Nope, I haven't develop any ability to breath underwater akin Heroes or have some wizard charm up some thingy-magic-spell on me, but Saturday 18 April 09 was the first time I tried SCUBA diving (albeit in a pool).
Me & my partner in crime have long planned about getting our diving license, but somehow or rather the plan have been at the back burner. Until about a week ago when he told me that he had already arranged a tryout for us.
So when the day came, we met up with Man & his mrs and went for our first ever scuba experience. The session starts with the basics on equipment, diving theories, etiquette, what we should achieve during our first time in the water and exercises and manouvers . After that we hooked up all the equipment and changed and was ready to go.
The first hurdle was to get your water confidence, as breathing totally through your mouth take some time to get use to. After that, we were told to immerse our head in the water just to get the feel of it. When the first immersion takes place, I was having difficulty controlling my breathing, most probably due to the normal practice of swimming, where we inhale through the mouth and exhaling through the nose. Doing this will get water in your mask at no time.
Once we have settled down at 1.8m, we were asked to do some exercises. The weightlessness prove a difficult thing to handle initially what with the feeling of the only was to safety is up. After a while, it kinda felt cool being underwater and once you have relaxed, your breathing will also be more relaxed. After the initial exercise has been completed, we were asked to swim around and I tell you, despite being able to swim freely, I still find it difficult to control my self plus with the gear on my back.
Once I manage to get the hang of it, we were told to descent further to 5 m depth. This is where I felt like I can't do it as I was having problem of regulating the pressure in the inner ears. I think it took me a few tries until I was comfortable being at 5m depth. After a while we realise that our air supply has came close to the limit and was told to ascend. Only then that we realised that we have been underwater for 1 hour 15 minutes. I think it was an achievement for myself.
So the next step for us is to book a date for our open water license, which may take place in June 09. Watch this space.
ps..no photos..my compact was out of commission and d dslr is too bulky. Phone was in d car then...what a waste...
Me & my partner in crime have long planned about getting our diving license, but somehow or rather the plan have been at the back burner. Until about a week ago when he told me that he had already arranged a tryout for us.
So when the day came, we met up with Man & his mrs and went for our first ever scuba experience. The session starts with the basics on equipment, diving theories, etiquette, what we should achieve during our first time in the water and exercises and manouvers . After that we hooked up all the equipment and changed and was ready to go.
The first hurdle was to get your water confidence, as breathing totally through your mouth take some time to get use to. After that, we were told to immerse our head in the water just to get the feel of it. When the first immersion takes place, I was having difficulty controlling my breathing, most probably due to the normal practice of swimming, where we inhale through the mouth and exhaling through the nose. Doing this will get water in your mask at no time.
Once we have settled down at 1.8m, we were asked to do some exercises. The weightlessness prove a difficult thing to handle initially what with the feeling of the only was to safety is up. After a while, it kinda felt cool being underwater and once you have relaxed, your breathing will also be more relaxed. After the initial exercise has been completed, we were asked to swim around and I tell you, despite being able to swim freely, I still find it difficult to control my self plus with the gear on my back.
Once I manage to get the hang of it, we were told to descent further to 5 m depth. This is where I felt like I can't do it as I was having problem of regulating the pressure in the inner ears. I think it took me a few tries until I was comfortable being at 5m depth. After a while we realise that our air supply has came close to the limit and was told to ascend. Only then that we realised that we have been underwater for 1 hour 15 minutes. I think it was an achievement for myself.
So the next step for us is to book a date for our open water license, which may take place in June 09. Watch this space.
ps..no photos..my compact was out of commission and d dslr is too bulky. Phone was in d car then...what a waste...
