So finally my scuba (self contained underwater breathing aperatus) diving course started. It was a nice little group with Maria (Norway), Chantalle (Switzerland), Dave (Kiwi), Stacy (Oz), Nubia (Brazil) and Ross our great instructor also an Aussie.
I asked for the manual some days in advance so I could familiarize with the vocabulary but as it turned out Ross explained everything to us in a very understandable way. Unlike Phil (Skipper at my sailing trip) Ross doesnt have such a thick accent.
We had to watch some movies which illustrated the theoretical background of scuba diving (like buoyancy, the buddy system) and afterwards we were explained how to set up all the gear. Although I passed a CMAS certificate in 1999, I could hardly remember anything and so it was good I didnt take a refresher course but had everything taught again.
I can remember Andi telling me the most important rule of scuba diving (never dive alone) but Padi makes that "never hold your breath".
We put on our gear and went into the pool. I had some troubles equalizing during that CMAS course but after having my nose lasered last year it is now much easier. So now I can book my Fiji diving.
It felt strange again breathing under water but it is all just a matter of practice. At least I still knew how to clear my mask ;-)
Day 2
Got some nice rash from the chlorine in the pool but after having applied some cortisone it became better.
We watched some more movies about dive planing and how to calculate your pressure group using the tables. Today's practical was putting your gear on and off under water and on the surface.
Apart from diving I met some nice people in Byron. 2 Israelis, a fella from Kiel and an English guy who was drummer of the year in 2008. Had some great chats with these blokes and hope to see them somewhere along the way.
Day3
First dive at Julian Rocks Marine Park (The Nursery).
All of us were excited now that we were eventually fit enough to get out there ourselves. I still didnt experience any troubles equalizing and so it was a wonderful first glimpse into a different world.
We saw Nemo and Dori as well as butterfly fish, puffer fish, bulls eye, flute fish, neon damsels and a myriad of other small reef fish.
It was quite hard to establish a neutral buoyancy but it wouldnt be fun if it was that easy. The deeper you go the less buoyant your wet suit gets and so I was a bit overweighted at 12 metres depth.
During our second dive we finally saw the green turtels sleeping on the ground and one hovering above the reef.
The boat ride was also spectacular. It was rubber boat with twin 100 hp engines and the skipper was apperantly in a hurry ;-)
Julian Rocks Marine Park (Needles to the left, The Nursery behind the left rock)
In the evening I did some shopping and finally I found an item within the selection that was actually cheaper than in Germany. Bananas were on sale for 99 Cents per kg, also there were kiwis for 33 Cents each ;-)
Day 4
Final Day of my scuba course and I passed the exam with 94%. This time we went to a different location within the marine park called Needles where there were some more species. We saw a giant manta ray hovering effordless thru the sea with a lot of smaller fish on his lower side. I know the mask magnifies by 1/3 but the ray just looked incrediblely huge.
Also, I was able to touch a turtle. It swam beneath our group and as it passed me I put a finger on his shell. We were taught not to touch any animals but I just couldnt help. Didnt want to give it a good pat on the back, though ;-). We had quite a strong current so the dives ended after 25-30 minutes. In 4 dives I have now a cumulative bottom time of 2 hours. Lets have a look at that figure again after I have completed Fiji.
After all the gear had been washed and stored our course went for a beer to celebrate. The guys kept on buying so I kept on drinking. We had a great night out and Nubia, Ross and I were out till midnight (Well, we started in the afternoon ;-)
Nubia (my buddy) and me doing the buddy sign.
Its done with both index fingers so mine is wrong ;-)
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