Sidemount Essentials course, part 3

Posted on November 5, 2024  •  3 minutes  • 438 words

Day 5, Sidemount Essential at Xatt l-Aħmar

The final day of the Sidemount Essential course had arrived, and I have to say it has been five fantastic days. We learned so much, and Vas was an awesome instructor throughout the entire course.

Today we dived at Xatt l-Aħmar, home to the wrecks Karwela and Hephaestus. Although the wrecks were nearby, our focus was on training rather than sightseeing. The sea was a little choppy, which made the entry more challenging.

We practiced entering the water via the ladder. First, we carried our left tanks down one step at a time, using them almost like a walking stick for extra stability. Once in the water, we attached the tank, put on our fins, and then Vas handed us the right tank, which we clipped on before starting the dive.

Out on the reef, Vas continued his mission to figure out why I had been feeling unstable in the water throughout the course. He pulled me into different positions, adjusted my setup, emptied air from both my wing and drysuit, and generally experimented with different solutions.

After a while, something finally clicked. Instead of fighting the feeling, I began to understand how to manage it and trust the position of my body in the water. Suddenly everything felt more balanced. My buoyancy improved, I was stable, and I could control my position using my core muscles rather than constantly making corrections. It felt like the door had finally opened.

We practiced descents and ascents to 20 metres. The descents felt comfortable, but the ascents still needed some work as I was moving a little up and down instead of maintaining a perfectly steady profile.

After that we worked on helicopter turns and back kicks. They went reasonably well, although there is still plenty of room for improvement. We also practiced deploying the long hose and stowing it again. The challenge was keeping neutral buoyancy while performing the drill, which proved trickier than it sounds.

Finally, we headed back to the ladder and repeated the same procedure in reverse, carefully removing and handling the tanks before climbing out of the water.

Looking back on these five days, the biggest lesson wasn’t just learning new skills. It was learning how small adjustments in trim, buoyancy and body position can make a huge difference underwater. I still have a lot to practice, but I finish this course feeling far more confident, aware and comfortable when I started.

Thank you, Vas, for your patience, knowledge and encouragement throughout the course. The Sidemount Essential course has been challenging, rewarding and above all incredibly fun. 😊🤿