Learning to dive - Written by Sam Wright
Ever since I can remember I’ve fancied learning to Dive and so my very kind hubbie paid for me to do my Open Water PADI course a month before we went on holiday in Zakynthos.
I did the whole course through Aquanaut Scuba and Snorkelling Centre in Kingston upon Thames. They were absolutely brilliant as I phoned up and enquired quite literally the day before the course started, picked up the pack and spent Friday night studying madly to get a grip on the literature before going to their shop on Saturday morning to do the classroom sessions. Fortunately, given the tight timelines, Aquanaut include full scuba diving equipment hire in the cost of the course so I didn't need to have any of my own yet. The instructor was Laura Parker - she’s a genius and I honestly credit my pass entirely due to Laura’s help and support during the 2 following weekends.
I found the confined water dives quite strenuous with all tasks that had to be completed and on occasion found myself panicking slightly at the claustrophobic feel of the whole experience. However this went completely the minute we were allowed to swim around the swimming pool and I realised how completely wonderful it was going to be when we hit open water.
The Open Water section was done at Wraysbury Lake in Middlesex on a weekend in Mid May, not the warmest time of the year to be plunging into British Waters even if they are inland! My first attempt at diving was awful. The moment I got more than a couple of feet under I would start to hyperventilate and just felt as if I couldn’t breathe. After three attempts I gave up and swam to shore. It was only whilst on land and trying to breathe again that we realised the problem was not me but actually the regulator!
You cannot believe the relief I felt; I was sure that I’d wasted all that money on the course and wasn’t going to complete it because I was too claustrophobic (a problem which I do suffer from but not badly). The regulator was set to minimum because it was new and we all assumed that the air intake would be sufficient. Once this was adjusted I was able to dive with no problems at all and in fact thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the course despite getting absolutely frozen!
Having got my certificate I set about doing some research on the internet to find some Dive Shops in Zakynthos, and get some information on the local waters. There were a number of possibilities but I finally settled on Euro Divers in Laganas because their website looked incredibly professional and also because their responses to my enquiries were quick, very helpful and extremely friendly.
Maybe I'd get a chance to see some of the famed Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) turtles that breed along the Zakynthian coastline... Off to Zakynthos we go!
(To be continued...)
I did the whole course through Aquanaut Scuba and Snorkelling Centre in Kingston upon Thames. They were absolutely brilliant as I phoned up and enquired quite literally the day before the course started, picked up the pack and spent Friday night studying madly to get a grip on the literature before going to their shop on Saturday morning to do the classroom sessions. Fortunately, given the tight timelines, Aquanaut include full scuba diving equipment hire in the cost of the course so I didn't need to have any of my own yet. The instructor was Laura Parker - she’s a genius and I honestly credit my pass entirely due to Laura’s help and support during the 2 following weekends. I found the confined water dives quite strenuous with all tasks that had to be completed and on occasion found myself panicking slightly at the claustrophobic feel of the whole experience. However this went completely the minute we were allowed to swim around the swimming pool and I realised how completely wonderful it was going to be when we hit open water.
The Open Water section was done at Wraysbury Lake in Middlesex on a weekend in Mid May, not the warmest time of the year to be plunging into British Waters even if they are inland! My first attempt at diving was awful. The moment I got more than a couple of feet under I would start to hyperventilate and just felt as if I couldn’t breathe. After three attempts I gave up and swam to shore. It was only whilst on land and trying to breathe again that we realised the problem was not me but actually the regulator!
You cannot believe the relief I felt; I was sure that I’d wasted all that money on the course and wasn’t going to complete it because I was too claustrophobic (a problem which I do suffer from but not badly). The regulator was set to minimum because it was new and we all assumed that the air intake would be sufficient. Once this was adjusted I was able to dive with no problems at all and in fact thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the course despite getting absolutely frozen!
Having got my certificate I set about doing some research on the internet to find some Dive Shops in Zakynthos, and get some information on the local waters. There were a number of possibilities but I finally settled on Euro Divers in Laganas because their website looked incredibly professional and also because their responses to my enquiries were quick, very helpful and extremely friendly.Maybe I'd get a chance to see some of the famed Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) turtles that breed along the Zakynthian coastline... Off to Zakynthos we go!
(To be continued...)
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