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.

Saving Lives - The New Team Sport

Yesterday was when we finally put all of the pieces of my four month journey to Rescue Diver together.  After classroom session number one with Virpi in February (The Master Scuba Diver Challenge!!) followed by the confusion of Andrew to the Rescue.... Or Not?, we finally got everything started back up in Andrew to the Rescue part... Doh!! where Ward taught the classroom section again (for the 4 new students that had joined the Recue program) and invited me to join.  Then that following Saturday Denis and Matt taught the in water Rescue scenarios in You are healed!!.  Which brings us to yesterday when Denis and Cheryl lead us through the final in water rescue scenarios but this time we got to put all of the learned items together.

In You are healed!! I got to practice with Matt on bringing a diver to the surface, and finding a lost diver in partners and dealing with a panicked diver.We also had opportunities to practice our in-water rescue breaths with the pocket mask while pulling a victim to shore and getting their gear off.  Yesterday we got to demonstrate our rescue breaths again, but this time without the pocket mask (yeah, you wanna see a group of guys squirm... tell them they are about to practice mouth to mouth...lol.)  With that skill out of the way (and no, lips did not actually touch...lol, you end up blowing more on their chin or just below), we moved on to the real tests.  Here is where you need to put all your training into action.  One buddy is sent out into the water and is in apparent need of assistance, the other two need to come from shore and bring the first guy out.  Now, in our scenarios we have the advantage of knowing time really isn't of the essence (no one is really dying) and we are more or less mentally prepared and expecting the scenario.  So when Denis said go it was no surprise that most everyone was ready.  But what you realize in the two minutes the scenario takes to start and complete... there is a LOT to think about.... How far out is the potential victim?  Do I take the time to put my kit on? What do I take with me? Is he the only victim?

One by one, here is the thought process: 

How far out is the victim?

• do you have to get in the water
• can he be reached wading
• can something be thrown to him
• can you reach him with a stick

Do I take the time to put my kit on?

• if I take the time he is in the water having issues longer
• if I don't have my kit and he goes under then I may not be able to reach him
• if I have my kit I will be slower in the water
• if I don't have my kit and he gets panicky I don't have the option of going under him

What do I take with me?

• do I grab a floatation device or make one
• do I need my fins and mask
• do I get another diver to come with me or wait for me on shore

Is he the only victim?

• Where is his dive buddy
• Is this a surface rescue or is he signaling for help because he can't find his buddy
• What is the potential of additional victims

After our 3 man practice scenarios we had an opportunity to discuss some of the above topics / questions and work towards solutions (where ones could be found), and where you just need to sometimes go with your training and instinct and do your best, because your best, even if it's only marginally successful, is still better than not doing anything at all.

After our briefing, it was time for the final test... the real test.  You see for this one, Cheryl, our helpless "damsel in distress" is a "missing diver," and our team of six "rescuers" are tasked with finding and rescuing her.  What we know is that she is missing, we have a rough area and a general depth, we also know that visibility SUCKS at that depth.... what we need to do is agree upon a strategy, make a plan and execute it flawlessly... we also have to do it in less than 10 minutes!  Not a PADI requirement, a Cheryl requirement... she gets cold...lol.  So here was my chance to shine... lol, after-all, I had been through the classroom session twice, had the best partner for day 1 (Matt), can't go wrong with a DM as your partner, especially one who makes you work..lol.  With everyone on the beach, and knowing the obstacles, we began to discuss.  The eventual plan that was agreed upon was to go out as a team of 6 each person having a dedicated buddy in case of seperation, drop down to depth and essentially holding hands move parallel to the beach, one of us in the middle navigating with a compass, the guy beside him counting kick cycles and the 2 guys on either end watching to see if they can find Cheryl.  Then after a set number of kick cycles, we would send the message down the line (through taps) and the inside person would stop and everyone would rotate around them to swing back in the opposite direction covering the next section.  Then, once found, the first group of dedicated buddies to reach her would surface her and while one starts pulling her in the other starts breaths.  This allows the fastest pair of remaining swimmers to head to shore to get the first aid and O2 ready and the final pair to work together, without interfering with the dragging or breathing, in getting her kit off before reaching shore.

With the plan in place it was time to stage the scene, to make it interesting we descended first and waited 2 minutes while Cheryl swam to a spot and descended.  At the 2 minute mark we started our search pattern, as we reached the end of our pass, the diver to my far left (I was in the middle) signaled along the line, and one by one we stopped and noticed there to the left of us barely visible in the murky water was Cheryl.  The team to my left secured her regulator and surfaced with the remaining 4 of us following close behind.  On the surface 2 of our divers raced for shore to secure the first-aid and air.  The two divers that brought Cheryl to the surface had already secured the pocket mask and were making their way to shore as the last member of our group and myself started undoing her kit and passing the items off.  By the time we had reached shore her full kit was off as was mine, so while the rest of my team stripped off their gear I pulled Cheryl up on shore to where the guys with first-aid and air were waiting to take over.  After a couple rounds of compressions and breaths... she was revived and safe to dive another day.

All in, this was one of the best courses I could have taken, it took longer to complete than intended but the information is definitely in there to stay.

Working The Triangle.

Monday night marked the start of what I hope will be my favorite dive topic... PHOTOGRAPHY!!

After reading the manual and carrying my camera around the house with me playing with buttons I figured i was going to be all set for this class.  The only thing I was worried about was lighting... lighting is one of the hardest things about photography (land or water) but those issues are compounded under water as light can't travel through water very well, even less in poor visibility and without light, you need strobes and strobes are a whole new challenge.

Class was a ton of fun, Chloe and another dive master from a different school were auditing the class in hopes of getting certified to teach it one day and then there was Matt and I and one of my dive buddies who does most of my courses with me.  Matt just recently purchased a new camera and the shop had purchased the same one for divers to rent or borrow when doing the photography course and of course Chloe, the other DM and I all have our cameras.  Now photography is always a tough course to teach (even land) when students have different cameras. This is complex as each camera has it"s settings in a different location or configuration and some have features others don't.  All this combines to make a tough class.

Once class got kicked off, our instructor, Wes, underwater photographer extraordinaire (you can see some of his work here), took us through the basics of photography.  Now this was a fun part for me because while lighting has it's challenges and composition is an area I struggle with, ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed are my second language...lol.  Being able to help explain concepts to some of the students and assist Wes with moving through the Triangle was exciting... finally I know something most others are not too sure about...lol.

Now the Triangle, for anyone who has not taken photography is the balance between ISO - Shutter Speed- Aperture.  As you adjust one, you need to adjust one or both of the others to compensate and ensure enough light reaches the sensor (or film in pre-digital cameras).  As you decrease the ISO (the sensors sensitivity) to increase the quality of image, you must either narrow the depth of field (lower aperture) or slow down the shutter (lower shudder speed).  To catch a faster moving object you need to speed up the shutter (increase shutter speed) meaning you need to either narrow the depth of field (lower aperture) or increase the ISO.  To get lots of items or area in focus you need to increase the depth of field (Aperture) and as such need to lower the shutter speed and/or increase the ISO.  For some people this just makes sense, for others this concept baffles them beyond compare and despite their continuous attempts they just can't grasp the concept.

The triangle, as in many classes, took up most of the night and what was left was on cleaning, prepping and composing.  Now for composing the initial encouragement was to focus on Macro photography (the really close stuff) and try to find non-moving or slow moving objects so that we would have more of a chance to practice our SEA skills (Shoot - Examine - Adjust).  Wes was also able to show us some tricks for light placement for doing Macro work and even move from camera to camera to help review settings to ensure the best ones were set-up before heading to the shore on Sunday.

With class wrapped up we visited for a few minutes and then headed out, all of us excited for the coming Sunday dives and BBQ.

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!!

D.S.D. and Me....

One Fish...
Two Fish...
Red Fish...
Blue Fish...

Lol, is it bad that listening in to a Discover Scuba Class reminds me of Dr Seuss....

It's not that I take any training lightly, please don't get me wrong, but it just seems funny to me now after this long (yes I know it's only been 8 months since I took up scuba diving) to listen to topics like the air spaces in your body, and pressurization and over-expansion injuries.  Now ask me a year ago and I would have been like "Duh... what?"  So I am not really picking on students for not knowing nor the teachers for teaching it, but simply laughing at how after what really is just a blink of an eye, the staff and divers of OPD have ingrained in me the basics so much that they seem like they should be second nature to everyone.  Of course I was also surprised to talk to someone the other day who has been diving coming up 8 years and just hit 24 dives... for you math genius' out there, that's 3 dives per year... that's 1 dive every 4 months... If I go more than a few weeks without diving I feel like my body is dehydrating and drying up...lol.  When I missed nearly 2 months across Christmas with my ear (see What was that? Speak up and talk into my good ear! for the full story) I came back feeling all uncomfortable and spent much of my first dive back in the water trying to get my buoyancy back (for what it was at the time) I can't imaging waiting months between every dive or years....

Anyway, back on track from my rambling... Earlier this week I was lucky enough to not only listen in on a DSD class (and no I didn't laugh or giggle in the back) but i also got to join in and help out!!  How?  Well Monday I was in the shop dropping off my gear from diving on the weekend and stopped to talk with Chloe and Shannon and see when Chloe might be able to get back in the water as we are doing the Photography course together in April and wanted to get out and practice a bit before hand, but with her ankle we haven't been able to get out.  So in talking to Chloe, Shannon got a smile on her face and looked at me and with her head tilted slightly and eyebrow raised asked "Are you looking for photography practice?"  At which point she let me know she had 2 DSD (Discover Scuba Diving) classes running this week and would I be interested in taking the pictures for her classes.  Now this was cool for a bunch of reasons, first the DSD classes that were happening were a result of a Groupon ad that Shannon had placed that also happened to link to my Blog, this very Blog you are reading!! Apparently Groupon used my blog entry as part of the review for Ocean Pro (so cool how everything is connected...lol.) so I was potentially going to be in the water with strangers who had seen or even read my blog...lol.  Second, Shannon was trusting me with her students!  I mean of course real Diving pros were going to be there but wow... I was going to be associated with the shop... woot.. step one complete... next to take over the world... oops sorry wrong plan, that was my one for world domination...lol.  Last but certainly not least, it was an opportunity to dive and practice my camera work... what more could one ask for!

So with permission from my wonderful wife (Hello Honey if you are reading this), I agreed to join Shannon's 2 classes and made my way to the shop on Tuesday for class one.  Upon arrival I was greeted as always by the smiling face of Shannon who introduced me to some brand new Open Water Students while pointing out that I was helping the shop out by doing photography for them.  Then it was off to the front of the store where Matt and Deirdre were teaching their first DSD classes.  Standing quietly off to the side I was able to listen in to the way Deirdre and Matt interlaced humor into the night keeping the students on their toes... literally, Matt had everyone standing up and doing imaginary regulator recoveries while trying not to hit their neighbor or wipe out any of the racks in the shop...lol.  Before long it was off to the pool, but before I could leave I had to find a pool suit, as luck would have it, Shannon asked what i needed and when she heard pool suit, she walked out onto the floor of her shop and pulled a brand new great quality suit off the rack and passed it to me.... THIS ROCKS!!

Arriving at the pool it was a quick unload of all the gear and then time to get into the pool suits.  With suits on and a couple of great photo ops (one wonderful gentleman put the suit on backwards...lol), it was time to sit back and watch the teachers teach.  After walking everyone through assembling their kits and turning on their air, it was time to teach them how to work as a team to get their BCD's on.  For this Matt let me assist by being his buddy and modeling how to lift, hold and support the kit while your buddy gets in.  Then I had the opportunity to assist a few divers as they worked their way into their kits and, of course not ever having anything of this size on their backs before, complain about the weight.  Now with everyone geared up it was time to put on my BCD.  Now keep in mind that I normally dive 32 lbs of lead (12 in a belt and 20 in my BCD) and a steel 130 cubic foot tank which is 10 lbs heavier than an aluminum 80 cubic foot tank, but for the pool I was only using my 12lb weight belt, cutting the total weight in my BCD by 30 lbs!!  So it was no wonder when I picked up my BCD it felt light as air and didn't mean anything to me when I grabbed it like a person grabs a back pack and just flung it over my shoulder with one hand.  Now as I said it didn't surprise me, but some of  the students on the other hand, seemed a little shocked...lol.

All geared up it was time to head for the shallow end of the pool and start the in-pool exercises.  After the basics of putting their faces in the water and emptying and filling their BCD's, it was regulator recover time and a little underwater time before sending them to do laps in the shallow end.

 After a few laps it was time to send the students out into the deep end.  Waiting for us in the deep today were colored golf balls, mini-torpedoes and other various toys to swim around and play with while enjoying, becoming comfortable with and inevitably Discovering Scuba!! 

Andrew to the Rescue.... Or Not?

Ok, so last week I was able to achieve a new high in diving, assisting one of my instructors in keeping an eye on a diver who had the potential to be under additional (unwelcome) stress.  This week I was to actually  be trained on working with and dealing with people who were under stress.  Saturday and Sunday were scheduled to be "dive" days.  I put dive in quotations as the weekend was going to be less about diving and more about Rescuing.  Not necessarily my favorite topic or class, but one that is necessary to make me a well rounded diver and essential for me to make Master Scuba Diver and eventually Dive Master, Instructor, MSDT, etc.... 

So here I was, meeting one of the best instructors imaginable, Miss Virpi Kangas!  If you don't know Virpi or haven't heard me talk about her you obviously haven't been reading my blog...lol.  Pretty much click on any of my previous blogs and you'll read all about her, or better yet, go back to the beginning and get the whole story from there.  Anyways, I arrive at the site, Virpi is already there and we start building our kits and begin to chat about the day and the plans.  As we start planning out the day she advises that she has pulled some strings and my good friend and another amazing instructor of mine Ward Conley is going to be our DM for tomorrows training, which prompts my question, "Do we have a DM coming today as I am the only diver?"  You see, as a little background, there was scheduled to be two of us in the class, as mentioned in The Master Scuba Diver Challenge!!, but while I was at the shop grabbing my gear the day before I found out that buddy had some family issues and wuld be unable to join us for the weekend... unfortunately due to some mis-communication, Virpi was not aware that I would be the only diver for the day!  So needless to say, her initial answer to my question was a stunned look, followed up with, "Huh?"....lol.  Needless to say, trying to do a Rescue class that requires demonstrating elements is very difficult with only the instructor and student...  So with a quick call to Shannon Virpi set out to sort out our action plan while I completed assembling my kit.  Once completed on her call Virpi confirmed what I figured the suggestion would be, which was to post-pone the in-water part of the training until such a time as all of us could be there.  But Virpi, being the amazing person she is, offered to still go for some recreation dives since we were already there.

Part two of the plan was for me to,bum bum bum, yes you guessed it, write my final....

EXAM!!

So positioned nice and warm in my van, Virpi and I reviewed some of the Rescue material and then, as if I wasn't stressed enough about tests...lol... Virpi sat right beside me in the passenger seat of my van while I wrote the 50 question multiple guess exam on what to do in an emergency.  

Well.... as has been the case before, my worry was for nothing, I managed to write my test and after reviewing my answers and struggling intently over questions 14, 15 and 16 for which I was unsure of the answer, I ended up with a perfect 50/50!

At this time Virpi and I took a look at the water, felt the bitter cold wind and decided, nope... not gonna dive!... lol.  I know, I know I hear all of you out there who have heard me talk about how I would dive every chance I got and how I wish I were a fish so I never had to leave the water... and... and ... and... then I go ahead and call off a dive while already standing in the park with my kit nearly built... but I have it a really good reason... it was freakin' cold!!!...lol.

After deciding to forgo a dive for the day and stowing our gear it was time to head for home, so before heading out I decided to message home to let the family know I was on my way.  You think having to reschedule my Rescue class would be tough to handle, or skipping a dive would be a tough thing to miss... Jenn messages me back to let me know that while I was not Diving and not completing my Rescue class Joshua scored his first ever soccer goal... and I missed it!  Needless to say driving home my 50 didn't feel so special anymore, I had missed his first goal on a quickly ending season and who knows when the next one will come....  Arriving home the first thing I am greeted with was Josh jumping into my arms and with his mouth moving at the speed of light I heard all about the game and how players had gone home because it was too cold (told you it was cold..lol) and how he had been running to the spot he'd been practicing in his FIFA 2010 soccer video game and bang, the ball was right there and right off his foot and into the net.  Apparently he was ok with me missing the goal, and I was ok with him chatting my ear off for the rest of the day as we relived the moment over and over again.  I didn't get a dive in yesterday, but instead of others living their adventure through me, I got to live one through a 10 year old soccer star and his first goal, a goal in a 1-0 victory to send his team into the final game of the play-offs.  One of my greatest loves is diving, that's plain to see, but my greatest love is my family, so it was a great weekend after-all.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat Gently Into The Rolling Waves.... Merrily Merrily Off To See The Circus...

As crazy as this sounds this is exactly what I was up to on Sunday.  The day started with all sorts of confusion (which should have been a sign), Ward was still sick and as such would be unable to dive.  He was still coming to the site as the instructor and to make sure the day went well but since he wasn't going to be in the water we were being joined by Chloe Boone as the Dive Master for the day and another friend of the shop who would be assisting in the water.  The boats were at the shop, unfortunately  we couldn't find pumps... Finally we got a hold of two of the divers who were already on their way to the site and found out they had a manual pump from the shop and also had an electric pump for air mattresses.  So it was just a matter of throwing all the gear in vehicles, mounting up and heading out to the site.

Once on site it was evident it was going to be an interesting day,  as we pulled up we could see the white caps on the waves rolling into shore and feel the wind and see it bending the branches.  Now if you've ever been kayaking or in an inflatable boat in waves you know that going up and over and crashing into the waves is not the easiest thing when attempting to move a fair distance and secure to a buoy.

As mentioned fortunately one of the divers had his electric pump along which aided greatly in the inflation of the boats and then the manual pump was used to top up the boats.  A tank attached to an adapter was used to inflate the back-rests and with a little "chain gang" process all of the boats were completed and ready for use.  The next step was getting kits built, it was at this time that it turned out one of the divers had forgotten to check his gear and was missing his fins... normally an issue but ta da... I had a rental set and my force fins which meant I could loan out my rentals and we were back on track.  Now, with all the kits built and accessories gathered up it was time for the briefing.  Standing at the top of the stairs and viewing the water we went through our plan and groups for the first dive.  The plan, originally, was that Chloe as lead would be with me and my typical team and the other DM joining us for the day would dive with the father / son team. The whole group of us would stay together as a soft team but each of us had our hard team partner that we were not to get separated from.   With the plan in place as far as which buoy we were tying to, and how best to stow, release and don your gear, we headed off to grab our boats and start moving gear down to the beach.

Now once your gear is strapped in and you have waded out far enough and then jumped onto your boat and grabbed your oar and started paddling you can easily see who has done this before and who was not so experienced...lol.  I spent so much time trying to get the boat through the waves and pointed in the right direction I could feel myself getting tired long before reaching the buoy.  Meanwhile one of my typical dive team and my direct partner for this dive was able to pull far ahead of the group and easily reach the buoy before the balance of the group.  Now to add humor to the day my partner, the first one to the buoy, the one who was supposed to get us tied to the buoy, was also the diver on my Search and Recovery dives who had some issues with tying the knots, so as you can imagine this just added to the confusion and entertainment.

What we looked like from shore I can only imagine... six boats and seven divers all trying to stay clustered together around a buoy while scrambling to tie the boats together and tie one end onto the buoy.... Needless to say, despite the added excitement, we ended up tied together and secured to the buoy.  With that step completed it was time to get our gear on... the idea for this is to unstrap your kit and (after ensuring air is in your BCD) slide it into the water and tie it, clip it, hold it, close to your boat while, with your fins on, you slip into the water and put your kit on.  Now for a few people on Sunday this turned into quite the spectacle and was even worrisome for me, but after a deep breath and with flashbacks to my days with Virpi in my open water class (Seals to Emergencies) "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..."  Smiling probably almost as much as I did the first time I put my BCD back on in the water, I  established buoyancy, secured my accessories and headed over to where Chloe was getting the group all together.  With my team in place, and group two assembled (wow, starts to sound like a military operation...lol) we signal to descend and meet at the bottom.  After a beautiful slow and relaxing descent with eyes on my partner we settle in just above the bottom and wait.... and wait.... and wait... after a few minutes we conclude that the rest of our group is not joining us and must have had an issue so we start our very slow and relaxed ascent... back up to the surface.   On the surface is where all of the real excitement was happening.  Apparently with the switch from Neoprene suits to the Bare Nexgen suits and from steel tanks to aluminum tanks, two of the divers had dropped too much weight and were now not heavy enough to get down.  So, with the aid of our guest DM who stripped his weights and split them up amongst the under-weighted divers so that they were be heavy enough.  Of course without his weight his dives were done for the day so he became the surface manager, and the two divers that were supposed to be with him, now more heavily weighted, got to join up with the rest of us as one big group.  Now to try it again...  Descent attempt number two... after a bit of a struggle with fins, which were switched out with our guest DM's, as he wouldn't be needing them, we managed to get down a fair way towards the bottom, but unfortunately due to a couple more issues one of our previously under weighted divers returned to the surface and needed to call off that dive.  So down a diver and a DM it was off for the third attempt of dive number one...lol.  (Welcome to the circus) Now that we were all (with the exception of the two on the surface) making our descent to the bottom together the dive had officially begun.  Descending down to 80 feet and swimming just a short distance off the bottom we started looking for the sunken Sailboat the Nakaya, it took only a few minutes to find it and start our swim around it.  We had discussed some of the dangers of the Nakaya while on the surface and decided to make a hard rule about no one closer than 10 feet to the boat, it's rickety condition did not bode well for any kind of in depth exploration nor the safety of any diver who tried.  I did manage to get off a few pictures but the water was pretty murky and I'm still not very good with the lighting underwater.   But before I could get off too many shots we got to the next phase of "fun,"as I rounded the corner of the sailboat, my main focus on capturing a picture while my partner was just ahead and to the right of me, when something caught my eye.  One of our divers was almost right upside down facing towards the bottom with Chloe holding him down and trying to reach something in her pocket.  Quickly dropping my camera to my side I cut down beside her along with one of our other divers and at her indication, forced open her pocket (by the way neoprene sucks under water, it condenses with the pressure and makes neoprene pockets next to impossible to open.)  With my hand wedged into Chloe's pocket I managed to pull lose the weight she had stowed in there and pass it to her to be secured to the diver in issue.  Unfortunately with all the activity I had burned through more air than I planned to and needed to signal to ascend.  As I signaled it became apparent that the additional weight added was still not enough and the diver with Chloe close behind slowing his ascent went straight to the surface.  With only the three of us still down at depth (my usual team that I have been diving with for a while) we each signaled and very slowly and collectively made our way to our three minute safety stop then on to the surface to end dive number one.  Once on the surface confirmation was received from Chloe that everyone was fine just a quicker trip to the surface than they would have wanted to.  Now with the dive complete, it was time to strip off our kits, ensuring air still in the BCD (I can only imagine the results of forgetting to do that and dropping your tank and fully weighted BCD into the water...lol. Guess I'd be making good use of my search and recovery skills learned in Hide and Seek! and Arrrr' We be searching for yer burried treasure! then...lol).  With kits off and floating in the water close to your boat, it's again time to practice skills from Open Water to use fin kits to assist with getting back on board your boat.  Then haul up your kit, secure it in place and head for shore.


Now before anyone gets the wrong idea, yes this day could have gone better, but it also could have gone WAY worse... I learned a lot on these dives and felt so much more confident as a diver after the day.  You see unlike many of the dives before where much of it could be done without thinking, today really made me pay attention to not only myself, and my buddy, but also learn to pay close attention to what other divers are doing around me as I experienced in dive 2.

Now with Ward sick and unable to dive, one DM without weight and fins (loaned out to one of the under-weighted divers) and Chloe having just made a quicker than planned ascent, we were without staff divers looking at one more dive on the day.  This is when the true skills of the OPD staff shone through and why I will always be proud to say I am an Ocean Pro Diver (maybe even one day honored enough to join the elite divers pictured on their website).  While enjoying our surface interval Ward posed the question and challenge in saying: "Ok, you're all Open Water certified so you don't need in water supervision, you are here to learn and practice the use of the boats and the staff will be present for that but for the actual dive you don't need us with you so tell me what your plan is."  and at that he just looked at us.  Though it took only a second, I saw divers grow in confidence ten fold.  Suddenly we were responsible for the dive, we had signed up for Boat Diving lessons and were getting everything we paid for.  We were learning how to load and secure gear and dive off boats, that's Boat Diving, but we were also learning so much more.  We were divers, we didn't need our hands held, we knew how to dive, it was the boat part they were there to supervise.  So after that quick second (and some prompting from Ward) it was decided to do the fire hose, a simple dive, fairly close in and not very deep.  This would allow us a short row, conserved energy and due to the delays on the first dive this would help us recover a little time so that we could be out of the water and on our way back before dark.  The second thing that happened that absolutely made my weekend, was when Chloe pulled me aside and asked if I would partner up with the diver who had experienced some challenges on his first dive and perhaps as a result could be feeling a little more stressed than normal.  Well... this shot my confidence (and my ego...lol) up about 14 notches... a Dive Master... and Ocean Pro Dive Master... was asking me, to keep an eye on one of her students.  WHAT A DAY!!!

Well... I have discovered the fastest way to take a guy (me) who over-thinks everything and make him a better diver... give him someone else to worry about...lol.  On dive two we rowed out the short distance to the first buoy, now practiced with our tying techniques we were tied up and ready to don gear in just a few minutes.  With gear in the water and all of us functioning as a team we all got our kits on, gathered around the buoy, partnered up, signaled and descended.  Now I don't know whether it was because I was so intent on not letting anything happen to my team or what it was, but I seemed to have no issues with anything.  My descent was perfect, just before bottom I added a short puff of air to my suit, and slowed to an almost dead stop.  My buddy... not so lucky... he decided to take a close (VERY CLOSE) look at the ocean floor...lol, no problems with being under-weighted this time...lol.  Readjusting his buoyancy and finding his "hover" we were ready to go.  With the other two divers in the lead, my partner just in front and to the right of me and me bringing up the rear, we headed out along the fire hose at a very relaxed pace enjoying the scenery.  With our plan in place to turn back at 2000 psi, my buddy signaled me, and with a quick signal to the divers up front, we circled and headed back to the ascent line, back to the boats, kits off, resecured and paddle back to shore. to stow the gear and head back to the shop.

Now some people will read this and see the issues on the day, or comment on the potential dangers of diving.  But those who see it from my stand point, those that understand and accept that no course just like no dive, is ever perfect.  It's not about perfection... at least not for me.  If you learn Navigation in 30 feet of water with 40+ feet of clear visibility, did you really learn to navigate or did you practice opening your eyes and swimming...lol.  For those of my long time readers you will have noticed that nothing ever goes exactly as planned and that is when the "real" learning happens.  We finished the night with Ward having us go around thr room to list off what we learned in the day, not surprisingly, no one mentioned learning to dive from a boat.... everyone learned something else whether it was to always check your weighting, or always check your gear before leaving for the site or in my case, ways to be better prepared to tie up the boats... everyone learned something... and that is what made it such a success!

"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.

Making Fish Say "Cheese" and Sunstars Smile...

Sunday was our Naturalist dives and (thanks to a quick call from Chloe Boone earlier in the week) I brought my camera with me.  Now the goals for Sundays dives we pretty simple, not a lot of task loading and so having the camera would not be any issue.  So after arriving on site, and getting our gear all out and kits built it was time for a bit of a briefing.  This was mildly entertaining as this also seemed to be the day everyone from the shop went diving...lol.  Different recreational divers I had been out with were there, and many of the professional divers were there as well.  Shannon and Wes were there, and Stuart, Ryder, Dennis, Virpi, and Ward, the whole family was there...lol.  Now when you pack a picnic area with a group like this, we're not exactly quiet, so getting through some of the review questions and instructions for the day   The task for dive 1 of the day was to go for a swim (sounds tough I know..lol) and during our dive find five plants, five vertebrates and five invertebrates, write them down, draw a picture of them or (in my case) take a picture.  Then once on the surface see if, with the aid of Monti, any of the other divers around, or any of the books that were available to use, figure out what we saw.

Now, never one to not have a little stress on a dive, after we completed our briefing and planned our dive and I had an opportunity to get to know the new diver joining us for this class, it was time to gear up.  With my kit all assembled and my camera all ready it was time to turn on the tank.  On she goes and just a moment to wait while my newly repaired transmitter and watch sync up, ok, maybe a couple of moments... maybe five... and I can hear the crowd echo my thoughts... "Oh, no!  Not again!"  Yup, no sync! For those of you who remember from Look Mommy, no hands! I had this similar issue a few months back and unfortunately it took forever to get it fixed but I had been reassured that it should never happen again... Yeah Right!  So here I am, team all ready to get in the water and me without a pressure gauge... Now that huge group of divers that was all hanging about... you guessed it... all in the water already...  So, with a big swallow to get rid of the lump in my throat, it was time to wish my team "Good Luck" and watch them head for the water while I waited to see which group would be up first that might have a reg for me to borrow.  Fortunately I didn't have to wait too long, before Monti made it to the water he passed Ward, my new bestest friend and savior Ward... had not yet gotten in the water with Virpi.  Upon hearing about my dilemma he offered up his spare regulator, and like that... saved my day!!  So with a quick twist twist, one reg was off, the new one on, air turned back on, pressure checked, regs checked, BCD on the back, inflators attached, inflators checked and off to the waters edge while stopping for a quick second to express my undying gratitude to Ward.

Once in the water and teamed up with our new classmate, it was time for the surface swim to the Grant Hall buoy, before our descent to search for life.  If you've ever been diving, especially in Porteau Cove, it doesn't take long to find life, it is teaming all over the descent lines and floating or swimming through the water,  it is crawling, creeping or jumping along the bottom, it is everywhere, you just need to stop long enough to see it.

As mentioned our dives for the day were to find and record various life forms under the water.  Now instead of boring everyone with my on going tales and poor descriptions here are some of the photos that were taken under the water.  The entire group of images in the highest resolution can be found on the Harris Photography Facebook page.  Hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Everything I know about being an Underwater Naturalist, I learned in High-School!

Last night the team and I, yes the same team from Search and Recovery, got together to start our Underwater Naturalist course and our first chance to meet Monti Richardsen.  Now Monty is a Master Instructor, so this is like getting in the water with the Yoda of Diving...lol. To fill you in on where he is in relation to me... here is the progression (sorry PADI if I miss something) as well as where some of the greats I have worked with are.   

Open Water Diver -
Adventure Diver -
Advanced Open Water Diver -
Rescue Diver -  This is where I am now, and will complete this in a few weeks (hopefully)
Master Scuba Diver -  This is my Goal for the end of the year (getting there)
Dive Master - Michael Klaver, Matt Mendes, Steve Dunn
Assistant Open Water Instructor - Stewart Hoyt
Open Water Instructor - Virpi Kangas, Ward Conley
Specialty Instructor - 
Master Scuba Diver Trainer -  Dennis Chow, Roger Fordham, Wes Kozak
IDC Staff Member - Ashley Graham (and I believe Dennis is just about here)
Master Instructor - Monti Richardsen
Course Director - Shannon Kozak (only about 1200 people World Wide hold his title)

As you can see from the list and the chart, Monti has been at this for a very long time and to hold the Master Instructor title you have to have taught a whole hoard of students.  So I was very excited when last night arrived so I could have the opportunity to meet a new instructor, catch up with my team again and prepare for what, for all intents and purposes, should be a fairly relaxed dive.  Formal class time was a brief overview of the chapter on Underwater Naturalist from the Adventures in Diving book, and then some review and discussion of some of the things we were going to look at and how to interact with them.  This is where class become a sudden flashback of high-school and I realized that "Everything I know about being an Underwater Naturalist, I learned in High-School!" You see much like being in high school the rules are the same:

• If it's really beautiful or really ugly... stay away it's probably dangerous

• The big fish will eat the little fish... but there is always a bigger fish

• Most injuries suffered are caused by provoking the wrong animal

 Can you think of any more similarities?  Add them in the comments field.

Sunday is dive day so the team and I will be out with Monti and another student to complete our dives, explore our world and hopefully come back in one piece...lol.  Talk to you soon.

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.