More SCUBA

We started our lessons in a pool, and that was a good thing! We had studied plenty prior to getting in the pool, but it was a lot of work, just to get the basics down. Remembering to continually equalize our ears (like on an airplane), was just the beginning. We had read all about how to keep neutrally buoyant, but actually getting it down was tough. We all worked hard, and after what seemed like an entire day in the pool (really, it was a couple of hours), I think I was starting to get the feel of it. If I had been in the ocean, though, I am sure I would have killed a lot of coral trying to keep my fins off the floor!



Janele has a handle on this buoyancy thing!

Thia's interpretation of hanging, neutrally buoyant.



An exciting first day, and a lot of fun!



After a few days in the pool, and a lot of studying and test taking, we got to head out into Ginnie Springs. All through northern central Florida there are freshwater springs and series' of caves. The water is clear, and there is a lot of marine life to be seen. We didn't get to see any manatee, but there were a lot of fish, turtles and plant life.


Oh yeah, it's heavy out of the water!

In 15' of water, going to see a sunken steamboat from the Civil War.

Some underwater fun!

Yay! We made our first successful open water dive.

More, please!

Then we dove at Troy Springs, for our final open water dives. We were feeling more comfortable in the gear, and it was loads of fun. Throughout this process, I have continually been impressed at how the girls both worked toward accomplishing this goal. We studied as a family, and each time we dove, we had a buddy. So I got to see their determination, and when things weren't quite right, they knew to work things out. We all had to run through all kinds of potential danger scenarios, so we would know what to do, and how to think through the solution. It can be scary, thinking of all the things that can go wrong while under water, but if you keep your head, you know what to do, and they showed that time and time again. I am very proud of our girls, and their accomplishments in this, and I look forward to seeing what we can find on future dives, in varying waters.



First, we had to get the gear down to the water.

Ready for Troy Springs



Janele and Thia with our instructor, Howard, or H and R SCUBA.



 With Troy, we completed our training, and are fully certified Open Water and Junior Open Water divers! Woo! Since then, we all went to Manatee Springs, where we didn't see any manatee, but found very cool shells, and we went in a sink there called Catfish Hotel. There is duckweed at the surface, so when you go under, it is weirdly eerie. There a whole bunch of catfish under there, and it was fun to watch them, and the turtles swimming by. We went down, and Janele and I found where other divers had used rocks to write their names at different depths on the walls of the sink. Fowler and Janele also went on a F.U.N. dive with a group of other divers. All in all, we have had a good time with this, and plan to continue. In fact, on January 25, we are going to EPCOT's Divequest, to dive in their coral reef aquarium. I can't wait to see all the creatures. We will be part of the exhibit.

Until then, and after, we are going to continue our diving in and around the south Florida area, where we are staying for a while. Look out Nemo, we may just find you!