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Rental
Gear Experience
Ed France
Brockton,Mass.
I do most of my diving in the Plymouth Massachuttes area
and have a distance to commute to get there. All my dives
have been with rental gear. Prior to my last dive was
in August 1998 and at that time of the year with all the
students going out for there certifacation dives it is
some times hard to find the gear you need at a spur of
the moment. One weekend my brother and I along with a
free diver buddy of ours went out for an enjoyable time.
Last August at the begining of the month we were suiting
up and I had put my weights in my brothers bc not realizing
it and when I got to the water. I thought some how the
the weights were lost and I had to use rocks as a substitute,
needless to say the dive was uncomfortable.
The following dive mid August the three of us went back
to our spot and this time my bc was a large when I take
a medium. I am used to the weight intergreated pockets
and this bc had none, I was for my first time in for a
real shock now having to experiance having weights around
my waist and having a large bc, it was like a tug of war
going to the bottom. To top it off my free diving buddy
knowing of the weight problem I had just the week before
came down from above me and thinking I was still having
a problem with my weight started pushing down on me. Already
in a slight I realy felt like freaking out and not to
mention this was my first time in the ocean with cut bait
to feed the marine life (knowing there were blue fish
out there (what we here concider a saltwater purina).
I then surfaced and went to shore where I tried to readjust
my bc and try getting a enjoyable time out of this anyway.
Well I went back under because I knew that if I didn't
my diving enjoyment might end .
I came out of the water with 1500 lbs.left in my tank.
We retanked for our repetive dive and with the same problems
again but with only 1000 lbs.left in my tank this time.
This year I went out and bought new gear and plan to have
a good year of diving.
If you have to rent your gear you may run into some unpleasant
experiences but just stay calm and keep a clear head.
Better yet, get your own gear so you don't have to keep
readjusting.
I'v already hit the ocean once in late January with my
new gear and have decided to wait a couple more months
cause it's still a little to cold. The most important
thing to me was that I got back on that horse and rode
again.
Keep it together down there (buddys).
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