43. Post - Diving Camp

From May 7th to 16th I took part in a kind of diving camp with the university, during which you can achieve up to three new qualifications. In total there are 11 dives in 9 days - so a full program! (Warning, long post haha)

Day 1 - 07.05.2024

Today we started at 8am, which meant getting up at 5.45am. We then took the bus to Le Port and prepared our diving equipment. We are a small and very exclusive group, the whole camp consists of 4 participants and two diving instructors, which is really good and pleasant.

Today we had two dives, one in the morning and one in the evening. They were part of the PA20 training, i.e. autonomous diving to a depth of up to 20 metres. We were also given new equipment for this: a dive computer, a writing board, scissors, a parachute and tables regarding the mandatory stops when surfacing.

The first dive didn't go so well haha, unfortunately the very first task gave me a complete panic attack. We had to take off the mask underwater and take the regulator (the thing you breathe through) out of your mouth, then exhale for a few seconds and put the mask on and blow it out. Because I hadn't dived for so long, I had lost all my practice in blowing out the mask and my diving instructor had to bring me to the surface because I couldn't breathe at all because I was so panicked.

But then we practiced it a few more times and now it's working reasonably well again!

Otherwise, we had to keep our bearings and find our way back to the boat for the first time, because we are now being trained to be autonomous divers ;)

At around 1pm we had lunch and learned some theory before heading back to the boat at 3pm. The second dive went much better. We only had to take off our diving vests at 20m and put them back on, and then we learned how to bring someone safely to the surface who is no longer able to do so themselves. Finally, we did another extensive orientation exercise.

It was really great fun, but unfortunately my ears hurt a lot now because we climbed up and down quite a lot and I am absolutely KO

So tomorrow we'll try again :D

Day 2 - 08.05.2024

Today Michel (our diving instructor) gave us a ride in his car, which was very pleasant :D The alarm clock still rang at 5:45, so sleeping in was not an option.

When we arrived at the Base Nautique we went straight to the boat. But first we ate this delicious croissant that Michel had brought us (thanks Michel

On this dive we had to show that we could manage 250m with snorkel and fins without getting out of breath and bring someone to the surface again.

Both of these worked really well, the only problem was that I had a lot of problems with my ears from constantly getting on and off the first day and it hurt a lot. So I equalized the pressure every 5 seconds and hoped that it wouldn't get any worse :D

At the end of the dive we had 30 minutes to look at the fish and find our way back to the boat - the former was easier than the latter haha. We saw turtles, one of them was so close I could have touched it, that was a pretty magical moment. And we passed a huge school of fish that was also very close to us :)

After this dive, there was no second one today, but a theory lesson on Nitrox. When diving with Nitrox, you dive with a gas mixture that contains more oxygen than normal air. This makes diving accidents less likely and you can stay in the water longer. However, you cannot dive too deep, because oxygen becomes toxic at too high a pressure. We were explained exactly how it all works and what you have to pay attention to over about 2 hours while eating, and then we were able to prepare our Nitrox bottles for tomorrow.

There are two more dives tomorrow - I wish myself a lot of strength.

Day 3 - 09.05.2024

Today we were taken along again by Michel :)

There were two dives, the first was for the PA20 level. We went out to sea and first had to "throw away" our regulator, then find it again and put it back in our mouths. After that we had to disconnect our diving vest from our tank, inflate it with our mouths and then put it back together. After that we learned how to bring someone to the boat on the surface who can no longer manage it on their own.

Underwater we then repeated the exercise with the regulator and learned how to intervene if someone has a cramp underwater (this may have been added to the program because I had one yesterday :D)

After that we had to get someone back to the surface of the water. Unfortunately, I was much less successful today than yesterday. I don't know exactly why, but it's not that bad. I'm sure it will work better tomorrow!

At around 12 we had lunch and took our Nitrox theory test: passed!!

And since we were trained Nitrox divers, we went straight to a depth of 30m with a Nitrox bottle in the afternoon.

To be honest, I found it quite scary and was very afraid that I might accidentally go below 30m, which is very dangerous. So I just kept staring at my dive computer and didn't notice much of my surroundings. Maybe next time :D But it's actually really cool to be so deep down, and today the visibility was just unbelievably good, we were really lucky.

In the evening I practiced again in the pool and under the shower, separating my nasal and oral breathing so that I could blow out my mask. I hope it helped, we'll see tomorrow - I think I'll dare to try it at a depth of 20m then.

Day 4 - 10.05.2024

Today there was only one dive, a normal air dive at 20m for the PA20. It was really relaxed, we practiced bringing someone to the surface again, that went semi-well. After that we did the orientation exercise again and saw two turtles and two octopuses, really nice :) We then dived into a grotto with Michel, even though that's actually forbidden - but it was really, really nice!!

At the end I took my mask off again at 10m and removed my regulator and it didn't really bother me. So yesterday's training seems to be paying off :D I'll practice it again this evening.

We then spent the afternoon on theory and it was sometimes a little complicated. You have to know all the physical laws, the calculations, the anatomy and the diving equipment, that's quite a lot and sometimes complex...

But Brandon brought us cookies, which made the whole thing more bearable :D

Tonight, however, I will definitely study again, because tomorrow there are two theory tests for PA20 and Open Water, with a total of over 80 questions!

Apart from that, we still had to plan our Nitrox dive for tomorrow and to be honest, that really stressed me out. Our diving instructor didn't check it again and if you make a mistake, it can end really badly. Because at tomorrow's depth (35m) you can't just surface.

If you miscalculate the duration and your air, then unfortunately there is nothing you can do. Nothing will happen tomorrow, as we are diving "encadré", i.e. with an instructor and not autonomously, but it is still scary... So I hope I haven't made a calculation error and can remember all my basic data :D

Day 5 - 11.05.2024

I don't have much to tell you today, this time it started at 6 a.m., which meant getting up at 4:30 a.m.

We did the PE40 dive with Nitrox and were down to 35m (oops, was even a bit further down).

The parameters of the smoke plan were that we would start the ascent either after 20 minutes, at 100 bar or after 10 minutes of ascent time. We stuck to that and had a really nice dive lasting a total of 53 minutes. I was much less stressed than last time and therefore also consumed less air. That was a good thing, because Brandon, my binomial, always has an eooooorable air consumption, which is why on this dive he first got air from Michel (diving instructor), then from me and at the very end from a third diver :D

So I got out of the water with 20 bar, which is actually too little. But it doesn't matter, it wasn't my fault haha

In the afternoon we ate and did the theory test for Open Water. As of today I am an officially certified Open Water diver and have a Nitrox qualification up to 40% oxygen. Yaaay :)

Now I have a two-day break (which I desperately need) and then I'll continue on Tuesday.

Day 6 - 14.05.2024

At 7:30 Michel picked us up again, today for my penultimate dive of the camp :(

When we arrived at the Base nautique des Mascareignes we prepared ourselves and then planned our dive - however, we thought we would go to 40m and then had to change everything to 35m :D

We then went out in the boat with other divers, but only six of us dived at first, to 35 metres, as I said. Down there we were asked to do a math problem that involved a number that was given to us shortly before diving. This was a test to see if we had already suffered from nitrogen narcosis. As we were diving deep and with air this time, it is quite possible to get nitrogen poisoning. You then feel like you are drunk and have problems with math problems and your short-term memory. I didn't feel any of that today, but Laura, for example, did. The dangerous thing is that you really don't notice it yourself in the moment; you have to rely on your diving partner to recognise the signals.

Unfortunately, the visibility was really bad today, so we didn't see much. After 35 minutes, we surfaced again and went back to the boat. Everyone else was waiting for us there, because no one else was allowed to dive that deep. So we took the boat to another, shallower spot, where the others did their dive. Big surprise: We were allowed to dive again - completely alone, autonomously!! We had to wait an hour after our first dive and were then allowed to dive again autonomously to 12 meters in Binomen - the very first time without a diving instructor! It was soooo cool and really fun, the visibility was good and we could see a lot. And we surfaced again, hallelujah :D

So today I did one more dive than expected and completed my first autonomous dive - really cool :) I also filled my mask with water again during the safety parade and then blew it out, that worked well. So it was a success all round!

Day 7 - 15.05.2024

The last day!! But only for me and Laura, not for Brandon and Hannah. Because we are both flying to Madagascar tomorrow and therefore unfortunately cannot take part in the last two days of training. But we will make up for the two missing PA20 dives in June :)

Today we did something very special: We dived to 40m, to an old shipwreck that sank in 1980 (?). It was really exciting and very, very cool. It was also our first dive to 40m and it went really well. When I was underwater, I was sure that I didn't have nitrogen narcosis, but looking back I have to say that I was a bit more relaxed than usual and was very chilled out :D One of our diving instructors also said that you (especially as a woman) are always narcosis at 40m, whether you notice it or not.

By the way, this dive was also the first one where I managed to stay perfectly within the parameters, 40m and no more!

At 20m I swapped my mask with Michel again as an exercise and it worked really well :)

After 30 minutes we went back to the boat where the others were waiting for us. We then drove to Cap La Houssaye where the others went diving straight away. We followed them after a 45 minute wait and did our second autonomous dive. We saw a lot and it was really nice. In the last 5 minutes I was bitten by a jellyfish without noticing and suddenly had burning and itchy hands. That wouldn't have been so bad in itself, but it could also be a sign of a decompression accident, which is more common on deep dives like ours today. So I panicked and wanted to surface quickly, but I couldn't explain that to my binom underwater, which is why it got a bit chaotic towards the end. You could see the pustules on the surface and it became clear that it was just a jellyfish. You do get a bit paranoid when you're constantly being told about the dangers of diving.

As of today I have also completed my PE40. In June I will do one more PA20 dive and then I will have achieved my level 2 + Nitrox, yaaaay!

To celebrate the day, the four of us went out for ice cream, which was really nice :)

I had so much fun during the whole training, I haven't laughed so much and experienced so much in a long time. I also reached my limits a few times, but was able to overcome them every time. I am sooooo happy that I signed up for the training and I definitely want to keep diving. The next dives will be in Madagascar and Mauritius, and then again in La Réunion from June :)

PS: As soon as I have all the photos and videos that were taken underwater, a pure picture post will follow