By Nic Faulks
6th May 2018
We knew it would be a hot day, wearing shorts and t-shirts at 7.30am as we set off in the car. By the time we got to Capers at 9.30am the carpark was looking pretty full. I was surprised, I thought most people would be out in the sea, not in a quarry. But maybe they were there, like us to train divers.
Unfortunately, due to a cold, Filipa couldn’t make it, but Hanna came with her father, building up towards a sea dive on the Monday, to qualify as an Ocean Diver. Adam also came with Sue, to continue his Sports Diver training.
Si, Nic (me), Hanna and Piotr all kitted up, checked and briefed for OT3. We jumped in and down we went. The water was a bit fuzzy as there were a lot of people in the water, but on the whole visibility was still 5 or so metres. Hanna took to the water, as the dive progressed she visibly relaxed, stopped waving her arms around and looked like she was enjoying herself. All of the skills went well too, including a wall dive and her first trip to 16 metres!
The second dive was with Si, me, Sue and Adam. Si was running a line laying practical with Adam for his Sports Diver. Sue and I were watching and learning. A dry practical was run, then we went down in to the water, and Si and Adam repeated the line laying around the wheels of the aeroplane. A necessary action as the visibility down there had dropped to zero in places! In the end it was a successful lesson, with all returning safely to the surface.
After a quick coffee break, Si, Hanna, Piotr and I returned to the water to complete OT4 with Hanna. After some lifts and other skills, we went for a dive. I took some footage of the diving, which will go on to Face Book. Again, it was noticeable how Hanna’s diving got better each time. Air in the dry suit for buoyancy, not hitting the bottom to stop, all good. She even stopped and posed for photos above the smiling horse! The dive ended with me being lifted to the surface (CBL) by Hanna and towed in to the shallow water. She then successfully dropped my weight belt. After a good debrief, and an agreement that the qualifying dive would be the following day on the Farne Islands, we drove back home, for beer and kit washing in the sun shine.
