Diving Diary: 23 truths about Open Water 20
Learning to dive safely was much harder - and much more rewarding - then I imagined it would be. I read that people often felt nervous to begin but on top of the world after they mastered the art... but I didn't find a great deal about how people felt in between. So below are some highs and lows I went through during our 4 day course in Koh Tao, Thailand.
While I hope you enjoy this slightly dramatic post about my RAID Open Water 20 journey, if you're thinking about diving for the first time please know that I finished on an incredible high and absolutely cannot wait to dive again. A huge thank you to Matt Lewis and all the team at Roctopus Dive; you guys are amazing. Thanks to Crossfit Tommy for the recommendation!
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| Certified and smiley! |
Thoughts on Day 1: Introduction & Induction
- It's like being back at school; there's a classroom, a teacher, study material, homework, and quizzes
- Oh god. A 6am start? Is that even allowed? Should I mention that I'm here on holiday?
- Hey - nearly all the diving instructors here are from England or Australia. Everyone is so smiley! [Actually, nearly everyone we met in Koh Tao was Burmese or Western.]
- Everything is so organised and punctual. Good timing is key. It's clear which one of us is going to love this...
- OK. Minesh just became teacher's pet. Alternate reality much? The rebel has risen as a phoenix. (That's not even a real phrase, I just made it up).
Thoughts on Day 2: Pool training & Brain training
- Ok, I'm really starting to worry about all the things that can go wrong. Nitrogen poisoning, decompression sickness (which is not just a day-off-work type of 'sickness' FYI, it's deadly), eardrum injuries, punctured lungs, running out of oxygen, loss of visibility.. How much more? Well, at least seeing sharks and whales is
a terrifyingan exciting prospect. Honestly, it seems like I'll be lucky to survive this ordeal. Seems like a lot of risk just to see some fish... - There is a lot of information to take in and remember during the course. It's all really important and interesting, but hard to absorb after 3 months of "what shall we eat?" being the most complex decision of the day.
- Wahey multiple choice questions! Come at me quizzes, I'm ready for ya.
- We have to be able to swim 200m and tread water for at least 10 mins (we can use whichever method we want). Min worked out how far 200m is and has convinced himself he will fail haha (he passed!).
- Roctopus instructors are super friendly. Ours is going above and beyond to help us, calm us, teach us, and push us so that we pass the course confidently.
- Equalise my ears? What exactly is meant to happen? I just don't get it. My cheeks hurt. Min said he will teach me what to do at dinner this evening. Hmmmm maybe I won't be able to dive after all..
Thoughts on Day 3: Breakfast coffee where no one had coffee, and dives 1 + 2
- I've never been sea sick before but dive 1 very nearly wasn't followed by dive 2 because I felt so sick on the boat that I was ready to give up. I powered through using deep breathing exercises, but two others on the boat threw up their guts more than once over the sides. Trying to keep standing as the boat crashed over the choppy waves, while feeling sick and trying to put all that flipping equipment together was a real challenge.
- Long hair and the mask strap hate each other. I googled how to minimise hair tangle / entrapment / breakage yesterday in preparation for our dives today. Winners seem to be either French braids or pigtail plaits. I chose two French braids because I already look uber young and pigtails will not help. [Update: braiding definitely helped but it seems that nothing can save my flyaways]
- Jumping out of the boat and into the water was daunting. I couldn't do it at first. I remember saying "No I'm I really not doing it" after my countdown and Minesh shouting "you don't mean that, just jump, you can do it!" from the sea where he was swimming around like a little mermaid. OH HOW THE TABLES HAVE TURNED. Obviously I jumped in after this to spite him otherwise this post would have to end here.
- Diving is pretty cool actually. The sea is deep blue, breathing is easier under water rather than over it (who knew!), the fish are so peaceful and pretty, and wreckages (junk or genuine) are pretty fascinating. Achieving neutral buoyancy is strangely euphoric and getting well done high fives from Matt after our skills tests were passed was cool. I need to work on getting my BCD (the black bouyancy vest that is attached to the tank) back on underwater though.. how does anyone find their left shoulder strap?!
- Getting out of the sea back onto the boat with the equipment on isn't easy (it isn't light work either!). Luckily Matt was there to help. I'm small! The tank is big!
- Salt water in long hair in a nightmare. It's already hot and slightly humid here, which has caused my hair to become brittle and break quickly so the sticky salt from the sea opens up more dangers regarding hair loss. I rinsed my plaits with fresh water after diving, then used conditioner on top of them, left it to soak for 5 mins, before undoing them and washing as normal. It helped!
- MY EARS. oh fml. I was not good at equalising continuously on descent until dive 2. Mainly because before this, I wasn't doing it continuously but only when my ears hurt. Error. Dive 2 is when I stopped holding back and started squeezing with every breath like my life depended on it. In the evening, the hearing in my left ear became muffled and it felt like there was water in my ear. A quick Google was the worst thing to do; I ended up coming to the conclusion over dinner that I needed immediate medical attention This was of course, wrong. Our instructor assured me it is super common, it should subside shortly and the other ear would probably hurt tomorrow. Great great great.
- I clearly have less looseness in my ears than the others in our group because I was the only one who felt like this.
- So many issues. Am I even going to do dives 3 & 4 tomorrow? I just don't know if this is for me.
Ps. About 4 hours later, my ear is back to normal.
...I really do hope I get recognised for my contribution to amateur dramatics one day.
Day 4: Dives 3 & 4: Is it worth it?
- I took a sea sickness tablet today. This was the best thing EVER and I have no idea why it's not recommended as compulsory for new divers if the water is choppy. The previous day would have been so great if only i'd taken a tablet then too.
- This was the most amazing day. Everything just fit into place, maybe because I wasn't worried about being sick, or maybe because diving is a bit like driving (without the r) after you've passed your driving test and are relaxed. Own the roads. Own the dive. The water was choppy but it didn't make a difference, suddenly I (pretty much) knew what I was doing and had my buddy to instil confidence in me when I needed it. The actual dives were amazing; with less skills and more actual dive time to explore what lies under the water, it really was so fun and actually a breathtaking experience. What lies under water is beautiful; I can't do it justice by trying to explain it.
- Thank god we got the video. I can't remember half of what we saw let alone their names - having a few beers watching our fun summarised on a projector in the bar this evening felt like a real round up of a fantastic experience, albeit one out of our comfort zone.
All in all, diving seems to be very addictive.
We're signing up for the advanced course on our next trip!!!!!! Night dive here we come.
For anyone wondering if they should do fun dives, or get certified, I seriously recommend it.
Help clean up the ocean while you're at it.
Love,
Priya x
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