Saturday, January 17, 2009

First Dive of the Year

I have joined a local dive club. Because it is a SSAC and not a PADI dive club my current and expensively acquired skills do not transfer very easily. This means more training. Training in the sport of scuba diving is never a bad thing. You can not over train.

I was up at 6 this morning and out of the door and on the road at 7 with all my gear packed and ready to go. The last time I dove in the UK it was February and very cold. I didn't enjoy the experience much. Guess what? Diving in January isn't warm either.These were the weather conditions on the drive down to the training centre.Here are the hardy souls going over the dive plans. Don't they look friendly? They are!
Me getting ready. As you can see, the weather improved the moment we arrived at the dive site. The weather stayed nice for the first dive too! Blue skies and no wind. However, the water today was 4.5 C. In a number of diving circles, this qualifies as an ice dive!

We were in the water for half an hour and although two dives were planned today, I only completed one. I know my limits. It really brought home with a resounding thump how unfit I am and how I am not finished losing weight.

I did manage to complete some training during this dive and get it signed off. It will take me a number of further dives, lectures and tests to get the cross over training completed.

Now that I am home again, my scuba gear has been cleaned and is drying in various parts of the house and I have had a relaxing and warming bath. If I haven't crippled myself, I'll be going back tomorrow.

Although it was brutally cold and it took me a long time to warm up afterward, I had a good time.
Polly my faithful companion came with me. She behaved perfectly all day and didn't put a foot (paw) wrong.Here is the group from the dive club that went down to the training center today. I wish to thank everybody that came along for helping me in little ways throughout the day. If you look behind us, you will notice that the windows are dark again. Winter days are short here. In addition, the nice weather that was enjoyed during the first dive did not stay. Conditions worsened and by the time we were in our cars and on the way home, it was raining again.

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