I went early to the pool today for discovery scuba thinking of trying to catch a swim before ISD starts. So I was there at 8.30 and only managed to swim 2 laps before i had to start getting ready (collect tanks etc)
Surprisingly, Dawn, the pool staff that is usually late, came early today as well, so i was able to get the tanks really early. However, we later found out that the tanks weren't full like they were supposed to be, but only half full. so in the end the pool side decided to charge us lower price.
So back to the story. I was there early, customers started coming in, but the crew are all still not here yet! Even the guy sending the gear is not here yet.
But fortunately, yours truly was able to take charge of the situation and started getting into the theory session first. So i was there teaching until they came. It was my first time taking a group solo! hahah.. then the crew helped to get ready the gears and stuff when they arrived soon after i started.
I took both theory and the pool, and there was even a kid in the group! Kids require special attention! hahah.. Luckily i helped Leo with kids before and they sort of taught me how to handle them..
And the more i teach, the more i am able to focus my teaching on areas where people usually make mistakes and avoid my group making them. and this group was really great! Charlene was there to help out which made things much easier too!
That's me and my group! =)
This is Juliana from the 3rd session today. She has my vote for the chio-est diver of the day! hahah.. =p I think the third session was the most happening session, cuz it was the last one for the day and we didn't have to rush to complete it. So we had lots of time to fool around, cam whore etc etc.. lol
Today i also experienced my first mini 'rescue' scenario. One of the divers was having difficulties coping with the session (complaining of water in noes, hard to suck from regulator, fins not fitting, etc). It's quite rare and most people are able to dive without experiencing any problems. Anyway, she did not give up, but kept pushing herself to try, so I did by best to encourage and help her by giving her more attention. Ultimately, she was able to complete a half lap swim underwater! kudos to her!
on her way back, she panicked a bit, so started to spit out her regulator and wanted to swim to the surface. if you have dived before you know it's hard to stay on the surface with your buoyancy adjusted to neutrally buoyant at depth; although all you had to do was to add air to your bc by a simple button press to float. I was near, so i instantly when to grab her first stage with my right hand and tried reached for her inflation tube with my left hand. She saw my left hand reaching over her shoulder and the first thing she did was to grab my hand, preventing me from inflating her bc! This is something that's certainly not covered during my rescue course! i'm not sure the order in which things happened next, but lots of things happened. In a split second, i was contemplating my options, let go, let her sink, then try to 'attack' her power inflation tube underwater, or to keep her on the surface, then try to reach for her power inflation tube again, or inflate my own bc with my right hand, but that meant having to let go my grid on her.
In the end i did none of those. I push us both nearer to the edge of the pool, propped her up above me, and started finning. this kept both of us above the surface and near to the pool's edge. When she calm down enough to let go of my hand, i went to reach for her power inflation tube and did a tired diver tow back. Looking back, i have to complement her for being calm enough not to go into a full scale panic! =) I really glad to have a real life chance to practise my rescue skills too! hahah..
Overall, today was a really fulfilling day! Fun and great divers, cam whoring, and mini rescue. =)
