the pool. The funny thing is that the surface is the craziest and scariest part. Once you descend, it's a blast!
So I have to say I love the personal service of MAD. Marcella picked me up at my hotel and then Ben greeted me. We were on a boat with a ton of young guys doing a resort dive, and they were pretty worn out and seasick, it looked like. The Bonine seemed to do the trick for me. There were at least two other DMs, and Ben pretty much did stuff with me during the dives.
The first dive was a little rough, but by the time I got to the second, I settled down a bit. Buoyancy control was a bit better, and I used a lot less air the second dive. Almost all the skills are done, except for fin pivot (never had to do a manual BCD inflate for the fin pivot, so I wonder how hard that will be at 50 or 60 feet), and surface BCD and weight removal and replacement.
Again, the surface stuff is hard for me. My mask is usually impossible to see thru (but fine under water) and the salt taste hits you in a major way when you surface. Not bad at all when you are under.
We were supposed to go this morning, but 17mph winds were not cooperating, so hopefully things will work out tomorrow.
So, highlights...Some cool marine life, especially second dive. It's funny how I think it is going to get better and better. When I was starting, you sort of have tunnel vision, and I just had to relax and force myself to slow down and look at stuff! It actually helped to really follow Ben around, although he was probably getting sick of his fins nearly hitting me all the time. What was cool, is imitating what he was doing sort of let me naturally change depths, etc instead of focusing on that. I liken it to when I snowboard. When I was starting, I would follow a better boarder down the hill, and then I wouldn't have to concentrate on my turns.
What's funny is that I didn't even think about being able to swim in various positions other than face down until I was watching Ben do it!
I wish I knew the names of all of the reef fish, although we did see barracuda, an eel, and some sort of crab that Ben was teasing ;-) I almost landed my hand on some coral on the bottom, and somehow did scrape against something with my palm, probably when we were doing navigation, or something on the bottom.
Flood and clear, mask removal, etc., was okay. I can imagine it could be hard for many, many people. My BCD removal on the bottom was the hardest thing, especially when I accidentally released my weight belt at the same time!
Also, I really have to spend some time in the water to learn to kick. I'm trying to flutter better, and it takes a lot of concentration to do that. I got new/different fins (the Mares Quattros), so it just feels different. I wonder if I should be using those inserts or not.
Again, I think it's only going to get better, as dive 2 was lots more fun than dive 1. I like how Ben just tells you to look down as soon as you get in the water. I think it's way easier to put your face down on the surface than to bob there in the waves. It's much more relaxing.
Finally, I must recommend MAD. I don't know if anyone is reading this that isn't already a fan, but the personal service (Ben or one of his partners picking you up and dropping you at your hotel, personal phone calls, etc) is a nice touch. Plus, he's a very positive and cool guy...I hope he stays that nice and doesn't get old, grizzled, and jaded! ;-)
Tomorrow, we try again, and hopefully I'll get my certification. Then, Sunday, we plan to do the cenotes. My family is snorkeling, and depending, I may dive...but out of respect to the caverns, will only do so if they think my buoyancy, etc. is up to par for that environment.
The weather is amazing, warm, sunny, and breezy. Apparently, there's a snow and ice storm back home!
Ben's a warm water wussie....
