Open Water Weekend 9th and 10th July 2022
The weekend of the 9th and 10th of July was to be a big one in open water for the team – three Open Water students, two Advanced and two Dry Suit Specialities to sign off. Combined with this we elected to involve all three of our DiveMaster Trainees with the aim of signing off at least 4 assessments over the weekend for each candidate!
The planning had been a couple of weeks in the making and culminated in the purchase of a white board, to detail who needed to be where and on which dive! Three days before open water whilst watching the weather, I realised our plans could be complicated by what would turn out to be the beginning of the heatwave and the hottest weekend of the year so far! Neoprene, thermals and 30-degree temperatures – not a marriage made in heaven!
We set off at 7am on the Saturday and by the time we joined the queue at Stoney it was warm already! Stoney looked glorious in the sun however and we set about site briefings and kit distribution. All our students got stuck into the task and we briefed up how the weekend would look with 6 dives in total, before breaking into individual groups before dive 1. The plan for day 1 went like a dream – the Open Waters successfully completed Dives 1 and 2 with no issues and likewise the first two dives on the Advanced went without a hitch. Dive 3 completed with our Drysuit students, by the end of day 1 we already had our two Dry Suit certifications from Ilja and Spencer – great job guys. However, no rest for the team – we headed back to the unit and refilled all the tanks! By 8.15pm I was home with a well-earned G & T keying the certifications and thinking about the following day to come.
We were back on the road by 7am on Sunday and the forecast was right – Sunday was definitely hotter! However, by the time we got into Stoney both the team and the students were into the groove – kitting up was soon knocked off and the van proved a useful bit of shade from the heat while we briefed for the dives. Completing the Deep and Wreck Dives with the Advanced guys provided us with a nice cool respite from the heat – in fact it was pretty cold still at 20 metres. But the shelf was a toasty 15 degrees and both students and team decided to abandon hood and gloves and make the most of it. There were plenty of pike hanging out under the bus stop after the little fry and we all had some great dives with a respectable 4 to 8 metres visibility. The Open Waters had no issues and soon knocked off dives 3 and 4 to exit the water qualified divers, soon followed by the Advanced guys after their final Search and Recovery Dive1 On top of that our DMT's had all completed their 4 assessments! Kit tidied and back in the van, we headed to the pub for a well-earned drink while we completed certificate presentations! A great end to a fantastic weekend! Well done everyone!
Weekend Hall of Fame
The planning had been a couple of weeks in the making and culminated in the purchase of a white board, to detail who needed to be where and on which dive! Three days before open water whilst watching the weather, I realised our plans could be complicated by what would turn out to be the beginning of the heatwave and the hottest weekend of the year so far! Neoprene, thermals and 30-degree temperatures – not a marriage made in heaven!
We set off at 7am on the Saturday and by the time we joined the queue at Stoney it was warm already! Stoney looked glorious in the sun however and we set about site briefings and kit distribution. All our students got stuck into the task and we briefed up how the weekend would look with 6 dives in total, before breaking into individual groups before dive 1. The plan for day 1 went like a dream – the Open Waters successfully completed Dives 1 and 2 with no issues and likewise the first two dives on the Advanced went without a hitch. Dive 3 completed with our Drysuit students, by the end of day 1 we already had our two Dry Suit certifications from Ilja and Spencer – great job guys. However, no rest for the team – we headed back to the unit and refilled all the tanks! By 8.15pm I was home with a well-earned G & T keying the certifications and thinking about the following day to come.
We were back on the road by 7am on Sunday and the forecast was right – Sunday was definitely hotter! However, by the time we got into Stoney both the team and the students were into the groove – kitting up was soon knocked off and the van proved a useful bit of shade from the heat while we briefed for the dives. Completing the Deep and Wreck Dives with the Advanced guys provided us with a nice cool respite from the heat – in fact it was pretty cold still at 20 metres. But the shelf was a toasty 15 degrees and both students and team decided to abandon hood and gloves and make the most of it. There were plenty of pike hanging out under the bus stop after the little fry and we all had some great dives with a respectable 4 to 8 metres visibility. The Open Waters had no issues and soon knocked off dives 3 and 4 to exit the water qualified divers, soon followed by the Advanced guys after their final Search and Recovery Dive1 On top of that our DMT's had all completed their 4 assessments! Kit tidied and back in the van, we headed to the pub for a well-earned drink while we completed certificate presentations! A great end to a fantastic weekend! Well done everyone!
Weekend Hall of Fame
- Open Water - Paige Kilsby
- Open Water - George Knapp
- Open Water - Jevgennijus Deveikis
- Advanced Open Water - Ilja Gnennijs
- Advance Open Water - Barney Mullan
- Dry Suit Speciality - Spencer Whiting
- Dry Suit Speciality - Ilja Gnennijs
