Learning to scuba dive

At the beginning of 2017, I committed to obtaining my Open Water scuba certification by the end of the year.

When July rolled around, my schedule opened up a bit. I hit the web in search of a local PADI dive shop with good reviews.

The team at Blue Planet Scuba topped the list. With a quick phone call, I booked the required “confined water” (pool) lessons and paid for the eLearning component.

Fast-forward a couple of weeks into August, and I was ready to get fitted for my wetsuit and BCD.

The Blue Planet dive shop was located in the heart of the District – just northeast of Dupont Circle. After trying on wetsuits, I purchased a basic gear package – mask, snorkel, fins – and took a final written assessment.

Around 8:30 AM the next Saturday, I arrived at the Gallaudet University pool. The instruction lasted until 4:30-5:00 PM and continued with the same schedule on Sunday. It was a blast. The Blue Planet staff were professional and left me feeling confident in my training.

Next up were my Open Water checkout dives. I decided to knock these out as soon as possible to reinforce my new skills.

To save some money and finish both my Open Water and Advanced certifications on the same trip, I scheduled my checkout dives for Labor Day weekend at Dutch Springs. The Pennsylvania spring water was as cold as you might expect in September. During my early morning deep dive, we passed through a few spots that were 54 degrees. Even wearing a 7mm wetsuit with gloves and a hood, I was pretty chilled.

Perhaps the most challenging portion of my Advanced course was the navigation “adventure” dive. The visibility during my nav dive was about six feet. As my buddy and I left the submerged platform at 40 feet, we took turns using a compass. The buddy without the compass kept watch on the depth and signaled if we needed to ascend or descend a few feet.

Ten kick cycles away from the platform, we made a 90-degree turn, followed by another ten kick cycles. Then we made a second 90-degree turn.

To our relief, the submerged platform reappeared ahead of us on both attempts.

With Open Water and Advanced certifications in hand, I established a pair of new goals – dive in the Galápagos and the Red Sea. I had read that these were among the best locations to dive in the world.

A month after my Labor Day weekend training, I exchanged credit card points for a December flight to the Galápagos. Joining me on the trip will be a friend from film school who photographed glacial ice caves with me last year.