Costa Rica day two: Monkey's Head and Virador

Monkey's Head is a really picturesque volcanic rock, that when approached side on looks like a gorilla's face. It's rated as an 'easy' dive site, and it's fairly shallow with our deepest depth getting to just 15 metres. This shallow and there is plenty of life to see; pacific box fish, freckled porcupine fish, huge schools of golden jacks; moray eels and another octopus.

Currents are reasonably strong and now not expecting a dive to go without incident, I get my first jellyfish sting! Bit like brushing against nettles.

This is the first time I've ascended and descended though open water, and attempted a safety stop without any reference point or line, and I'm desperate to get it right, as my going to the more advanced site of Catalina Islands, where all the big stuff hangs out, likely depends on my performance here. My new Suunto Zoop computer makes a huge difference and I manage it fine... yeay!!

The second dive is at Virador, a low-lying volcanic island that again is home to an abundance of reef life. There's a shark cave at about 10 metres... gulp.... although our guide assures us it's only white tip reef sharks that hang out here. You have to go way out to Bats Island to run into the native bull sharks!

The first ascent was aborted as my brother's tank started free flowing at around 5 metres - who's putting the equipment together, and am I just a dive jonah? LOL - and as the currents were quite strong, we surfaced miles away from where we had descended just 3 minutes ago! The boat had to pick us up, change the tank and quickly drop us off at the entry point again to try another time.

This dive was awesome - I technically did my first drift dive I guess and averaged about 20 metres. Saw loads of stingrays gracefully flying past and 38 minutes seemed like 38 seconds.

Costa Rica day one: Surprise and Tortuga

Well, it's finally arrived and after a fantastic Christmas and early birthday that saw me frantically repacking to fit all the new gear I'd received off my gorgeous hubby and lovely family (sparkling new regulators and carry case, a Suunto Zoop computer and a Seaquest Diva BCD) we set off to Gatwick airport on 28th December for a 12 hour flight to Costa Rica....

After a day by the pool to get over the jet lag we are collected from the hotel at some ungodly hour in the morning by the lovely Nico from Diving Safaris and driven to Playa Hermosa to the shop... not so eager are the four other divers we are supposed to collect on the way, who apparently decide to stay in bed with a hangover!

At the shop I'm feeling pretty scared - although I wouldn't admit it to my brother and sister-in-law - but also pretty excited. It's going to be a day of 'firsts' - first dive without an instuctor there to hold my hand; first dive with my own kit; first dive off a boat; first dive in the ocean; first dive with my inspirational 'divemaster in training' brother (that's him up top there)....

A few forms later and we get onto the boat. We're diving today at a site called 'Surprise' with one of Diving Safari's instructors, Canadian Tracy (easy to remember) and one of her Open Water students who just certified. Trying to at least look confident I get kitted up and launch myself off the boat into the water with a backwards roll I'm hoping looks slightly more classy than the one my sister-in-law has just done.... Oooops! I always find it works better when you put air in your BCD!! How could I forget that?!

I eventually surface to a slightly worried looking buddy - my SIL - who roars with laughter when I explain what took me! At least it washes my nerves away. The dive goes in a flash and I'm delighted to find that I do OK, I love it down there, my buoyancy control is fine and that when I remember to take in what I'm seeing (although the visibility is pretty poor) I'm gobsmacked with wonder at the beautiful reef life down there; moray eels, puffa fish and an octopus.

I'm a bit cold in my 5mm when we swim through the thermoclines, and I run a little low on air, surfacing when I get to 50bar, giving me enough for a safety stop.

Back on the boat for the surface interval I have another 'embarrassing incident' when I discover that I am in fact sea sick, as the pineapple I've just scoffed reappeared almost as quickly as it went down, to shouts of "FISH FOOD" from the captain and a knowing look from my sister-in-law, who, it turns out, takes quells to stop the very same happening but didn't think to offer me one before we set out! LOL

The second dive of the day takes us to Tortuga where we descend down the anchor line to do a little wreck diving. This time we see a stingray, despite visibility being almost an arm stretch in areas! I'm buddying my SIL and am mortified to see that her tank has come completely loose and has slipped out of its holding in her BCD! Not good, but with a bit of rearrangement we get it back in place and off we go. Nothing like some little 'incidents' to liven up a dive eh?!

The end of the season, and I achieved what I set out to

It's taken me a few days to get around to blogging about the diving last weekend. I was back at Stoney Cove to do my advanced open water, dry suit and nitrox specialities. That meant five dives (all in a dry suit), one of which was deep, one navigation and the other nitrox (although we actually dived two on nitrox)....

Saturday's dive one was a disaaaaassssster dahhhhhrling! (anyone watch Strictly?).... despite 8k on my belt and 2k on each ankle, and an initial weight check that seemed fine I really struggled to get down. Once down there, I was all over the place. I did a passable fin pivot and hover but the rest of the dive saw me up and down like a yo-yo. I couldn't get the hang of the shoulder dump, which wasn't venting automatically as well as it could have, and it was almost a relief to surface.

Once at surface the scuba unit removal went ok, but the weight belt removal (my favourite.... not) went only marginally better than during the open water. I passed becouse my technique was spot on, but once again the weights slipped along the belt making it impossible to get the thing redone up.

I almost gave up there and then, but the instructors were so supportive and when it came to the second dive of the day I took all their advice in, used air in the dry suit to prevent squeeze and modified my buoyancy slightly with the BCD. And I put some extra weight on. Success!! It was fantastic, and I managed to almost look like a real diver! LOL

The third dive of the day saw three very cold students (one fell out due to mild hypothermia) - and in my case, one student with feet as wet as an otter's pocket - get back in for the navigation dive. I'd been diligently practising my square in the car park with right hand turns, and the buggers made me do left hand turns under water! I'm sure it was more luck than judgement that I got back to where I started, and I spent the rest of the dive practising fin pivots while waiting for the others to do their bit.

After a great curry and final adventure playground assault course at the pub, I headed to bed shattered but looking forward to getting Sunday out of the way.

Sunday morning arrived cold and damp. There were definitely moments of "what am I doing here?" as we kitted up, but I'd looked forward to the deep dive for ages and I wasn't disappointed! We took a nice swim down to 25 metres, and the only issue was sitting on my knees doing the tasks in the cold for so long (I was just getting twinges of cramp when we set off again). But it was fascinating to see the loss of colour from the charts, the affects of the cold and depth on the timed task, the water bottle trick and the cracked egg.

After a safety stop we surfaced, and that's when it all got a bit distressing. The rescue boat was out to a diver who had got into trouble by the far side of the lake, and police and emergency services (including an air ambulance were swiftly at the scene). They were doing CPR for 90 minutes, and to be honest it looked pretty serious. I still don't know the outcome, but my thoughts and prayers are still with that diver and their family today.

With one dive left to do, it was with some trepidation that me and my buddy went back in for the nitrox dive. But once in I was so glad I'd overcome that nagging doubt about going back in. Yes I was cold. Yes I was wet (despite some last minute repairs, the dry suit was still leaking at the boots) and yes I was tired after the surface swim to the buoy. But descending down the line was so much less stressful with a computer to track the depth we were at. By this time there was just the two of us, as the other two students didn't make the descent.

A familiar swim around the Staingarth, and then we headed out to Defiant, the sunken tug boat, before finding our way in the dark and poor vis to the Wessex (awesome DM and his navigation skills!). We kept swimming and before I knew it we popped up at the surface right by the slipway!

It's been an awesome couple of months - and I am sad it's the end of the season. But I've got Costa Rica next month, where I will finally be able to write something other than "Location: Stoney Cove" in my logbook, and I'm already thinking about the courses and trips I can do next year...

Just one note to self, might need a second job to help pay for it all! Hope you've enjoyed following my journey so far.

:-)

Getting ready to bump into Nessie again

Off up to Stoney Cove again tonight for the advanced open water course - that's me at the back with Nessie last time - although I much prefer to think of it as 'adventure diving with the minimal skills I currently possess'!

Just as last time, I'm feeling pretty nervous about the whole thing as it has only been four weeks since the open water course, and I've only had the one pool session in a dry suit since then! Got three new diving buddies on the course this weekend and they are all more experienced than me I think, so I'm hoping that I will be able to keep up with everyone and manage the dives successfully.

Some big pluses this weekend are that it's not all totally new to me, that I don't have to do mask clearance or removal in the freezing water and that I'm diving in a (hopefully) dry suit and on enriched air nitrox, having passed the test with 84% the other night (although the calculations and table use need some refining!).

On the plus side, if I manage the deep dive without it all going pear shaped and I don't end up with a suit full of air at the surface hanging by my feet after a rapid uncontrolled ascent, I'm all set for the deeper dives in Costa Rica next month, where it will be blue, and warm and clear and fun!!!

This I fear will be my mantra this weekend whenever it seems a bit too cold, wet and miserable for me......"Costa Rica, Costa Rica, Costa Rica...."

Adios and I'll let you know how I get on when I get back!

Dry suit diving has its drawbacks

Saturday night saw me in the pool practising dry suit skills in preparation for the advanced open water course this weekend. It all started quite well, until the buddy check when I realised at "W" that I'd kitted up minus my weight belt! Doh!

Once in the water things started pretty good - the fin pivot and hover went well but my low pressure inflator hose would not come off the suit. I tried. The instructor tried. The DM tried. Moving on to the next skill - filling me up with air and trying to right myself before the surface - it became apparent that the suit wasn't getting any air in, and I kept landing on my back at the bottom of the pool!

Quick surface and it became clear it was locked halfway on, halfway off. Without thinking, the instructor asked me to take my BCD off at surface and get that skill out of the way, so I undid all the releases and slipped one arm out, and immediately hit on a snag..... a still attached inflator hose! LOL

Eventually after much pushing and pulling - leaving me with a fair few pinch marks on my chest - the DM freed the hose and it worked like a dream from then on in. I spent the rest of the session practising buoyancy and fin strokes and came out a little less stressed about diving Stoney Cove in a dry suit than I was in the moments before I went in!

Totally inspiring!

Ignoring the American language around disability, this film is so inspiring. I've been twitchy and nervous about doing my dry suit course this week and this has put it all into perspective for me. Who cares if my buoyancy isn't perfect first time? Who cares if I screw up every now and then - I'm still a beginner! These guys are awesome:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/40005787#40005787

Adventure dives - next up dry suit

I'm somewhat relieved to discover that I'm not the only learner diver to struggle with buoyancy, as my brother – who is training for his Divemaster and headed to Stoney Cove this weekend with a group of open water students – is finding that their current crop, by all accounts, have not quite mastered the art of BCD control!

This has been weighing on my mind since being seduced into taking the advanced open water course, with the prospect of taking the dry suit course in order to do it without freezing to death! I've been reading the section on dry suits in preparation for next week's knowledge review and am somewhat amused to find that I might have to screw myself into a ball, while launching into a backwards roll (or was it forwards?)... either way I'd pay good money to be able to see myself do that little trick! :-)

Alternatively, I might have a suit malfunction and blow up like Mr Staypuft while hurtling to the surface, or my boots might fill with air forcing me into an upside down position........................ Yea gads, what on earth have I signed up for?