Scuba IV

So, technically and officially, my scuba lessons are complete. That went by fast, or was it just me? My third lesson consisted of equipment checks and procedure discussion, but go cut short because we were unexpectedly locked out of the pool. We followed up the next day with an extended pool session, and covered a whole heck of a lot of ground, er... water.

After a quick review of skills learned last week, I was introduced to deep-water entry. Then we went through air share and other emergency procedures. I learned what it feels like when you run out of air (believe me, it's unmistakeable). I learned that it's possible to have a severe coughing fit with your regulator in place and come out no worse for the wear (that wasn't in the lesson plan--I just kinda winged it). Finally, we did rescue procedures. The last was a bit complicated--NAUI is one of the few scuba certification organizations that still includes this training, but I feel it's important information to know, if only to prevent a well-meaning diver from making a bad situation worse and endangering more lives.

And... that's it. By taking private lessons because of my hectic schedule, I've completed the entire pool training component in a two-week period. The learning curve is amazing. Even more amazing, I've successfully mastered all the skills--at least enough to satisfy the novice-level requirements. All that remains for me to earn my scuba certification is A) complete the online testing (which I'm in the process of working through now) and 2) complete my two-day open water certification dives. There's good news/bad news on that last front. The bad news first: The next scheduled open water certification dives are this weekend at Lake Travis, which I can't make because of preexisting schedule conflicts. The good news? There's a dive trip scheduled for Balmorhea State Park in early December that will count for my certification dives. Even though it's a bit of a drive, Balmorhea offers warmer, crystal clear waters that makes for a far better dive experience than Lake Travis or Canyon Lake. Score me!

Since that dive is several weeks weeks away, there's a concern that my newly-learned skills would atrophy in the interim, so we've set up one additional pool session to revisit all the things I've learned these past two weeks, and also to give me a chance to work on buoyancy control (which is one area I still haven't got a handle on 100 percent).

But still, wow. Almost there. Hard to imagine, but 20-plus years of delayed gratification is about to be resolved in my favor!

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Scuba II

Second scuba lesson went well. And by that I mean I didn't drown or humiliate myself in some unspeakable way. After a run-through of all the equipment I'd be using and instruction in its proper use, I strapped on a BC, tank and regulator and hit the pool.

The first half of class was taken up with safety/recovery drills. Basically, I had to learn how to recover my regulator if it somehow came out of my mouth, remove my BC and tank in case it became entangled, and clear my mask if it came off my face. None of this came naturally. The first thing I had to do was learn how to breathe. Turns out, I was instinctively taking very deep breaths before going under, then breathing very shallowly, which left a lot of residual air in my lungs. Extra air = float to the surface. Every time. Once I learned to exhale deeply and inhale shallowly, that problem resolved itself. Recovering lost regulators went well, too. Removing the BC and air tank, not so well. I lost balance half way through and toppled over, needing rescue by my instructor. Clearing my mask went well... and by that I mean it only took one nose full of water to remind me to only breathe through my mouth.

After that, I got to swim around 12 feet under in the pool for a good long while, learning how to control myself and move underwater. It was pretty fun, although it still doesn't quite come naturally for me. By the end, when I learned proper exiting techniques, my stress levels had almost subsided to normal. Unfortunately, I was pretty darn cold by the end, which really messed with my concentration. Next time I'll opt for the wet suit.

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It's better down where it's wetter

So, I started scuba lessons last night.

Didn't see that coming, huh? Well, I did, although it was 23 years in the making. See, I've always thought scuba a fascinating thing, the next best thing to traveling in outer space and exploring alien worlds. Must be a result of all those Jacques Cousteau documentaries I watched growing up. Once I got to college, my sophomore year I discovered scuba certification was offered as a for-credit PE course at Texas A&M, so naturally I signed up. I was very excited at the time. At least until my father found out about it. I'm still not sure what his deal is, beyond shitting all over any fun thing his children ever try to do, but in true asshole fashion he threw a major fit and ordered me to drop the class. I did. And regretted it ever since. To rub salt in the wound, my brother took the same course about five years later and dad thought it simply wonderful. Then my other brother got scuba certified. They went on countless dives over the past decade and I've just kind of grumbled at the injustice of it all. Then The Wife surprised me (not really) with scuba lessons for my birthday. Which made me very happy. So here we are.

I can't say the whole experience isn't intimidating. A little scary, even. But I've found that as long as I don't over-think things, I'm good to go.

I'm taking them with the Dive Shop in San Marcos. Because of my ever-changing schedule, they're private lessons, which should allow me to push through to certification a bit faster than normal. I hit the pool for the first time for my swim test. It's kind of humbling when, at the end of the first lap, I realize my two daughters on swim team could complete the test without breaking a sweat while I'm starting to breathe hard and still have a lap to go. I've never been a terribly fast swimmer, and powerful isn't an apt adjective either, but I've got enough belly to be naturally buoyant so I can generally hold my own as long as it's not a race. That buoyancy worked against me on the underwater swim part of the test (I only managed to go 30 feet) as I broke the surface well before I needed to take a breath. By comparison, treading water for 10 minutes was a breeze. After that, I worked on kicks and dives. I didn't do awful, but I'm not a poster boy for great form, either. And breathing through a snorkel is taking quite a bit of getting used to.

Still, progress is progress. Tonight I strap on a regulator and air tanks for the first time. We'll see what kind of havoc I can wreak with that.

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