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Dorset: day four.

More Theory, and a very long day. I crammed the last section, and I was still late leaving. Review #5, an exam and a further written examination: done and passed. My brain is fried! 

I’m staying at The Villa on Brownsea Island, in Poole harbour. Walking back along the board walk, I saw deer in the edge of the marsh and a tern whilst waiting at the jetty. I’m tired… will write more tomorrow.

Tomorrow is tonight and I dislike diving intensely! I fought back tears in the pool; it’s tough. Almost drowned at the bottom, trying to clear my mask; coughing and spluttering at two and a half meters is not funny. On surfacing, I’m emotional. Lou asks me if I want to continue with the course, “because you don’t seem to be enjoying it”…

Can a person enjoy this training? It seems they can: Lou enjoyed it, Mark enjoyed it, Pat embraced and enjoyed it. I neither enjoy it nor embrace it…

Yet when my air is turned off, I can use the last breaths and signal ‘out of air’ without a second thought…?

Trying to remember sequences is difficult, with my brain flipping out and blanking information.

“Bruce Willis Ruins All Films.”
(Of course he doesn’t, but it works for Lou!)
What was the breakdown again?
Buoyancy, Weights, Releases, Air and Final check.
…I wonder if that’s right?

Then there is SORTED and STELLA:
Signal. Orientation. Regulator. Time. Ears. Descend. (Maybe?)
And in reverse: Signal. Time. Ears. Look around. Listen. Ascend.
…well, I’m not sure if “look around” is the correct term, but we did look above us to check the ascent was clear.

I’ve rushed ahead…
When I first entered the water, I kept tipping and rolling over and couldn’t swim. On my back, my feet kept sticking up in the air; it was a nightmare. Nick put weights on my ankles and that helped a little. Then I swapped my BCD’s with Lou’s, as hers was smaller. This was a good move! It was so much easier and I managed to swim… a little better.

In the pool…
The mask will not move from my face. Lou is tempted just to grab it and make me deal with it, but thankfully she doesn’t! I take my mask off and go under the surface, holding my nose… then let go of my nose, all the time breathing with the regulator: in, out, in, out. I hold my mask up to my face, immediately inhale water through my nose… and surface, spluttering and coughing.

I try over and again. I’m over-thinking… and the longer I think, the worse it gets.
‘Just do it, it can be over in two minutes…’
…and I understand, but my brain doesn’t compute this under water.

Aside from the saga of the mask…

• I did step off the edge of the pool into the deep end! Talk about psych. It took me a while to step off… but I did it, and contrary to expectation, I survived.
• I carried out the 5-point descent.
• I did sign ‘out of air’… and swap to my buddy’s alternate air source… and swim whilst holding the back of her jacket.
• I did perform a fin pivot buoyancy test, inflating my vest both manually and automatically. Manually, this involved blowing air into the vest with my mouth. I amaze myself! It’s an instruction I thought I would struggle with. (There are so many!)

At this point, I’m also desperate for the loo… again! That’s twice now, and it wrecks my concentration. I guess this is why the last time I attempt mask clearing, it’s quicker and I semi-get it. I open my eyes after the first clear and can see… which makes me panic less, and gives me more time to clear the last bit of water from my mask. Getting water up my nose has been a stumbling block the whole way through… and if I don’t crack this, I wont be getting my open water.

At the end of our session, there was a skin dive; I had a go at these surface dives with Amanda, way back when. Mark dropped a weight just before the slope to the deep end. The idea was to bring it to the surface and pass it to him. My first attempt was hopeless! The wetsuit was too buoyant with only two weights on my belt. We added another 2kgs and my next attempt was much closer. On the third attempt I picked it up, surfaced, blew water out of my snorkel, breathed… and in passing it to Mark I almost tipped under the weight!

I am amazed at what I have done this evening. As for what’s to come, I want to bolt! Though equally, I want to get through it… but I definitely don’t enjoy it. I’m out of my comfort zone!

We have a sea dive on Wednesday…