The Hardy Students

Saturday dawned with a stiff breeze and temperatures touching -8, but that didn't deter 2 young American lads from turning up for their Open Water Dives at 08:00.

Kit issued and briefings done, we were in the lake at 09:15 for dive 1, a nice steady bimble for them to get accustomed to an open water environment.  Not a lot to see in the shallows, other than the bus and pool table.  The fish were obviously having a lay-in.

Apart from the usual minor issues with buoyancy normally seen on the first dive, there were no issues and the broad grins at the exit said it all.  However, it wasn't long before the re-warming of exposed skin brought the usual grimaces of winter diving.

Dive 2 was equally uneventful, skills completed with ease and another swim around to practice buoyancy.  Grins not quite so wide this time, as the cold was beginning to get to the core, despite the water being 14o warmer than the air.

Then it was time for the last dive of the day, dive 3.  It was obvious, during the skills that they were both getting cold.  They could be seen visibly shivering during fin pivots, but coped very well with mask floods.

They went to the cinema to take their minds of things in the evening, followed by a bite to eat, whilst I went to a 17th Birthday.  Very tasty Indian for me :-).

What a shock on Sunday morning, 10-12cm of snow all over the place and an hour to do a 15min drive, mainly due to closed roads.  The main benefit was the wind had gone and the temperature was up to a balmy +1.

The morning after the storm.

Two more dives to go, Dive 4 followed by Drysuit dive 2.

The hardy crew

All was going well until the hover.  One of the students was suffering with a leaky mask that was causing him to choke when he rolled on to his back.  The only resolution was a mask change.  Off cam mine and I offered it to him.  He thought I meant for him to remove, replace and reseal his.  By the time he realised what I wanted him to do, my face was freezing.

Skills done and 2 new Open Water Divers, well done Clint & Tyler, however, its not all over yet.

DVD to watch, then another dive to complete the Drysuit Speciality.  With hardly any skills, it was more like a pleasure dive.  Despite the success of the weekend, both students were glad it was all over and the pork stew, complete with juicy dumplings, that was served up was a real treat for all of us.