SCUBA DIVING: DEPTH PERCEPTIONS SCUBA CLASSES GIVE NEWCOMERS INTRODUCTION TO WHOLE NEW WORLD.Byline: Bill Becher Special to the Daily News Doug Eplin is poised in his scuba gear ready to make his first step into the underwater world Underwater World may refer to:
It will be a big step - the ``giant stride'' is how scuba divers enter the water from the deck of a dive boat A dive boat is a boat that scuba divers use to reach a diving site which they could not reach by swimming from land. Dive boat features Features that make a boat suitable for use by divers are:
Anacapa is part of the Channel Islands archipelago (island chain), and is part of the Channel Islands National Park. . ``Life's too short Life's Too Short is an episode of the HBO series Six Feet Under. Plot Claire and Gabe reunite under tragic circumstances when Gabriel's little brother dies ffrom accidentally shooting himself while playing with a gun, and later ends up beaten up by his step-father during not to start experiencing things,'' Eplin said. He and his wife Andrea got their first good look at the underwater world snorkeling in Jamaica. When they came home to Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. , they signed up for a class with the Channel Islands Scuba dive shop in Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. . The class includes three three-hour classroom sessions, three sessions in a pool, a half-day beach dive and a final all-day boat dive. After completing the class, students receive their ``C-card'' or certification, which will allow them to dive without an instructor. Channel Islands Scuba owner Mike Dahan said he keeps his classes to six students or fewer to make sure everyone gets the attention they need. The five students in this class include Eplin and his wife, a mother and her 11-year-old son, and a 60-year-old father who plans to dive with his son. Students learn about the physics and physiology of diving, the use and care of equipment, and skills such as clearing water out of a flooded dive mask underwater. They practice safety skills in the pool and ocean, like sharing air with a dive partner who has run out. The final session for this class is on the 65-foot dive-boat Explorer. It takes up to 24 divers out of Ventura Harbor to the Channel Islands. The day's destination is the southern side of Anacapa Island, where the water is smooth and fairly clear, great for first-timers like Eplin. Eplin makes a big splash Big Splash could refer to:
fore·fin·ger n. See index finger. ``OK'' signal to the dive master on the deck of Explorer while his instructor watches and waits in the water. Eplin swims to the anchor chain and waits while his classmates Classmates can refer to either:
v. ex·haled, ex·hal·ing, ex·hales v.intr. 1. a. To breathe out. b. To emit air or vapor. 2. To be given off or emitted. v.tr. plumes of bubbles. They reach the ocean floor about 30 feet from the surface. The class kneels on the sandy bottom in a semicircle with their instructor and practices basic skills such as mask clearing. Dahan said he likes teaching scuba classes for the wide-eyed look that students have when they first experience diving in the ocean. ``Once I relaxed it was great,'' Eplin said after his first dive. His wife Andrea said, ``When I realized I was breathing underwater, I calmed down.'' Eleven-year-old Brandon Sand said about his first dive, ``It was cool.'' Actually, it was a bit cold too as the divers didn't have a chance to kick and keep warm in the 65-degree water. Back on deck, Sand used a hose to squirt some warm water under his wetsuit wet·suit also wet suit n. A tight-fitting permeable suit worn in cold water, as by skin divers, to retain body heat. wetsuit wet n → combinaison f de plongée . On later dives that day there will be more time to explore and see the bright-orange garibaldi fish, anemones, sea stars, kelp waving in the current and maybe a curious sea lion sea lion, fin-footed marine mammal of the eared seal family (Otariidae). Like the other member of this family, the fur seal, the sea lion is distinguished from the true seal by its external ears, long, flexible neck, supple forelimbs, and hind flippers that can be . Dahan said nearly half his clients don't want to see sea lions, kelp forests or catch a lobster in local water. They will be warm-water divers but start their training here. ``They don't want to spend time on vacation in class or a pool,'' Dahan said. ``They take the first part at Channel Islands Scuba and complete their class in Hawaii or Jamaica or wherever they're going.'' But many divers have discovered that if you wear the right dive suit, you can be warm and comfortable year-round diving in Southern California. ``California's Channel Islands are a diver's playground,'' Dahan said. Although the water isn't as temperate as in tropical destinations, dive spots are easily accessible from shore or by the dive boats that operate out of Channel Islands Harbor, Ventura Harbor and San Pedro. Many new divers are inspired by TV shows about the undersea world. ``There are people who are happy to lay on a couch and watch the Discovery Channel, and then there are those people who go out and do the Discovery Channel,'' Dahan said. All it takes is that first big step. IF YOU DIVE Channel Islands Scuba in Thousand Oaks (808-230-9995 or www.channelislandsscuba.com) provides instruction, rentals, repairs and sales of scuba gear and organizes dives at local and foreign locations. The Explorer offers charter and open party runs to local dive spots. Information: (805) 646-0836 or www.explorerdiveboat.com. CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1) Diving students on the southern side of Anacapa Island break the surface during their open-water scuba class with Channel Islands Scuba. (2) Brandon Sand, 11, of Westlake Village warms up on the deck of the Explorer after his dive in the Channel Islands, where the climate is less temperate than more tropical diving locations. (3) In open-water dives, scuba students learn and practice the basics of the craft, from clearing their masks to sharing air with a dive partner. Bill Becher/Special to the Daily News Box: IF YOU DIVE (see text) |
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