PADI Rescue Diver Course - Day 2

It is taking everything I've got to write this entry. This evening I returned from day two of the PADI Rescue Diver Course I've been doing with Abyss Scuba Diving, and sat down on the couch for a few minutes, doing nothing. I think I was trying to work out what to eat, but with Dana on the lam and my brain and body barely functioning, I lost myself into space. I managed to stand and order a pizza. A large one with lots of meat, and I am going to eat the entire thing.

Peter Letts, the instructor, told us that yesterday would be worse than today. He lied! Well, it just didn't work out that way anyway. We planned to dive Oak Park, a normally placid spot of sea. We got there and it was most unplacid. I would say the placidity was well into the negative. So we moved to The Monument dive in Kurnell, right by the first place that Captain Cook landed on Australian soil. This spot was calmer, but there was a current on the surface. This is what killed us. A lot of the skills were on the surface, so we had to constantly battle the current while doing things such as removing the gear of the "victim" and ourselves, delivering rescue breaths to him and towing him to shore. We were in the water a little after 10 and out for lunch at about 2.

The rescue course is supposed to be a challenge so I am very pleased with the day. We also learned how to safely bring an unconscious diver to surface and get him back onto land to provide CPR. The current was accompanied by surge near the shore and, as I write this, I can feel myself moving back and forth.

Simulated rescues just before lunch put me over the edge. Since we had an odd number of people, I was the lucky bugger who had to do it twice. I made mistakes both times: not removing my BC the first time and towing the victim to shore so quickly that the other rescuer, who was delivering rescue breaths, couldn't keep up. Hey, I'm trying to save this guy! It was also fun to loose my mask and snorkel for real and have to find it. I did find it.

Getting out of the water after this session I was destroyed. It was a long walk back to the lunch site, but I made it. I was suffering from heat exhaustion at this point, but a few cold showers and several litres of water set me straight. I hardly ate any lunch... where the hell is that pizza! Yes, wearing a full-body diving wet suit in Sydney during summer can be a challenge.

After lunch we were set to a rescue scenario. Well, not after but during. Another divemaster was supposedly lost while diving with Pete, and we had to react. So nine lethargic divers played along. Brett and I were at the car when it started so we acted as snorkelers (diving at the surface with no gear). As a team our response was pretty weak, and the guy would have died. This is largely because we had an Annoyance. This person who did the course was one of those unbelievably irritating know-it-alls. You know the kind: the kind who know very little. The kind that finished the instructor's sentence, only to be told she's wrong. The kind who argues with the instructor when she's obviously wrong. Oops, I realised I've been using "she". Yes, this was a female. During the theory part, she dramatically closed the book and sighed when she was done first (she got plenty wrong). You know the kind. Anyway, it was a mess. We ran a second attempt and I decided to take - pizza's here.

Sorry, the pizza came. Mediocre but the best I could do given my situation. Living in the middle of the city has its advantages, such as proximity to everything that surrounds the city and yearns to be near the city, but there are drawbacks. There are not many places that do take-away (take-out) and no place delivers. So my large pizza came from Dominos. I ate the entire thing and do not feel uncomfortable at all. On Friday Brett and I split a large Dominos and were full. You Americans reading: Dominos pizzas here are a lot different. They are like the "gourmet" pizzas you get in Sydney. They're high and thick and not too large around. But I still fold each slice in half New York-style.

OK, where was I... let me go back and re-read this rambling post that adequately presents how out of my mind I am right now... ah, yes, so during the second scenario I decided to take charge. We did pretty well, even though the supposedly drowning diver was supposedly in the car park, and the rough surf caused both Brett and I to have our tanks knocked out and our fins lost (Brett found his). Peter was happy with the rescue operation as a whole though, so I'm happy.

So now I am a PADI certified rescue diver. I am tired and sore. I feel like I just ran a half marathon. I and sunburned and feel as though I am in constant motion. I am thrilled I finished the course and feel a hell of a lot more comfortable in the water now. It's funny: while doing the course a lot of saltwater got into my eyes, and my vision, cloudy and foggy, was a lot like how movies portray memories, except it was in real time. Occasionally I wondered if I was just remembering the course. Now my brain has it easy because when I remember the course it doesn't have to make it all cloudy and foggy. Your welcome, brain.