Lesson Two

I don't really like water.

It's one thing to be downing a glass, putting it inside me, but I'm not so keen when I'm inside it. Particularly when I'm three metres down and being asked to take out my regulator (the thing I breathe through) and throw it to one side.

There are bits of this training that I'm not looking forward to. Jumping in was one, mask clearing is another. Then there's removing and clearing the regulator underwater, swimming without a mask, air-sharing, jumping into cold water, diving in zero visibility and... Actually, there's quite a lot that I'm not looking forward to!

It was a pleasant surprise to discover that removing and clearing the regulator wasn't as difficult as I'd feared. We practised on the surface, where I managed to swallow a mouthful of tasty chlorinated pool water. But three metres down, on the floor of the diving pool, it felt remarkably easy.

I took out the regulator, threw it casually to one side, then swung my arm to find it again and back in my mouth. A firm blow to push out the water and there I was, breathing again. I quite enjoyed the practice and even made a point of pausing for a few seconds between tossing it aside and trying to get hold of it again. Hey - I'm a scuba diver!

Mask clearing wasn't so pleasant and I can't claim to have mastered it. Divers wear masks that grasp their faces like limpets and which keep the water out. But we have to learn how to clear a mask in the unlikely event that water gets in.

I put my face under water, let some of the stuff trickle into my mask, then put my head back and tried to clear it. My nose stung as I inhaled chlorine filled water. I splutter and coughed and gave up. A second attempt was equally unsuccessful.

In hindsight I think I know where I went wrong. Divers learn to breath through their mouth because that's where you put the regulator. The nose is covered by the mask and becomes useless for breathing. But during mask clearing you blow out through the nose to push water out and the natural next step is to breathe in - through the nose.

I think that's where I went wrong and I'll test it out next week. Apparently I'll also be learning how to remove and replace the mask, including clearing it, when underwater. That sounds like fun.

So next on the tick list of challenges to overcome is mask clearing and handling the pressure in my ears. But I'm sure my instructors have plenty more in store for me!