Diving Certification

One of the most frequent questions I was asked when I told people I was moving to Palau was if I was a scuba diver. Although I have snorkeled many times, I had never gotten certified to dive. Palau is considered by many to be the best diving in the world and I couldn't live here an entire year and not go diving. Christy, LB, and her son Ryan felt the same way and we all decided to get certified together. A week ago, we made arrangements with one of the local dive shops, Sam's Tours, and picked up the PADI book and materials. I felt like I was in school again with a textbook and homework to do in the evenings. Going into this I was completely unfamiliar with how the equipment works and how to breathe underwater. After reading book it became much clearer and I got a good idea of what lay ahead, but it was still a step into the unknown.

Friday after work we headed over to Sam's to begin the classroom portion of certification. Our instructor is Joedyn, a jovial man from the Philippines who has been in Palau teaching diving for awhile. The classroom portion consisted of a PADI video covering the same information in the books. After watching a section we discussed with Joedyn the most important concepts and then any Palau specific information. While at times it was a little repetitive and when the video tried to be funny it failed miserably, the information was important and useful.

Saturday morning we began bright and early with another classroom session. After that, we got introduced to the gear. It consists of a mask, snorkel, fins, wetsuit, air tank, BCD, and breathing regulator. The BCD is basically a jacket that can inflate with air and has a strap on the back to carry the tank. We familiarized ourself with the gear and then loaded it onto the boat. If I had gotten certified in the states I would have done the initial dives in a pool, but here in Palau there are no pools for such usage. We headed out to Pincher's Cove, which is very protected so the water is calm and the portion we dove was only ten feet deep with a sandy bottom. After strapping on all the gear it was time to take the first plunge. I was rather nervous and a little frightened of getting in that first time, but I calmed my nerves as best I could and went off the side of the boat. That first Darth Vader breath is a rush of air and reassuring before I resurfaced. With everyone in the water, we began our descent. The difficulty in descending is equalizing the pressure in the ears, but we all did the proper equalization technique. Breathing underwater is just not natural and the adjustment process took some effort to consciously breathe in and out. To do it properly, there is a rhythm of slow and steady inhales and exhales. It being my first time and a bit nervous, it caused me to breathe more often than I should, but I was able to successfully breathe underwater. We settled to the bottom and began skill drills. They included removing the regulator from the mouth and replacing it, and filling our masks with water and clearing it. The skills were a little nerve wracking, but I accomplished each one successfully. After the first batch of skills we did some swimming and headed outside the cove along a reef. That was much more enjoyable and we got to see some interesting coral and a small octopus. My frequent breathing caused me to expend my air quicker than everyone else, so when I got low we turned back to the boat. After an hour lunch break on the boat, we returned to the bottom for more skill drills. They included removing the mask for a minute and replacing it and removing the scuba gear. Again, I was a bit nervous doing the skills but I just kept breathing and completed all the tasks. Afterwards, we headed out again for a fun dive. We made it further this time, but Ryan and I were running low on air so we had to turn back with the assistant instructor. As it turned out, our heavy breathing was a stroke of luck because as we swam back we saw a large sea turtle. It was swimming lazily along followed by some fish and looked like Finding Nemo come to life. That made all the skills worthwhile. We returned to the boat, ditched the gear and then had some fun swimming around Pincher's Cove. It was a gorgeous sunny day and I am certain there is no better place in the world to get certified to dive.

On Sunday, we started the morning back in the classroom for more videos. Tuesday is UN day, a national holiday in Palau, so instead of finishing certification on Sunday we opted to finish Tuesday so we could go on an extra dive on Tuesday. For Sunday we decided to do one dive out on the wreck of a Japanese sea plane. After loading up the boat we headed off around Pincher's to within sight of where I live. Joedyn found the small rope tie for the boat and then we got the gear on. Although we were still in the inner lagoon, this was a real open water dive and again I was nervous but once I hit the water and successfully descended I relaxed and began enjoying myself. The plane is at 40 feet deep, which is a good depth for novice divers. I recognized the plane from Survivor. It is a two-seat sea plane and the wings, body, and pontoons are still largely intact. The tail is off by itself a short distance away. I've snorkeled over wrecks before, but scuba diving a wreck is a completely different experience. I was able to get right next to the plane, look in the cockpit, go under the wings, see the fish living underneath it, and see the propeller up close. A very cool experience. We needed to work on compass navigation skills, so we headed out across the reef. I was able to get the hang out if after a little while. We also descended to 60 feet to get use to depth. My rate of breathing improved and I am starting to get into a proper rhythm. My air lasted longer this time out and I didn't have to worry about it. I am still working on buoyancy and having full control of moving up and down. Ryan was having more difficulty, he would be going along normally and then start ascending rapidly. Buoyancy is tricky and Joedyn said control only comes with experience. Everyone had a good dive and we had no problems. We did our last skill on the way up, a controlled emergency ascent. It was a great dive and much more fun than the first day. After returning to Sam's, we finished the academic portion and we all passed with flying colors. All that is left to do is the fun dives on Tuesday and I'll officially be certified. Joedyn wants to take us out to dive amongst the sharks, so that should be interesting.

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