Please be advised locks must be removed daily or they will be removed if left on.
Thank you.
A common practice at the health clubs as well, that you can not lock a locker overnight / to yourself. (Some health clubs do rent them out, monthly or annually, when and where you can keep a locker to yourself.) But a week later, someone wrote FU … I take it means fuck you?
… actually I didn’t get it at first glance bec I’ve two mates on my tennis team with Fu as their last name … one’s primary school teacher.
It’s a dive social, coincides with the halloween party. Some mates baked a cake and cookies, pizza ordered, I brought two bottles red wine – no one touched it except me lol. … no one drinks wine in a dive bar … ha ha ha.
Meeting other divers from previous classes is great – you need a buddy to dive after all. If you’ve no one to dive with, you’ll have to hire a dive master. Unless you’re on a private boat.
As door prizes, I won the very good looking t shirt for wearing my face mask.
October 23, 2023 at 2:36 pm
· Filed under Sail & kayak
Went to lunch with my tennis buddies at Hooks. Afterward, one of them offered to take us fishing.
It’s a beautiful day, with calm water under a clear blue skies. Hook’s doesn’t have a deck hand, and the water is several feet below the normal waterline on the shore. The buddy said, it’s the global warming … which makes in and out of the sailing boat a little difficult.
The shipwrecks … are usually sit at the bottom of the water. But these two have been there for a while. The owner(s) really should have towed them away.
The two buddies went out on Sunday and caught many fish … So they took us to the same spot again. Although I saw many fish jumping out of the water, however, I’ve no luck to lure one onto my hook. One of them comfort me, by saying, “… that’s why it’s called fishing, not catching.” ha ha ha
Under ‘no camera’ rule, & 1st time use the dive phone case.
The cave is tiny.
Now is the off season and I found it to be crowded at time. The dive master said during the season, it was much more crowded.
The iconic photo is all there is – which I saw long before the diving. So when I knew our checkout dive would be there, I was excited.
Through two sections of stairs (one is very narrow), that leads you down to the cave, you see the iconic photo.
The cave is privately owned. It was formed by a karst window. The human and animal bones found in the cave were of about the same age, 13,000 years ago. The spring water is 72° year around. On a cold day, the white moist rises through the opening on the ground, hence the name.
The place is popular as a training site for divers. The snorkelers are mostly tourists for photo ops – the language I heard were distinctively foreign.
The diving experience: The terrain is rocky which makes it interesting but with too many divers, it feels uncomfortable. I bruised my legs from the rockers. What I’m looking for in open water diving is wide opened space, leisurely pace, and colorful creatures. Hopefully I’ll accomplish them on my own dive.
We met up at the shop at 7:30am, arrived at Devil’s Den at 10am. The next 50 minutes is spent on paperworks, signatures, orientation, waiting for the last mate to arrive … There are a lot of papers to be signed – so do leave enough time … “why not done this online?” They replied, online could not do all …
Before the dive, we spent considerable time in the pool – because we didn’t get the last pool time on Thursday.
One of our mates is bit of timid who always needed extra TLC. Didn’t get out of the pool till 2:15. A little snack break, then heading to the Den at 3:10. Done two dives by 5 and went to the first meal of the day at 5:40. It’s a long day.
The final of the owd was administered after reviewing Section 6 by Ralph. Ed was taking notes on Ralph and grading him: I like how Ed runs his business, and SSI, so far.
On test: little old Irene failed because she should have reviewed but didn’t, and scored only 78% out of 50 questions, and SSI requires 80%. I get it. It’s your life on the line, dive or die -:)
We then went over the test. Should have practiced in the pool afterward, but it was too late, we left early and will practice at the pool at Devil’s Den on Sunday.
P.S. So, the old little Irene studied overnight and went back to take it again the following day – it’s Test B – and passed with 92% – should be 96% because two questions she didn’t read closely … oh well … I embezzled the green pen. Ed went over the 4 mistakes I made – really appreciated it.
… I might have passed the first time, IF I didn’t point out that the grader left one mistake unaccounted, which made it 80%. Oh well … it’s me, old habit is hard to change.
After three training days, which the last two have spent times in the pool, we’re diving our first OWD at Lake Denton, a popular spot for beginners.
Lake Denton is 66 acre spring fed lake. The deepest part is 51 feet. It’s 65 miles south of Disney World in Orlando.
学物理 ⚛️ 好有用
We did two dives. Although the water is a little muddy, but we saw plenty fish – mostly bass and perch, a turtle and a snake. Each of us get two tank of gas, for the two dives.
My step by step to an open water dive:
get excited for the dive
pack your bag
carry your heavy bag to the car and drive to the meet up place
… we did the 2nd dive, repeat partial 8 (get a new cylinder) to step 12
unclothed
pack the cylinders and bags
drive back
clean the warrior suit
drive home
Are you ready for this?
What if we’re going out on a boat? The master diver / coach Ed says, well, you still have to bring your bag to the boat … Ed said, in the summer, he has a college kid at his shop do the washing. …Well, you can always pay someone to carry the bag and do the washing for you …
We stopped at Raceway gas station in Avon Park for a quick stop: bathroom and breakfast, etc. Lake Denton is only a five minutes away.
Why SSI? Both Padi and SSI are American organization that have gone globe. Professional Association of Diving Instructors was founded in 1966 by John Cronin and Ralph Erickson, headquarters in CA. It has 128k pros and 6,600 dive centers/resorts. SSI Scuba Schools International was founded in 1970.
Per Ed, his father started this outdoor shop, gearing toward boycott, camping and diving, etc. in 1984. Then one year in 1994, one of his customer got solicited ad from Padi directly … His father wanting an apology from the organization but Padi said they’re their customers. His father then switched to SSI in 1996. We don’t hear so much about SSI is because SSI gears toward the dive shops.
Reportedly, SSI is huge in China, especially mermaid program.
We did review of Chapter 4 at the store, with the kid answering most of the questions, then headed to the pool.
The temperature is similar as yesterday, and rained heavily at time during the day. But with all gears have selected (less chaos), and having done one pool practice one (a little experience), I feel more at ease. The skills we practiced:
The five of us also have the benefit of Ralph, and assistant coach with us, so it’s more fun than yesterday. Also not as cold – we got rained on yesterday while in the pool and as we were leaving.
test regulator (Magnum; grey) – primary breathing apparatus
test octo (Sherwood, yellow) – secondary/backup breathing line
hook up the LPI (low pressure inflator) hose to inflate the bcd, and secure it into the hock on the left chest
secure duel gauge (Genesis: tank pressure/depth), left side; test the gas pressure (should be 3k psi)
lay the tank down, to prevent from falling
add weights if needed
put on wetsuit
put on booties
attach snorkel to the mask, put in on your head or wear it
put on the bc with the cylinder
close waist velcro
buckle waist
pull down the two shoulder straps
buckle the chest
get into the water
(it’s a good habit to test 4 lines again)
put on the fins …
if dive off the boat, put on the fins first, then into the unknown
have fun
The watch is huge and weighty. I also purchased the goggle/mask strap, upgraded the snorkel, etc.
There are many other items that we should buy: knife, flash light, weight.
The pool is at his father’s house where Ed grew up. It’s a mile from the store. We practiced a few basics in the pool. I used 8 pound weight (4lb each) in the fresh water.
The tall and sleek cylinders on the right is made of steel and cost more.
This is my second attempt at open water scuba diving, and I’m taking it at Woods & Water with master diver / instructor Edward Ciesla, who issues SSI Certificate.
SCUBA: self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, co-invented by French naval officer Jacques Cousteau (1910-97) in 1943, with Emile Gagnan. Cousteau was also an oceanographer, filmmaker and author.
I took a basic open water dive and followed by two speciality courses:
A management company posted a sign
