I have completed the Open Water certification and am now certified to dive! Woohoo!
This weekend was spent out at the Clear Spings Scuba Park, an old limestone quarry that is fed by three clear water springs. While not what comes to most people’s minds when they think of scuba (clear blue waters and reef) it was still an experience. The water is green and visibility can be somewhat challenging (we had only 10 feet visibility).
The weekend began with Open Water Dive 1, a descent to the 20 foot platform and then we did as follow-the-leader swim out to Sisco, a 50-ft shark. Okay, so Sisco is a 50-ft steel shark, but nonetheless it was impressive.
The first dive was designed to give us a feel for the water and the openness. The platform sits just at about 20 feet, which is right where the thermocline lies. This term had been thrown about during class and it was new to me. The thermocline is a layer of water that is significantly colder than the layer above it. We don’t think of water having layers like this so I was not sure what to expect.
Sure enough, when you dipped below 20 feet and into the thermocline, the temperature dropped from about 90 degrees to about 76 degrees. This was not a gradual decline. You could literally swim in the 90 degree layer and dip your hand in the thermocline as if reaching into a bowl of ice water. It was an amazing feeling to say the least.
After getting out we filled out our first dive log entry; beginning our testimony to our training and experience, and not to mention brag book. I look forward to filling it with even more exotic entries.
After our surface break and a snack, we prepared for the second dive. This would be a descent to the same platform, but this time we would have to perform some skill exercises that we learned in the pool. I found these to be easier in the lake than the pool. Perhaps this was because I knew what was expected. Overall, I noticed a lot more comfort in the lake than the pool.
Dive three was not much different than dive two. We performed some additional skill exercises and even had another follow-the-leader swim.
On Sunday, we returned for our last dive required for certification. The fourth dive included a navigation exercise that we did not perform in the pool. This was challenging. I found it difficult to swim level and also to maintain my bearing with the compass. There’s definitely a lot more to learn and a lot more to practice.
The fish were really out for dive four. The green sunfish (some called them perch) where abundant during this dive. I swam along one, about 10 inches between our faces for about 10 seconds. It was a pretty cool experience. They would come up to the platform and often times swim right up to your mask. We also saw some bass, but not nearly as many.
I didn’t stay for the fun dive, which was an extra dive not required for certification. They were planning on going out to the sunken plane.
The training has been a great experience and now that I’m certified, I can go out and see more of this scuba park and others. I also look forward to getting some experience out in the open blue waters as well. I’d really like to plan some vacation time around places like Cozumel, Cayman Islands, or Jamaica. There’s a whole new world opened up to me as a diver now and I can’t wait to explore it.











