Day 3 - Bruce Willis Ruins All Films

Everything OK at the surface?
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The next day started pretty nicely. I mean, I got at least some sleep and wasn’t seeing double. We went for some nice breakfast and went to the diving centre. My instructor was a fairly nice guy named Pete (extreeeeeemly British) and I also had two people with me, a married pair from Russia, which lived in London. I decided to take the course in English, because I knew that Many Russians and Ukrainians would be around, due to the holidays. But it turned out I wasn’t the only smart one in this world (heartbreaking fact).

I was lucky because I read the book before the course started, or I wouldn’t have any idea of diving, just like my course mates did. They only got the book 10 minutes before the course started. And I got 100% on the first test. They only got 80%. I’m the Queen of the world!

So we went over some basic stuff, watched a few dumb videos (Quote from Pete (copyright): “Totally for Yankees”).

So we went over some basic stuff, watched a few dumb videos (Quote from Pete (copyright): “Totally for Yankees”).

I loved the way you do buddy check. You know, you should never dive without a buddy; it’s like the basic rule. I mean, you can dive without a buddy, but it could be extremely dangerous and you wouldn’t want that. In recreational diving, it’s all about safety.

So, anyway, the buddy check goes like this:

You memorize the phrase “Begin With Review And Friend”. Sounds stupid, but it helps some people (not me):

Begin – B – BCD (Buoyancy Control Device) – you check if all the clips and releases are in place, if the tank is in place and all that.

With – W – Weights – you really need weights to sink, so you check if it’s the right amount and if you can drop them quickly in case of emergency.

Review – R – Releases – Just in case you need to get out of your scuba kit.

And – A – Air – um, I think you understand what that means.

Friend – F – Final OK – you basically look at your buddy and see if there’s anything wrong with him.

But the funniest thing is, instead or “Begin with review and friend”, Pete offered us his version of checking: “Bruce Willis Ruins All Films” or “Beer, Wine, Rum and fall over”. Worked for me!!!