May 10th 2014: My Second Day of Scuba Diving Training

I had to head into Chelmsford for my second day of scuba diving  so I decided to get breakfast from Spruce Street Cafe at 5 Spruce Street in the town of Acton, stopping by Stow

Randall Library

along the way. The place itself is more a bakery than a brunch place,

which definitely helped with the 30 bucks I had to spend here. I decided to get the Brian Bridges (two eggs, hash, bacon, tomato piled on an English muffin, covered in Hollandaise sauce),

as well as a Napoleon,

a few donuts and Cannolis.

Not too bad really, although the cannolis were soft and not to my liking.

From here, it was on to Littleton.

Boston Metrowest Bible Church

I visited Long Pond Beach at the end of Town Road again, this time without snow.

It was then on some some hikes in town. At the Sarah Doublet Forest, the path I took to get to Fort Pond is shown below in pink.

There weren't any good views of the pond from the narrow shoreline though.

From here, it was on to the Yapp Conservation Land. The path I took here is shown below in pink.

There weren't any good views of Cobb Pond,

while Fort Rock was just a collection of rocks shaped like a barrier around a central "fort".

The Farm Pond was even less to look at.

From here, it was on to Northeast Scuba in Chelmsford to continue my training. I had an assignment to learn present to the class about suits, so we asked the owner about them, learning that wetsuits come in various forms and parts, with hoods for better head protection from the cold, additional layers over seams to improve waterproof tightness, and even thin lycra skins that people wear in warm water to prevent stings and sunburn. The drysuits include boots as well, and sometimes have to be custommade to fit the bearer. You also should not wear water boots inside a dry suit. Here are some pictures I took of the shop.

After some lessons, it was time for lunch, and I decided to head next door for lunch at 110 Grill, a pretty modern looking bar restaurant with a decent, casual atmosphere.

As I had little time to spare, I decided to go with the Beef Vegetable Soup

and the Quinoa Cake Bites (Three homemade quinoa patties with fresh green onions, parsley, parmesan cheese, pan fried with lemon basil aioli sauce).

The soup was a little sweet for my liking, while the quinoa was actually pretty good. Overall, not too bad for a town like this.

Back at the shop, it was time to assemble our gear.

We were shown how to strap the tank onto the bouyancy compensator (BC),

then attach the regulators to the tank after taking off the dust cap,

 ensuring the the second stage regulators are always on the right, with the computer on the left, which is what I got wrong the first time I did it.

Next, the regulator is attached to the BC.

To check for leaks, the air is then released from the tank into the regulators, which should not be hissing if there are no leaks.

The computer or pressure gauges should also register a significantly higher pressure than normal.

The second stage regulators should function properly as well, with me being able to breathe from it. If stuck, it has to be blown open with a hard exhalation.

The purge valves on the regulators should release gas when pressed as well.

With the tank and BC assembled, we learned how to carry the setup, and brought it to our cars to ready for the pool session tonight.

After a few more lessons, it was time to head to the pool in the Lowell YMCA.

After getting into our swim gear, Our first task was to tread water for 10 minutes. I made it to eight, but I could not last the entire 10, being really unfit, having to cling to the sides just as my legs were to give out. After climbing out, my legs started cramping, and I thought I would be done for the night, but somehow I managed to relieve my cramps by stretching a little in the water, and I barely made it through the 4 laps I had to swim across the pool, resorting to staying on my back to stay afloat.

Next, we put on our gear, then entered the water before putting on our fins. Our first task was to learn to fill up our masks with water, take a deep breath through our regulators then clear it by exhaling through our noses. i screwed up once by inhaling into my nose, but I soon got the hang of it, learning to take my mask off and putting it back on and clearing it under water, even in the deep end, where I had to clear my ears by swallowing to get to. I am still terrible at paddling though, finding it hard to move my flippers. I was the most improved trainee by the end of the night, and after the lesson was done, an exhausted me was already looking forward to tomorrow. I decided to grab some dinner at Big Guys Pizza in town, getting the Hawaiian BBQ (BBQ chicken, Bacon, Pineapple) Pizza

and the X-Tudo Sandwich (Cheeseburger with Bacon, Ham, and Eggs. Served with fries).

Pretty good, probably because I was exhausted from scuba diving. Unfortunately, I busted my tire on the way home, and without a spare that had a rim, I was forced to wait for a tow truck to tow my car to Worcester, then get a friend to bring me home. Guess I'm not going scuba diving tomorrow. I've also realized I left my leather jacket in the shop. Good day this turned out to be.