| Dueling Dive Classes - continued |
By the way, remember how Frank bought his equipment used and on sale (usually because it was
discontinued)? Frank insisted that all of Suzanne's gear had to be new. His reasoning? Suzanne was going
to be his dive buddy and if he needed help, he wanted to make sure that it would work. Suzanne's
response? "Your MY buddy - what happens if I need to use YOUR gear?", to which Frank replied "don't be
silly, your gear is all new - what could happen?" As a side note - about half the gear that Frank bought used
has had to be replaced - both of us were told in class and by other divers that buying used gear was false
economy - we are now believers, with the caveat that we would still buy used only if we knew the diver and
how she treated her gear.
Suzanne's pool class was two weeks after Frank's, but it turned out that their open water certification dives
(each organization required four open water dives to be completely certified) would be held the same
weekend at the same location - a nearby submerged quarry called Lake Rawlings. Since the lake would be a
balmy 50 degrees at the surface (did we mention this was mid-March?), Frank's class would be diving in "dry
suits" - rubber suits that sealed all of the water out and provided space for you to wear long underwear and an
air barrier between you and the water. Suzanne's class, on the other hand, would be diving in "wet suits" -
the more traditional suits that allow a thin layer of water between you and the suit. Your body quickly heats
the water layer (even more quickly if you have drank a lot of coffee - hee, hee) and you can swim in relative
comfort.
Good plan, bad execution. The dive shop that Frank was taking his class through didn't have a dry suit big
enough to fit him - no, it wasn't a waist or height issue - Frank couldn't get his feet into the boots! So, Frank
would ALSO be diving in a wet suit. Each of us went to respective dive shops and rented the appropriate
neoprene ensembles. Frank, of course, looked quite dashing in his wet suit - visions of James Bond floating
through his head. Suzanne, on the other hand, had a lot of trouble getting used to the idea - she's used to
swimming in an ocean in a one piece and wrapping her with three layers of 7 millimeter thick rubber
revolted her soul....until, of course, she hit the water.
discontinued)? Frank insisted that all of Suzanne's gear had to be new. His reasoning? Suzanne was going
to be his dive buddy and if he needed help, he wanted to make sure that it would work. Suzanne's
response? "Your MY buddy - what happens if I need to use YOUR gear?", to which Frank replied "don't be
silly, your gear is all new - what could happen?" As a side note - about half the gear that Frank bought used
has had to be replaced - both of us were told in class and by other divers that buying used gear was false
economy - we are now believers, with the caveat that we would still buy used only if we knew the diver and
how she treated her gear.
Suzanne's pool class was two weeks after Frank's, but it turned out that their open water certification dives
(each organization required four open water dives to be completely certified) would be held the same
weekend at the same location - a nearby submerged quarry called Lake Rawlings. Since the lake would be a
balmy 50 degrees at the surface (did we mention this was mid-March?), Frank's class would be diving in "dry
suits" - rubber suits that sealed all of the water out and provided space for you to wear long underwear and an
air barrier between you and the water. Suzanne's class, on the other hand, would be diving in "wet suits" -
the more traditional suits that allow a thin layer of water between you and the suit. Your body quickly heats
the water layer (even more quickly if you have drank a lot of coffee - hee, hee) and you can swim in relative
comfort.
Good plan, bad execution. The dive shop that Frank was taking his class through didn't have a dry suit big
enough to fit him - no, it wasn't a waist or height issue - Frank couldn't get his feet into the boots! So, Frank
would ALSO be diving in a wet suit. Each of us went to respective dive shops and rented the appropriate
neoprene ensembles. Frank, of course, looked quite dashing in his wet suit - visions of James Bond floating
through his head. Suzanne, on the other hand, had a lot of trouble getting used to the idea - she's used to
swimming in an ocean in a one piece and wrapping her with three layers of 7 millimeter thick rubber
revolted her soul....until, of course, she hit the water.
Penguin Dreams
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