After a weekend off from diving, it was back to the water. This weekend I met Jim and Wally at White Star Quarry near Gibsonburg, OH for Intro to Tech. It was a great weekend and we got lucky with weather. Forecasts earlier in the week called for rain, but it ended up being sunny and warm both days (although we had 20-30 mph winds Saturday).
Both Jim and Wally had some experience diving in drysuits and double tanks prior to class. This isn't a prerequisite for the course in any way. Actually many people who take Intro to Tech are advanced recreational divers who wear single tanks and wetsuits whose goal is to see what technical diving is all about and if it's a path they want to follow. Jim and Wally have already decided to pursue technical diving and took Intro to Tech to help prepare them for the Advanced Nitrox/Decompression Procedures course.
Their prior experience with doubles and drysuits allowed us to spend a minimum of time talking about some of those topics freeing up time for other things. We did our classroom and two dives Saturday and one dive Sunday. We were able to wrap up just after lunch Sunday so they could start their long drive back to Indiana. The dives went well and since this was their first trip to White Star, I got to introduce them to the quarry. On Sunday's dive, we went through the tunnel.
We spent a fair bit of time talking about dive planning, an often overlooked process in recreational diving (in my opinion). After tracking gas consumption over the first two dives, I asked them to predict what their pressure guages would read at the end of Sunday's dive. Before the dive, they each told me what they thought they'd end up with. At the end of the dive, we checked and each was within 100 psi of his prediction.
In the water we worked on buoyancy and trim, manifold shutdown drills, air sharing with a 7' hose, SMB deployment, and a few other manuevers.
On Sunday, I saw Leslie, Randy and others doing some training dives with Scott and Linda from MAST. For more information about the good work MAST is doing to research and document Ohio's underwater historical resources, check out the MAST website.
2 comments:
Thanks for the outstanding instruction Rick. I really feel like I got my money's worth, and then some. It was very valuable to be able to focus in on the skills that will be critical for Advanced Nitrox/Decompression Procedures. I feel it was great preparation.
For anyone contemplating this course, I'd say take it! Rick is of course an outstanding diver, but he's also a great teacher. He doesn't pull any punches and tells you clearly what you're doing well and what you need to work on, but he does it in a way that really builds your confidence.
And he really looks sharp in his new DUI drysuit. Gotta look good under water! ;-)
Thanks again Rick! I too feel that I got my monies worth out of the class. The 6 hour drive was worth it. I also feel a bit better about my own diving skills and the upcoming class.
Even if you don't think you will go on into Advanced Nitrox or Decompression Procedures, this class could be helpful. This is a great way to fine tune your skills and learn more along the way. It also will let you know if you are ready to move on.
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