Day 1 – Arrival Day
Hello readers…I’m diverDave and I’ll be the crew’s on
board PADI Scuba Instructor for their adventure aboard the Conch Pearl. I will
be joined by PADI Divemaster Jenna Burton. (see previous post)
I met the crew on the Quarterdeck after being awakened by
Alex Bergstedt. I guess I was out cold because I hadn’t heard my phone. I
introduced myself and asked if they had seen a little, blonde haired girl. Not
yet. We had to wait on one of the leaders who was checking in so we talked
about their trip in, etc. Jenna soon appeared along with the missing leader. The
crew presented Jenna and myself with crew t-shirts which we put on immediately.
Nice touch. Jenna collected all of the diver certification cards and ran off to
make copies. With everyone together we went over the ‘Rules of Engagement’ with
the Crew Leader, Jason, then had the crew’s photo taken. Since there were no
questions the crew grabbed all of their gear and it was off to the Scuba Dorms.
The crew was checked into one of the larger dorm rooms.
They would only be there overnight so I asked them to please not make a mess.
Jason is a pretty good crew leader so I think he’ll keep them in line. I had
everyone change into bathing suits and it was off to the swim area for the swim
review; three lengths of the swim area in the lagoon and a float. Everyone
passed easily. Surprisingly, that isn’t always the case. From the swim area we
went to gear issue where we signed out BCDs and regulators for just about
everyone. From gear issue it was back to the dorm for any dive gear they had
with them; fins, masks, etc. We next met at the Scuba Area.
The Scuba Area has two pools; a shallow pool and a deep
pool. We would only be using the deep pool. We completed the equipment assembly
and briefing then headed up to the deep pool for a scuba skills review. The
review refreshes everyone’s skills and gives us a chance to look the divers
over for any issues. After we finished the skills review, which went quite
well, we packed up the scuba gear and headed to flags.
Flags was crowded with lots of crews…business is
good at FSB. After flags we had dinner then headed over to the classroom for
the first of many orientations. There is this first orientation which is an overview
of the week, the boat and diving in the Keys. There will be an orientation when
they arrive at the boat, another before diving, another for sailing and another
for the night dive. If you include the pre-dive information that I send out
then they hear just about everything at least three times which is what it
takes to ‘stick’. After orientation the crew was turned loose for the evening.
I went back to the room to do paperwork and pass out.
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