Really didn't sleep well. Up very early to leave for diving, got everything ready. Left before Adrian, Jan and Stuart up. Said goodbye to Rach and Jack. Drove to Brisbane Dive Academy. Got fitted for my whale suit - which was a struggle before the kick off!! Met Mel (HR manager of an aged car company) who was also re-certify and Anna a German living in Brisbane for several years doing an open water dive course. Also met our instructor Sam - born in Plymouth, a good old Devon lad. Loaded up trailer and jumped into Damos truck for the drive down to the dive site. Thought we might be diving in Moreton Bay but actually drove down To Tweed Heads on the Gold Coast at the QLD/NSW border!!
Unpacked trailer kitted up, rigged up our O2 tanks, BCDs etc. First dive hoping to tick off most of the compulsory skills - mask work, fin pivots. Walked down some rocky steps into the water had trouble getting my fins on. Got to dive flag and followed the line down to bottom, equalising fine but difficult to get down and rolling to one side all the time, couldn't cope with current and falling to right, started to feel myself taking quick panicky breaths and my heart racing. I signalled I was struggling and wanted to go up do Sam took me to the surface and sent a dive master to sit with Damo and Mel. I was prepared to give up and get out at that point. Sam talked me down and calmed me right down. He told me he believed I could complete the dive but I also had the option to walk away. I moved my weight belt around slightly and said I would try again but let home know if I was struggling and that would be me done. Got down managed to cope a bit better at kneeling on the sandy bottom. Did all the mask skills and don pivots (for those non divers you effectively get your buoyancy right so you can lie flat face downward and then as you breathe in your torso raises off the ground and when you breathe out it sinks again. I used to love doing it back in the day when I first got my dive ticket. Occasionally I'd get distracted by a fish and calm down for a second or two. After about 35 mins we ascended and did some surface skills, rescue towing and BCD removal and replacement in the water - Wow what a struggle!!
We then got out, had some water and food, reapplied sunscreen then Sam said he'd spoken to the boss(who had been underwater watching us) and they both agreed that we'd done enough bar one skills and so could make the second five a fun dive and finish off with our final skill. We walked along to the beach about 300m - not such an easy feat fully kitted up in wet suits, BCDs and scuba and tanks!!! We walked in from the beach, out through the breakwater and managed successfully this time to get my fins on. We dive down and around the rock wall with the current seeing puffer fish, needle fish, wrasses, angel fish, baths, weighing scales, shopping trolleys(!!). Final skill was sharing air and self-inflating BCD. All three of us passed with flying colours.
We drove home via the supermarket as Jack hurt his foot/ankle during football training, showered, washed our gear and watched TV. After a dinner of ham salad, we all slowly drifted off to an early bed.
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