LA_MERC_Andyconda
April 28th, 2006, 06:23 AM
Ok, last night was my last class for SCUBA certification
Tonight I start my open water trials. In a controled environment (The Navy Pool at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola) for Friday I have to swim a quarter mile without stopping (Son of a B*(&^H!). Then tred water for 10 minutes. Then swim the length of an olympic pool underwater while only coming up for air once (I should do ok at that since back in college at Louisiana Tech I could swim the length and half way back of their olympic size pool in one breath), but I'm fatter and out of shape. We'll see. This all has to be done without fins or any gear. Then I suit up and have to do all kinds of skills tests such as totally removing my regulator, bouyancy compensator, and tank from me while under water and then put it all back on. Pass the simulated mask kick off and regulator pull out, (Basically simulating if someone or something knocks you mask or regulator out while diving. Then I do the buddy out of breath simulation where you have to provide your dive buddy with your spare air (OCTO) and take him to the surface. Then saturday I have to repeat all this on the Pensacola shore line at about 25 feet deep. This will be cool as we do a surf entrance (We go into the water entering via the beach, (Cool), Then Sunday we will do it all a thrid time but at a spring in Florida (Vortex springs, look it up, pretty cool, claimed to be one of the springs called the fountain of youth descovered by Pounce De'leon (spelling) at 55 feet deep. If I do all that to the instructors satisfaction I'm qualified to take the written test Sunday afternoon where they test if you can read Dive tables andf know all the physics with diving and all the do's and don'ts Pass that and Andyconda becomes a certified Diver, WOOHOO!. I'll post Sunday night with the results. This also means I may not be on playing much in the next few days. I'm pumped, I can't wait to try out all my new cool dive gear. By the way. IF no one here knows. The future has hit the dive sceen. Now, they have personal dive computers (I definately bought one, the VEO180) It calculates you bottom time left in real time, instead of having to do dive tables) Basically makes diving possible for idots (I.E. Andy is becoming a certified Diver, WOOHOO!)
Tonight I start my open water trials. In a controled environment (The Navy Pool at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola) for Friday I have to swim a quarter mile without stopping (Son of a B*(&^H!). Then tred water for 10 minutes. Then swim the length of an olympic pool underwater while only coming up for air once (I should do ok at that since back in college at Louisiana Tech I could swim the length and half way back of their olympic size pool in one breath), but I'm fatter and out of shape. We'll see. This all has to be done without fins or any gear. Then I suit up and have to do all kinds of skills tests such as totally removing my regulator, bouyancy compensator, and tank from me while under water and then put it all back on. Pass the simulated mask kick off and regulator pull out, (Basically simulating if someone or something knocks you mask or regulator out while diving. Then I do the buddy out of breath simulation where you have to provide your dive buddy with your spare air (OCTO) and take him to the surface. Then saturday I have to repeat all this on the Pensacola shore line at about 25 feet deep. This will be cool as we do a surf entrance (We go into the water entering via the beach, (Cool), Then Sunday we will do it all a thrid time but at a spring in Florida (Vortex springs, look it up, pretty cool, claimed to be one of the springs called the fountain of youth descovered by Pounce De'leon (spelling) at 55 feet deep. If I do all that to the instructors satisfaction I'm qualified to take the written test Sunday afternoon where they test if you can read Dive tables andf know all the physics with diving and all the do's and don'ts Pass that and Andyconda becomes a certified Diver, WOOHOO!. I'll post Sunday night with the results. This also means I may not be on playing much in the next few days. I'm pumped, I can't wait to try out all my new cool dive gear. By the way. IF no one here knows. The future has hit the dive sceen. Now, they have personal dive computers (I definately bought one, the VEO180) It calculates you bottom time left in real time, instead of having to do dive tables) Basically makes diving possible for idots (I.E. Andy is becoming a certified Diver, WOOHOO!)