Advanced Certification Class: Day 1
Today was the first day of my Advanced Class with Ethan Gordon. Although diving skill is not gauged by how many cards or certifications one has, many dive charters require divers to be Advanced certified to go on boat dives. It is the next certification level up from Open Water, and requires the diver to complete a series of at least four specialty courses. My four specialty courses are deep diving, limited visibility/night diving, navigation, and boat diving.
My class with Ethan today covered navigation and limited vis skills. He had me navigate different courses, and then distracted me for a while, and I was supposed to keep bearings and get us back to shore. My favorite part of tonight’s class was the night dive- It was awesome! We saw many lobsters, at least three dogfish, and a whole bunch of different kinds of fish. When we turned off the lights, it was surprising to see how much natural light the moon provides, and also really cool to see the phosphorescence. I think that the coolest thing that I saw that night was a long-finned squid. I’ve never seen one before and it was amazing. They glide along so gracefully in the water, and escape behind a nice cloud of ink when spooked.
