Overall I had a blast - visability was around 25-30 feet; saw some sea cucumbers, some jellyfish, a nudibrink, starfish, the wolfeels, some rockfish, and other assorted fishies I have no idea what they are called. Got to confirm that diving is fun, even after open water class, lol. I used some rental equipment which has confirmed that having the best fitting equipment can make a HUUUUGE difference in a diving experience. The wetsuit I used was a much better fit than what I used during OWC - didn't get cold while diving at all, had a separate hood which made my neck feel better, and overall my core didn't get cold. My toes got a little chilled during the surface interval, but I managed to warm them up on the warm pavement as well as by doing a little jogging in my wetsuit to get warmed up, lol. Nothing like entertaining the folks along Ruston, lol...
The BCD I used was a rear inflate, which was much more comfortable than the kind I used at OWC, however, had trouble getting it to dump fully when I needed to, but did manage to keep a more streamlined profile overall while underwater...the biggest negative of the BCD was that it did not have integrated weight pockets, which meant I had to wear a weight belt....Here's where the residual bruises come in....OUCH...From one standpoint, I was thankful to have hips, as I didn't have to worry about the weightbelt going anywhere, but from the other standpoint, having hips was also the big negative because where the belt rested on my pelvis has left me some very tender and sore bruises. The other negative related to the gear was that the mouthpiece was just too big - I couldn't bit down on it without pinching it and that made my jaw really sore, and even then, the slightest bump would threaten to push it out of my mouth, so I ended up having to hold the mouthpiece in place...
Overall though, got two good dives in, was pleased that I didn't get too cold, and was able to spend time with a couple of great guys :biggrin:
I was planning on diving today at Redondo, but given the soreness of my hips from the equipment, I am not. I think I'm going to have to see about making sure I have a different BCD with integrated weights before my next dive. I can't wait though....I hope it will be soon...as I want to have a few more dives under my belt before the Club Dive
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