PADI Certification

Over the past three weeks I have been working on my PADI certification. Completed my final dive and final exam last weekend in Halfmoon Bay, where the water on the bottom of the dive area was 21 feet and the water temp on the bottom was 97 degrees F. The surface water temp was 107 degrees F!!! A hot bath. The dive site is a buoyed off section of the beach about the size of a football field or two. The bottom has a collection of junk items to make the otherwise featureless sandy mud bottom interesting. Junk items include old toilets, old oil drums, concrete blocks, old tires, several old derelict pleasure boats, etc. Water visibility was around 4 feet. Not the best diving place, but good enough to complete the open water dives. On my last dive, with Nicole as my diving partner, I was constantly dealing with hamstring cramps in both legs, so I was using a lot of air and stopping to stretch my hamstrings. Did see a nice big grouper under one of the boats on the bottom, but couldn't get Nicole to come over fast enough to see it. Once on shore and with all the equipment rinsed off and loaded into the vehicle I was totally exhuasted. When I got home I took off all my clothes and crashed on the bed for a short nap before heading back out to the Aramco Beach for Julian's birthday party with Nicole and Claudia. Nice night on the beach. So I am now certified as a recreational scuba diver. Frankly, I have been diving quite a bit (up to 120 feet on wrecks in the Atlantic off Delaware), but was never certified, as it wasn't required back then (in the Dark Ages), so this was like a refresher course.

The day before we all went down to the same place (The Halfmoon Bay Yacht Club - HBYC) to see how Claudia and Fraser were doing on Claudia's newly purchased Sunfish repairs. That work lasted until dark (Nic and Julian sailed until dark) and so we had a cook out there on the beach. Lots of easing down from the weeks work.

On Saturday I had a nice fun dinner at Tandoori with Nicole and some of her fellow nurses. I was able to surprize her with the gift of the Widgeon drawing for her birthday. Such a wonderful gleem in her eyes when she opened it up. Those reactions always make me feel so good when I am able to give a gift that I have created and it is appreciated so much by the person you give it to. The first image is the graphite pencil study and the second image is the pen & ink drawing that was the gift. I am planning on a watercolor painting, as well. That I will keep for myself.

The next couple of nights as a party and an Iftar dinner and getting Nicole's budgie to my room while she is on repat back home to Scotland.