We did it! We had our first 3 open water SCUBA dives on May 1. The weather was beautiful, the water was cold and we had a good time.Take a look at the photos: http://www.flickr.com/people/nikkiwatson/
We drove to Waldsee, Germany (about 45 min from Ktown) and we unloaded all the gear. There was a group of about 9 of us (7 students, 2 instructors). Stephen and I were the only Americans.
After unpacking and scoping out the lake, we suited up (quite a labor intensive process). We were both sweating by the time we had all the gear on and were looking forward to the cold water.
We waddled down to the lake (because the wetsuits are VERY tight and the gear weighs about 45-50 lbs) and walked in. Our instructor gave us a few more instructions and then we descended to 5 meters (15 feet).
Yes, the water was COLD, but surprisingly, only my face got a little chilly and after that went numb, it was all quite comfortable.
I had a bit of trouble getting orientated as visibility was still poor (about 3-4 feet) and I was scared (as one should be!). But the instructor took my hand and we dove for about 25 minutes. I soon settled in to the sensations and got more comfortable around the 7-10 min mark. When we surfaced, we were about 1/2 a mile from our start point.
At the surface we got some more instructions for our next "assignment" and made our 2nd dive. This one went even better. No hand holding this time. Stephen and I did some underwater skills and then made our way back to our original starting point.
We made our way out onto the beach and back up to our rest area, took everything off, and spread out in the sun to enjoy our picnic lunch while the rest of the students went our with the instructors.
At about 2 p.m. we made our third dive which went even better. We were on the road by 4 p.m. and back home about 6pm. We both got a bit of sun and we both slept VERY well.We have two more dives scheduled for Sunday and then we will be certified!
