Over half way done with scuba lessons. I really look forward to getting down to Scuba Shack each week and taking a dive in the pool, so much fun. I can not wait to dive shipwrecks and plane wrecks though. The fish will be great, but I want to see the wreck sites. I hear there are some good ones up in Lake Eerie.
So lesson 3 was good. Back to our Sunday time with our Sunday instructor. We spent the first bit of time going over the chapter questions for the last two chapters in our book, then went out to the sales floor for them to try and sell us on the total dive system.
I’m a bit lost when it comes to buying this total dive system gear (BCD, Regulator, Computer). Being a ScubaPro retailer, they are really doing their best to sell ScubaPro gear. The thing is, it is super expensive. After reading up a lot on ScubaBoard, I have heard so many mixed opinions about buying online versus buying from you local dive shop (LDS) it makes my head spin. In one corner, buying from your LDS supports the sport in your area, and also gives you actual close-by people to fall back on when/if you gear starts acting up. The downfall is that they are much much more expensive. Especially with ScubaPro, which has price locks on their items at the “authorized ScubaPro dealers”. In the other corner, I have found LeisurePro (LP). LP has amazing prices on ScubaPro (SP) brand. However, LP is not an authorized SP dealer. This means that SP warranties (parts for life) are not valid if you purchase from LP. However, and a big however, LP openly acknowledges this fact that they are not a valid SP dealer and states that, that is the reason they are able to sell the gear for sometimes hundreds less. And they offer a LP warranty on products that the original manufacturer warranty is not valid that is the same or better than the original manufacturer. But the downfall here is that I am in Ohio, LP is in New York. If I need my equipment from them serviced under warranty, that requires me paying postage for not-so-small items. Oh I don’t know what I’m going to do.
But back to the lesson…
After going through the showroom, we went into the pool. Didn’t take much time to get the gear ready, and soon we were splashing and making waves. First off we reviewed the skills we learned the prior week: clearing water from goggles, recovering your regulator. Then we went to the deep end and worked on new skills: sharing air, ascent, manually inflating the BC, and buoyancy control.
Melissa was funny, at one point, I’m not sure how, she was stuck upside down, feet above near the top of the pool and her head near the bottom of the pool. I had my moments as well. At one point I looked left a little too quick and pulled the regulator right out of my mouth. (Side note: I personally have to keep a very loose grip on the regulator with my jaw, or else my jaw will get sore and I’ll get lock jaw because of my TMJ) The nasty part was that I lost the regulator after an exhale. Now, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t panic a little bit. I did panic a little, I knew I was out of air, and at the bottom of the pool. Granted, its only 10 feet deep, but still. I didn’t miss a beat reaching behind me to get ahold of my regulator and stuffing it back in my mouth. I purged the water and was glad to be breathing again. I had inhaled a little bit of water, and was a bit more cautious of turning my head so quickly after that, but I was perfectly content still being at the bottom of the pool. They have a little nerf torpedo that sits at the bottom to play with, good times.
That about sums up scuba lesson #3. It was a warmer (50’s) day out, so after diving and walking out to a warmer winter day, I was in a good mood. Next Sunday we take the written portion of our open water (OW) exam. Our instructor said he would bring in a dive light so we could simulate night diving. I’m excited, definitely looking forward to it.