This evening we had the fantastic opportunity to try out scuba diving at a special lesson here in St. Louis!
Our Mom was curious to know whether we’d like scuba diving and might want to peruse being certified and getting some gear.
The teacher was great and he gave a quick talk in the classroom before we hopped in their salt water pool. There were only us and one other family in the class, so we were able to ask any questions we might have.
Taking our first breath into the regulator underwater was little unnerving, I could easily see how someone who was claustrophobic could freak out, but we did our testing in 4ft of water so if there was a problem we could stand up.
Then we learned a few other skills like learning how to take out the regulator, clearing it and breathing out of it again and we also learned how to clear our masks of water…while underwater.
After we had tried doing these things in the shallow water we put on our flippers and swam into the deeper end of the pool that was 10ft deep. We had to be careful not to descend too quickly without adjusting the pressure in our ears to the pressure of the water. It was a bit of a problem with me at first, but we got used to the higher pressure and began a game of catch with water torpedoes. It was really neat to be able to stay underwater for such a long period of time and I wish that I would’ve had a waterproof camera with me.
We all had on a Buoyancy Control Device (BCD) that is an awesome vest that can fill up with air until it’s puffed up very large and can then be deflated…I wonder if you could fill them up with helium?
We were in the water for about two hours and we repeatedly tested various diving skills and learning to use the flippers alone for swimming. Our instructor was very thorough and we talked with him before we left about how we could pursue diving and what equipment would be necessary.
This was a fantastic opportunity and my brothers and I had a great time!
