The PADI Rescue Course - 23/24 Sept 2000

After the Medic First Aid, the theory and a rather violent pool-session with panicked psychopaths such as all of us !!..... we head back down to Babbacombe / Oddicombe once again.

DCP06800.jpg (24501 bytes)

Breakfast at Telegraph Hill... a very welcome rendezvous point

The plan was to meet at Babbacombe at 10am which was going to prove a mission to find a car-park space. Roy and Craig were just leaving Telegraph Hill as we were pulling in as Craig had a couple of Open Water dives to do before Roy could inflict his sadism on us..... so we had a bit of breakfast which was probably a good job !

 
The weather was overcast but warm. The sea was suffering from the south-easterlies again and was choppy and murky. However, this didn't matter too much as we didn't spend a lot of time underwater anyway. The high point of day one for Roy must have been the beer afterwards watching us donning our kit in an emergency. Charlotte and I were putting on gloves, hoods, doing the safety-checks...all of which took 15 minutes ! We were to continue practicing this until we could get in and under the water in less than three minutes !!  After getting it down to two-and-a-half, Roy let us rest ! I was knackered already..... you try continually chucking a 4-stone 12l tank over your head !... and.... yeah we did modify procedure for the sake of response-time. I won't elaborate as this will ruin the surprise for anyone who is planning to do this course in the future.

As the sea got choppier and we were being thrown out rather than a dignified buddy-walk, Roy decided to call it a day and march us back to the Manor House B&B for the exam. The bar was crammed with 'Feet-First-Scuba' people which made things very lively (cheers guys!). We sat out by the pool and filled in the 60 little blocks that would determine pass or failure........ okay, we got there....now for the nightlife !............
 

DCP06801.jpg (8787 bytes)

A bit of a jump here in the photos as we have skipped a whole day of getting exhausted by kitting and de-kitting... now for beer and food !...

DCP06802.jpg (53525 bytes)

It didn't turn out as well as hoped but here is Zero-Viz DC's version of Abbey Road !

We then ended up in 'That big pub that does good food all night' (name eludes me!). It was good fun apart from the incessant singing by some blonde lady over pop backing-tracks.

DCP06803.jpg (13208 bytes)

DCP06804.jpg (10959 bytes)

DCP06806.jpg (13764 bytes)

DCP06807.jpg (13156 bytes)

DCP06809.jpg (13213 bytes)

DCP06810.jpg (16984 bytes)

DCP06811.jpg (13676 bytes)

DCP06813.jpg (12683 bytes)

DCP06814.jpg (13688 bytes)

 DCP06815.jpg (30051 bytes)
"Let's try the Ladies' ones then !!", Charlotte tells Darren
Charlotte, Darren and I made our way back to the B&B at around 11:30 while the others went clubbing it in Torquay. Around 01:45 Matt was banging around after having successfully got the stair-lift working !! I think Craig had a good night as he looked like death at breakfast...... anyway, onto day 2....

DCP06816.jpg (18553 bytes)

Two different ways that Darrens can go bald

DCP06817.jpg (20908 bytes)

DCP06818.jpg (16788 bytes)

Charlotte, still in her nightshirt at Babbacombe Beach !

DCP06820.jpg (18411 bytes)

Andy, demonstrating his preference to pure O2 !

DCP06819.jpg (15583 bytes)

DCP06821.jpg (17085 bytes)
Craig, just before and just after his final two Open Water quals.... is that the same ciggy ??

DCP06822.jpg (19712 bytes)

 DCP06823.jpg (21928 bytes)
DCP06824.jpg (14884 bytes)
Roy hurredly applies another shot of morphine to prevent him drowning his students for blatant stupidity

DCP06825.jpg (15619 bytes)

Roy anxiously checks the results from Chepstow

DCP06827.jpg (52759 bytes)
DCP06828.jpg (81026 bytes)

After getting told off for using the life-belt on Oddicombe beach......

We Qualified !!??....... God help anyone who needs us in the future !