Making Advances
originally published August 12, 2017
So the ScubaNewb, despite a rocky start, managed to master the required skills and achieve her goal of becoming a legit scuba diver. Now what? Is that it? Will she just swim off into the sunset? Of course not! Yup, I’ve already signed up for my Advanced Open Water course.
Open Water dive training focuses mainly on skills: learning when to expect underwater and how to deal with difficulties without panicking (or, ya know, dying). Handling your equipment and regulator, what to do if your mask comes off, maintaining good buoyancy - learning and practicing all of these skills set you up for success as a diver. Advanced Open Water is where you take your newly acquired diving tools to the next level.
One of the most popular advanced classes is Nitrox certification. Nitrox, also called Enhanced Air or EAN, is a blend of oxygen and nitrogen wherein the oxygen percentage is higher than that of normal air. The air that you breathe on land contains about 21% oxygen, and this is what is used to fill regular scuba cylinders. Nitrox contains an increased level of oxygen, usually 34 or 36 percent. Because of this change in the blend of air, additional training is required.
The goal of using Nitrox is not so much “more oxygen” as it is “less nitrogen.” When scuba diving, nitrogen accumulates in your bloodstream and, if not properly released, can have painful or even deadly consequences. Ever hear of someone getting the bends? This is caused by accumulated nitrogen forming bubbles in the bloodstream. It can happen if, for example, a diver surfaces too quickly.
Since it contains less nitrogen, Nitrox offers divers more time under the water and shorter wait times between dives (surface intervals). Want to learn more about Nitrox? Check out this blog post written by...someone you might know. *wink
http://www.leisurepro.com/blog/scuba-guides/myths-and-mysteries-of-mixed-diving-gases/
Learning the ins and outs of Nitrox didn’t take long. No diving, just reading a manual followed by some classroom time. Lucky for me, Chris was conducting a class on a Sunday afternoon that I had free so I signed up as soon as I saw it on the shop schedule.
There were a half dozen students in the class including an entire family who had just moved to Florida from Seattle. I thought that was pretty neat. All four are certified divers and are looking forward to enjoying all that Florida waters have to offer. New dive buddies! The other student was a woman Chris calls Number One - she is the first student he ever certified many years ago, and if that doesn’t speak to his trustworthiness as an instructor, I don’t know what does.
During the class we reviewed the learning material and then got to play with tanks. When using Nitrox to dive, you have to use an air analyzer to check that the oxygen/nitrogen blend is correct. Too much O2 and you could suffer from oxygen toxicity, too little and the bottom times and surface intervals you’ve calculated will be incorrect. Either of these can be very dangerous. After Chris demonstrated and drilled us each on the proper procedures for analyzing tanks, it was written test time. Even as an adult, even though I’ve studied and am confident I know the material, the word “test” just puts a knot in my stomach. It is literally happening right now. When I took my open water written test, I was drenched in a layer of anxiety induced sweat.
While Chris graded our tests (on which I scored a 96% and got my cert, thank you), Isabelle popped into the shop for a visit. She’s close to completing her Divemaster training, which sounds pretty physically taxing. She’ll have to do a 400 meter swim, 15 minutes of treading water, then an 800 meter swim, followed by a 100 meter “tired diver tow” where she has to pull another driver to shore. The swim tests, it’s worth mentioning, have to be completed in one take - no stopping to rest. For my open water test, I had to do a paltry 200 meters… and I was definitely winded by the time I was done.
While we were chatting, I took the opportunity to pick Isabelle’s brain for advice on which specialties to focus on for my advanced open water class. There are 14 specialties to choose from, two of which are required - Deep Diving and Underwater Navigation. That leaves 12, from which I need to pick three. Let me tell you, I am always the last person at the table to order at the restaurant because I can’t make up my mind, so you can imagine how difficult this is going to be.
I’ve narrowed it down to six. Both Isabelle and my good pal Vanessa recommend Peak Performance Buoyancy. This is a highly valuable skill for every diver so it’s at the top of the list. Vanessa suggested focusing more on skills, Isabelle agrees with this, with the caveat that I pick one that’s just fun - like Night Diving or Wreck Diving.
So, that’s the next step. I plan on getting Chris and Will to weigh in my final picks and then will schedule my next dives. Back in the water I go!
Come on. You really didn’t think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?
There were a half dozen students in the class including an entire family who had just moved to Florida from Seattle. I thought that was pretty neat. All four are certified divers and are looking forward to enjoying all that Florida waters have to offer. New dive buddies! The other student was a woman Chris calls Number One - she is the first student he ever certified many years ago, and if that doesn’t speak to his trustworthiness as an instructor, I don’t know what does.
During the class we reviewed the learning material and then got to play with tanks. When using Nitrox to dive, you have to use an air analyzer to check that the oxygen/nitrogen blend is correct. Too much O2 and you could suffer from oxygen toxicity, too little and the bottom times and surface intervals you’ve calculated will be incorrect. Either of these can be very dangerous. After Chris demonstrated and drilled us each on the proper procedures for analyzing tanks, it was written test time. Even as an adult, even though I’ve studied and am confident I know the material, the word “test” just puts a knot in my stomach. It is literally happening right now. When I took my open water written test, I was drenched in a layer of anxiety induced sweat.
While Chris graded our tests (on which I scored a 96% and got my cert, thank you), Isabelle popped into the shop for a visit. She’s close to completing her Divemaster training, which sounds pretty physically taxing. She’ll have to do a 400 meter swim, 15 minutes of treading water, then an 800 meter swim, followed by a 100 meter “tired diver tow” where she has to pull another driver to shore. The swim tests, it’s worth mentioning, have to be completed in one take - no stopping to rest. For my open water test, I had to do a paltry 200 meters… and I was definitely winded by the time I was done.
While we were chatting, I took the opportunity to pick Isabelle’s brain for advice on which specialties to focus on for my advanced open water class. There are 14 specialties to choose from, two of which are required - Deep Diving and Underwater Navigation. That leaves 12, from which I need to pick three. Let me tell you, I am always the last person at the table to order at the restaurant because I can’t make up my mind, so you can imagine how difficult this is going to be.
I’ve narrowed it down to six. Both Isabelle and my good pal Vanessa recommend Peak Performance Buoyancy. This is a highly valuable skill for every diver so it’s at the top of the list. Vanessa suggested focusing more on skills, Isabelle agrees with this, with the caveat that I pick one that’s just fun - like Night Diving or Wreck Diving.
So, that’s the next step. I plan on getting Chris and Will to weigh in my final picks and then will schedule my next dives. Back in the water I go!
Comments
Post a Comment