Rough Start

I remembered a lot less than I thought from my dive training. On my first dive in the shallows, I flubbed the negative entry, struggled with buoyancy control the whole dive, was the first to run low on air, left the group behind, and ascended too rapidly, forgetting the safety stop entirely. As a result, the divemaster told me I'd have to stay on the boat for the deepwater dive. I'll have to try again tomorrow in the shallows, delaying my deepwater certification at least a day, possibly more.

I spent the next half hour feeling seasick and burning in the African sun, waiting for the second dive to end so we could go home. By the time we reached the beach I was exhausted from the nausea, from the disappointment, and perhaps from a little subclinical decompression sickness. At least sleep will come easy. Tomorrow I will do better.

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