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OWC - Dives 1 & 2; UPDATED Dives 3 & 4

Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 9:30 pm
by sungurl
Sooo, today was my first official dive day in the great Puget Sound...as opposed to the lovely stench and aquagreen color of a swimming pool whose only aquatic life is a dead beetle.

We headed out to Redondo (spelling?)....Went down for the grande tour (22 minutes)...saw all the cool aquatic life - most of which I have no idea what they are called, so please don't ask me to recite all I saw, lol....we came back up for a briefing then headed out for the second dive (25 minutes) of which I successfully completed all of my skills and then we got to play some more :mermaid:

I was extremely thankful the sun :sunny: was shining gloriously today as I was very fearful of being cold - not so much in the water, but at any surface time we might have. I was even MORE nervous when I found out I was diving in a wetsuit vs a semi dry, but all was good. My feet and hands got a bit chilled, but thankfully that was at the end of dive two and once I was on land, I warmed up quite nicely...It is definitely a different feeling being in a wetsuit....I have to admit, I was VERY uncomfortable at first, and started to get a wee bit anxious as I was walking to the entry stairway.....I was having doubts ("do I really want to do this" and "why on earth did I decide to give this a try") and then I got in the water, did a little relaxation breathing and all was well.... :clap:

Tomorrow I complete dives 3 & 4 and then I'm all certified for the Open Water - woot. (Already passed my final exam - yipppeee)....Looks like I'm going to enjoy this more than I had thought....guess I better start saving up those Scuba Units .

Re: OWC - Dives 1 & 2

Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 10:58 pm
by Dusty2
Congrats! Your through the hard part. The first day of open water is the make or break day. You got into the great unknown and survived . :joshsmith: :joshsmith: :joshsmith: Your all but there and you couldn't have picked a better weekend for it. Great weather clam tides, what more could you ask?

Now the real adventure starts. Soon you'll be taking Janna's critter ID classes and gettin hooked like the rest of us. Whoopee :breakdance: :breakdance: :breakdance: !

Re: OWC - Dives 1 & 2

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 7:10 am
by LCF
It's a little hard to believe that you're really going to have FUN getting into that cold, green murk, isn't it? But there are a whole lot of us here on this board bearing witness to the fact that you do -- Congratulations on joining us, and good luck with your dives today!

Re: OWC - Dives 1 & 2

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 9:22 pm
by sungurl
LOL...thanks you two....I was very glad to have gotten through the first two dives as I knew it would set the tone for today....was a wonderful weekend for diving and I had so much fun :) :clap:

Re: OWC - Dives 1 & 2; UPDATED Dives 3 & 4

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 9:38 pm
by sungurl
Well today was the last two dives of my open water course....another beautiful :sunny: day for diving and I was feeling much calmer about today because I knew I survived yesterday and had fun doing it.

I had a little issue getting down initially, but once down things calmed down and I was able to enjoy the beauty and wildlife that was just coming out for lil' ol me, lol.....Saw three octos (two big ones and one baby (he was sooooooo cute)). Lots of crab, fishies, sea anenome, and of course tons of starfish.....

I used a different pair of gloves today which where AWESOME - my hands stayed toasty warm the entire two dives. I used a size smaller on the boots which helped immensely, but my feet still were cold by the time the second dive was wrapping up...so I guess I need to figure that out still. Otherwise, I had a great time all in all and the best part is I am now OW certified - :partydance:

Now comes the fun of figuring out what to do about gear......and of course planning on getting some more dives in to get more confident and comfortable with this newfound world.

Thanks to everyone for their support and encouragement. You all are the best :grouphug:

Re: OWC - Dives 1 & 2; UPDATED Dives 3 & 4

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 10:23 pm
by LCF
Oh, the gear thing . . . So many choices, so little time!

If it makes you feel any better, I'm four years and over 800 dives ahead of you, and I'm STILL figuring out perfect gear :)

Re: OWC - Dives 1 & 2; UPDATED Dives 3 & 4

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 10:24 pm
by kat
congratulations! :bounceline: :bounceline: :bounceline:

Re: OWC - Dives 1 & 2; UPDATED Dives 3 & 4

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 12:46 am
by Dusty2
Whoopee! Just remember. That's really just a learners permit. Lots to learn and enjoy. Lots of good buddies here to help out so just dive in and ask away and most important.... Listen and absorb all the good knowledge that's available on here.

Re: OWC - Dives 1 & 2; UPDATED Dives 3 & 4

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 11:07 am
by sungurl
Dusty2 wrote:Whoopee! Just remember. That's really just a learners permit. Lots to learn and enjoy. Lots of good buddies here to help out so just dive in and ask away and most important.... Listen and absorb all the good knowledge that's available on here.
Oh most definitely! It just gives me permission to go out and really suck up all the knowledge I can. I'm not thinking I'm ready for anything even close to difficult and plan to practice all the skills I learned over the weekend over the next several dives. I am just excited and eager to learn and experience more :) I'm so glad that this is such a great resource to help me grow in skill, knowledge and experience :clap:

Re: OWC - Dives 1 & 2; UPDATED Dives 3 & 4

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 6:15 pm
by revstr
Great job sungurl! I have two more dives till my OWC is complete, nice to see a fellow new diver on the board. See you out there!

Re: OWC - Dives 1 & 2; UPDATED Dives 3 & 4

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 8:31 pm
by sungurl
revstr wrote:Great job sungurl! I have two more dives till my OWC is complete, nice to see a fellow new diver on the board. See you out there!
Hey revstr...when do you have your last two dives planned? How ws the mask flood-clear for you? It's nice to know i'm not the only newbie out there ;)
Where are you doing your certification at?????
Nice to meet you :) :highfive: and best wishes for your upcoming dives :)

Re: OWC - Dives 1 & 2; UPDATED Dives 3 & 4

Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 12:21 pm
by BASSMAN
Whoooohooooo! :bounceline: Congratulations sungurl! Here's to diving with you in the near future? :mmmbeer:

Keith

Re: OWC - Dives 1 & 2; UPDATED Dives 3 & 4

Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 12:42 pm
by sungurl
BASSMAN wrote:Whoooohooooo! :bounceline: Congratulations sungurl! Here's to diving with you in the near future? :mmmbeer:

Keith
Thanks Keith!!!!:thankyouyellow:
I am so looking forward to diving with everyone in the future :) Am planning on being at the Club Dive in October too :) Everyone has been so supportive and friendly here, I can tell it is a good group to be around :)

Thanks again :mmmbeer: