Into the Great Wide Open - Part 1

originally published July 17, 2017

Well, here we are. I’ve made it as far as Confined 3/Open 1. It had been moderately exasperating. I had almost quit but Will kept me on course. Now we were in the home stretch. Will had a class coming up that I could likely slide into, depending on how the other students did on their first day. If all went according to plan, I could join their class in progress and complete the course alongside them.

I was a bit anxious. Up until now, due to my schedule, it had been just me in the water with either Chris or Will. I was concerned about lagging behind and slowing the others down. But, it was do or die now. Maybe having others depending on me getting these skills locked down would motivate me to push past my apprehensions and put my trust in my training and abilities. Only one way to find out. Back to Lake Denton!

Will and I were to meet about an hour before the rest of the class to get me caught up to the others. He brought along Isabelle, a Divemaster candidate who was working on her own advanced certification and needed the time in the water with students. Isabelle is a bubbly and charming young lady, upbeat and confident. The three of us suited up and headed into the tepid waters of the lake. It was loaded with divers this day, a hot July morning that promised to turn scorching long before the sun hit high noon.

Observation: During a typical Florida summer, you can pretty much set your watch by the daily afternoon thunderstorms. But, only once were we chased from the water during my dive training, and that was in the pool at Blue Grotto. Pretty odd for July in the “sunshine state.”

It was time to get hard core. We needed to get through Confined 4 and 5 at the very least before the other students showed up. I expected Will to jump right into making me run through mask removal but instead, we ran a few other skills first. Then came the other task I was worried about: breathing from a free flowing regulator. Simply put, in the event of an equipment failure, your regulator can start blowing air out uncontrollably. You can still breathe, but you need to adapt the way you breathe.

To complete this skill, you have to take your regulator out of your mouth and hold down the purge button, simulating a free flow. Then, cupping the mouthpiece across your lips, you take small gulps of air. It took a couple of tries and a few long pauses before I could get it, but I got it. And, as with many of the other skills I was learning, the task was not as difficult as my overactive imagination made it out to be. Nonetheless, I was thrilled to find out I wouldn't have to do it a second time, which prompted Will to joke, "I should make you do it again just because you're this excited about not having to do it again." At least I think he was joking. 

We made our way through skills like removing/replacing weights underwater, removing/replacing your BCD underwater (there’s an awkward operation), and yes, mask flooding and removal. I had been practicing in the pool (again) and now had the key to shutting down my nose and taking my mask off. I was a teeny bit nervous but flew through with no problem. Even my “no mask swim” (swimming without your mask for 50 feet) was easy peasy.

The thing that gave me the most trouble was my stupid hair. I have long, thick hair which I would normally tie up on top of my head but, knowing I would have to take off my mask a few times, I tied it into a low ponytail instead. This led to my mask strap sliding around a lot and I had a near constant trickle of water coming in around my nose. Annoying, but nothing that would stop our forward momentum. It would factor in later, however.

We made it through Confined 4 and 5 with little difficulty, outside my own inherent clumsiness. The other students arrived, and I could see the finish line in sight.

To be continued…