BigFatJim’s Weblog

and I am bricking it !

Today mapping project

Oh, and it’s raining again – not a good omen… 

So now that I’m a DMT, you can help out on actual courses with actual instructors. So last week me and some of the troops volunteered ourselves for a Rescue course. The rescuce course is the one before your divemaster where you learn to rescue people – as simple as that

As a DM on this course you get to be a panicked diver, go missing, pass out with DCI and generally act like an eedjit (right up my street)

Here’s me, the troops and the instructor at the end of the last day on our way back to the dock

From left to right : Yankee Ryan, Crowley (instructor), Chelsea, Danny, Me (in one of those uber cool kilt beach towel) and Lauren

 Oh, and it’s not all glorious sunshine as it rained almost non-stop for two days at sea.

Personal highlights for me were being ladder carried onto the boat about 40 times and having my testicles crushed, being dropped on my head on a beach. and whilst acting as a responsove panicked diver whilst Chelsea was playing unresponsive diver and just about to be carried onto the boat for CPR me screaming at the top of my voice “GET ME ON THAT BOAT ! DON’T SAVE HER – SHE’S CANADIAN !!!’

All good stuff

Finally, for shits and giggles, we got ‘Crowley’s Beatch’ stencilled on the back of the T-shirts

There’s another rescue course at the end of this month, might sign up for that as well if I think my testicles can stand the pace…

Dive Master in Training for you land lubbers…

Basically, I’ve finished week one of my Dive Master (DM) course and I spend the next month learning/gaining experience assisting with training courses, running dive boats, doing boat/dive briefings, looking after customers and being a general dogsbody

The first week was fairly tough, my dive skills (you get graded on 20 of them) are getting better and I passed the first two exams. Week two is five more exams and all the final assessments on your dive skills and timed swims (which I really need to work on)

Oh well, off to the pool now to practice my 400m freestyle in the 93 degree blazing sun.

It’s a hard life…

Aye right, so we all jumps in about 6:30 in the evening, all with our torches waying about like a bunch of eedjits. Then  the instructor (Belgian Frank) says we’re good to go and we all descends into the murky gloom…

Murky ??? All you can see is you and your buddies light beams and nothing else – it’s totally pitch black !

It was fucking awesome ! Mind how when you were a wee guy you’d run about with a torch in the dark pretending it was a light saber and making the noises from star wars ? Well this is even better !

Can you tell how excited I am ? Can you ?

(Oh and that isnae me in the photo cause nobody remembered to bring a fucking camera – eedjits…)

The last two days have been spent at sea doing rescues on, responsive/unresponsive diver at surface, responsive/unresponsive underwater, throwing lines/floatation devices, CPR, administering Oxygen, carrying fat bastards up the ladder onto the boat, carrying same fat bastards up a beach, etc

I’m knackered !

Next stop – Dive Master (DM)

Off to celebrate new year now, my first one aff the bevvy

How to you celebrate new year without getting tanked up ?

a balmy 32 degrees in the shade…

How’s the weather back home by the way ?

Below is the PADI education flowchart

I’m currently at Open Water level, which I initially did 6 years ago in the Red Sea. I finished my refresher course today (finally back in the sea - I had forgotten how good it was) and I start my advanced open water course tomorrow.

I’m here for 9 months with the intention of getting to IDC staff instructor – basically I can not only teach people to dive but I can also teach instrustors.

Will I be able to handle the pressure ? Will I be able to pass all the exams ? Will I be able to swim 400m in  under 12 minutes ? Will I just drop all the scuba diving pretence and just get on with being a lady boy ?

Time will tell…