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Parwich artist Esther Tyson is working on a project to immortalise the seahorses of Dorset in art – but first of all, she has to learn to swim underwater. Esther’s project diary continues below…

Dorset: day one.

I’m tired; it’s been a long day starting with a drive around Holton Heath Trading Estate looking for a PADI sign. In actual fact it began earlier with a full English breakfast, but that was an unexpected treat due to a double booking on the accommodation front.

9.41am, a cup of tea and we jump right in to Chapter One of the dive manual: The Underwater World, followed by Dive Equipment, Scuba Systems, The Buddy System and Confines Water Dive Preview. At the end of each chapter there is a two page knowledge review and I’m tested.

Chapters Two and Three are long. They cover: Adapting to the Underwater World, Respiration, Dive Equipment, Buddy System: Communication and Procedures, Confined Water Dive Preview, The Dive Environment, Dive Planning, Boat Diving, Problem Management, Confined Water Dive Preview, General Open Water Skills, Open Water Dives 1 and 2.

The objectives are covered; I fill out the self-assessment and take three short exams.

I’m done in. Lunch, another mug of tea and we plough on with the practical side of things. We look at the different masks on show and check for fit, the snorkel, boots and fins. I try on a semi-dry wetsuit. Boy, it’s tough to pull on. How I’d fasten it on my own, I don’t know! My suit may be a cerise/purple, rather than the red of the dive center. I had hoped to be coordinated – but just when I’d pondered the red and black theme, I’m now red, cerise and yellow! Where’s the pot of gold?

We stand side by side to set up our gear. In front of me is the tank filled with compressed clean air, a BCD and some regs. I copy the routine of putting the equipment together then pack up. It’s now my turn to set up without help; did it all sink in? This was one of the steps I thought would be difficult, but having repeated the process a couple of times it now seems quite simple. This is good!

We finished at 6pm, and I’ve spent the last two hours walking in the edge of the surf, along the beach in Swanage. Revitalizing! And there is so much pink along the tide line…!