Just had my first diving course...

[VJ]

... and it was outdoors!

The pool they normally use is closed for maintenance, so the first dive was in an outdoor pool of one of the dive instructors (small, deep pool, specially made for diving). It was around 19.00-19.30, water temperature a mere 19°C.

It was great fun though. The first attempt at removing and re-using the breathing apparatus under water triggered some sort of panic response, the second attempt was better but still unsuccessful, and third time was a charm. Cleaning the goggles under water posed little problems . I had some issues with inflating the jacket to float on a higher level in the water (but that was actually for a future class). Floating was a bit difficult/uncomfortable as the jacket was too big. Either way, minor issues to overcome.

So I have enlisted for the padi open water course, next courses are Monday and Wednesday : theory and in water (which on what day will depend on the weather).


Jörg

[Nowhere]

Congrats!
So...you are among the ones who turn out to love it?

And BTW, I was always wondering about a bit about this...

...Cleaning the goggles under water posed little problems ...

Is "pumping" air during this (if even possible...) into goggles one of the reasons why they cover nose?

[VJ]

Congrats!
So...you are among the ones who turn out to love it?

I always find "love" a strong word to use for such activities. But it was very interesting and great fun: definately something I'd like to pursue.

Is "pumping" air during this (if even possible...) into goggles one of the reasons why they cover nose?

Yep.
You simply press against the top op the goggles and blow though the nose: water will exit the goggles via the underside (combination of pressure building up in the classes, water at the bottom, and the looser connection at the bottom by pressing the top).

Jörg

[VJ]

Just passed my theory exam (yesterday), without any issues.

4 answers I honestly didn't know (took an educated, conservative guess, but it of course still is wrong even if my answer was safer), 4 answers I should have known (but I hadn't studied much), so I managed to get 92%.

Last week, I had my first deep water dive (indoors, 7m); had some issues equalizing the pressure in my ears, but other than that no issues (even managed to swim through hoops that were present for buoyoncy courses). Thursday my next deep water dive (same location), and then Sunday my first true open water dive.

After that, I'll be nearly time for my practical test...
(I do intend to continue the courses, to at least get the advanced open water certificate and probabely also to get a nitrox diving certificate)


Jörg

[DukeP]

Congrats!

Im a CMAS *** diver, with 800 logged dives.

Your world just got bigger.

~~DukeP~~

[Fat Tone]

Cool

Isn't there some requirement to separate diving and flying by a number of days (depending on the depth) to avoid the bends etc?

[VJ]

The rules for this are:
After a single dive, wait minimum 12 hours before flying.
After multiple successive dives (= dives made before the nitrogen level in the blood has reached its normal level - the time for this depends on the depth and duration of the dive), wait minimum 24 hours before flying.
If an emergency decompression stop had to be made (e.g. due to exceeding the dive time limit), wait 48 hours before flying.

From the book, I can deduce that they assume flying implies an altitude of over 2400m (similar rules applies when driving to mountainous regions over this altitude). But even though I rarely fly at those altitudes, I do intend to take an even larger margin before flying as a pilot.


Jörg

[ZokesPro]

Can't seem to manage staing on solid ground eh? Hehe.

Congrats!

[Sasq]

The ear thing, pop your ears every 1m or 50cm or so.

Did a dive the other weekend down to 38m, my dive buddy became narked

You will learn these things young padwan

[Dr Mordrid]

I miss diving Brockville , Mackinac, Tobermory, Kingston etc.

[DukeP]

You can actually calculate, how flying will affect your degassing.

Boyles law have all the required parameters, and you know the delta P(N2) - its the same for when your surfacing, no faster than 10 meters per minut.

Problem is when you have to calculate the pressure; what pressure will you encounter, when flying at 10.000 meters? Most airways keep the cabin pressurised to at least 0,8 athmospheres -but off course, this is only on the larger commercial airlines - flying and old piper cup at 3.500 meters will affect you as well.

The Easy solution is simply to use your diving computer. Keep it on you, and plan your flight as you would plan a dive. It will alert you just as well.

~~Dukep~~

[Sasq]

Love my dive computer, pops up with 'no fly XX hours'
They are well with the investment.

[DukeP]

Yes. The good ones even calculate your current altitude - if you f.ex. go cavediving in the mountains.

~~DukeP~~

[VJ]

Yes, I intend to get a good divecomputer soon. I'm looking at a wristwatch model, so that I automatically have it with me when doing other stuff after a dive (one doesn't always carry ones log ).

I was looking at a Suunto D6, it supports everything I need (altitude compensation, ...). The more expensive D9 adds air integration and additional gas mixtures but I don't know yet how much more it costs. Those two additions are not stuff I need now, but perhaps later on...? (it is one of the reasons I'm holding off the purchase, as I don't have a clear view on how often I will dive etc. so I can't estimate yet whether the added cost of the D9 is justified for me).

Jörg

[Sasq]

http://scubaproasiapacific.com/product_detail.asp?catid=3&prodid=475

is the one i use, its more expensive (I have been recomended to use the watch type that has the transmitter)
It might seem like an extra chunk of money, but it does remove the need to buy a seperate set of gages.