Scuba Diving

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Summer seems to be almost done although there is still a month left. The weather in Manitoba has been less than ideal for hitting the beach and our brand new pool has not seen that much use. Both Payton and Quincy are off for Summer vacation and they both seemed okay with not doing a large vacation out west to Alberta or British Columbia this year. Instead we have tried to keep them busy with various activities including trips to Birds Hill Park, Winnipeg Beach and different things around town. Candace and the kids are planning to head to South Dakota in October for a week and I think next year, we are going to go on a family vacation again so they are still getting some travel time in.

I finally decided that if I am planning a diving trip in February somewhere in South East Asia, it would be smart for me to come prepared. This meant parting with some of my hard-earned money. I enrolled myself in a PADI Open Water Diving course.

A local company Under World Scuba in Winnipeg seemed to be recommended by everyone I spoke to was my stop. Tessa, the owner and Dave, the store manager walked me through what I needed to do and gave me a lot of information. Of course I checked around at other shops and ended up back at their dive shop, signing up for the next available course. Tessa was awesome. I though for sure that they would try and sell me the world. This was not the case. She actually told me to not buy anything yet and to try some stuff out to find out what worked the best for me. I filled out the necessary forms, got fitted, got re-briefed on what I need to study, when and where I needed to be and left full of trepidation. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was sure of one thing, I was going to be a diver.

My first Dive day came up quite quickly and my good friend Dave, already a certified diver seemed just as excited as I was. He texted me all day long about how much fun I was going to have.
That night, I showed up at the Sargent Park Pool. An aqua-scise class was in progress and kids were everywhere. I saw a group of people sitting off to the side with some masks and fins so I made my way over to them. Right away a muscular dread-locked guy welcomes me and invites me to join them. He is talking with a middle aged couple about diving in the Caribbean Islands. Gavin has done over 150 dives after completing his open water course and has decided he will finally start upgrading his diving classification.
The middle aged couple don't seem to say much and I never did find out where they are in their course or why they chose to take it in the first place.

I quickly find out from another diver that I need to get my gear ready and he lends a helping hand to ensure that I am doing it correctly. Everyone seems to be laughing and helping each other. I quickly get swept up in the enthusiasm and find that everything I have read and tried to memorize comes quite naturally.

Along comes Dave, my instructor.
At first glance, one can tell that Dave is a no non-sense kinda guy. When things need to be done, they get done. The way he wears his combat boots suggests a former military background. The swagger, perhaps Navy? Of course the growl in his voice along with his comment readily confirms all that I see. "Unless you're doing water ballet, I suggest you start getting suited up!"

Oh wait, that's what I thought he would say. Turns out although Dave is a no non-sense sort of guy (which I like), he is also very funny and very nice. Dave introduced himself and suggested we get suited up after we went over the course and some theory. Dave walked me through everything I had read and then some. He wasted no time ensuring I was up to speed and next thing I know, we were standing by the side of the pool.

Dave gave me some instructions which I really don't think I listened to as I was very excited and nervous to take the giant step into the pool. I filled by BCD 1/2 way up. I checked the water below me was clear. I gave my dive buddy (Instructor Dave) the okay sign. I held my 2nd stage in my mouth and mask in place. I knew this was it.

I stepped off the side of the pool deck.

Funny thing. I quickly remembered what Dave was saying while we were standing on the side of the pool.

"Take a giant step out and don't let your fins dig in our you'll end up face first in the water"

I almost dug my fin in but was lucky enough to pull my leg up. I splashed into the water and bobbed around. Dave spit out his Regulator and laughed and gave me the okay sign! I smiled back and returned the okay sign.

This was my auspicious start in scuba diving!

Needless to say, the rest of the evening went really well, although I really have a lot of work to do on buoyancy but am told that will come with practice.

I can't wait for my next class and I am really thinking that diving in Thailand is going to be spectacular!!

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