This weekend I was in Monterey and Pacific Grove taking the Advanced Open Water Scuba class. There's been a lot going on lately with the job and projects gearing up and I'm still adapting to my commute. I wasn't looking forward to spending the weekend away. But I'm really glad I went.
I feel that I am a much better diver now, and that's the whole point of the class. I worked a lot on my buoyancy (making sure I don't hit the bottom or pop up to the surface) and it was much better. I didn't pop to the surface at all and was able to recover quickly when I did start to float away. I also didn't scrape the bottom as much - something that is vital when we are in Hawaii and swimming with coral.
The hardest part of the class was hauling the gear around and the surface swims. I got blisters on two of my finger tips (which popped the 2nd day) and rubbed my knuckles raw on both hands. My muscles are very sore and tired. But it's good. I pushed myself to my limits and I survived. I was able to climb the ladder back onto the boat the second time (as opposed to my beached whale tummy slide entry the first time). That was an achievement. And I was able to walk out of the shore with all my gear from the final shore exit, which was the 3rd dive of the day and had the biggest surface swim. Another achievement.
So I am now a certified advanced diver. Yay! We didn't do the night dive - I was too tired and the conditions got rough - rougher than I felt comfortable dealing with at night. But I'm confident that E and I can do the night dive in HI without issue. And I'm really looking forward to a 3 mm suit and only 14 (or so) pounds instead of the 7 mm suit and 38 pounds on me.
Yay. Diving. Thanks E. *hug* It was a great present.
