FIRST OPEN WATER DIVE
by Paul Field
Team: Phil Frecknall (Leader), Mark
Broddle, Glenn Halsey, Paul Field (Novices)
Date: 19th August, 1996.
Venue: Stoney Cove.
Mark
and I had recently completed our Novice 1 training and were
falling over ourselves to get into open water.
With Stoney Cove beckoning we set out to catch ourselves
a willing instructor
Using a moderate amount of grovelling we managed to
convince Phil Frecknall that his skill and experience were
just what we needed. Actually he volunteered.
The grovelling bit was something else. We wanted him
to do the NS10/NS11 open water lessons and he wanted to "orientate"
us instead. We plied him with copious amounts of flattery,
bribery and bullshit but he stuck to his decision. Orientation
he said and orientation it would be.
Word
that we were going to Stoney spread like wildfire around our
small band of novices
(We told them all)! We were soon joined by Glenn with
his flashy bright red classic BMW; a very nice motor. Anyway,
beautiful day and off we went. Two cars, Phil and Glen in one
and Mark and I in the other, packed to the hilt with what seemed
to be an amazing amount of gear.
On the journey we reflected on our pool training and the dedication and
patience (generally) of all those trainers who have managed
to get us this far. (Thank you all). We were pondering the in
house Novice rescue training when it occurred to me that I wouldn't
have to endure Mark's sadistic use of garlic anymore.
It was bad enough being kissed by a guy every 6 seconds
but it was downright embarrassing having to shut my eyes to
keep the fumes out.
We arrived at Stoney at about 11:15. Through the tunnel and into what
I can best describe as...... a quarry half full of water. Plenty
of people about. Phil said it was busy for a weekday. It must
have been one of the hottest days of the year; 32C in the shelter
of the cove. Phil would take Mark and I down first and then
Glenn. We got geared up and this is when the first useful tip
came from Phil. He said if you want to pee in your hired semi-dry
suits stand on your head first because hot water rises. Judging
from the smell of the suit it must be something divers do all
the time.
A welcome surprise. Just as the apprehension was reaching a peak Phil
announced that, after careful consideration we will be doing
the NS10/NS11 lessons after all.
So off we went down to the slipway, fully briefed, very
hot, adrenaline flowing and ready. With some help from Glenn,
our surface man, we fumbled our way into the water and soon
cooled down to a comfortable temperature. After a bit of buoyancy
adjustment and a frenzy of OK signals Phil gave the thumbs down.
We replied and our first open water dive began. What was it
like? If you have been you know. If you haven't done your first
open water dive yet then I don't want to be the one to spoil
your surprise. Enough to say the freedom after pool training
was great. We did the 6 metre circuit surfacing 35 glorious
minutes later; having left our mark on a wall underneath the
pub.
It was Glenn's turn next and after a bite to eat he and Phil made a stride
entry from one of the landings. Glenn took my camera and managed
one photograph before the button stuck in. I guess the pressure
at 6 metres was too much for it. We heard that Phil had pointed
down the wall towards the 18 metre shelf as if to say "that's
down the wall" but Glenn decided to misinterpreted the
message and headed on down. He didn't get far with Phil hanging
onto his ankles.
Mark was unzipping Phil's dry suit when the next pearl of wisdom came
forth. Phil said divers fart a lot (don't we know) so you should
hold your head well back when unzipping your buddy's dry suit.
Maybe all naked flames should be extinguished too!
A surprise for Mark and another useful tip came with our second dive.
Phil briefed us on NS11 and as Mark started on his second pint
of fizzy lemonade Phil mumbled something about gas in the gut
but , in the excitement, his words were lost.
A stride entry this time and down we went. We were to practice fin pivots,
DV retrieval, buddy breathing and all that stuff. All went well
until Mark, mask in his hand behind his back, suffered a sudden
involuntary release of gut gas. A lot of it! As the bubbles
jetting from his nose surrounded us Phil's tip about fizzy drinks
came into mind. We hadn't really been paying attention. Take
note the rest of you Novices; your instructor knows what he
is talking about so listen. Anyway, Mark soon regained his composure
and the lesson continued to a positive conclusion. The four
of us had a quick debrief, some more sandwiches and off home
feeling somewhat richer from the experience of our first open
water dive. Thanks Phil.
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