4/30/13
It sure was a busy day today! Got up at 5:30 and went over to get a cup coffee. It was a great Honduran blend. I'm sure my wife will be happy when I bring some her way. I went over to the docks and spent about an hour helping Marco get the boats ready for the morning dives.
Breakfast was the usual omelette, ham and fresh fruit. It sure does taste different than the fare at the diner.
We headed over to the diveshop around 8:30 to get the training started for the morning. We met Patty in the classroom and worked until 12:15 on the final three chapters of the divemaster manual. These are probably some of the most difficult chapters. These include all of the dive theory and phsyology. This was a gruling session, but we kept at it.
We broke for lunch and it was another great meal. Fried fish, fried plantains, and rice and beans. Chocolate cake was the welcomed dessert.
Alejandra had us meet in the lockers at 1:15 to go over the skills we were going to practice at the dive site. We then geared up and headed out into the front yard. We ran through the whole circuit, completing all 20 of the skills. We are not too far off from having these mastered to demonstration quality. We dragged ourselves out of the water a little after 5:00 and got our gear cleaned and hung to dry for the night. While today wasn't as physically demanding as yesterday, it was a busy day.
We went up to see Chloe for a few cervezas before dinner. They tasted great! Salva Vida is my favorite Honduran brew.
Dinner was a barbecue out on the cay. BBQ chicken, ribs, and potato salad was the fare for this evening. It was followed up by the local children who come and dance for the guests. We skipped out on the dancing and retrieved my dive light and went spotting along the seawall. We saw two HUGE lobsters, one octopus, three sea cucumbers, and many juvenile reef fish.
I'm sorry I did not get any pictures up today. I will try again tomorrow.
I would like to thank my wife for all of the time and effort she has put into seeing that I get my eyeglasses that I left at home on my nightstand. She actually found someone coming down this Saturday, to bring them to me. You're the BEST!
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Monday, April 29, 2013
4/29/13
Day 2 of my odyssey to become a PADI Dive Master.
Today started for me at 5:00AM when I crawled from my bed to the shower..... I headed over to the clubhouse for a dose of some awesome Honduran coffee. For those of you who have never had this coffee, it is one strong brew. After my 3rd cup I went over to the docks to see what was going on. I found Marco, one of the Cocoview Divemasters, getting the boats ready for the guests' morning boat dive. I asked if he would like some help. He put me to work right away. We loaded tanks, BC's, and regs aboard the red boat. After we finished I cleaned rinse tanks behind the locker rooms.
Around 7:30, I headed over for a breakfast of an omelette, ham, fried taters, and a grande glass of fresh OJ. Great I thought, this should give me an energy boost after the loading.
I headed over to Dockside Dive center to greet Patty, instead I find Alejandra telling me that Patty will be late, that there was "A change of Plans". She informed us the we were going to start on some of the required swimming skills, starting with the 400m free swim! Now this might not sound too bad, but the swims are all timed. Points are awarded by time.and this is how it goes:
UNDER 6:30 5pts
6:30 to 8:40 4pts
8:40 to 11 min 3pts
11 min to 13 min 2pts
more than 13min 1 pt.
Stopped swimming 0pts.
Now I must say I'm a strong swimmer, but I'm also slow and steady. I managed an 11 min swim. Not too bad for a 47 YO guy. (the 20 YO did not beat me)! If you are saying that that would be easy....go try it, and let me know how it works out for you...
The next event was the 15 min tread water, with the last 2 min with your hands out of the water. For those of you that have been to the beach with me, you know that I float like a cork in salt water! I started my float while my heart was still jackhammering in my chest. I floated for 20 mins or so, then threw my hands up for another 3 min. After I heard Alejandra saying I was finished, I swam over to the seawall. For this, I earned 5 pts for the event. Yea Me!
We then headed over to the office and met Patty for our 3 chapter review.
By this time it was around 12:00 and we broke for lunch.
Lunch today was chicken soup, island chicken, and the ever popular black beans and rice. I was able to finish up lunch pretty quickly and had time for a 10 min siesta. Boy did that feel good!
At 1:00pm we went over to meet Alejandra at the office to see what sadistic plans she had for us this afternoon. We started our skill development. For you non-divers, this is 20 skills you must master to become a certified diver. For the Dive Master program, you must master these skills to demonstration quality. The process is exact and demanding. We started by doing the skill and realizing that we were a little rusty on demonstrating skills. After a few times through the skills, we were getting by. A few more sessions, and we will have them down pat.
We got out of the water some time around 5:00, and called it a day. We headed back over to the room to get a dry shirt and headed over to see the bartender for an ice cold cerveza! You see, the first one was on my classmate, Greg. It is the requirement for those who are caught with their mask on their forehead to buy a round. He was a good sport and bought Two!
Dinner was served at 6:30 and we had steak and shrimp for dinner, followed by a delicious double chocolate cake.
Greg and I laid around for a while in a couple of the many hammocks. We discussed the busy day and wondered about what awaits us tomorrow!
It's now about 9:00 and I'm beat! Heading off to bed.
For those following this, I'll get some pictures of the place up tomorrow. I promise.
Buenas Noches.
Day 2 of my odyssey to become a PADI Dive Master.
Today started for me at 5:00AM when I crawled from my bed to the shower..... I headed over to the clubhouse for a dose of some awesome Honduran coffee. For those of you who have never had this coffee, it is one strong brew. After my 3rd cup I went over to the docks to see what was going on. I found Marco, one of the Cocoview Divemasters, getting the boats ready for the guests' morning boat dive. I asked if he would like some help. He put me to work right away. We loaded tanks, BC's, and regs aboard the red boat. After we finished I cleaned rinse tanks behind the locker rooms.
Around 7:30, I headed over for a breakfast of an omelette, ham, fried taters, and a grande glass of fresh OJ. Great I thought, this should give me an energy boost after the loading.
I headed over to Dockside Dive center to greet Patty, instead I find Alejandra telling me that Patty will be late, that there was "A change of Plans". She informed us the we were going to start on some of the required swimming skills, starting with the 400m free swim! Now this might not sound too bad, but the swims are all timed. Points are awarded by time.and this is how it goes:
UNDER 6:30 5pts
6:30 to 8:40 4pts
8:40 to 11 min 3pts
11 min to 13 min 2pts
more than 13min 1 pt.
Stopped swimming 0pts.
Now I must say I'm a strong swimmer, but I'm also slow and steady. I managed an 11 min swim. Not too bad for a 47 YO guy. (the 20 YO did not beat me)! If you are saying that that would be easy....go try it, and let me know how it works out for you...
The next event was the 15 min tread water, with the last 2 min with your hands out of the water. For those of you that have been to the beach with me, you know that I float like a cork in salt water! I started my float while my heart was still jackhammering in my chest. I floated for 20 mins or so, then threw my hands up for another 3 min. After I heard Alejandra saying I was finished, I swam over to the seawall. For this, I earned 5 pts for the event. Yea Me!
We then headed over to the office and met Patty for our 3 chapter review.
By this time it was around 12:00 and we broke for lunch.
Lunch today was chicken soup, island chicken, and the ever popular black beans and rice. I was able to finish up lunch pretty quickly and had time for a 10 min siesta. Boy did that feel good!
At 1:00pm we went over to meet Alejandra at the office to see what sadistic plans she had for us this afternoon. We started our skill development. For you non-divers, this is 20 skills you must master to become a certified diver. For the Dive Master program, you must master these skills to demonstration quality. The process is exact and demanding. We started by doing the skill and realizing that we were a little rusty on demonstrating skills. After a few times through the skills, we were getting by. A few more sessions, and we will have them down pat.
We got out of the water some time around 5:00, and called it a day. We headed back over to the room to get a dry shirt and headed over to see the bartender for an ice cold cerveza! You see, the first one was on my classmate, Greg. It is the requirement for those who are caught with their mask on their forehead to buy a round. He was a good sport and bought Two!
Dinner was served at 6:30 and we had steak and shrimp for dinner, followed by a delicious double chocolate cake.
Greg and I laid around for a while in a couple of the many hammocks. We discussed the busy day and wondered about what awaits us tomorrow!
It's now about 9:00 and I'm beat! Heading off to bed.
For those following this, I'll get some pictures of the place up tomorrow. I promise.
Buenas Noches.
The journey begins...
I am at Cocoview Resort in Roatan Honduras for a month for Divemaster training. Here is my first report.
Sunday:
We started the course today. Our first task was to observe the orientation dive. My divemaster was Marco. We led the group out into the front yard after doing a weight check at the platform. After lunch, we spent 4 hours going over the first 3 chapters in the DM book. We were given homework to study the skills for presentation quality. Patty and Alejandra are great. This should be challenging and fun!
I'll try to update daily as to what we are doing. Please feel free to ask questions and post comments.
Sunday:
We started the course today. Our first task was to observe the orientation dive. My divemaster was Marco. We led the group out into the front yard after doing a weight check at the platform. After lunch, we spent 4 hours going over the first 3 chapters in the DM book. We were given homework to study the skills for presentation quality. Patty and Alejandra are great. This should be challenging and fun!
I'll try to update daily as to what we are doing. Please feel free to ask questions and post comments.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)