Sidemount Essentials course, part 2
Posted on November 3, 2024 • 2 minutes • 359 words
Table of contents
Day 3, Sidemount Essentials at Ras il-Ħobż
We climbed down the rocks to the reef where we had left our tanks and started by bringing one tank out at a time. The first section was very shallow, so Vas had us put on the left tank as usual and let the right tank hang until we reached the plateau, where we donned it before continuing.
Once out on the plateau, we worked on fin pivots and breathing exercises until our breathing became calm and controlled. After that, we moved to the edge of the reef for our descent practice.
The task was to descend facing each other and stop at 20 meters without going any deeper. We completed the exercise, but the execution was far from perfect. I ended up at 21 meters, and we weren’t as synchronized as we should have been. It was a good reminder that precision is often harder than it sounds!
Day 4, Sidemount Essentials at Inland Sea
Today’s dive was at Inland Sea. We started by placing our tanks on the pier and practiced donning them before entering the water.
We then swam towards the tunnel, and during the surface swim we repeated the tank-donning exercise. Once through the tunnel, I struggled a bit with my trim and maintaining a stable position in the water. I found myself relying too much on the drysuit for buoyancy. Vas helped me vent some air from the suit and encouraged me to use the wing more instead. The difference was immediate, and I felt much more stable as we continued towards the reef edge.
Our main task was to descend to 30 metres and then perform a controlled ascent to 21, 18, 15, and 12 metres. At each stop we checked pressure and narcosis, while staying face-to-face and maintaining the same ascent rate.
We did this exercise much better than the previous day. Everything felt more controlled, and I noticed that I was able to stay calmer and avoid getting stressed. It was one of those dives where you could really feel the progress from the training.
One step closer to becoming a sidemount diver. 😊