Scuba Diving Customer Experiences - Ally O'Kearney
When i went on my holiday to Thailand, all i wanted to do was go scuba diving. I didn't think i would be able to do it because i was only 8 years old. When we were out shopping I saw Scuba Cat Diving School so we went in and had a look to see if I could do it. We spoke to Sarah and she said that I was too young to go in the ocean but i could have a "bubble maker" lesson in the pool. A "bubble maker" teaches you to scuba dive in a pool instead of the ocean.
Finally the day came and I was so excited. I had to wear my bathers and Sarah was going to provide the rest. When we got there I had to get fitted for the equipment that i was going to need including flippers and wetsuit. Then Sarah showed me what things we use in
the water like the airtank, regulator and goggles. So the goggles don't get fogged up you have to spit in the eye part and rub it in. The regulator is what you put in your mouth so the air can get from the airtank to your mouth. I had to hold the mouth piece facing down in the water so the air didn't escape from the airtank. I had to sit on the edge of the pool and wet my feet so i could get my flippers on easier. We put out airtanks and jackets in the pool and hopped in. Sarah pressed a blue button on the jackets and they filled with air so they didn't sink. Then we got in the pool to put the jackets on but it was hard because the water was too deep and I had to keep treading water. Sarah showed me hand signals to use in the water because you can't talk with the regulator in your mouth. To go up you put your thumbs up, if everything is OK you use your hand to make the letter 'O' and if you are having a problem you shake your hand side to side. Now i was ready to go!
Sarah held my hand while we swam around the pool a couple of times. I used my hand signals to show her I was OK to keep going. Every time we came to the surface Sarah had to press the blue button to fill the jackets with air so we could float and then when we wanted to go back under she pressed the grey button to release the air again. We played frisbee throwing to each other and I thought I was pretty good at it because I caught it a couple of times. Then Sarah hid heaps of coins around the pool while I wasn't looking. When she was finished I had to find all the coins and give them to her. If i found all the coins in less than fives goes I got to keep the money but it only took me three goes!
After the coin game I had to swim around the pool without Sarah holding my hand and I was really good at it. Our last game was frisbee throwing away from each other so we had to swim and go get it.
My flippers began to hurt so I used my hand signals to tell Sarah i was having a problem and was ready to stop. Sarah was ready to get out of the pool too because she needed the toilet. We had been swimming for about 40 minutes underwater. We got out of the jackets and then I helped her to pack up the equipment.
I was given a "bubble maker" certificate and an activity scuba diving book. I loved the "bubble maker" lesson and hope that when I'm 10 i can go in the ocean with Sarah!
by Ally O'Kearney - Wednesday 27th June 2007
