Advanced Open Water Course, 25 & 26 September, 2004
The PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course was the next goal. During this course, I completed the following dives:
Underwater Naturalist - The aim of this dive was basically to identify between vertebrate, invertebrate and plant. One thing that alot of people do not understand is that the Great Barrier Reef is a living organism. Coral itself is not a plant, but a living entity. Thus, a reef is a living being.
Underwater Navigation - As with land navigation, underwater navigation uses a compass to point you in the right direction. We had to swim a certain distance in one direction, turn 180 degrees and come back to the starting point. We also had to chart and swim a square.
Night Diver - Imagine this, jumping into the ocean and descending to the bottom at night time! It's dark, it's spooky! Luckily you have a torch. This is your lifeline. It is fascinating to dive down to a wreck and only be able to see in the beam of a torch.
Deep Diver - The Open Water course allows a diver to go as deep as 18 meters. With the Advanced, the limit is raised to 30 meters. At the 27 meter mark, our Dive Master bought out a tennis ball which had compressed due to the pressure. A picture of this is in the gallery.
Wreck Diver - Dive where the captain used to walk. Swim over the encrusted decks of a ship which sailed the seas in a bygone era. A Wreck dive explores a sunken ship or any artificial reef. Curtain Artificial Reef, off Moreton Island has many purpose built reefs for exploration.
At the end of the 2 days and 7 dives, I was exhilarated and yet exhausted. I had earned the status of an Advanced Open Water Diver. My next goal, is to get my wreck speciality. This is a more in depth look at wreck diving as it includes penetration and the safety aspects of such dives.
See my gallery of pictures from the weekend.