Burgers and a Dip!

Following my amazing night of diving with friends Enjoying the view before gearing up to explore the wonders beneath! it was time to catch up with the divers of Ocean Pro for a fun day of diving and good food.  After a quick clean of the cabin and loading all the gear back into the vehicles we headed over to the main parking lot to find and hold spots for the rest of the group who would soon be arriving.  With the sun coming up and a warm day ahead we started by laying out any of our gear that had not totally dried over night and started putting our kits together in preparation for the day.

It seemed only minutes before the parking lot was full and the air was filled with the talking and planning of the days activities.  Amongst the group joining the activities were my close friends and instructors Virpi Kangas and Ward Conley, their plan for the day was taking them out in Wards small boat so they could dive the Nakaya.  Other groups were heading out to swim the fire-hose, while others were setting out to explore the Leaning Tower of Porteau or the Sailboat Hull and others still were off to explore the Granthall.

My dive partner for dive 1 of the day was an experienced diver joining the Ocean Pro BBQ for the first time.  Equipped with his twin tanks and local knowledge it looked like it was going to be another relaxing day of diving... boy was I in for a surprise...lol.  Apparently swimming as fast as possible was an on-going trend for this weekend. Not long after entering the water my dive buddy started his quest for an Olympic medal in swim sprints...lol.  It was all I could do for the most part to keep up and finally signal my buddy to slow down, by this time unfortunately I had burned much of my air so it was time to make my turn and head back.  My dive buddy on the other hand, swimming with twins, had lots of air and was less than agreeable to returning quite yet.  After a quick conversation through hand signals it was decided to make another pass around the Granthall, this time very slowly and breathing under control, then after our pass, we followed the chain up to 15 feet where we did our safety stop sharing the air in his twins and then made our way the last 15 feet to the surface.  On the surface the tides had changed from the night before and now the surface current was now heading away from shore, making the surface swim a lot more challenging.  After a bit of a fight against the current to gain a few feet it became apparent that it wa going to be easier to work together.  So taking turns doing the tired diver tow with us both kicking the whole time we were able to make faster progress against the current and reach shore in time to see the burgers coming off the grill.

Stripping down my gear and switching out my tank only took a couple minutes then it was time to open up my dry suit and enjoy the fresh air drifting into my suit and cooling my body down.  Soon most of the rest of the divers who had not already returned made their way over to the big Ocean Pro Divers tent to find their fill of food and stories about the first dive of the day.

After a quick meal, and some good conversation it was time to catch up with my buddy for dive 2, who happened to be the same buddy from the night before.  Dive planning for our last dive of the weekend was pretty simple, both of us a little tired from the night before and from our surface swims from dive 1 on the day, agreed we would dive similar to dive 2 from the previous night.  Surface swim out a short distance and then descend and let the water moves us around while we explored the open ocean floor.  Finding our neutral buoyancy and just floating in the water with soft gentle kicks to change direction or increase rate and it wasn't long before the current had moved us back out to the Granthall, a couple circles and then over to the fire-hose which we started to follow back towards the first marker.  Then it happened, they tell you it happens but until it does you don't know what it's going to be like.  I stopped, spotting a particularity interesting plant that appeared to be swimming, and decided to snap a few pictures. 

1, 2, 3 frames later and I look to my buddy.... he's gone... nowhere to be seen.  Random clouds of silt can be seen in a few directions, unfortunately due to the large number of divers in the water clouds of silt could be evidence of any diver.  So, checking my watch and marking the time, then resuming my previous pattern sweeping side to side it was time to look for my buddy.  15 seconds, nothing, 30 seconds, nothing, 45 seconds, nothing, a minute.... nothing!  Now it was time to hope my buddy was ok and would stick to our plan, if separated, look for a minute, then head to the surface.  So... off to the surface I went spinning 360 degrees during my ascent looking to see if my buddy could be spotted.  Upon breaching the surface, I again started my 360 degree surface search looking for any sign of my buddy.  Only problem, lots of divers on the surface.... unfortunately... my buddy was not one of them...  Could it be that my buddy hadn't noticed I wasn't with him?  Is he ok? Where is he?  Seconds seemed like minutes and two minutes seemed like twenty.  Still spinning on the surface looking and then there, about 200 feet in toward shore, was my buddy, waving and signalling "OK".  Taking a navigational heading to where he was and indicating to stay in place, I descended to avoid the strong surface current and swam the distance following tight to my navigational heading and close to the bottom surfacing just beyond arms distance from my buddy.  Staying close and both stilled stunned at how quick we got separated we moved to the stairs and up out of the water to warm up, stow our gear and head home safe, sound and reminded of the importance of strong buddy contact.

Enjoying the view before gearing up to explore the wonders beneath!

Saturday afternoon while the Vancouver Canucks were preparing to dish out their punishment on the Boston Bruins, I was meeting up with a few friends at our cabin up at Porteau Cove.  The plan for the evening would see us completing 2 dives before calling it a night, catching some sleep and then joining Ocean Pro Divers in the morning for their monthly BBQ and dive day!!

By the time I had arrived at the cabin, my buddy for the night had just arrived and the Canucks were going into OT tied 2 - 2.  After grabbing my over-night gear and throwing it on the couch and flipping on the TV, we were just in time to see the puck drop and Alex Burrows suck Thomas out of the net, out skate Chara, and wrap around the net depositing the puck in the back of the net taking game 2 sending the Boston "ruins" back home to lick their wounds.

Shortly after the game, the third member of our group arrived and started preparing his dinner while I walked down towards the shore to look and see what the tides were looking like for the evening and was met with this wonderful view:

The water was so calm, only a few clouds in the air, conditions we dream about!

After my walk, the last of our team had arrived for the night and we loaded our gear and headed for the shore.  Taking our time to discuss the plans for the night and review any concerns we geared up and decended the stairs to start our first dive of the evening.

Surface swimming out to the first marker, the plan was to descend to the bottom, group up and move out along the fire hose exploring the darkened ocean floor.  Upon reaching the bottom and forming up in our buddy teams we headed out across the bottom.  Unfortunately the other group of divers turned out to be determined to move as quick as possible and since my buddy and I were looking to actually explore the under-sea world instead of watch it blast by while setting a record for how fast we could swim.  It did not take long for the other group to pull well ahead of us as we watched their lights dim into the distance.  Signalling to my buddy we slowed down to a complete stop, checked air, confirmed depth and started a slow patrol of the bottom moving in the general direction of the second marker.  After slowly exploring and capturing a few photos we started our slow return back towards the stairs watching as the fish dashed in and out of our beams of light.  Before we knew it, nearly 40 minutes had passed and we were watching as the bottom angled up and our depth drew down.  By 45 minutes we were back at the base of the stairs, regs out, fins off and then the short walk back to the vehicles to switch tanks and head back.

As it turned out, the first group had returned before us and had already stripped down their gear and packed it away.  One of the divers had decided to wear a wet-suit for the night, so after dive one he was uncomfortably cold and his buddy had decided one dive was enough for the night.  My partner and I, however, couldn't wait to get back in the water so while our friends headed back to the cabin we headed back out into the water, this time with a slightly different plan.

With me taking the lead we surface swam out just far enough to have about 10 feet of water below us before we descended.  Upon reaching bottom, we checked for neutral buoyancy, confirmed air and direction and then completely relaxed, slowly kicked and let the water move us slowly across the bottom while watching the world move around us.  As we approached half air we made a slow turn and moved back towards the stairs enjoying the underwater world and the wonderful life that it revealed to us along with some interesting looking animals that I had never seen before and will have to see if I can find someone to identify.

After finding and photographing our little buddy here we made our way to the stairs and up to the vehicles to strip down our gear and head for the cabin.  Back at the cabin we spread out the gear that would be needed for the following morning to allow it to dry a bit before being needed again and headed inside to join the rest of our party. 

As it turned out it wasn't much of a party... inside the cabin our other two divers had already found their sleeping bags and were working on catching their zzz's.  Quickly grabbing a snack and something warm to drink I headed to bed to snore away my night and dream of what the next day might bring.

You may call me... "The Dolphin Poop Cleaner"

Last night I got the AMAZING opportunity to go to the Volunteer Orientation at the Vancouver Aquarium!! 

So why is it in my dive blog, you may ask?  Well, because I am a volunteer diver for the Vancouver Aquarium.... or will be once I:

1. pass my interview
2. complete the seven 3 hour modules about the aquarium
3. complete the 3 hours module on Marine Biology 
4. pass my dive theory exam
5. pass Diving emergency and accident management
6. pass the DAN Oxygen First Aid for SCUBA Diving Injuries 
7. complete the swimming evaluation (wee.. more fitness)
8. pass the Powered Equipment Safety exam
9. complete the check-out dive and skills circuit and
10. complete my surface supply diving equipment training

Then... then I will be a Volunteer Diver for the Aquarium!...lol.. and get to swim with all the animals and pat them and play with them and ride them.... WRONG!!  As Melanie Knight, (Acting Manager for Volunteer Services) had us (me and 90 other volunteers) repeat... I WILL NOT TOUCH THE ANIMALS...lol.  No this is not the Aquarium being mean, and no they are not selfishly all sitting in their offices hogging all of the animal hugs for themselves...lol.  The aquarium for obvious reasons can't guarantee anyone will ever have the chance to touch any of the animals, in fact even the divers (me) are in tanks, like the dolphin tank, while the animals are safely somewhere else.  For obvious reasons the aquarium does not want to mislead anyone into volunteering with the misconception that they will spend their hundred plus hours hugging and kissing cuddly animals only to have them get to their first shift and find out, no... they get to talk about the animals, they get to point to the animals, they get to answer questions about the animals, but they do not get to touch the animals.  A disillusioned or disappointed volunteer is an unhappy volunteer, and an unhappy volunteer leads to unhappy guests and unhappy guests don't come back, and without guests there is no need for volunteers and no resources (money) coming in, and without the money, there is no means to support the animals! And the mission of the Aquarium is to be a "self-supporting, non-profit association dedicated to effecting the conservation of aquatic life through display and interpretation, education, research and direct action."  In other words, their around to keep the animals around, show us what the animals look like (for anyone who doesn't actively swim with Jellies or Belugas and everything in between..lol), tell us what the animals are doing, and why they do it, all while themselves continuing to find out more on what makes these wonderful animals do what they do, in a deliberate and effective manner.  The other reason you can't touch... they don't want you to get hurt by the animals...lol

So... where does this leave me... Mr Active and Involved diver... new explorer and photographer of the undersea world?  It leaves me right wherever the Aquarium needs me, and for now that sounds like in the empty dolphin tank cleaning poop!  Doesn't sound exciting to you? Ok, then look at it through my eyes... I have been to the Vancouver Aquarium maybe half a dozen times in my life, for those of you doing the math at home that's roughly once ever six years... the Aquarium changes programs and adds exhibits on a continuous basis so if your not there like once a month you're missing stuff... so to think of the exhibits, animals and adventures I have missed over the 420 months I have been around is mind boggling - as a Volunteer, I can go whenever I want, if I don't understand something, they have staff that will help me, almost every diver I know pulls their information on local marine life from a book, if I can catch a picture or provide a decent description, I get the information live, from an expert!... Need more reasons... all three of my boys have been on field trips to the Aquarium and (surprise surprise) each of those field trips is led by a volunteer, someone who has given of their time to enrich my children's lives!  Nearly 30 years I walked the earth and knew that littering was bad and it hurts things like animals and mother nature, etc.  It wasn't until a trip to the Aquarium that someone actually "educated" me and the children I was working with on the dangers of plastic pop can rings and how birds (and other animals) get their necks caught in them and die.  Years later on another trip to the Aquarium I learned, (from a volunteer) that plastic grocery bags, you know the ones you now have to pay $0.05 for, the ones people will let blow down the street if the bag falls out of their car, those bags, when they hit the ocean very closely resemble a Jelly Fish, now as a diver I avoid the Jellies, but the beautiful Sea Turtles that we all dream about riding and loved watching in finding Nemo, they eat those "Jellies" and surprise, plastic bags are no better for them then they are for our babies!  These lessons are taught to our children and grandchildren and their friends on a daily basis by people who freely give of their time!  Don't you agree it's time to give back!  Now you understand a small percentage of why it's important for me to be involved in something this big.

Well, I'll be off for my Interview in a little bit, fingers crossed that they like me enough to give me a chance and hopefully I'll be able to provide updates as I go through my training and maybe, all going well... soon you'll be able to call me "The Dolphin Poop Cleaner!"

You are healed!!

Ok, despite the blasphemous humor, I was not actually healing anyone, more saving their lives... and believe me Mr Matt Mendez needs a lot of Rescuing...lol.  I mean, he got tired all of a sudden, so I towed him in a little way and reassured him, then he went back out and panicked, so I went out and got him and brought him back in, then he panicked again so I had to go under the surface and come up behind him to settle him down.  Then he was tired again but when I got to him he went into a panic and tried to climb on me so again I had to submerge and come up around him to secure him and get his BCD inflated so he could calm down.  No sooner was all this done, then he ran out of air at depth, so being the good buddy I was I shared mine and we made the gentle ascent to the surface. 

The day didn't stop there, Matt first started over-exerting himself meaning I had to get him to calm down, then he tried to make a rapid, panic ascent to the surface so I had to deflate both our BCDs and arrest his ascent and then control our combined ascent to the surface!  A short time later Matt ran out of air again, this time he was in a panic so I had to quickly grab my octo and just about ram it into his mouth, make sure he had it and then control our slow ascent to the surface. 

I think all the activity on the day wore on Matt though, it wasn't long before I found him unresponsive on the bottom and after attempting to get his attention I had to grab his BCD and making sure his reg stayed in place and take him to the surface and inflate his BCD so I could assess further.  Of course this whole time, Dennis was of no help, he just watched me save Matt over and over again and even (I suspect) led to some of Matts precarious situations...lol.  Fortunately I think Matt was paying attention because when Dennis told us there was a "missing diver" (ankle weight), Matt was very useful in counting our kick cycles as I navigated across the bottom in our U shape search pattern.  It wasn't long before we recovered our "missing diver," don't worry the ankle weights recovered just fine and will live to dive again! and Matt and I were even so careful with our recovery that after finding the "diver" we decided to have a safety stop even though we hadn't exceeded 20 feet, and played a couple rounds of Rock Paper Scissors before I felt the need to do a couple Mask R&R's (remove and replace) before taking the victim to the surface. 

Honestly I don't think it was anybody's day, there were unresponsive divers everywhere, or at least in our group it seemed like everyone but Dennis and Matt (he finally learned) were having issues and were requiring their buddies to flip them over to get their faces out of the water, remove their masks and while administering rescue breathes move them to shore while pulling all theirs and their buddies gear off and passing it to someone else in the group to hold.  Even I had a bout of unresponsiveness followed by an immediate recovery in time for me to find my buddy face down and in need of rescue! lol.

As all of you have probably assessed, all of these events were controlled and planned and very well supervised.  This was class number one of two for my Rescue Certification with Dennis instructing and Matt surving as DM and buddy to me. No one was ever in any kind of danger, no one really ran out of air or became non-responsive or truly panicked...lol.  This was probably one of my most exhausting days in the water but despite the sore muscles and hard work, this was probably one of my favorite courses as I definitely feel more confident in the water.  I know I am still a baby as far as divers go but I certainly felt that getting through this first part of the course has raised me up a few bars and combined with my EFR course I am confident that I am becoming a better diver and a better buddy every time I am out.

Next week is Photography, which should be interesting considering I have a fairly solid grasp of photography on the surface, but underwater.... a whole new adventure!

Andrew to the Rescue part... Doh!!

Ok, so last night was classroom take #2...lol.  As those of you who read Andrew to the Rescue.... Or Not?
 you are well aware that in February I completed the classroom session with the one other student enrolled in the Rescue course at that time but the following weekend when Virpi was to take us to Wytecliff to drown us and have us rescue each other.... just kidding Moms, nobody drowns, we just pretend... my partner was unable to join us!  So the course unfortunately, was put on hold until we could find a suitable date.  So, inevitably, in March we finally settled on the end of April to get the Rescue course back on track, so then it was just time to hurry up and wait.... This brought us to Thursday where (since new people had joined the group) we had our second classroom time.  Showing up right in time for class and greeted by my good friend Ward... apparently the Wonder Woman herself, the one who never catches anything and, through absolute sheer will, doesn't get sick.... got sick!!   No worries though, Ward is an amazing teacher... and besides the irony still play true... he was one of the three divers from the shop that went into the water during Seals to Emergencies to demonstrate a live rescue scenario for us brand new students (how kind of them...) I had decided to attend class to brush up on my Rescue theory, besides, if I was gonna rescue you, wouldn't you want me to have as much training and knowledge as possible.... I thought so!

So as Ward took us through the book, the videos and the review questions, taking his time to highlight specific things and open others up for discussion, the group of us all reached a solid understanding of not only what to do, but why to do it and what to expect when it happens.  All in all, as usual, a GREAT class!

The end of Wards class' always come too early, I don't think I could ever talk about diving too much, at least for me, I know it's too much for a lot of people who hear me talk about it but that is also why I type this, so I can talk and for anyone who's interested, they can listen (or read).  Class ended and of course the question comes up, who's teaching on the weekend?  Was Virpi going to be better by then?  Unfortunately this is when things turned, you see Virpi was REALLY sick, so the weekend was out, Ward had a class to teach on Sunday and a previous, unchangeable (believe me we tried to convince him) commitment on the Saturday so he would not be available but as fortune would have it Dennis was available for Sunday!  Another instructor you say.... yes, instructor number 3!!  But would you believe the fates!!!  Dennis, as some of you already knew and others have guessed, was diver number three from the shop that was involved in my famous Whytecliff Seals to Emergencies  adventure.... what are the odds of all three of the shop divers involved in the rescue attempt at Whytecliff to be the ones to teach me how to rescue people!  So it looks like I will only finish half of my Rescue dives this weekend... who knew you could spread a one evening and one weekend course across 4 months...lol.  Talk to you Monday!!

To Drift or Not To Drift....

Drift diving to me always sounded like I was going to be pulling a Crush and Spike from Finding Nemo, and be flying along under the surface watching the world fly by.  This weekend I tried it.... not so much!...lol.

For yesterday's dives I was "fortunate" enough, that one of the students from the shop managed to tear the zipper in the suit I normally wear, leading to it needing to be repaired and me borrowing the dreaded neoprene suit...lol.  The last time I wore the Neoprene suit, back in my Advance Open water course way back in It's Dark... Very, Very Dark.... I had a few issues.  So needless to say I was a "wee" bit nervous going out in this suit again.  But given the choice of dive Neoprene or don't dive... I choose diving...lol. 
Sunday morning arrived and with mine and my buddies gear stowed in the truck it was time to set out to Horseshoe Bay, Sewell's Marina, and meet up with Dennis in preparation of boarding my first (real) boat to go diving.  To hear about my other "boat" diving experiences read Row, Row, Row Your Boat Gently Into The Rolling Waves.... Merrily Merrily Off To See The Circus....

The drive to Horseshoe Bay was a quick one and despite me missing an exit, it was an uneventful one that allowed me to get to know more about the friend I was diving with for the day and hear about her Missions trips to South Africa and East Africa and her exciting plans to aid the less fortunate of the world when she graduates medical school.  It's the inspired and driven people like her that are changing and shaping our world everyday, and getting to have a little peek inside that excitement was an honor.  As mentioned, the trip was quick, then it was time to meet up with Dennis, grab our manuals and review our chapter questions and discuss the dives for the day.  Our quick meeting was held in the local Starbucks and was a great place to stay warm and dry as we finished our exercises  and waited for a couple other divers who would be joining us for the day.  Having finished our reviews the three of us headed for the docks to unload our gear and move it in the direction of the boat in anticipation of our departure once the final couple arrived.  Loading up the boat was a new experience, trying to balance the gear while stepping from dock to boat and then following directions on where to strap in some gear and where to stow other gear.

With all the gear stowed, and fastened down, it was time to head out into the sound.  With Kevin Breckman at the helm and his wife Jan as our DM and tour guide we braved the waves of the Howe Sound.  Joining us on the boat were a friend of the Breckmans, joining Jan for a couple dives, and Jim Larsen, the North West Territory Representative from NAUI.  It didn't take long to understand why Kevin and Jan are so particular about making sure everything is tightened down and then tightened again.  Much the same as flight attendants check and recheck doors  because you don't want one opening in mid flight, you do not want to see what kind of damage a flying scuba tank can do...lol.  Yesterdays trip also led me to understand the term (and reasoning) behind battening down the hatches.  With Kevin behind the wheel, there wasn't a lot of lost time.  We got clear of the harbor, and the hammer was down, and man can the Topline fly!  With a relayed message from Kevin through Jan, we were told to hold on, things could get a little rough.... This is when I got excited!!  Moving into the cabin to get a better view of the water we were racing into afforded me the opportunity to not only see the water splashing over the fore-decks of the boat but also to have a good conversation with Jim and hear a little more about NAUI and his visit to Vancouver.  After a few minutes of wave jumping and drawing in closer to the islands, things calmed a bit and it was time to go back and put the rest of the kit together and prep to get wet!  After checking with Dennis to see about how much weight to add to compensate for wearing neoprene it was decided to add 8lbs and do a weight check to ensure it was enough before edging into our final "jump-off" point.  All geared up, Kevin walked me to the back of the boat, did a quick once over of my gear and with a pat signaled for me to jump.  Popping back up I signaled "OK" moved to with-in reach of the ladder and deflated my BCD.  Now for a proper weight check you deflate your BCD and with a full breath of air you should sink to about the mid-point on your mask.  Again... this is if you are properly weighted... which I was not...lol.  I hit the deflate and dropped...lol.  Fortunately I had my hand near the ladder and added some air and popped right back up.  Then up the ladder and (with Kevin's help) back on board.  All of this quite well timed, for you see while Kevin is helping me, he is not at the wheel, so it all requires lot's of attention and experience.  So, once back on board and holding on, the boat is brought back around and in close to the wall for all the divers to quickly jump in, signal their "OK" and then move out of the way.  With my team all in the water, Dennis signals "descend" and we head to depth to begin our "Drift". 

I laughed with Dennis, after our dive, and referred to it more as a slow swim than a Drift dive.  There was a little drift, enough so that you could see it affecting the plant life and see them tilted slightly.  You could also tell there was a little bit of a current as most of the marine life stayed close to the wall and the safety of the outcroppings.  But as far as moving me, there wasn't much, add to that the fact that I was REALLY over-weighted and you can imagine what I looked like...lol  With Dennis being part fish (I think he has a buzzer or something that reminds him to breath...lol) and my dive buddy being in amazing health, they just kicked a little caught what little drift there was and then moved along the wall.  Me on the other-hand, I suck air like a shop-vac, and the additional weight not helping, I would kick 2 - 3 times as often just to keep up and stay balanced out.  But, despite a few complications, the dive was amazing as always spotting some neat life I have never seen before and have no name for yet... I really do need to get better at fish id...lol, and of course just the relaxation of being weightless (yes even with the extra 8 lbs of lead).  The dive ended (or more my air supply did) and we ascended to our safety stop and deployed our surface marker buoy's (thanks to my brother Matt for buying me my marker buoy for Christmas.)  Now for anyone who ever deployed one, you know these are not the easiest things to use at first, for those of you who have no idea what I am talking about here is what they look like rolled up and then deployed:

The idea behind these devices, is that once you hit your safety stop (or just before) you un-clip (this is VERY important) the SMB (surface marker buoy) from you and with it attached to a reel (another important thing to remember) you add air and it races to the surface and marks your location for all the boats around.  This is very important as you really don't want to be ascending into the under-side of anyone's boat, nor do you want to be ascending just before a boat crosses your path.  This is also an incredibly  useful tool for your own boat as it lets your captain know that you are about 3 minutes away from surfacing and where you will be surfacing so that he can be in place to get you out of the water as quick as possible.  Now I say that it is very important to "unclip" the SMB from you first because if your still conected, you're gonna take a ride to the surface and blow your safety stop, putting you in danger from rising to fast and also placing you right in a potential boat lane.  It is also, for obvious reasons, important to attach your SMB to your reel so that when you let it go, it's not off drifting in the waves, but is actually marking your location.

Now, with SMB's deployed and safety stops completed, we broke the surface and kicked out a little ways from the wall and sure enough, by the time we had moved out a safe distance Kevin had spun the boat around and we climbed (with Kevin and Jim's assistance) up the ladder and back into the boat.  Then Kevin did a quick loop and dropped the boat right back where he needed to be to pick up Jan and her dive buddy.  Once everyone was back on board the kettle was fired up, gear was stripped off and coffee and soup were graciously enjoyed while Kevin and divers discussed our next location and moved the boat to accommodate the new drop point.

Dive 2 was very similar in that there wasn't really a lot of current, but more than the first time, that combined with dropping a couple of pounds (still too heavy) allowed me to experience "drift".  Another relaxing dive, not a ton of new creatures but we went in search of the wolf eel that occasionally resides in a grate.  He was unfortunatly away from home but that leaves something for me to look forward to for next time.... and there will definitly be a next time.  There's something to be said for only having to walk 10 feet with all your gear before you're in the water and again a short distance from ladder to bench once you come back in.

All in all it was a very good day of dives, I would definitely recommend every diver trying dives off a boat, especially if you are fortunate enough to get a spot on the Top Line with Kevin and Jan so worth the money even just for the knowledge of the area they can share with you.  Can't wait for my next trip with them, hopefully it won't be too far down the road!  Till my next dives, take care of yourself, your buddy and the wonderful underwater world we all enjoy!

"All Aboard...!"

Ok, so a few weeks ago, I was searching for sunken treasure and now I am captaining my own boat! I'm on my way, look out world here I come!... Ok, so my boat is only going to be about 10 feet long and a couple feet wide... and inflatable....lol. But who knows, Napoleon was small and he was still effective...lol.  

Wednesday night was the start of my Boat Diver course and as expected, when ever boats are involved, Ward was the instructor.  This turned out to be a fairly full class, my usual team with the addition of a new father - son pair of divers made for five divers plus Ward as the instructor plus whomever joins us as dive master for our course. Ward, being the full on boat guy, started class by giving everyone the manual used to pass your safe boater course (also taught by Ward through the shop).  Apparently the typical Safe Boater test is easy so Ward has added to it to ensure that everyone who passes his course has a firm grasp on the world of boating and will be as safe as possible, the same cannot often be said some who are able to randomly take the easy / basic test, pass, and still not have the knowledge to boat safely but are licensed to do so.  Now in the spirit of safe boating, and as this was a "Boat" diver course, we received additional information to compliment the knowledge received from out Boat Diver manuals,  We covered not only Windward and Leeward, Port and Starboard, but also transoms, keels, masts, sails, lines, midships, steering, and more than I could possibly squeeze into my brain in one night.  We then talked about the marine radio, which you need a license to use, which (you guessed it) Ward teaches a course for....lol.  Now as a side bar cause I can already see my fiends out there rolling their eyes and quoting the over-used invented acronym for PADI, Put Another Dollar In... the courses I have mentioned (Boater Safety and Marine Radio Operator) are not PADI courses, in fact they are not really even dive related courses , they are however required by law for anyone operating a boat under any kind of non-man generated power and required for anyone who will be or may need to use a marine radio.  Ward and Ocean Pro Divers have put these courses together and offer them as a service to their divers and the community to ensure the on-going safety of their divers and customers.

Anyway, with that out of the way, class was amazing as always, some individuals did not have their homework completed so Ward was good about ensuring they were thoroughly picked on for answers to the questions... including teasing one of my usual dive team by saying things like: "So Mister Dive Master in Training, whats the answer to 4?" or "Mr Dive Master in Training, can you elaborate on why it might be important to ......?"   This made for a very entertaining class as I had completed my homework and was only asked to share a few times.  Following our review we turned our attention to deciding on our dive location and comparing the pros and cons of each dive site finally settling on Porteau Cove with the thought that if everything went smooth it would be a nice paddle out, fairly easy to tie off to the float and a great opportunity to see the Nakaya (a sunken decrepit sailboat that will soon be destroyed due to it's dangerous condition). 

With the decision on location made and gear hunted down, most of the divers called it a night with the exception of Ward, myself and one of my dive partners.  We were fortunate enough to sit and relax with Ward for a few extra minutes to discuss diving, and safety and upcoming courses and trips and fun dives and equipment and whatever else popped into our heads to discuss for a while.  Finally it was time for Ward to go home and attempt to get over his cold and for me to get home to bed.  Tomorrow is another day, and another class.

Arrrr' We be searching for yer burried treasure!

Ok, so I suck as a pirate, especially a pirate diver... the parrot keeps drowning...lol.  I know, bad joke.  But this was in fact how we spent last Sunday afternoon.  Saturday was my Emergency First Responder course, which as you can see from  I Can Save Your Life... I Just Don't Want To!.  was kind of an intense course.  But Sunday was fun in the sun!  Ok, it wasn't sunny, more rainy, but it was still a ton of fun.  For Sunday, as a continuation to last weeks Hide and Seek! class, in dive number one we had a large object (several weight belts in a milk crate) "lost" by Dennis Chow in Whytecliffe Park in a general direction. Additionally a "treasure" was deposited out in the bay as well for dive number 2 for the day (dive number 4 in the course).  Our objective, using the Jackstay search pattern, cover 40,000 square feet of a search grid, find the "lost" item, secure it using the knots learned and practiced in previous dives and with a lift bag, recover the object.


In my class was myself and two fellow students.  Between the three of us we sorted out who was carrying reels, and who was carrying our pegs.  With that established it was on to planning our search and mapping our grid.  Now with the Jackstay search pattern (pictured below) you create a base line, for us it was 100 feet long, staked at both ends.

Now attaching your second line to a post on your base line you swim directly away in the direction of search using your compass to remain perpendicular to your base line.  While swimming with your partner(s) one navigating, and one running your second line attached back on the base line, you swim out 100 feet.  At the 100 foot mark you secure your reel to a post in the ground and you have created your search axis.  Within that 100 x 100 foot section or 10,000 sq feet should be your "lost" item, if it is not you return to your base line and form a new axis using the other 270 degrees off the base, covering 40,000 sq feet, or the size of a decent warehouse, strewn with rocks, debris and  tree stumps and covered in silt.  By following back along your newly created axis fanned out to search more area you look for your lost item, upon reaching your base line you pull up your axis post move it along your base line a predetermined distance re-secure the post and follow the line back to the past at the other end.  Pull this post, move the predetermined distance, re-secure and swim it again.  This goes on until the item is found or you have covered the entire base line and move on to the next 90 degree search grid.

 
After completing a few runs along our search grid we were able to locate our "lost" item and using our knot skills tied up to the crate, secured the lift bag and added, in short bursts, enough air to get the bag off the ground.  Then with crate in tow, moved back to collect our reels and pegs, stow them and then float our recovered lost item to the surface and move it in to shore.  Now, as with every course I take, there are always moments of particular humor or surprise or both, and Sundays dive one was no exception.  You see to start with, during about pass three or four, we swam over and located our "treasure" that we were to recover in dive two on the day, so we all tried to make note of it's location while Dennis laughed at us.  Then to make our recovery a little more interesting, Dennis' lift bag has a few small leaks so once full and lifting a large weight, it starts to lose air and then sinks.  We did not notice this at first and lifted, as we are trained, using a reel attached to the object so that should it slip loose you can re-recover.  We also, following the rules, ascended out from under the crate to keep from having it, or anything else fall on our heads.  Well, it was a good thing we followed the rules and part of me still wonders if we got this lift bag to test us, but sure enough after we reached the surface and prepared to tow in our recovered object, it was no longer on the surface... a quick glance under the surface allowed one of my partners and I to watch as our crate slowly descended to the bottom of the bay again.  Some quick signals right out of our open water course allowed us to, without removing our regs, signal all was good and descend.  Working together again as a team, my partner and I were able to quickly descend the 20+ feet to the crate and with my partner in charge of the reel, I was able to fully inflate the lift bag and together, my partner, the crate and I all ascended to the surface to join back with our other team mate and Dennis and with my partner towing I swam behind using my snorkel, and with my alternate in hand, fed air into the bag when needed to keep it afloat.  With shore not far off it was a quick swim, lift out our "lost" item and head up to the parking lot for some hot chocolate and food before heading out to "re"locate our treasure. Snacks were in the bellies quick, followed by a touch of hot, hot chocolate and then it was time to gear up and head back to the water.

There is definitely something to be said for over-confidence in a water environment, and obviously our fearless captain was well aware of this as my team of three completed our safety checks on each other and then started our surface swim to where we believed our treasure would be laying in wait.  Shortly before leaving Dennis asked how long we thought we would be, with a large measure of confidence we informed him we would surface in 5 - 10 minutes, if it even took us that long...lol.  During our surface swim we discussed our plan, it was decided that based on our general confidence that we should be able to drop right down on it we decided an expanding square pattern would be best and knowing that our depth at the time of sighting was less than 30 feet we knew that any leg of our search that took us deeper could be cut short.  We had a plan, we had confidence, we were a team.... we were wrong!!  lol... We swam to where we figured we should be right above it and descended figuring we should land right on top of it, then be able to grab it and surface and be the fasted class in the history of this course for finding their "treasure". (Not that anyone actually tracks who the fastest team is).  But as mentioned, upon reaching the bottom, our "treasure" was not there.  A slow rotation in the water as one might do during separation on a night dive, led us no closer to finding our object.  So it was time to get serious, with a quick look at the compass and a few signals between the team we set off as practiced and started our expanding square, noting land-marks (which all look the same by the way), we had a lot of "Oh, look, a rock, let's see if it's behind that one..."  which under water sounds more like "mmm mmm (point point) mm mmm mmm  (bubble bubble) mmm m mmm mmmmm"...lol.  Fortunately we followed our training and instead of doing a random swim after every rock or object that looked like it could be our object, we stuck to our squares, avoiding going deeper than necessary, our shape was more of an expanding rectangle, but sure enough after 10 minutes, we had still not found it....  So on we went, fifteen minutes and still nothing, (good thing I am on bigger tanks, on AL80's I was only getting 20 minutes), then or turn four, the magical turn four, where Cole Trickle passed Russ Wheeler to win Daytona in Days of Thunder.... no sorry... wrong turn four... on our turn four or fourth square, there where we should have looked first, was a rock, like every other rock, except this one had our mesh bag sitting beside it, and inside our mesh bag... our treasure!

Seeing as our treasure was very light it was simple enough to swim to and have one of my team members tie it off to her belt, a gentle ascent to the surface, a quick wave to Dennis to advise we were all good and complete with treasure in had at 18 minutes.  With the confirmation wave from Dennis on shore, we gave each other that satisfying grin, knowing that we had once again, as a team completed our task and it was now time for some fun.  With quick signals and pressure checks, down we went and with one partner in the lead just off my left shoulder and my other partner just off my right we moved out along the bay at a relaxed pace to just enjoy the surroundings, the quietness and the company.

After a good search, a clean recovery and then the return from our recreational / tour portion of the day it was time to return to the vehicles, strip off our gear, pack up our vehicles and then open our mesh bag, and with deliberate and careful hands pass around our prize, one for each of us, a nice, very cold (thank you ocean refrigeration) Granville Island beer.  With another course complete, our prizes enjoyed, and the gear stowed safely away, it was once again, time to call it a day and head home till next the ocean called, and with gear and friends in place we respond.  Of course I happen to know it's gonna be calling about the same time next Sunday, when my same team returns to complete another course and become... Team Naturalist!

Hide and Seek!

Ok... so I am a day late with my update and my apologies to everyone who was looking for it yesterday as promised.  Sunday was day one of my Search and Recovery course, which Shannon and Dennis graciously postponed from December so that I was able to attend.  After meeting up with Dennis and Matt and the other two students in my class at Whytecliff, we got our kits put together and sat down to review the first half of our review questions.  A quick once over of the questions showed that everyone had reviewed their manuals and despite a few questions we were all on the same page and anxious to get into the water.  One final step of the surface review had us practicing and demonstrating our knots for Dennis and Matt.  The three knots used and practiced in the PADI Search and Recovery course are the Bowline, Sheet-Bend and Two Half-Hitches. 

The Bowline (in orange) is used for securing to a lift bag and/or to the object to be recovered from the bottom.  This is a nice knot as (if tied correctly) the loop does not close, it just creates a loop that you can clip the lift bag or item to.  The second knot (blue and white) is the Sheet-Bend, Bends are usually used to tie two lengths of rope together and this one does as good a job as any I have tried.  Finally the Two Half-Hitches (white rope secured around the pole) is another knot used for securing  to the lit bag or object to be lifted yet the key difference is that this knot tightens down on the object or clip it is attached to making this a good knot to use to secure to a section of the object to be lifted when you don't want the knot to move.  All of these knots are fairly easy to pull apart making them good choices for underwater recovery.

For the knots I had purchased myself a few lengths of rope while studying so that I could practice as suggested in the manual.  Of course the saying "Practice makes Perfect" is a misnomer, if you practice something incorrectly you only get perfect at doing it wrong.  Only "perfect" practice makes perfect  and since the book is a little unclear on the knots I was only practicing the Bowline and the Two Half-Hitches correctly.  The Sheet-Bend however I got really good at doing wrong....lol.  Fortunately Matt was able to show me a way to do it that made sense and got me and the rest of the class back on track with the Sheet-Bend while Dennis made sure everyone was comfortable with the other two knots.

With us all reasonably confident with our knot tying ability and after reviewing the skills to be covered in our dives one and two for the day, it was time to finish gearing up and head for the water to play Hide and Seek with ankle weights.

When it comes to diving I would have to liken it to riding a bike, while I have not been in the water in about 6 weeks, it took only a few steps into the surf before the nerves were calm and as soon as I started my descent I immediately felt at home.  Visibility was amazing, the other students were confident in their abilities and along side the instructors we descended to the bottom with zero issues and almost no disruption of the bottom.  After some quick signals between my classmates and myself we all fell into position and started our first search using, a Circular Search pattern.  With one student / partner as the anchor or pivot point holding the rope and myself and the other student as the searchers  holding the end of the rope taut, we start swimming making a large circle.  If the "object" (in this case an ankle weight) is not found after the first complete circular pass then the anchor or pivot person lets out more rope and the searchers make another pass.  In our case my partner found the object on our first pass and returned it to Dennis.  Dennis had us swim a couple passes so that we would know what it was like anyway.   Following this we made the short ascent to the surface, during which Matt had swam away to hide object number two, 16 lbs of weight.  For the second search we were to do the U-Search pattern, where the navigator takes a bearing based on the approximate direction of the object and swims across the search grid with one of the partners counting kick cycles and remaining party members searching.  Upon hitting the set amount of kick cycles you make a "U-Turn" and spacing yourselves out again you swim back along the same bearing searching for your object and turning again at your set distance or kick cycle count.  This moves you in consecutive U's until you find the object.  This time I got to play navigator and see if i could keep us on track and on our bearing, after a few passes we managed to find the weights and it turned out I wasn't to far off my navigation, yeah me for getting better!....lol.  Once we found the object, with Dennis and Matt following behind us, it was time to show off our knots, but this time underwater.  Dennis came up beside us all as we settled on the weights and he passed us all a section of rope which I was able to tie a Bowline in without any issue (1 down, 2 to go), after showing Dennis my Bowline and getting my congratulatory "ok" sign, he passed me another piece of rope, which I tied (thanks to Matt's predive surface tips) a Sheet-Bend to join the two pieces together.  After showing the Sheet-Bend to Matt and getting his approval that the knot was complete, it was time to tie the Two Half-Hitches on to the band attached to the recovered object and then slip back and wait for the other students to finish up.  Once everyone was done it was tie to check the connections and then while one student held the lift bag open and the other held the reel that was connected to the lift bag, I gently put air from my alternate air into the bag, testing it's buoyancy until presto, lift off and the bag was tracked slowly, with all the divers following behind, to the surface to finish a very busy and very successful dive number one.

Dive number two for the day wasn't going to be as busy, for this search we would descend at the same point and with one of the other students on Navigation and one counting I got to play Searcher for this pattern.  For this search we were doing the Expanding Square pattern.  This proves to be a difficult pattern if not thought out in advance.  The concept is, you take a bearing, swim a set number of kick cycles turn 90 degrees and kick the same set of kick cycles, turn 90 degrees and kick adding a set number of kick cycles moving you past your start point and turn 90 degrees kicking a set number of kick cycles past your starting number.  Sounds a bit confusing but the math is pretty simple.  If you start swimming 5 kick cycles, turn and swim 5, then turn and swim 8 (adding 3) and then every time you turn you add 3 you end up constantly expanding your search area until you find the lost object.  Simple right?  Where this does get difficult is staying together....lol.  You see the inside person is always the inside person, so if they turn and keep swimming, if you maintain your distance apart the outside person has not yet made the turn and falls behind and has to swim quickly to keep up, and then falls further behind on the next turn and the next one and so on and so on....  Guess where I was?  You got it... the outside person.  To make things more interesting, the navigator is an incredibly strong swimmer so I was being being left well behind the group.  By turn three I was reminiscing about my fitness test and remembering how much I need to work to get back into shape (and round is not the shape I am looking for...lol.)   After managing to get ourselves organized and making a couple of passes, sure enough I spot the target just out and to the left of us, unfortunately with falling behind I was unable to signal my team and we proceeded to do another, ever expanding, lap.  By the time we had lapped back around the object was now on the inside of us, meaning we were doing the pattern correctly and not going over the same area too many times.  Again the ropes were passed out, knots were tied and with me holding the bag and a different partner controlling each the reel and inserting the air, we managed to once again float our objective to the surface and with Dennis and Matt close behind, made our slow and controlled ascent to the surface to finish dive 2.

Now for those who haven't gathered already, I am not in the best shape of my life.  As such I tend to breathe through my air faster than most which, as mentioned in previous posts, has led to me having to surface earlier than wanted due to lack of air.  So in November I bought myself brand new steel 130's.  These tanks hold WAY more air and, despite their weight, are wonderful to dive with.  After finishing dive one for the day I had a little over 1000 psi of air left, normally I am finishing with just over just under 500 psi so this was incredible.  After dive 2 I had more than 1700 psi left in the tank so, at Dennis' suggestion, my dive buddies and I swam out to the point and descended for a third dive.  This dive was just a calm and relaxed drift back towards shore along the wall of Whytecliff.  There was not a lot to see, lots of starfish, a few crab and a couple of fish, but more than that it was just a great time to take it easy and dive with friends in a completely relaxed atmosphere while enjoying our surroundings.

This weekend should be an exciting one with my Emergency First Responder training at the shop on Saturday and who knows what this Sunday will bring as my dive team and I get back in the water to finish off the last two dives for our Search and Recovery certification. 

I CAN BREATHE, I CAN BREATHE....

Or rather you can, or any other injured or distressed diver that I might come across...lol.  Last night I had the wonderful opportunity of being trained one on one by Shannon in Emergency O2.  The Emergency O2 specialty covers everything you need to know to administer Emergency O2, from how to recognize signals that someone is in distress, how to set-up the air, test it, what to say to the individual in distress and finally how to administer the O2 until medical help arrives. 

It's funny how much I am starting to feel like I belong at OPD, maybe one day they'll give me a key...lol.  I arrived a few minutes early last night and just waited out front for Shannon but had to laugh when she arrived and opened the door for me.  You see Shannon hurt her back recently (that was not the funny part) and was bringing gear (laundry) back to the shop, but due to her injury she is unable to lift anything so I had to go to her truck and bring in her laundry.  It's just like being at home, grab the laundry and get it put away...lol. 

It was a great night and lots of learning, instead of going through the book page by page and reviewing the chapter review one question at a time, because it was just the two of us, Shannon took me through everything in detail asking me questions along the way.  How fast should the flow be? What are the 2 different types of mask systems? What is Oxygen? What is it made up of? Why is it important? What does it do in the body?  It turns out in one of the recent classes Shannon was teaching, she had a Doctor in the class who was able to detail out exactly what the process is, from how much O2 the body actually absorbs, how much is exhaled, how that differs with exertion level, and what exactly it is doing in your body.  Shannon was kind enough to walk me through a similar conversation, and due to my gross lack of biology knowledge this was a great experience for me.  I now see lungs in a completely different way, no longer are they just bags that sit inside you and hold your air, they are complex systems of branches upon branches of what are called bronchi ending in bronchioles the thickness of a human hair!  This is where O2 is absorbed and then moved through your body... man we are an amazing creation!

After assembling and disassembling all 3 of the O2 units OPD has, and talking through all of the differences in masks, portability, ease of use, set-up, and additional tools.  Shannon then tested me by asking me to, given a scenario, (1)  pick which unit I would prefer to have, (2) set it up, (3) talk through what I would say to the diver, and (4) explain why I would have used this unit in the configuration that I did.  We went through a few scenarios so that I got experienced with a couple of the units and different masks and the uses of each depending on the divers status and the amount of O2 to be delivered and how it was to be delivered.

OPD (Ocean Pro Divers) has a great policy in regards to their Emergency O2 and their Emergency training.  Once you have received the training you are welcome (and encouraged) to repeat the course when they offer it again, free of charge, to ensure you are keeping up on all your skills.  Additionally, they allow divers to take out their O2 kits so that the kit is available should a diver need it, instead of just sitting in the shop where it doesn't do anybody any good. 

I am happy to say, I am now certified to administer Emergency O2... now I hope i will never need to...lol.  I am getting quite the collection of certification cards... and next month... NIGHT DIVING!!

Seals to Emergencies

Today marked one of my most exciting days of diving to date, our schedule today was meet at Whytecliffe Park, check out the site, discuss our dives, gear-up and hit the water.  Upon arrival we were greeted by a smiling face saying "You must be Andrew?", with surprise and a little trepidation I agreed and laughing and obviously realizing my surprise, Ward Conley (again another in the long line of amazing staff and DM's from Ocean Pro) introduced himself and advised that he was just speaking with Virpi and had had noticed us and Virpi figured it was me.  Once our whole team arrived, we geared up and headed out for our first dive of the day.   Our morning dive was fan-freakin-tastic!  The wildlife we saw on our tour with Dennis including nudibranchs, crabs, jelly fish and a few of our team even saw (and a couple swam with) a seal.. of course I didn't see it... some partners they turned out to be... lol.  We moved through our skills, complete mask removal and replace, and our open water C.E.S.A. (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent) finishing the ascent by manually inflating our BCD's to maintain buoyancy.  We finished our morning moving into shallower water for our weight belt removal and recovery and then our BCD removal and recovery.  Weight belts are much harder to replace in open water, with current and waves from the ferries banging into you, plus the additional weight in the BCD makes it hard to lift to get the weight belt secured above the hips.  I was able to finish the weight belt and move on to my BCD, now this would have been a viral YouTube video if someone had caught it... here I am trying to squirm my way out of my floating wet, vest while battling current and waves... OH, HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!!!  I probably looked like a hippo having a seizure... lol.  Now it pays to note at this point in time, especially for family and friends who read this and are going to ban me from diving... lol, there are releases on the shoulders of the BCD that I could have released and would in an emergency, but given that I knew I had to put this back on... and not wanting to have to wrestle with getting the clips back together, I chose the seizing hippo method.

Now with the BCD off, and me trying not to sink.. lol, it is time to show Virpi it is off and then... get it back on.  YEAH ME, more hippo imitations!  Actually truth be known, getting it back on wasn't nearly as hard as it was in the pool, I went one step at a time, pushed my tank down, sat on it, spun it around behind me, put my arms in the straps and slid off letting the tank and BCD rise to my back... bing, bang, boom... straps done up and I was done... and then.. oh yeah.. the words I have been wanting to hear... Virpi looks me in the eyes, shakes my hand and says, "Congratulations on becoming a certified open water diver."  YEEHAW!! I'm sure I was smiling from ear to ear when I got out of the water and headed up to switch tanks and grab a snack and water before kitting up for my last open water dive and my Dry suit certification. 

The afternoon was not what any of us were expecting, we managed our trek up the hill with our empty tanks and back down with our incredibly heavy full tanks, got them attached to our BCD's, regs fitted, pressure on, gauges checked and ready to dawn our kits and gear for our last Open Water dive and the final step in our Dry suit certification, when the worst sound you can ever hear crossed the bay and reached our ears....
HELP!!
The details of what happened to cause the emergency are unclear, and not mine to share even if they were not.  What details have been made public, and the most accurate account out of all the reports I have seen so far of what happened can be read in the Vancouver Province's article ~ Woman critical after West Van scuba diving accident.  What I will say though, and I hope this is apparent in my writing, I am SO proud to be a part (however small) of Ocean Pro Diving.  The reactions and selfless actions of Ward and Dennis (our Dive masters for the day) who went in the water to assist with just masks and fins, of Virpi who co-ordianated our team (her students) on the beach in seconds sending one for the first-aid kit and emergency air, while another to phone 911 and me to assist at the shore as divers came in and to relay messages.  I applaud the efforts and actions of the men and woman of the Police, Fire and Rescue, Ambulance Service and Coast Guard, I was honored to see how tight the dive community is, and how it pulls together to help a diver in need, I was proud to see how quickly my dive family responded, I was excited to see the rescue boat and hovercraft and BC Ambulance helicopter and if I never see any of it again..... it'll be too soon! 

I have been asked a couple times since the incident, "How are you doing?" and "Are you still going to Dive?".  The answers to those are, "I don't know" and most resoundingly "YES!."  This incident this weekend has shaken me, in my life and various work I have seen far too many people hurt, injured, dying and in many cases gone, but despite this it does not desensitize you but only further reminds you of the reality that we are only mortal and accidents can happen.  The Ocean Pro staff did an amazing job debriefing everyone after the incident and Shannon has even phoned to ensure everyone is ok.  Dennis was able to point out that in his 15+ years of diving and over 1500 logged dives he has only seen the Ambulance Helicopter called in 4 times.  So all things considered I don't see diving as any more dangerous now than I did when I started my course, it is an amazing world down there, but like most amazing things in this world it must be approached with the respect and preperation it deserves.  I will continue to dive, hopefully for many, many, many years and hope I am never in a situation like I was this weekend again.  But I will be prepared! This is why, despite any other decisions or courses to take, i will be completing my EFR (Emergency First Response), Rescue and Emergency O2 Provider courses as soon as possible.

Stay tuned for the continuing adventures on diving... after all.... I still need to log my final Dry suit dive for my Dry suit certification...

eRDPml... what? "All engines... full stop!", and the thing everyone likes to hear.

So last night marked the wonderful return to class, 2 chapters to review, my eRPDml to learn how to use (don't worry I had no idea what it was either... lol), 2 quizzes to take and all that before getting into the water to try out all the new skills. Soo much work.... so little time!  Of course we got it all done and under Virpi's amazing instruction, I even feel confident that I know what I am doing.

I  have, however, come to the conclusion that they have this course organized so that all the easy brain (my strong suit) and scary physical stuff comes at the beginning and the scary brain and not so difficult physical stuff comes last.  Here's why, in week one, classes 1 and 2, I managed to pull off 10/10 on both my quizzes, nailed all my Chapter Reviews and felt really good about the knowledge component (I even participated in class... imagine me talking.... never... lol). But when it came to the physical side, I was a lost cause... struggling and spitting and waiting for a priest to read me my last rights...lol.  (For more on that read through "Fitness... I don't need no stinkin' fitness" and  If it ain't broke don't fix it.... and from SORTED to super STARS.) So now we have had a week off, I even forced myself to go and redo the Fitness Test (yes.. without dying, although I think the life guards at Sungod were waiting for me to go under a few times,) and now we are back and we were to have the book finished and chapter 3 & 4 Chapter Reviews completed (some people didn't do their homework... tisk tisk..)  now it was time to review, discuss and then take our quizzes.  For the most part I did ok, most of my Chapter Review questions were done, couldn't finish the last of Review 4 on the eRDPml (I'll explain that in a second,) and scored a 9/10 on my quiz... I know there goes my 4.0 GPA, I placed the wrong number in the wrong order... I knew the right answer, just put it down wrong.... BAH.   So here is the scary brainy stuff I was referring to,  in chapter 1 we learned about buoyancy, atmospheres, and equipment, in chapter 2 we moved on to seeing and hearing underwater, more on equipment and working with your buddy.  Now we move on to chapters 3 and 4 where we learn about contaminated air, nitrogen narcosis, exhaustion, currents, tides, animal attacks and panicking divers.... at this point we have a classroom of panicking divers... ok, it might have just been me, but I just spent a week off, making sure I was working on my fitness which I thought was going to be the death of me, only to review all of the other ways I could die... yeah me!... lol.  So, we review all the questions in chapter 3, take our quiz (yes the one I only got 9/10 on) and proceed to chapter 4.  Chapter 4, as mentioned, includes more on all the ways to hurt yourself.. lol, including your pressure groups and understanding how these affect the amount of nitrogen in your body.  For this we refer to an RDP (recreational dive planner) or in our case, an eRDPml which, if I understand correctly, stands for Electronic Multi-Level Recreational Dive Planner (don't ask me why the ml comes last, it just does).  The eRDPml allows you to enter your dive information (is this your first dive of the day?, how deep are you going, how long will you be there, etc) and then will tell you what pressure group you are in, starting with A and ending in dead... I mean Z.  You can then use this letter to plan for additional dives for the day to ensure you do not exceed you maximum NDL (no decompression limit.)  You see how this starts to get scary... I'm having trouble even figuring out how to even use the eRDPml, never mind wrapping my head around the fact that this is not something you want to make mistakes with and add to that the fact that the system is built for the "average" person (whoever he or she is) and differs from person to person, often based on weight... yeah me!  Time to lose all the extra pounds I've been carrying around.   We review, and again thanks to Virpi's amazing abilities as a teacher, she breaks it down simple, and eventually gets me and my classmates through using the eRDPml and actually to the point where we were comfortable.... now off to the pool.

For anyone who has ever piloted a boat, then shut off the engine and tried to stop, you'll understand the humor behind hearing a captain say "Full Stop" or "All Engines, Full Stop" and know what it feels like to continue to drift without the ability to make a hard stop.  This is very similar in diving, or at least my diving, water is nothing like a road, if you get yourself moving too quickly (up or down), it becomes difficult to stop... at least under control.  So our goal for last night was to realize neutral buoyancy... for anyone who doesn't know what  neutral buoyancy is, picture it this way, a balloon in water will float, it is positively buoyant, a rock (or me at times.. lol) will sink, because we are negatively buoyant, but a fish that sits perfectly still in the water neither rising nor sinking, without swimming is neutrally buoyant.  It is a complex thing to think about sometimes, but the coolest thing to experience, much like being in outer space, you just sit there.  To achieve this you must learn breath control.  You ensure you are adequately weighted, with just enough air in your BCD and from there you just breathe... sounds simple... it's not.  Inhale too much, and off to the surface you go... exhale too much and prepare to meet the bottom.  This is where the "Full stop" concept comes in, if you are not careful, and inhale too much and don't exhale soon enough, you start to the surface and despite exhaling it is difficult to stop the motion, the same is true in reverse, if you exhale too much and don't inhale soon enough you start your decent and often it is too late to stop yourself from dropping to the bottom... this is a scary concept when you think about walls with 200 + foot drops below you and the problems with rising to the surface too fast .. you never want to lose control.. ever.  But once you have the concept and have practiced achieving this in a few different ways, there is little else cooler than sitting weightless in the water watching your classmates complete their skill tests as you sit, doing nothing, resting only on water, open space above and below you.  I was fortunate enough to have Matt Mendes, (again another in what seems to be a long line of amazing Dive Masters at Ocean Pro), in the water with us, signaling me to move up or down (ascend or descend) in the water while signaling for me to check and advise on air pressure, forcing me to be in constant control and alert of my gauges, instead of falling off to sleep due to the completely relaxing feeling of being weightless. Once you have this under control, and never one to want you to get too relaxed, PADI requires you learn how to breathe off a failed regulator... great... more things that can go wrong... is it too late to transfer to basket weaving as a hobby... lol.  To prepare for this and simulate a failed regulator, understanding of course that almost every time a regulator fails it fails in the open position venting air, you pull one side of the regulator out of your mouth and press the purge valve releasing tons of air and learn to "sip" air from your regulator without getting water in your mouth... it works!... I don't know how, nor do I need to, but it works and it wasn't hard.  We finish the pool time with practicing diver assistance, by pulling and pushing our partners back and forth across the pool, of course I had the wonderful assistance of Matt who, once again liking to keep you on your toes, took great delight in pulling me off course during my diver pull, forcing me to right myself and get back on course all without losing my partner who is "injured" in the water... oh the fun... lol.

So the evening ends, we clean up our gear, get it washed, packed and moved to the door, then off to change before loading the gear in the vehicles for our return to the shop.  It's on the way back from changing that it happens, words that are almost as great as the day my wife said "I do" and the times my parents said "we're proud of you", Matt looked at me and said, "You're doing really great out there" and just when I thought my day couldn't get better as I am sure I was floating all over again, Virpi echoed the comment in saying,"You're doing great out there, keep it up."

Life has it's defining moments, some are tragic events that we survive, some are memories of accomplishments past, and some are simply the kind words someone shares with you at a crossroad in life when you need to hear the thing everyone likes to hear... "Good Job."

If it ain't broke don't fix it.... and from SORTED to super STARS

I have always laughed at the people who look at skydiving and question, "why would you ever jump out of a perfectly good plane?"  I laughed that is until last night where I found myself asking "why would you ever remove a perfectly good mask or regulator?"  You see last nights pool skills were on switching from snorkel to regulator and on mask recovery. The snorkel to regulator is simple enough and is required so that you can surface swim using your snorkel, see what's below you, reach your site, and instead of coming out of the water you simply exhale slowly switch from snorkel to regulator, clear your regulator, continue to breathe (cause you never stopped!) and start your descent. You practice this by swimming across the pool on the surface switching back and forth between snorkel and regulator, makes perfect sense. The mask recover is a different story, for this you descend to the bottom of the pool, not the shallow-end mind you, where if you panicked you could just stand up... no we are 12 feet down sitting in the deep-end of the pool with Roger Fordham (who I hope to get to know better as I progress to the next levels of training) and his Rescue Diver class right above our heads.  Virpi now guides us gently to the ground ensuring we follow the "SORTED" (Signal, Orientate, Regulator, Time, Equalize and Descend) method. After most of us are seated / kneeling on the bottom Virpi kindly demostrates how you remove your mask and calmly (this is key) continue to breathe (another key ingredient for success) with your mask in your hand for a full minute.  At the end of this minute she will signal or tap you to indicate you can now put your mask on your face, clear it and carry on "calmly," sitting 12 feet underwater with the occasional weight belt dropping from above... weee.  We are able to see multiple methods for breathing through this minute, including inhale / exhale regulator and inhale regulator exhale nose, and encouraged to use the method best suited for us.  Remarkably... panic, inhale through your nose and race to the surface before you die was not an option....lol.  I must admit as I write this though, it sounds a lot harder than it is... who would have thought that this amazing creation called the human body has some natural abilities and intelligent design, like the fact that your nostrils face down... come on everyone... think back to being a kid and flipping a cup over in the sink or a bucket in the pool.. that's right air gets trapped... same thing with your nose, as long as you remain calm (go figure) your nose will keep air trapped and the water does not rush in!  So here I am, 12 feet down, mask off, eyes closed, remaining calm, and waiting for that reassuring tap on the arm to say, "Hey Andrew, you didn't die, put your mask back on."  The tap comes, mask on, cleared and still breathing smoothly, give Virpi the "ok" sign get my congratulatory pat on the arm and hand shake that makes you feel like you really might be able to do this and then relax with the classmates who have finished and watch the rest of the class try not to panic as their turn arrives. It is later explained that you learn this skill in case your partner accidentally knocks your mask off.... I'm liking partners less an less... first their taking my air... now knocking my mask off...lol, of course I'm thinking, Lord help anyone who knocks my mask off, they might find themselves doing a "full kit" recovery... lol.  So here is hoping that I never need to do a mask recovery but at least I know I can do it if I need to... the key there is need... lol.  So time runs out and we end our night ascending to the surface under Virpi's direction as diving super STARS (Signal, Time, Air, Reach, Survey).

So for those of you who had a good laugh at my Fitness test, you will enjoy the conversation I had with Michael Klaver (another of Ocean Pros amazing Dive Masters and soon to be Open Water Instructor).  Michael served as Dive Master for last nights class and was present when, during the book part of class, Virpi advised, much to my relief, that they would be no fitness test, and with a smile on her face and just to poke a little fun at me said  "But maybe we'll have Andrew tread water for a few minutes."  Michael was quick to catch on that this was not my favorite part of the course so far and pointed out what it required to qualify for Dive Master.  For  those of you who are squeamish or physically unfit like me.. you might want to turn away.. this is not for younger audiences... physically fit supervision highly recommended....lol. Apparently  to qualify for Dive Master you have to pass a multi-part test including laps beyond what I can count never mind swim, and a 15 minute tread with the last of it spent with your arms in the air.. not an easy feat.  There are also injured diver swims, and a whole array of other things that made my head spin and then to top the whole thing off with a bright red bow and a cherry on top, you have to complete the whole thing within an aggressive time limit!  I'm thinking the only part of that I could do at this point in time is the injured diver swim and only then as the injured diver... lol.

Who knows what the pool holds for my next visit, 3 chapters to review, 1 more set of review questions to complete and section 5 of the DVD all before the 17th when next I venture to class, gear up and join my class as we follow Virpi and our Dive Master of the night to explore new skills and new adventures... to boldly go where hundreds have gone before... the bottom of the pool!.

"Fitness... I don't need no stinkin' fitness"

For anyone who has ever completed the fitness requirement to start diving, you know how untrue that title is... but I'll get to that later.

So here's the story of my first night of diving.  I was more excited than a child on Christmas morning, Jenn (my wife) is watching me bounce off the walls, I'm packed for class with my swim shorts on, I've double and triple checked my homework, ensured I haven't missed anything on my student folder and even reread some of the highlighted areas of my dive manual and I still don't get to leave for nearly 2 hours!

So the grueling 2 hours go by, I make the quick drive from Delta to White Rock to get to Ocean Pro and head on in.  At first I thought I was late, Shannon is standing in front of a class teaching... oh no... did I get the time wrong, did I miss something.. could Ashley have written it down wrong... impossible.  Shannon see's me coming in and confirms I am there for the Open Water Course and upon confirmation she lets me know she is just finishing up with another class, lots happening tonight. (Apparently I am not the only one that realizes how great this shop is.)  Shannon then points me into the shop and encourages me to look around... muhahaha... this is like opening the candy store for a child and telling him to look around to see if there is anything he wants... I WANT IT ALL!!

After playing with some weights, and trying on gloves, and looking at accessory after accessory, I am introduced to, what I will later learn is one of the best instructors around, my instructor Virpi Kangas. She lets me know we'll be starting in a few minutes and to... you guessed it... have a look around... lol.

By the time class starts (and I've only been in the store 15 minutes) I'm researching having my paychecks direct deposited to the store so that I can buy one or two of everything. Not that I'm greedy, but it all looks so much fun!

So class starts, there are 6 in my class including me, Virpi introduces herself, says her name once and I realize... I'm gonna need options.  Such a beautiful name and the way she says it adds that extra something to it, I start saying it in my head and I realize we have a problem...lol. Fortunately Virpi advises we can call her Virpi (can you see the difference, one has a fancy roll to it and the other, not so much... lol) or we can call her V.  Without the roll I'm ok and I feel less worried that I'm going to kill someones name.  We all get out our folders and Virpi reviews to ensure everything is complete.. and who is the superstar who has everything completed... you guessed it.. ME!  (Thanks to Ashley not letting me leave the shop the Thursday before until after I had completed most of it and she had walked me through the rest putting a star * beside everything that needed completing.)  So after folders are done, we start to go through the units 1 & 2, most of us have our homework done and we review question by question, then on to Quiz #1.... 10 out of 10, yeah me, this diving stuff is easy... lol.  Boy was I wrong.. now we were off to the pool....

Here is where the title fits in and my thoughts on the physical requirements go out the window, now the weight of the equipment was, as expected, not a problem for me.  My problem came with the announcement of a Fitness test.  Not a "Hey can you comfortably lift a BCD, tank attached and support it while your partner gets in"... this was a, swim 8 lengths (4 laps) of the pool, no stopping or you start again. So off we go... I'm on length 3/8 (1.5 of my required 4 laps) when the thought hits me... "I'm out of shape"... by length 5/8  (2.5 of my required 4 laps) I'm praying "God strike me dead, I'm not gonna make it"... at the end of 6/8 (3 of my 4 laps down) I am swimming on my back (and have been for a bit) and look up to see Virpi cheering me on from the side, "Only one more to go!"  Ok, great, now I can't quit, I've got a cheering section... lol.  So we finish the swim, I get out, and I am feeling muscles in my legs I didn't know existed and remembering joints that were hurt so long ago I can barely remember how I hurt them.  I'm not feeling so much the superstar at this point... I'd have given up my 10 / 10 on the quiz and being all done my worksheets and folder for a slightly easier time with the swim... at this point I want to die.  We are now fortunate enough to have a break, a few minutes while Virpi shows us the equipment set-up, how to get the tank attached to the BCD, attaching regulators, clipping in hoses, etc.  I'm getting excited again... then the announcement... "Ok, now on to our 10 minute tread..."  Good news!... now I get to tread water with already sore muscles for longer than I have ever tried before, without touching the sides and not drowning....  I won't walk through the gory details but that 10 minutes seemed like 20 and by 20 I mean hours!  ~ note to self: FITNESS IS IMPORTANT ~

So 10 minutes is up, out of the pool we get, muscles are sore, breathing is off and I'm thinking I'm going to die before this night is over....  I think I did.  Died and went to heaven that is!  Under the supervision of Virpi and Dennis Chow (one of the shops most highly qualified and trained Dive Masters and Instructors), we start to build our kits, dawn our wetsuits and boots and then assist our partners into their gear.  Then grabbing masks, snorkels and fins (never call them flippers, Flipper's a Dolphin, Divers have fins!!), we head off to the shallow end of the pool, climb into the pool, put on our fins and masks and upon instruction lower into the water and breathe for the first time.. under water!  What an AMAZING experience!

I won't go through all the details of the skills we covered, aside from saying watching the video and reading the required chapters does help, but most important of all, is having a great instructional team and paying very close attention to what they tell you and show you.

Is my life any different after one class, you bet it is.  I learned to breathe under water, communicate under water, recover my regulator, clear my mask and even share air with my partner if it was needed... what did you do Tuesday night?

My only question at this point... outside of tank changes, why does anyone ever surface? I love this new world. Thursday can't come quick enough, and who knows what the deep end of the pool holds.

I can't wait to dive again, but I won't hold my breath... cause that breaks rule #1 of diving "NEVER HOLD YOUR BREATH!"