This is Part One of the three articles I first wrote each night after returning home during the process of learning to dive. It took just under three days to get my PADI Open Water diving certificate, which is the first diving licence you can get. (Yes, I got my diving licence before I got my driving licence - #priorities!). The PADI Open Water certificate teaches you diving skills and theory; you also learn about the equipment and the science that keeps you alive while you dive. The bonus is the OW allows you to dive to depths of 18m, which you can't do on a 'fun dive' day excursion (as it limits you to only 12m deep).
Here, I'll explain to you what the process of learning to dive is really like!
 |
| Pic: Thomas Nilsson |
I realised that although there are a million articles and blogs on why diving is so great and why you should learn to dive, there was almost nothing on the internet about what the actual process is like: What happens when you learn to dive? How much classroom time and how much diving time is involved in getting your PADI Open Water certificate? And what is learning to dive like? I learned to dive in the Maldives but this applies to learning in almost any place. I hope I can answer some of your questions and shed some light on the process below...
Signing up with PADI
I’ve signed up for a PADI Open Water course with a well-reputed PADI dive school based in Hulhumale, Maldives (now relocated to Maafushi), which is around 5 minutes
by speedboat from Male’. I popped in to sign a medical questionnaire which
basically checks I’m not hiding any serious conditions or at least that I have
nothing for the instructors to worry about. You don’t have to be super fit but
being in general good health is helpful and being a non-smoker is definitely an
advantage. With that out of the way, I’m ready to start learning to dive!
Day One
 |
| This is what a typical classroom at a dive centre looks like. Photo: Dolphindiversathens |
Diving doesn’t happen in the classroom, but it certainly
started there for me today. I arrived at Into Scuba at 8.30am (I’ll admit a
little bit bleary-eyed) and was welcomed by my German Instructor friend, Thomas Badstubner
with a big cup of tea in a Munchees biscuits mug with ‘Bite me’ written on it.
I’m not thinking about sharks. Why did I just think about sharks?
 |
| Learning to dive begins with books, not boats |
Don't worry about sharks
But no, joking apart, sharks aren’t really anything to worry about in the Maldives. There hasn’t been a single shark attack recorded since the late 1970s, people say it’s due to the huge quantities of yummy fish around here which taste a lot nicer than people. Also you mostly see reef sharks here which aren’t a problem. I’ve been snorkelling here every week for two and a half years so I’m pretty happy with that explanation.
If you're still worried, I'll let reggae shark explain further why you shouldn't worry about sharks, below, maybe in a slightly NSFW way...
Moving on from tea and toothy things, Thomas then told me
that I was going to get all of the theory out of the way in one day so that I
could get out of the classroom and start diving as soon as possible. Sounded
good to me, assuming that I passed! Thomas went on to say that 10 year olds
pass the same tests, so he was pretty confident that I would be able to. (Maybe
after a cup of tea).
 |
| Keep your eyes on the prize: This is Banana Reef, North Male' Atoll, Maldives. Photo: Wikipedia |
So, I was issued with three shiny new books, “PADI Open Water Diver Manual”, “How to Use and Choose Dive Computers” and my “Dive
Logbook”, and was told that I’d be watching a series of chapters from a PADI
video then we’d have a test between each chapter. There were five chapters and
after each chapter Thomas would chat with me about theory, sometimes using a
whiteboard to explain, then I did the tests.
The science bit
The PADI videos were….well, I have to admit, a bit cheesy
(lots of high fives) but they were clear and easy to understand, so they
definitely got the point across. They gave me the grounding that I wanted and
needed, basically the science behind diving and what all the bits of equipment
are called!
Let’s go into more detail: buoyancy, pressure, dive equipment and
how it works, the Buddy System, how being underwater affects your body, hand
signals and communication, safety, underwater environments and aquatic life
(nearly all injuries from aquatic life result from the animal/plant trying to
protect itself). The things that stick the most in my mind? “The most important
rule is to keep breathing!” and “You’re far more likely to suffer from an
unpleasant encounter with an unaggressive organism [than an animal] such as
puncture wounds from sea urchins, a sting from a jellyfish and their relatives
or cuts and scrapes from barnacles or coral.”
 |
| Mas'huni roshi is a yummy Maldivian meal |
Lunch break
Over the next few hours we continued in the same pattern of
watching videos, Thomas explaining a few things and me taking tests. They were
mostly multiple choice and “fill in the missing word” type questions. We got
into the nitty-gritty of Dive Planning and problem management, including how to
deal with your own problems as well as your dive buddy’s and basic first aid.
This included (in detail) possible hazards relating to breathing air at depth,
how to prevent problems from arising and what to do if you do have problems.
 |
| This is not my hairy arm. But this is what a standard-issue dive computer looks like. A big clunky watch. (Pricier ones look cooler, but this is the type that dive centres usually dish out) |
Finally, we covered dive tables, dive computers and the “How
to Use and Choose Dive Computers” book. “Whaaaaat?” You may be asking yourself.
Dive computers are basically a fancy watch/calculator which tell you things
like how deep you are, how long you’ve been underwater for and your no
decompression limit (the maximum allowable no-stop time at a given depth). They
certainly seem to help to make life easier, and are also useful because they
can calculate how long you can stay underwater for before reaching your no
decompression limit if you’re doing one of several dives (repetitive dives),
because it changes.
With all of the theory out of the way, it was time for the
exam! Now the word “exam” scared me a bit but I was relieved to see that it was
nothing like a university essay, or even GCSEs come to think of it! I think
Thomas must have seen the look on my face because he reminded me again, “It’s
OK, ten year old kids do this!” I was
relieved to see that it was another multiple choice/fill in the blanks page of
about 40 questions this time and thankfully, yes I passed!
 |
| Standard diving gear for tropical waters (Wikicommons) |
I passed the first hurdle!
We finished the day with a little bit of preparation for
tomorrow. I finally got my hands on my diving equipment, which I shall
henceforth no longer refer to as “the bits”, as I now know that I assembled my
oxygen cylinder with the regulator first stage, linked up the low pressure
inflator and threaded it through the buoyancy control device and tested the
pressure with the submersible pressure gauge, followed by inflating the
buoyancy control device and checking the primary regulator second stage and the
alternate air source second stage. And if that all sounded like mumbo-jumbo to
you, I’m pretty confident that after an enlightening and anything-but-boring day
in the classroom it’ll suddenly make sense to you too!
The next step!
Tomorrow…I’m leaving the classroom behind me and will finally be getting into the water! I can’t wait. I hope you enjoyed reading this and that it gave you an insight into learning to dive. I’m of for a “sensible” early night, and will be posting an update on tomorrow’s adventures tomorrow! Click here for Part Two and here for Part Three.
No comments:
Post a Comment