September 20, 2006
Scuba Diving
After about two months of working towards it, I can now say that I am a certified open water diver. (Can you say "It's about time!")
Actually, I finished more than just my open water certification (the equivalent of Diving 101). I also completed dry suit certification and enriched air/nitrox certification.
It should have taken two and a half weeks of confined water/swimming pool sessions followed by two weekends of diving. Due to a series of complications, it took me exactly two months. During the first weekend of certification dives, I learned that even a wet suit doesn't keep me warm enough to dive in the chilly waters of Monterey Bay. That meant that I could only finish my certification if I learned to dive in a dry suit. So, I had to learn to dive in a dry suit which meant I had to take another course. After completing the confined water/swimming pool class sessions for the dry suit class, I was able to hit the water once again to complete the last two dives for my basic open water certification. Then, in order to be able to rent a dry suit (obviously, in this part of California, a dry suit is the only option for me), I had to do another weekend of dives specifically for dry suit certification. Class availability and our personal schedules dictated that these three weekends of diving were spread out over two months.
Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of DH and me in the water because we don't have a waterproof camera or a watertight camera case. One of the dive masters who was working with the class did have a camera, however, and she got some photos of Sunday's dives. Travis and I weren't diving with the class that day because we were free to do our own thing, so we're not in the pictures. Nevertheless, you can see what a wonderful weekend we had weather-wise. A sunny, blue sky with nary a cloud in sight blessed us with it's presence this weekend making for the prettiest days in Monterey that I've ever seen!
Clicking on the photos will bring up larger version of each photo. The entire photo album is also available for viewing.
Man, wish the weather here was that nice. Congratulations on getting your certification. :)
Posted by: Bruce on September 20, 2006 04:11 PMHow neat! That looks like so much fun - congrats!! Loved the pictures. :)
Posted by: Kristi on September 21, 2006 09:58 AMYes, we couldn't have asked for better weather last weekend. It was perfect.
Now that DH and I are both certified, we'll have to find the time and money to make use of our certified status. However, it's an activity that's got high start-up costs, and because DH and I have already spent so much money just getting me certified, it will take a while to save up enough money to fund our next outing.
Posted by: Kasey on September 21, 2006 11:56 AMCongrats!! Welcome to the wonderful world of diving. I too got my Dry Suit Cert while getting my Open Water (it was cold as hell in March here in Texas). If you are planning on diving up there, you will need the Cert. But since all I dive in the Caribbean, I haven't been in a Dry Suit since. Have fun.
Mr Minority
PS - I bought an underwater camera (down to 100ft) for $45. Great investment.
Posted by: Mr Minority on September 21, 2006 12:44 PMKewl! I am a snorkel-minimalist or an out-of-work cheapass, but my oh my the waters of Hawaii are such a short hop from here...turtles everywhere and all sorts of good stuff to look at in warm water. Congratualtions on the certification!
Posted by: DirtCrashr on September 21, 2006 03:58 PM