Scuba Diving Instruction Manual and DVD

So I've watched the scuba DVD from PADI now. It's a little repetitive, but otherwise not too hard to watch. It's good to have the visual aid of actually watching people do what is being described. And I've also gone through the instruction manual — all 5 chapters. Like the DVD, it's also a little repetitive, but I suppose that's how they're getting you to memorize the details. Chapter 5 was mostly an upsell to other diving courses. I guess PADI's got to do it, but it was annoying nonetheless.

My scuba instructor also has online knowledge reviews — one for each chapter of the book. After doing 4 of them I've been able to identify the areas where I need to brush up. Fortunately, one is in an area I don't consider to be too important e.g. how much volume does air at 132 feet occupy compared to at sea level? Yeah, I get that air compresses under pressure.

I've also figured out that even though I know how to use the recreational dive planner, it's really easy to pick off the wrong number. I can see why most scuba divers have switched to dive computers. If they weren't so expensive I'd consider getting one for my upcoming trip to Belize. Better to wait to make sure I actually like this diving stuff before shelling out that kind of cash.

Tomorrow after work I'll be heading to the first day of confined water training. I'm expecting it to be fun. Hopefully there won't be too high a ratio of student to teacher since that'll just slow everything. Stay tuned for more scuba-diving goodness!