While Matt and Ali had to be back at the dive shop at 7am this morning to catch their boat, Jacob and I were didn’t have to be there until 11am. So we had an easy morning with a nice little sleep in and then we went for breakfast.
We met Dirk at the dive shop and discussed the days plan before boarding the boat to our first dive site. We had a rescue course on the boat, so we ended up going to one of the quieter dive sites and stayed there for the entire afternoon.
The visibility wasn’t great on our first open water dives this afternoon, but it was still amazing to get closer to the corals and saline than you would normally get to just snorkelling. Our first dive lasted about 40 minutes and we practiced a few scuba skills, like flooding your mask halfway with water and then clearing it out and how to recover your regulator if it were to fall out of your mouth. We also saw a few interesting fish, like some parrot and angel fish.
Because nitrogen builds up in your system while diving, it is really important to take a break between dives, also known as a surface interval. So we took some time to relax on the boat’s sun deck and watch the rescue team having to do mock rescues…it was actually quite entertaining. They kept trying to catch each other off guard. One of the rescues they had to practice was saving someone that is panicked in the water. When someone is panicking, they try to use the rescuer as a buoy, and that is what they simulated. The person doing the rescuing was pushed under the water, their mask was snapped back in their face, it was pretty to funny to watch…obviously knowing that it wasn’t real.
For our second dive we stayed at the same dive site, Aow Leuk. We practiced a few other skills, like using an alternate air source for breathing and practicing our buoyancy (how well you are able to maintain your position in the water, without moving…so sinking to the bottom or floating upwards isn't allowed.
After our final dive for the day, we had some more time on the sun deck and then headed back to the dive shop. There we crossed paths with Matt and Ali, as they headed out to complete a night dive for their Advanced Open Water course. We waited around until they got back, about 8pm, then we headed for pizza again…we still can’t stomach Thai food just yet…
We all have an early morning tomorrow, boats for all of us leave at 7am, so it’s back to the villa and to bed! Tomorrow w have planned our final open water dives and then a couple of fun dives in the afternoon with Matt and Ali!
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