I just finished my Open Water certification through Seattle Scuba Schools. We dove on Saturday and Sunday beginning at about 9:30 AM both days. All of the dives took place in Cove 1 at Seacrest Park (Alki) right next to Salty's. Water temperature was approximately 47 degrees fahrenheit. Dive specific info:
Dive 1 (Sat) - Dove to 33 feet for 20 minutes
Dive 2 (Sat) - 34 feet for 19 minutes
Dive 3 (Sun) - 22 feet for 22 minutes
Dive 4 (Sun) - 40 feet for 22 minutes
The water was not unbearably cold but the air temperature made it difficult to stop shivering on the surface. It was pretty funny surfacing after the second dive to find out that it had begun to snow! I actually found this somewhat humorous because one of the NZ clubs that I have been speaking with warned me about one of their dives being very cold. I hate to picture what they would think of a Seattle dive..... (to put it in perspective, South Island NZ water is easily 10 degrees F warmer than our water and that's on a bad day).
I had an absolute blast and really enjoyed seeing for the first time the amount of life that actually lives just a little ways off the shore. Our instructor even said that we were diving in a relatively dead area (better for training). I can't wait to see what an area rich with life will be like. Here are a couple of pics from the shore. I'm wearing all rental gear (aside from my mask, snorkel, and boots).
I went ahead and purchased all my gear. Without going into to many specifics, mostly because I cant remember all the brands right now, I got a 7 mm Semidry suit, a pair of 3.5 mm gloves, these new high tech Mantaray fins (way shorter and easier to maneuver), and a full regulator and gauge system. The regulator will be a new experience for a couple of reasons. First, it is a DIN system, unlike the yoke hookups we have been using so far. My instructor is going to throw in a free DIN/yoke converter for my travels. In addition, the first stage is Nitrox compatible, which is cool because I am sure that at some point my dives are going to necessitate that. I decided to hold off on the BC and tank until I get a little more experience and find out what types of diving I most enjoy.
Also today, I purchased my camera living vicariously through my mother's credit card (don't you love Christmas presents). After way too much research, I switched from a dedicated UW unit to a Canon SD800 so that I can take great topside pictures as well while I am over there. I also purchased the WP-DC9 underwater housing, an extra battery, and a 2GB SD card. A comment from my friend about going through 4 camera's underwater in 2 years through leakage kind of scared me, but after reading around, I think you just have to be really, really careful with the O-ring. As long as you keep it lubricated, properly seated, and inspect it for hairs, sand, salt crystals, etc every time you close it, you should be fine. The only other complaint that I have heard is that the case fogs up at depth over time. The best solution is to put the camera in while in an AC environment (aka dry) and to keep the camera off as much as possible or to disable the LCD (so as to prevent as much heat from the camera as possible).
Well that's all for now. Next post to follow my Advanced open water dives this coming weekend!
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