Tyler's First Dives

Tyler completed his check out dives this weekend. These were 4 open water dives with the instructor and a couple other students at a quarry that has been filled and is used for scuba diving or snorkeling. For the first 3 dives they reviewed the skills they learned, such as flooding and clearing their masks, removing their weight pockets, saving their buddy, etc. The 4th dive was more of a just for fun dive.

The quarry. Despite the lower than normal temps, we had beautiful weather both days.

The air and water temps made this a little more difficult than we had hoped. When we left home for the first two dives yesterday morning, it was only 37* and it had frosted. The water temperature was only 65. Because of this, Tyler had to wear a very thick wetsuit (2 pieces) and a hood and gloves. All of these were sized to adults, so nothing fit him perfectly, the neoprene was very stiff, and he had never practiced in the pool while dressed in these items. He was very discouraged by all of this when he was trying everything on in the store Friday evening. He found he could move easier than he expected once he was in the water, though, so it all worked out ok.

All bundled up for his first dive yesterday morning.

Because his suit was thicker & more buoyant, he had to carry more weights. The suit and gear are heavy enough, but the additional 22lbs made it very difficult to climb out of the water afterward! It also made it difficult for him to stand upright for fear of tumbling over backward! (This is why he's hunched over in almost all the pictures!) Despite all this, he did not complain and did a great job! I was so proud of him for how hard he worked this weekend. I know he was very nervous, but he didn't let that hold him back, either.

Getting his equipment ready

Ready to get in! (He added gloves after this.)

Hi Mom!

Going down. Sometimes it was hard for him to control his buoyancy.

That is a smile.

Done with the 2nd dive & exhausted!

Our certified diver!

He really enjoyed the dives and saw lots of neat things under the water. He is now a certified diver and is really looking forward to his first diving trip with Grandma and Grandpa in just a few weeks!!

Working on his dive log with the instructor.