OW Checkout dives day 2: Dives 3 and 4

So today was Day 2 of certification dives.  How do people do this for a week vacation? I woke up EXHAUSTED.

Today we left the shop at 8:00 and drove up to the quarry. Different people in the van, and mostly tired ones, so no conversation today, just napping.

Get to the quarry and we got our gear unloaded and then put together, and then we went to the parking lot to learn about using a compass.  What I learned was that there is a 'lumber line' (it's called a lubber line) and that once you set your course you NEVER move the bezzle (which would make it impossible to following a course other than a straight line. I think he meant 'today, never move the bezzle...) Also, when you follow a course to someone's car that you can see, pretty much anyone can get there.  They should have put little Xs on the ground or something that you can't just visually walk to.  Still, it was a nice flashback to orienteering in Girl Scouts (before they kicked our troop out of the Camporee for being too good- true story- they told us it wasn't fair we always won.)

So then we put our gear on and do a giant stride into the water. I seriously have an issue.  I jumped in, my mask didn't flood, I didn't tip over, nothing. The regulator is in my mouth, I can breathe, the BCD is inflated- I can float.  I signal OK to the instructor, swim to the DM to get a weight check and break down.  WTH? It wasn't nearly as bad as yesterday- no almost crying, just a feeling of panic and stress. But while I'm having this sort-of panic attack I'm also thinking "why are you doing this, nothing is wrong!"  I don't understand. This alone makes me think I should get a private DM the first day we dive in Cozumel, just because I need a moment to calm down in the water before descending, and I don't think you usually do that.  So he does my weight check and tells me I'm fine.

Today's dives only had a few skills, so they were really short- like 10 minutes under water. The water was MUCH warmer, maybe 70 degrees, and on the platform visibility might have been 5-7 feet; it was better conditions than yesterday.

We started with some surface exercises. We swam a straightline with our compass.  I vear left when I swim, so you really have to watch the compass! And then we removed and replaced our weight pockets.

Dive 1:
To start we did the fin tip bouyancy exercise by orally inflating the BCD (so you take your regulator out of your mouth, breath air into the BCD, put the regulator back in- a few times). Again I had the weight issue that I couldn't stay down, so after two breaths I actually flipped over sideways and my fins went above my head. Not really a big deal, as you just turn over, but not really what the skill is supposed to be.  I think maybe my BCD was slightly off centered on my tank so my trim was bad. I put the equipment together, so that's my fault.

Then we flooded and cleared our mask. That was fine, but the instructor signaled OK at me (meaning he thought I was done) way before I thought I was done. I just get a bit of water under my nose and think I'm still filled with water. It takes forever of me blowing really hard out of my nose to move it out of my airway...

Then we did a CESA (controlled emergency swimming ascent).  Kevin got yelled at for swimming too fast, so I made sure not to rise too fast- but I went too slow. I took a breath about 4 inches before I got to the surface (my hand was above water).  That meant I had to do it again, and the instructor told me I wasn't kicking at all (not true).  So the second time I did it just fine. We did these from like 20 feet. I'm pretty sure I'd die if I had to do it from 60 feet. Note to self: don't run out of air.

Dive 2:
We descended this time without using the line, just to the middle of the platform, where we hovered, not landed on the platform.  Since my biggest problem has been getting down and staying on the platform, I killed this one! Woo! Hovering!

Second skill was to kneel on the platform and remove our mask and put it back on and clear it.  I did this in the pool with NO issues at all. Confident.  My buddy took a long time to clear her mask, and again, I was having trouble staying on the platform. I think these two things (but probably more the fact I couldn't kneel) gave me a lot of anxiety. The kneeling thing is stupid, because if your mask ever came off you wouldn't be kneeling, but I've never had to deal with water in my nose because of the weird way I hold my breath when I swim, but I can't do that with a regulator in my mouth. Since I kept tipping over I was really really worried it would happen when my mask was off. Again, stupid since the instructor is holding onto you (due to horrible visibility we did almost every skill with them holding us).  So the instructor comes over and tells me to take my mask off.  I take a deep breath, put my hand on my mask and mask strap. And don't take it off.  I shake my head, and give him a 'hold on' signal, take a deep breath, get ready to do it- and don't.  After about 5 tries, just shaking my head no, he points at my compass and we do the next skill.

The next skill is to swim a straight line under water. I don't do great at it, but the whole time I can tell I am off course and trying to get back on, so at least I know where I'm supposed to be going- I just can't seem to swim straight, so it takes a lot of adjustment. I do manage to find my way back to the platform though.  Navigation was a good skill to do in the quarry, because if the water was Carribean clear, wouldn't you just look and say 'hey- there's the platform, swim that way" where here, you can't see it until you are like 5 feet from it.

So we get back to the platform and he gives me the thumbs up symbol to finish the dive.  I point at my mask, knowing if I don't do that skill, I won't pass the class (I think they would have just taken me back down and tried again).  So this time. I take a deep breath, take the mask off, put the mask on, check that my nose is in the right place (mistake I made once in class), and clear it.  No problem at all. (In fact, when we get to the surface the instructor was wondering what the heck was wrong with me, as when I did the skill he said I was one of the fastest to do it; so why would I refuse to do a skill I'm good at?  Yeah, I'd like to know that answer...)

So then he makes the "pair up with buddy" signal, but since she did her compass nav with a different instructor, she is nowhere to be seen.  I shrug my shoulders and he makes a "look around" sign.  Um, if she isn't within 5 feet of me, there is nowhere to look!  So I look around for awhile, then I look at my computer for the dive time, look some more, and then signal to him that I've looked for 1 minute and can't find her and thumb to go up.  He agrees, we go up, do a 3 minute safety stop, while holding the line (what's the point of that as a skill? Anyone can do a stop holding a line!) and surface.

I think it was a surprise to both of us that my buddy was not on the surface either...  After a few minutes she and the other instructor surface like 50 yards away.  Apparently her first compass swim didn't go so well. So they were surfacing to take a new heading, and then went back underwater and she was able to navigate to the platform.

After that- we're certified divers!!!!