Andy and I spent quite a bit of time together and at one point he mentioned that he used to scuba dive. He was the third person in my life that told me they were a certified scuba diver, and for some reason, I decided that then was a good time for me to learn how to dive myself. I researched a few dive shops in the Portland area, and signed up for classes at the White Orca dive shop, which is no longer in business. I was comfortable in the water, since I was born in Miami, and my family went to the beach there from the time I was still in diapers... and growing up in NJ we went swimming in the lakes near our home and at the ocean. I was really looking forward to learning another aspect to the waters that I loved so much.
I really don't remember the class schedule or anything, but I DO remember that we had a certain number of classes where we sat through lectures about the physics of being under water, the health risks, physical risks, and the equipment, and how, when properly used it can help us minimize these risks. We also learned how to use the dive tables, so that when doing multiple dives, we made sure we would have enough time at the surface for off-gassing before going back in. After the classroom portion was complete, we went to the pool with gear, and began learning how to assemble and use our equipment. Once we got the equipment assembled, had it on, and were in the water, the first thing we did was breathe through the regulators without even putting our faces in the water. This helped us to see that we CAN breathe through the regulators and we no longer have to hold our breath. Of course the next exercise was to kneel on the floor of the pool, and put our faces in the water while breathing on the regulator. That was very weird at first, but I got used to it and really enjoyed it. We had a few classes in the pool, and we practiced breathing underwater, clearing our ears on descent, clearing our masks under water if they got flooded, checking our buoyancy, and when we were comfortable with all of these activities, we just practiced swimming under water in the pool. We had a few sessions in the pool to reinforce all skills and get practice before moving onto the final phase of our training.
The last step to our Scuba Certification was the Open Water dives and these would be done over a weekend in Hood Canal near Seattle. We were told that there is a resort on the canal called Mike's Beach Resort (http://www.mikesbeachresort.com/) and we needed to call to make a reservation to stay there for the weekend to do our "checkout" dives. Andy was familiar with this place and made a reservation for both of us to go, so I wouldn't have to go alone, and so that he could get a couple dives in as well. If you checkout the link I referenced above, it looks like a really nice place, and it probably is now. Back in 1997 when I was there, it was very rustic. It was nice, but just the bare minimum, not these nice boardwalk-looking walkways. :-) But it was nice, it was comfortable, and had everything we divers needed, included air fills on site and public showers to use when we got out of the water.
It was at least two hours away so we drove up Friday night to make sure we would be there and rested first thing in the morning. We had to meet the other divers and our instructor about 7:00am to assemble gear and go over a briefing for our first dive and get in the water. It was really nice sleeping there Friday night because the cabins were literally at the waters edge and the water lapped up against the concrete that had been built up as a foundation for the road and cabins. It was very peaceful and comforting. When morning came and we went outside, we noticed the water had gotten a bit rough. There were white caps and actual waves rolling in. They said this was very rare for the canal and it was usually calm. I wasn't worried though, because I was used to the surf at the beaches in New Jersey. We all geared up and got in the water, and then it happened.... I had my first and only panic attack. I think my BCD (Buoyancy Compensator Device), the vest that divers where, that contains all our gear, was too tight and I couldn't breathe once I inflated it. I did my best to keep calm, and I might have succeeded, except that with the rough water and waves hitting me and knocking me around, it was difficult. In the NJ ocean, it's easy to jump into, under or over the waves, but I had an extra 40 to 50lbs on me between the tank, the weight belt (used to counteract the buoyancy of the wetsuit) and other gear, so I could not move quickly. We were swimming out to a dock that was anchored quite a way from the shore and I was struggling. I was very short of breath and was having more and more difficulty breathing. When we got to the dock, I couldn't catch my breath and all I wanted to do was climb onto the dock and get my gear off so I could breathe. Of course, with the extra weight on me, I couldn't pull myself up onto the dock. I was screaming at the instructors to help me get up on the dock... this was in front of the rest of my class... the majority of whom were teenagers... I was so embarrassed, but I couldn't help it. The instructor calmed me down and told me he was going to have one of the dive masters tow me back to shore. All I had to do was lay back, relax, and let him pull me. So, that's what I did, and I was so happy to be back on shore and not have all that gear on me!!
The rest of the class went under water and completed their skills for the first checkout dive, and came back successfully. I was thinking that was it for me. I missed the first part, so I wouldn't be able to continue and would go home a failure. Thankfully the instructor talked to me privately to find out what happened. He helped me make a few adjustments to my gear, and suggested that he take me out by myself to do the first set of skills and get that out of the way. If I did well on those, then I would be caught up to the rest of the class and could do the second checkout dive with them. I was very grateful for the second chance so I slowed myself down, really focused on everything I did, and did everything I could to stay calm. By the time we were ready to go in for my first set of dives, the water had calmed down a little bit, so that also helped. I was able to swim out to the dock with the instructor this time, and once out there, we took a few minutes to just relax at the surface, and then we descended, holding on the a guideline. Once under the water, I was much better, and was able to complete the required skills. One thing I found out was how cold it was at depth!! I got cold very fast, and was very grateful for those public showers at the resort. Once out of the water, I quickly got out of my gear, ran to the showers, and with the water on cold, I felt like it was boiling!! As I thawed out, I made the water a little warmer in small increments until I felt like it was normal temperature, and more importantly, I was at normal temperature.
I barely got warmed up, and the rest of the class was gathering to do the second checkout dive. So, I walked over to them, listened to the briefing, got geared up and went right back into the water to the second set of skills testing. We were all able to get through our skills successfully, but I got cold quicker than the first time, and had to endure it longer, since we all stayed at depth while the instructor watched each individual student perform the required skills. Once at the surface, I again immediately removed my gear and ran into the showers, making the water warmer and warmer until I felt like I was back to proper body temperature.
The next day, Sunday our dives would be at a dive site away from Mike's, so we packed up our gear in our cars and followed our instructor to a new spot. This area also had public showers, but we had to walk across the street to get to them. All of us again successfully completed our skills and ran from the water to the showers to get warm. The difference this time, was that it took a little more time to get to the showers since we had to walk across the street, and in that time, we all had frost on our wetsuits. Not only was the water cold, but the air temperature that morning was about 30 degrees. Don't ask me why I didn't think about this and schedule my class for the summer months!! Our last dive was pretty much on our own. Our instructor told us to come up with our own dive plan as a group and execute it. This was our real life practice for when we are diving on our own. He would be behind us, watching us, but it was basically our first dive on our own. It was really cool to get to just dive, rather than have the pressure of performing specific skills under pressure. On this dive, I noticed thermoclines, which I had learned about in class. It's a point in the water where the warmer surface water mixes with the colder water at depth and the water is blurry and wavy. This is very similar to when we see heat waves on pavement, only it's under water.
Another thing that happened to me on that last dive was that somehow my mask kept flooding. No matter what I tried, I couldn't clear it, but while attempting to do so, I ended up slowing down and looking quite clumsy, I'm sure. At one point, I got most of the water out, but still had some. I decided to just leave the remainder there and enjoy the rest of the dive. Our instructor was behind me and after the dive, he came over and talked to me about it. He said he was on the fence about whether to pass me, because I looked very clumsy on the dive. When I explained to him that I actually was relaxed and enjoyed a good part of the dive, I had issues with my mask flooding, he understood, and when ahead and passed me. He explained that I was probably breathing too much air out of my mouth instead of my nose and that's why it wouldn't clear. The process for clearing a flooded mask underwater is to take a breath through the regulator and blow it out through your nose into the mask, while putting pressure on the top of the mask, so all of the air pushes out the bottom of the mask, taking the water with it. If I hadn't been blowing enough pressure into the mask, I was most likely letting more water in, than out.
We had to wait a few days to get our certification cards, but once they were made and mailed to the dive shop they called us and we picked them up. I was now a certified scuba diver!! I would have a whole new set of adventures to add to my life experiences.
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