I Finally Finished My DM Course!!!

Hey there guys...
On July 18th I finished my DM course. I finished my course and I learned a lot over my course with Sea World Busan. It was a long journey, but I finished and I was really happy on what I accomplished. It was a lot of fun, and I am really looking forward to going to Roatan to do my IDC. I will keep you guys informed about that journey in my life as well.

Pohang Trip 2

Hey there guys, sorry I have been really busy and haven't posted in a long time. On June 30th we went on our second trip to Pohang. This time we went with did a AOW course and we also worked on more of my DM course. Also on this trip Rachel also finished her DM course.

We got there around noon and we got our gear set up. We got in the boat around 12:30pm and then we got in the boat. Our first dive I helped out Jen. She was guiding our dive and I was supporting her. We went to the new shallow reef and just swam around with some AOW students. We went down around 15m (49.2ft).  The water temperature was around 18C (64.4F). While on the dive we saw a lot of fish and a lot of new soft coral. The visibility was about 14m (45.93ft), which really good for this time of year. We were down there for around 34mins. We did our 3min safety stop and then got on the boat and headed back. 


During our surface interval at the docks we changed groups. I was put in charge of the fun divers and one of the Korean students. So it was Per and Chang Woo in my group. I gave them the dive briefing on the Cube Reef and we were all at the understanding on what to do on the dive. Well we all got into the boat and headed out. While on the boat the boat captains for the boats were arguing about where the  Cube Reef was. They finally found it or so they thought and they told us to drop in. So we all got into the water, and I signalled to the group to go down. We started to go down and there seemed to be no problems. Well around 5m (16.4ft) Chang Woo stopped descending. I signalled to him and he started to  swim down. Well we got down around 29.4m (96.45ft) and started to swim towards what I thought was the reef. Well we made it about 10m (32.8ft) and I looked around and I couldn't find Chang Woo. That was a bad thing considering the visibility at that depth was around 10m (32.8ft). I signalled to Per and he told me to look up and there Chang Woo was about 6m (19.68ft) above us. I swam up to him and brought him down. Well as we got down there was a fishing net running across the bottom, well he got tangled up in it and started to panic. I had to push him down to the ground and Per held onto him. I tore off the net from his fins. He calmed down, but Chang Woo started to signal up. I shook my head no, but he still signalled up. I looked at his computer and things were fine, but he wanted to go up. So after about a minute of just sitting there we started to ascend. We did our safety stop and during it Chang Woo tried to inflate my BCD. I had to smack his hand away from it, and I held him while Per held his legs so he wouldn't swim up. We were down there around 14mins. Well after the stop we surfaced and Chang Woo immediately took off his mask and spit out his regulator. The waves were picking up and Chang Woo was trying to talk while swallowing a lot of salt water. I told him to put his regulator in his mouth and not to start speaking again. Well I got in the boat and so did Per. We dragged Chang Woo into the boat. Once in the boat he started to cry and throw salt water up. He apologized to us, and we asked him why he wanted to go up and he told us it was because it was his masked started to fog... Well Per didn't show much anger, but I was a little upset with him. Well we had to wait around 15mins for the rest of the groups to surface. Well people started to get into the boat, and we all took off to the dock.


Once we got on the dock we started to celebrate Rachel finishing her DM course. I also talked to Mr. Cha about Chang Woo. Come to find out that Chang Woo had never done a deep dive, but some how he got certified as an AOW diver from his old dive school. So taking him down to that depth just scared him. Anyways, after I told him what happened with Chang Woo we started to party. The party went into the wee hours of the night. 


The next morning we got up to Jen making her breakfast burritos again. They were a lot better than eating ramen. Well we got ready to go into the water again for the morning dive. This time I was in charge of an AOW group. I helped them on their underwater navigation skills. Well went out to the shallow reef again, and got in. We went down around 12m (39.37ft), and we worked on the navigation skills. We did a square and reciprocal lines. After we got those down we just swam around. It was really nice swimming around with the schools of fish that were around. There were also some thermoclines. The temperature at 12m (39.37ft) was 15C (59F) and around 8m (26.24ft) it was around 21C (69.8ft). The dive was around 36mins long and when we were done we got back in the boat and headed back. 


When we got back to the dock the weather had gotten really sunny and hot out. Well on this dive I was in charge of the fun divers, but there were no fun divers for me to take care of. So I tagged along with Drew and the other AOW students. For this dive we went and worked on Peak Performance Buoyancy. Well our group dropped into the water, and we went down around 23.6m (77.42ft) we swam around and worked on hovering underwater. Well after we worked on that, we swam around and saw a ship wreck. We were down there around 28mins, and we sawa lot of cool things. We also saw a lot of fish while swimming around. Well we all got low on air and we all went up to the surface. We got back in the boat and we headed back. 


Once we got back to the dock we had a nice lunch and we hung out while the gear dried off. We did our log books and we talked about how things went over the weekend. After a few hours we packed up all of the gear and we got into the vans and headed back. Overall the trip went really well and I am very proud of Rachel for finishing her DM course. 

My First Trip to the Philippines! Day 2

Day 2 of my Philippines trip was also a good one as well. The weather was holding out for us and the water was clear, warm, and beautiful. Well we started our day off at 7:30am with breakfast, and what not. Well all gathered by the pool and got all of our gear prepared, well the stuff that we could prepare such as the suits and other personal effects that you wanted to take on the boat. We got all ready and headed out to the boat. Once we all got on the boat the captain and the crew pushed off the boat and we were away! The dives that we had planned were at a fish sanctuary (Gilutungen) and then one at a plane wreck. The boat ride took us about an hour to get there and there were so many other boats there full with divers. Once we got there we were told that no cameras were permitted on the surface, so everyone with a camera put it in their BCD pockets and then quickly jumped in.

Well once we were all in he water we went down around 29m (95ft) along a giant coral cliff. There were so many different types of fish on this dive and they all were really colorful. We also saw some Boxer Shrimp, Triggerfish, Moray Eels, and others. Well we swam along the wall for about 40mins and then we came up in a shallow area were we did our safety stop. The shallow area was about 6m (~20ft) deep and the water temp there was around 32C (89.6F). There were SO MANY FISH there!!! It was like a fish nursery. We started to play with the Clownfish and the other tropical fish that were there. Clown fish are so funny. Like I said before they don't care how big you are they will protect their homes and the area around their homes. Well after around 51mins in the water we got out and took a rest on the boat. Well I thought that we were going to take lunch after the second dive, but that wasn't the case. We ended up going to a fish restaurant on this little island for a nice seafood lunch... Well as I told you before I have a shellfish allergy, so this lunch was just wonderful for me. I ate the fruit and the appetizers that were given us, and everyone else had nice crabs and other shellfish. Well after lunch on the island we got back on the boat and headed back into the water.

This dive was like the first one, but on this one we went just a little bit deeper ~25m (82ft). We did the same this as before, but this time we went in the opposite direction. We followed the wall back and this time we went to another shallow area to do our safety stop. This time we were swimming around with even more fish and we also got to see a Sweetlips baby. It is amazing that such a cute fish turns out to be something completely different when it is an adult. Well after about 60mins my buddy and I got out of the water and back into the boat. Once we were on the boat we took off for the next dive site. I was so tired that I fell asleep on the way there. When I woke up I was so confused as to what was going on. I thought that we were going to go back to the resort to get more air, but they had already stored it away for us. Anyways, I had no clue what we were doing, so I just followed them and got geared up and jumped in...

The site that we were at was called the Tambuli Airplane Wreck. It was a little airplane that went down many years ago and most of the frame is still there underwater. To get there we had to go down 27m (~89ft). Well since we had dove deep all day and we didn't have a lot of surface time we all hit decompressions stops. I was lucky and only had 8mins of decompression to do, other had anywhere from 10 to 17mins of decompression to make. The wreck itself was very interesting to see, it was big enough to swim through and the sea life around it was very interesting to see. Well after we made our stops and all got back onto the boat and headed back to the resort.

Once we got back to the resort we cleaned off the gear and we got cleaned up and changed. This time they took us to a Chinese Restaurant. It took us about an hour to get there, I really don't remember, because I had fallen asleep in the van that took us. When we got there they had the menu already ordered, but they let me order something off the menu, because they had ordered lobster and other such foods that I would love to eat, but can't. I ended up ordering chicken. The dinner was really good and like before we headed to the mart on the way back home for supplies and things to get us through tomorrow as well. Once we got back we started to party as before, but this time we stayed out a lot later and we drank more than the night before, because our dive trip had come to and end. We would be leaving Sunday morning, but very early so we couldn't do any dives on Saturday. So no diving equalled us getting drunk and lounging around the resort on Saturday.

Overall my first trip to the Philippines was a good one. They people were nice, and the diving there was amazing!! I wish that I could someday go back there and dive the other islands there. I was really happy that I went on this trip and I would do it all again in a heart beat.

My First Trip to the Philippines! Day 1

I know it has been a while since I have posted last, but I have been really busy with helping out the centre. Anyways, I have time now and I can finally get this done. Well on the 13th through the 17th (well a 1am flight) we as a dive club went to Mactan near Cebu in the Philippines. Mactan was a really nice place, but I didn't realize how many Korean shops and Korean restaurants were on that island, at least in that immediate area that we were in. I thought that I was going to experience something different than Korean culture, but I was wrong. Anyways, we left Wednesday night, and the flight was full of screaming children... For 3hrs we had to endure the screams of this squealing little kid, while his parents did nothing except give it more candy and soda.... Oh well, we got to the airport in Mactan, and we took a shuttle to the resort. Now I had imagined a nice very plush resort, but what we got was a Marriott at best. The resort was nothing like the pictures they have on their website. The pools were ok, but nothing like on the website. The service there was great, the staff was really friendly and they went out of their ways to make sure we were comfy. Also I didn't realize that the water out of our faucets in our rooms was not potable. Oh well, I didn't drink it, but I was about too, and Nick told us not to drink it. Anyways, We all got ready to get on the boat, but I was not use to the fact that there were people carrying my gear for me. They set it all up and did everything that I usually do, because that is just the way I learned to do things in Korea. Anyways, I felt a little bad for letting them do that when I was more than capable of doing it myself, but that is just how things work there.

While we were there we did 7 dives and some of us did 8 dives. All of the dives that we did on the first day were about the same types of dives, but we saw so many different things on each dive. The people that owned the resort and dive shop there wanted to come out with us and show us new things, so we let the course director do the dive briefing. I was amazed on the infinite wisdom that came from that man's mouth. His dive briefing was about 30-40 second long. It equated to loosely this: "We all go in together. Swim around together, and get out together." I wish every briefing were that short and sweet. The last thing that he told us though was to be careful of the Triggerfish, because they were mating now. The first two dives were at Olango dive site. on both dives we dropped in and the water was an amazing 30C (86F). I have never dove in water this warm before and I LOVED IT!!!!! I also really enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to wear a weight belt, I just used my integrated weight system on my BCD. I had 2kg (~5lbs) in each pocket. This dive was to be a shallow dive so we could get the lay of the land and a feel for what we were doing. Well it turns out that a shallow dive of them is about 25m (82ft). Well I was fine going at that depth, because the water was still warm as hell at that depth. I actually ended up going down around 28m (~92ft) Well we swam along the wall for about 30mins and in that time, I saw more fish than I had seen in all of my dives in Korea put together. I loved it!!! We saw; Lion fish, Nudibranch, clownfish, moray eels, and so many other tropical fish there. It was wonderful. Now, Nick and I wanted to see a Triggerfish, because of what our friend Rob told us about them. We wanted to see one and see if they actually did what he said they would do to people. Also the guide Nemo told us to be careful of them because the Triggerfish were mating now. On the second drive we saw a Titan Triggerfish, it was really interested in our group and the DM that was guiding us wasn't taking any chances. He took his poker and his alternate air source and tried to scare it away from us. Also on that dive we saw a lone Barracuda just resting against the wall. 


On the third dive of the day we went to Kontiki dive site. There we saw a giant school of Sardines. I was a little disappointed in the school of Sardines for the only reason I would have liked to swim in them instead of around them, but never less they were really amazing to see. This dive was also a wall dive. We went down around 24m (~79ft) for about 48mins. We swam along the wall looking at all of the fish and the different life that you can find in the warm waters off of the Philippines. We did our 3min safety stop with the Sardines and then we got back on the boat. I must say that the safety stops were MUCH more interesting in the Philippines than they are in Korea. There is a lot more to see and you aren't just sitting there getting bored. Well once were on the boat we made our way back to the resort. Again once we got there we were told no to worry about the gear and that the boat crew would get it off the boat for us and clean it. Again it didn't feel right for me to be doing that. 


Well after got back to the resort and we got changed and cleaned up the owner took us out for a BBQ. It was really nice and getting there was half the fun. They shoved all of us into a small little truck and then they took us into town. The BBQ was nice place. The smell was amazing, but I quickly found out how much of the food I could actually eat. (not much, because I have a shellfish allergy) Well I stuff my face with the foods that I could eat which were most of the appetizers, but they all were really tasty. Well we spent about a few hours there stuffing our face with food. After that we went to the local mart to get some more provisions (beer, snacks, and Tanduay 65). Shopping at the mart in the Philippines is an experience, they have very dedicated lines for the size of cart you have and they enforce them fairly strictly. Well once we got the supplies we headed back to the resort for the night dive. 


We did our only night dive at the House Reef that was about 200m (656ft) from the resort that we were staying at. Well we all got into the water and we went down around 24m (~79ft) and we were down there for 35mins. It was a really nice dive. The torches that we had were the same ones that we use in Korea, but for some reason they seem to light up a lot more than what they do in Korea. Well while were down there we saw a lot of different fishes. We saw; a Banded Sea Snake, a Sponge Crab, Lionfish, Moray Eels, and other fish. This was also my first non Korea night dive which made it wonderful. Well we all surfaced and we got into the boat and went back to the resort. Once we were back we cleaned off the gear and then showered and cleaned up. We also got out the drinks and snacks that we had gotten at the mart and had ourselves a little party poolside. 


We sat poolside and drank until around 1am or so, and then we all decided it was time to get some sleep, so we all went to bed and that was our first day in the Philippines. 

My First Trip to Changwon Pool.

We had a good weekend this past week. Saturday and Sunday (June 2nd and June 3rd) we went to Changwon pool to do the pool sessions for a group of 10 open water students. This was my first time going to Changwon's pool. It was a nice pool, and it was busy with a lot of people learning to swim, doing laps, lifeguard courses, and of course other divers using the pool to work on skills.

Well like I said before we were there, because we had a group of ten OW students. Six of the ten, where American or Canadian students, the other four were Russian. This situation was unique, because the Russians, spoke and understood very little english. Thankfully we had Kostyantyn to translate what was on the tests and basically communicate with all of the Russian students. The American and Canadian students were mostly all friends that decided to join together there were only two that didn't know anyone, but we all welcomed them into the groups like they were old friends. The instructors consisted of Drew, Mr. Lim, and Walle. JoLeen, Kostyantyn and I were all there to help them out.  

Well on Saturday, I got to the dive shop at 11am and help load the vans. The Russian students were doing their tests, because the other group had finished theirs earlier in the week. Well at 12:30pm we all got into the vans and headed off to the pool. It took us about 40 mins to get to the pools. Once we got there we all unloaded the gear into the pool area. The students seemed shocked by what they saw in the pool area. There were a lot of people doing all sorts of swim related activities. Well we got our lockers and our swim caps, and changed into our suits went to the pool area. Once we all got poolside, we had the students set up there gear while we watched them and helped them get set up. We then split into two groups, the group of friends and the group of Russians, with to Americans. Once the gear was assembled and put on we did a seated controlled entry for their first time. They all performed that very well and soon they were all floating at the surface. It was funny to see them all bobbing in the water trying to steady themselves. Once they all got comfortable breathing with their faces in the water, we took them down one by one. I went down first with one of them and waited at the bottom of the pool for Drew to bring them down to me. The pool was 5m (16.4ft) deep, and there were many other divers in the pool. Once we all got to the bottom they immediately started to work on their skills with Drew. I sat in the back and made sure that the students were comfy and stable. They worked on their skills such as mask removal, mask flooding, taking the regulator out of the mouth, and other such skills. Well after they were all done with the skills we swam around. I worked with them on their buoyancy, and taught them how to fin pivot and hover. Some of them got it right away, but other had to work on it more. Well after that we let them swim around for a few mins then we all surfaced and got out. Once we were out of the pool they were all excited to do it again. Most of their fears had washed away, and they all seemed like they had a lot of fun. 

Sunday we all headed back to the pool. We did the same routine as before on Saturday as far as unloading the gear and getting dressed and then getting poolside. Well today we didn't have to do as much stuff as we did on Saturday. Today the students would finish their confined dives 4 and 5. That ment a lot of free time to practice their swimming and buoyancy. Well the students got geared up, but this time they would have to do the stride entry into the pool. So we taught them how to do that, and then let them try it for themselves. It all went very well, and when they got into the water we told them to go down and we watched them go down slowly. Once on the bottom they did their skills that they had to perform and they all did it with ease. The only skill where they had some hang ups was the free flowing regulator. The hang ups were minor though, so no big deal. After the skills were all done they surfaced and did their surface skills. They went well as well and before long they were all finished and out of the pool. Once they got out they took apart their gear and got showered, but while they were doing that, Kostyantyn,  JoLeen, and I had to do our swim tests for our Divemaster Course.

We had to do a 400m swim with no assistance and no stopping, an 800m fins, snorkel, and mask swim where we could only use our legs to swim, and lastly we had to do a 100m tired diver tow. This is the part of the day I was not looking forward too. I HATE swimming distances. I mean I can swim, but I don't like doing it for any extended period of time. Anyways we made it through the tests, but I still have to do the 400m again, because I started to cramp in my legs after doing the other dives first. Well after the swims we got changed and headed back to the dive shop in Busan. There wasn's much going on as far as exciting things, but it was an over good time with new divers. Next weekend we will be going all of this in the ocean for their first dives as students. I can't wait.

Pohang!!! Finally some boat diving. The first of the year!

Well We had some great diving this past weekend at Aquabelle in Pohang. We went there the 26th and 27th of May. The weather was great, it was sunny and not a cloud in the sky both days. It was around 26C (79F) both days and the water was great. Well we got there around 11:30 on Saturday and didn't waste any time. We got our gear out of the van and we started to set up the equipment. We got all of the gear ready and the suits on in a timely fashion, but found out that there was a group in front of us that were going to go out on the boat that was at the dock... The good thing is that there are 2 boats that run divers out and back in, the bad part was that there were 3 guys with rebreather systems in the boat before us... As discussed before I was to guide the fun divers with JoLeen and Jen both watching the 2 groups that made up the fun divers. I gave a briefing and told the divers that we would try to stay in big group and the visibility would dictate how close we would group together. I also told them that we would be swimming in a straight line for about 20mins in one direction and back the same way for another 20mins. I also told them to tell me when they were low on air or cold and we would surface and get them into the boat. The briefing went well for my first one, well at least I thought that it went well.

Well about an hour later the other boat came back and we made a mad dash to it. We were all baking hot, because of the wetsuits. JoLeen, Francois, and I decided to jump of the dock before the boats got there to stay cool. Anyways, we got into the boat and we were off. The first dive that we did was at the new reef. It was a reef of seaweed and soft coral. Basically it is just a rocky ridge in the middle of sand. It is about 12m to 18m (39.3ft to 59ft) deep. You can see a lot of fish and other wildlife there. Well we got over the site that we were diving and we all rolled off the boat. We grouped up and talked for a few seconds to make sure everyone knew what we were about to do. They all gave the ok and we descended. The water was great at the top. It was 21C (69.8F), and the visibility was around 6m (19.68ft). Well when we got to the bottom the water went from 21 C to around 14C (57.2F). It was a big shock, but I really don't mind the cold water. Well we got grouped up at the bottom and started off heading east.

As we were headed down there were a lot of jellyfish in the water. We made it through them without an incident everything was going great, we were going at a nice slow pace, but Jen's group was falling behind, because there was a photographer in her group and he was taking pictures of everything. We slowed down and tried to let them catch up. I was trying to look back at them every 5 - 6 kick cycles to see how they were all doing. Well around 5 mins into the dive we lost Jen's group. I wasn't worried because Jen is a wonderful diver and the guys she was with are all very experienced divers. They knew where we were headed and I wasn't too worried about them, the only thing that worried me was that I lost a group... Well JoLeen and I continued on until we got into a valley. I told them to wait, and that I was going to go looking for the other group. Well I went over the ridge that we went over and I looked both ways, well I didn't find them. I turned around and headed back over the ridge and JoLeen and the other group had disappeared... I was thinking "OH FUCK".... Well I started to search for them in all different directions. I looked for bubbles, but I couldn't find any. After about 10mins, I started my expanding square to try and find them. That didn't pan out. I checked my air and I was at 70 bar (~1000psi), I had to ascend because I had to make a safety stop. Well I made my safety stop and set off my SMB (surface marker buoy). When I got to the surface I saw that the groups were getting on the boat and that I was the last one to surface. When we got on the boat, JoLeen, Jen, and I all asked each other where we all went too. We came to the conclusion that it was all just misunderstanding. Well I am glad that we didn't lose anyone permanently and that we all got back on the boat safely.

Once we were back on shore we talked it over with Drew and he told us that it was a good learning situation and that no one was hurt or wanted their money back so it was a win. I still don't completely see it his way, but I can see where he is coming from. Anyways, We got refitted for our second dive and began the process of waiting again. This time we only had to wait 2 hours to get back on a boat. On this dive we did things a little bit differently. We broke the fun divers up into 2 groups. I was with Dave and Sumin and Jen was with Paer and Rob. JoLeen this time was going to help Drew out with the AOW divers. I gathered my group and gave them a quick briefing on what we were going to be doing. Also we decided to take an egg down with us, because this dive was going to be around 30m (98.4ft) and we wanted to see what the egg was going to do. Well we got onto the boat and we headed out.

The dive site that we were doing on this dive is called "Cube Reef". It is a man made reef, and is made out of big metal frames that are in the shape of cubes. They have been there for about 20yrs and they are home to a lot of fish and some neat looking coral. We all got out of the boat and I handed the egg to Dave before I rolled in. We went down to the bottom and we all kneeled down. Sumin got out her camera and filmed me breaking the egg open. Sure enough the pressure from the water kept the egg in shape. It was really cool to see it. We played with the egg for a few mins and then we started to swim around. We saw a schools of fish, jellyfish, sea hares, and other such sea creatures. This dive was nice and relaxing compared to the first one. We really didn't do much except just swim over the reef and around it. After about 30mins we started our ascent with 3mins to spare before we would have had to made a decompression stop (going from 3min safety stop to an 8min decompression stop. Not that big of a problem, but we didn't have any drop tanks with us in case we ran out of air.). Well we got to the surface and we all got into the boat and headed back.

Once we got back we got all the gear cleaned off and hung up to dry. We showered and got ready for the night activities. The group that I went with all brought different food. We had a nice dinner, with Korean pork, homemade potato salad, steaks, homemade vegetarian curry, and hotdogs. We had beer and soju to wash it all down. This all started around 5:30pm and most of us stayed up till around 11pm drinking and having a good time. Well by the time I had finished drinking most of the people were a sleep in our Min Bok (a traditional Korean sleeping place). I found a spot on the floor and started to sleep, well that is what I wanted to do at least. One of the guys that came with us is a big snorer. Well he was cutting a freakin forest down by the time I laid down. I could stand it, so I went into another room, well Nick "The Greek" followed me and we went to sleep. The girls also followed, but they went to sleep in the changing room of the women's shower room. Nick and I went to sleep in the men's changing room. Well about 45 mins after we got to sleep, the Korean guy who owns the place decided he was going to have a party in the room that we were sleeping. He scared me and I shot up really quickly, however Nick was not so fast on getting up. Finally after about 10 mins of trying to get him up we got him up and out. We went back into "the forest" where the lumberjack was still very much at work. Finally out of sheer exhaustion, I pasted out. The next morning we woke up 5hrs later and decided it was time to get up. The girls started to make breakfast for all of us. We had a lovely breakfast of breakfast burritos and fresh fruit. We had the morning cups of coffee and we were ready to go.

We started off the day with a nice dive site called The Virgin Mary. You can guess the reason for the name of this site... That's right there is a statue of the Virgin Mary praying. The dive is about 18m (59ft) deep. There is also a giant crack that we can swim through named "The Virgin's Crack", because the Virgin Mary is at the entrance of the crack. Well we got into our groups which were a little different than yesterdays. Kostyantan was with us this time and he had to do his briefings and leading for his Divemaster course like I had to do for mine. So this time I was with Kostyantan, Paer, and Rob. We did our briefing and got into the boat.

Once we got to the site we got into the water and we talked for a few seconds and then descended. We went down the 18m (59ft) and started to swim around. We got to the crack, but we didn't see the statue. Well we swam through the crack and then just floated around. We were all following Kostyntan this time which was nice, because I didn't really have to worry about loosing anyone. We were down there for about 30 some odd minutes. While we were down there we saw a lot of fish and coral, basically the same as before, but different dive sites. We started to surface and we did our safety stop and got back into the boat. The water temp at the surface was about the same as yesterday's, but the bottom had dropped to 11C (51.8F), getting back into the warm sun was nice. Once we got back to the docks we got our gear refitted, and waited for the next boat to take us out. While we were refitting, I asked the other groups if they saw the statue, and they all said yes.... This is the second year in a row that I have not seen it... Well come to find out that someone had knocked it over into the rocks and then cut off the head... No wonder why I didn't see it...

Well for this dive Kostyantan gave us a briefing for our next dive site which is an underwater Buddha statue. Yep that is right we are going to hit multi-religions on these dives. Well we sat there listening to his brief and then got our gear on. We all got into the boat and the boat captain told us that the site was "under construction", so we would have to choose another dive site. We decided to go and look for the "Cock and Balls" statue of fertility. The captains didn't know exactly where the statue was, but they knew that it was in a certain region, so the dropped us off and told us to head SW to possible see it. Well we all dropped into the ocean and descended. Well I thought that we were going to be around 12m ~ 18m (39.37ft ~ 59ft), but we ended up going down to around 25m (82ft). The water temp for that dept at 12:25m was a balmy 10C (50F). Anyways, we started to head SW and we swam around for 30mins and didn't find anything, but we did get to see a lot of neat fish and a thermal-cline (Where the temp changes rapidly and you get to see the wavy ripples in the water because of the temp change. It looks sort of like looking at a grill from the side when it is on in the summer and everything behind it is wavy.) Anyways, we ascended normally and did our safety stop. We got into the boat and headed back to the dock.

We got back and washed the gear again. We also ordered some chinese food. Well while we waited for that to arrive we hung the gear up and let it dry. We also did our logbooks and exchanged signatures. After the food came we had a late lunch then headed back to Busan. We all had a great weekend at Pohang and I hope that there is many more to come before I head off to Roatan in September.

Lazy Sunday Dives...

On Sunday May 20th we went out with an AOW course. It was Drew, Niko, JoLeen, and I. We went out there for Niko's AOW course. It was a beautiful day at Taejongdae. It was around 24C (75F) outside and sunny. We got there and the diving conditions were really good. There were no waves and the visibility in the water was around 3m (~10ft) and the water temp was around 18C (64.4F).

Well on the first dive JoLeen and I followed Drew and Niko around for the first half. JoLeen and I were just floating around 11m (36ft). We got to see a lot of fish out that day, well we found a baby cuttlefish and decided to play around with it. (watch it) Anyways, we ended up losing Drew and Niko, which was no big deal since we both had been to that dive site many times. So we just swam around and tried to see all the stuff that we could see in the nice visibility. We saw a lot of fish and other sea creatures. Well half way through the dive we found Drew and Niko, so we paired up with them. Well about 10 mins later JoLeen told me that she was running low on air, so I signaled to Drew that we were going to go back in, and then JoLeen and I started to swim back to the shore. We got out and took our gear up to the dive centre at the beach and we just warmed up and relaxed for a few hours. 

On the second dive we told Drew that we were going to go on the left side of the bay. That part was a litte more dangerous, because of the boat traffic. We wanted to go over there and explore and since I had been over there a few times, but JoLeen hadn't I would be guiding us over there. Well we got into the water and we swam on the surface over to the buoys near the pier. We went down 8.4m (27.5ft) and swam around. There were significantly a lot more fish on this side of the bay. They reason for this is that the Korean speargun divers don't go on this side, because of the boat traffic. Well while we were under the water we saw a fish trapped on a fishing hook. I swam over and I looked it over. The fish was caught in the mouth by a hook. I grabbed the fish and I took the hook out and set it free. We swam around and found 3 more fish caught on hooks. This time they weren't that lucky. They were all tangled up in the line and the starfish had started to eat them. There was nothing that JoLeen or I could do for them. Well we continued on and started to go to the left more. Well we found a lot of fish in the rocks and the seaweed was beautiful over there. Well while we were swimming. We heard the ferry start up and the noise was bone chilling underwater. We swam low against the rocks, but by that time the boat had turned on the their props and there was a huge surge because of the rocks. I turned around and motioned to JoLeen to get down and hold on. The current the boat made was fast and strong, I started to laugh, but I don't think that JoLeen was too amused by what I had gotten us into. Well the boat when over us and I told her to move, but she was frozen in place. By the time that she started to move there was another boat above us, and the current continued. We finally got moving and we made our way back to safer water. After about 35 minutes JoLeen told me that she was cold so we headed back to the centre. We got out of that water and we ordered food and waited to go on the last dive of the day. 

On the last dive of the night we all got into the water and we all went down together. We went down about 11m (36ft) Well we swam around and tried to see a lot of night life. I really do like night diving in Korea, because you can see a lot of different things come out at night that usually you can't see during the day. Well we saw cuttlefish, eels, octopus, and a lot of different types of fish, We went around the bottom for about 36 mins. The water was surprisingly not that cold and the visibility held up from during the day. Well we finished that dive with no problem and we all got out. We cleaned the saltwater off the gear and took warm showers. We packed up the van and we all headed back to the dive shop. 

Overall it was a very good weekend of diving with good friends and I hope that there are many more to come. This weekend we are heading to Pohang for boat diving. I can't wait to go. 

Trip to Seoul!

On May 17th through May 18th we went to Seoul to teach some children from the BCC Academy how to dive. We left early morning from Busan and got up into Seoul around the early afternoon. We went to visit our friends from Go Pro at their shop and see how they were doing. Well when we got there they invited us to go out with them to a Red Bull sponsored party in the nice area of Seoul. Well we told them that we would think about it, and that we would get back to them about it.

Well we got to the motel where were staying for that night and we dropped our things off and we went to get some food. We met up with Mr. Lim's friends and we were also with one of the teachers that is in charge of the kids that we are taking diving. We had a nice dinner and some drinks, well Mr. Lim and his friends went off and the teacher had to run, so that left Drew and I wondering what to do. So we called S.H. Lee, and asked him where the party would be at. He messaged us back and let us know. Well we went back to the motel and took showers and got ready. We got to the club where the party was at and they wouldn't let me in, because I was wearing cargo shorts... ugh... Anyways, We all got into a cab and when to S.H.'s house. Drew and S.H.'s fiancee waited in the cab, and S.H. and I went to his house to get some pants. Luckily there were some pants that fit me, and we were back in the cab to go back to the party. Well when we got there they let us into the club. I had to check my bag, and that cost me $5 at the automatic coat check. (lockers)

Well after we all got settled in, we went to the bar and got drinks. Well in the beginning when we said that we would go with them, he told us that the entrance fee would be free and there would also be free drinks. (That wasn't the case with the drink part....) Anyways we got to the bar and Drew got the first round. Well $40 later we had 4 Red Bull and vodkas... They were good drinks, but it was a lot for just a small drink, but that is what you get when you go tot he clubs in a rich part of the city... Well S.H. got the next 3 rounds. Drew and I both hoped he was using the company card, because that would be a lot of money. Well we walked around the club and watched the DJ's that were there competing in a spin competing. They were ok, but none of them had original material. Anyways, we were there for a few hours, but Drew and I had to leave, because we had to be at the school at 8am to teach the kids.  So we said our goodbyes and we went back to the motel. Well we got back around 1:30am and Mr. Lim was still out drinking, around 4am he stumbled into the room and crashed.

We got to the school at 8am and started to teach these kids the knowledge part of diving. None of the kids were excited about being there. In fact they were just blah about being there. We asked them why they were taking this class, and they all replied that their mothers had made them take it. Some of the kids even told us that they were afraid of the water. Drew and I just looked at each other and shook our heads. This was going to be a long day in the class room. Well we got through the class room work in about 3 painful hours of misery and complaining from the kids. By that time it was lunch time and they invited us to eat lunch with the teachers. We got down there and they had made a Western style picnic. There were cheeseburgers, hotdogs, caesar salads, and cookies. It was really nice to have this meal especially after the class. After lunch we got into the vans and went to the Olympic Dive Center. We got the gear out and changed into the dive gear. That was the first time I had ever been in an Olympic Dive Center. The pool was pretty big and it was 5m (16ft) deep. Also I was unaware that I would have to wear a dive cap into the pool... That is such a stupid rule.. Anyways, I got one on, but it wouldn't stay on, so I just took it off when I was in the water.

Well we got the kids geared up on the side of the pool, because they were to small to stand up by themselves with all the gear on. Well when we finally got them in the pool we started to do some of the skills. The kids loved doing this part and they were having fun except one boy. He was the youngest of the group, but he also didn't pay attention at all in the class. Drew told me to watch this kid, but he just didn't want to do anything right. Drew compared this kid to Ralph Wiggam from the Simpsons. Well after wasting 40 mins on this kid alone, we just finally decided that he was too much of a risk to continue and we told the teacher to remove him from the pool. Well continuing with the other students we got them deeper down into the bottom of the pool where we finished their skills and let them swim around. By that time there wasn't much air left into their tanks, but they had a blast doing it.

Well after we got the kids to swim around for a bit it was time for us to go. We got them out of the pool and got all the gear stored away. We packed up the van and headed back to Busan. On the way back we heard from Mr. Cha that there was a Dong-Eui University Festival. So we decided to go there and have drink with him and his students. It was a great time there, free drinks and free food. It was a great way to cap off the trip to Seoul.

Changwon Yacht & Boat Expo 2012

I know that it has been a bit since I last posted, but I have been really busy. To start it off, we went to Changwon South Korea, for a Yacht and Boat Expo. May 10th to May 13th. It was a lot of fun, because I got to really meet the owners of the dive centre that I dive out of. The expo invited us to do a discover scuba display. They were really nice to us and they even built a pool for us, but we had to share it with the tiny sailboats and it was only waist deep, so it wasn't that great. I did however meet new people and made some new friends a long the way.

Well we started the expo off on a Thursday. It was an ok day, we really didn't do much except sit around and shoot the breeze. We did have one person do the discover scuba, but he was part of the expo. S.H. Lee, is an Assistant Manger with Go Pro Korea. He had a lot of fun in the pool we mounted one of his Go Pro cameras onto our DPV (basically it is a big fan that moves you through the water). He also brought another Go Pro camera in the pool with him. We swam around for a bit and we had him going through a little course that we set up for the divers. After that was done, we got out and we sat around again till 6pm. After the expo was over we went out and had a great time on the town. We met up with the Go Pro Guys and they took us out for drinks and dinner.

Friday & Saturday were about the same, there wasn't anything going on at our booths. We just walked around and looked at the other displays and saw what they had to offer. There were Korean models on the boats posing for pictures and there was also a giant block "O" pool outside, so people could use canoes, pirogues, and kayaks. Saturday night we went out with some volunteer university students of Mr. Cha's. They were a lot of fun to go out with and they were really interested in talking with foreign people.

Sunday was sort of the same as the rest, however we got to actually swim around with people. We had six people sign up and we took them around the pool. They had a lot of fun, but the kids were a little small for the equipment that we had. They still had a lot of fun though. An hour before the expo was to end they came around and told us to start packing up our stuff and that is when the excitement started. We were frantically packing up our displays while around us our stands were being torn down with lighting fast efficiency. Koreans don't really mess around when things need to be built or taken down. Well we got all the stuff packed up and in the vans and we headed back to Busan.

Overall that expo was really interesting. I got to see a lot of cool things, and meet some nice people.

A Sunny Wavy Day

We had another good weekend of diving. It started off with finishing pool sessions with the Open Water students and ending with them finishing their course in the ocean. They all did very well and I was proud to be apart of their beginning journey into the world of diving.

On Saturday May 5th, we all met at the dive centre and the students got watching the last of their videos quickly. As they were watching the videos Jen, JoLeen, and I got their gear setup. Jen had to leave early, so JoLeen and I got to work with the students on their buoyancy. They all did really well. After the pool session the students went home and prepared for their last ocean dive of the course. After that class, Jen came back and we all got our gear together and prepared for the Night Course and an Advanced Open Water Night Dive. We were taking Francois out for his first night dive. We loaded the van and went to Taejongdae. We got there around 7:30ish and started to set up the gear that we needed for the dive. We met Francois and his wife at the dive site and we talked about his trip to Guam. It was very interesting, but it was sort of eating up our time, so we politely hurried the conversation on. We talked about what we were going to be doing in the water, and then headed to the beach. We got in the water and there were a couple of times that Francois flashed his LED torch in our eyes, but that is a given when someone is new to night diving. We went down 10m (~33ft) and we were down there for about 47mins. The water was 15C (59F), but it didn't feel that cold for some reason. Well when we got to the bottom, Francois and Drew went off to do his compass exercise, so Jen, JoLeen, and I just waited for a bit. When they go back we all took off and started to swim. The girls were paired together, and I was paired with Francois. We when you are paired you should try to stick close to your "buddy" especially when the visibility is 1-2m (3.2-6.5ft). Since it was Francois's first time to go night diving and since he really doesn't know the site that well I stuck really close to him. Everything started off really well, but there were times that he started to stray off from the pack, so I had to guide him back. Well about half way in the dive he started to act very strangely. He started to loss all spacial awareness and he started to roll around while he was swimming. Well in doing so he didn't stay in the line formation that we talked about in the briefing. He was all over the place, and I had to do a lot of chasing after him. At one point he punched me in the face as he was messing around doing I don't know what. I was also not the only one affected with his antics. The girls were also subjected to his antics. There were numerous times that he kicked Jen and JoLeen both in the face with his fins. JoLeen was trying to get her night navigation done, so we were to be following her. Well as she was doing that, Francois was out infront of her just swimming. It was if he didn't have a care in the world and nothing else existed except him. He also forgot all the signals that Drew talked about with us. At one point we were going to hold the lights to our chest and see if we could see the bioluminescence. Well he did the opposite he started to check his gauges, so they weren't as strong as they should have been. Well we all started to head back after that attempt and on the way back he again was all over the place. Once we got to the line, Jen and Drew stayed down to do one last exercise, so JoLeen, Francois, and I started to ascend. By this time both JoLeen and I were frustrated with him so we started up the line. Well he had no clue what was going on, and he came up last. At the surface we tried to get his attention. He turned around and flashed his light in our eyes, in-fact he did that a lot of times while in the water as well... Well we got out and I waited on the beach for Jen and Drew. The waves were kicking up, and Jen doesn't fare so well against them. When Drew and Jen surfaced I went back into the water and helped her get out. After she and Drew were out we got packed up and headed home.

Sunday marked a bright new day!!! It was the Open Water student's last dives of the course. We all met at the centre around 9am and were in the van by 9:45am. We got to the centre at the beach and got the gear all unloaded. We started to brief the students on what they would be doing for the first dive, and the girls and I got the gear setup. Actually Jen, JoLeen, and Mike got their earlier than we did, so they set out the gear and started to dry the suits out from last night. It was really nice of them to do. The students also worked on their basic navigations skills in the parking lot, because they had to work on that in the water. Well after that we got all our gear on and headed into the water. Since there were four of us helping (Jen, JoLeen, Kostyantyn, and I) the girls would work with the students first, and the guys would work with them on the second dive. Well Kostyantyn, was going to be late as usual, so I went into the water to help pull the students out of the surf zone. The waves were medium in size, but it was a problem for the students. Anyways, we got all of them in the water, and they headed out. I went back to the centre and waited. Well when I got back to the centre he was there setting up his kit. He got all of his stuff together and we talked about what we would be doing. He was in charge of leading, and I was in charge of counting the kick cycles. Well we got into the water, and we went down about 8m (26.2ft). When we got to the bottom, the visibility was 2m (6.5ft) and it was 17C (62.6F). Well we headed off on a 300 degree line. Well we made 5 passes and recorded the kick cycles and depth. Well we were down about 27mins and then we surfaced, because it was our time to work with the students. Well we got onto the beach and by that time the students were at the surface. We walked over to where they were and we helped them out of the water. We asked them how it went and they were all in a foul mood. Well  unknown to Kostyantyn and I, they were all doing their surface exercises and they all got a mild case of seasickness. They motion of the waves were a little too much for them. They all made it to the centre and they sat down. We let them rest a bit, and get their stomaches settled. Once they were back to normal we got them back into the water for their last dive. This time I was working with the guys and Kostyantyn worked with the girls. We  got out to the buoy, and the guys went down first. Kostyantyn, went down with them, and I waited with the girls. They started to get restless at the top, so we went down. Once at the bottom Drew had them do some skills and after that we swam around. This time we went down 9m (29.5ft). The visibility and temp were the same as before. We swam around for about 24mins. It went really well. I was really proud to see the progression of the students. It was really good to see them progress so far in such a little time. At the end of the dive we were suppose to practice a safety stop, but the students just wanted to get out of the water, because they all had enough for that day.  We all got out and headed up to the centre to change and get dry. The students worked on their logbooks, and after they were done we went out for a celebration late lunch.

It was a good weekend, and I am glad it went really well. Congradulations Nick, Mike, Sarah, and Vickie!!

The First Open Water Course of the Year!

April 28th & 29th the Saturday and Sunday marked the first open water course of the year for Busan Scuba. My role during the course was to help out where I was needed. It was Jen and I working with Drew to make sure that the new students were all set up and everything was in it's place. We were there to help make Drew's job just a little bit easier.

April 28th the Saturday and first day of the course Jen was there helping Drew throughout the day. I had to tutor, so I came later. I had other things to do as well, so I didn't stay that long for that day. The parts I did stay for was the students watched parts 1 ~ 3 on the DVD. Drew sat in the room and talked to them about the knowledge reviews in their books as well after the DVD. Jen and Drew had gotten the gear around in the morning, so basically everything was set up already. When Drew was not talking to the students, he was giving Jen and I pointers as too help us out in what to do for a class time sessions. Well after they were done in the classroom came the time to demonstrate how the gear worked to them. We had two tanks, two BCD's, and two sets of regs. Drew demonstrated how to assemble the kit, and then he let the students work on it. While the students were working on their kits, Jen and I would walk around watching and help the students out. We also used this time to order lunch. All the students did a great job for their first time ever putting a kit together. By that time the students had got all the gear assembled and the questions were asked and then the lunch arrived. We ate and talked about different things. After the lunch it was time to get into the pool, however as things go, I had to leave. Jen and Drew got them set up in the pool and took them in. I said my goodbyes and that was it for me on Saturday.
Sunday I arrived around 8:30 in the morning. Drew was already there by that time setting up the gear and getting it all collected, so it would be easier to put into the van. I started to help him pack and then I got my gear together. The students arrived at the shop and there was this sense of excitement in the air. We all got into the van and we headed to Taejongdae where we dive locally. We met one of the students and Jen there. Drew took the students to the beach to show them what they were going to do. While Drew did that Jen and I set out the gear for the students, and we got into our suits and waited for the students to come back. The dive center was busy with life. There were a lot of Koreans there this weekend, and this could mean only one thing. Dive season has started for them too, and it was just going to get busier and busier as the summer continues.

Once the students go back they put on their gear and started doing their buddy checks. Drew, Jen, and I watched them as they did this, and helped them when we could. I was paired with the girls, and Jen had the guys. After the final ok's were given, we walked to the beach with the gear on. We got on the beach and Drew talked for a minute to review what was going to happen. We put the masks on and got into the water. We showed them how to put the fins on and we let them work on that. We also helped them when they couldn't get them on properly. When we were all floating in the water with all of the gear on we swam out to the buoy. Jen went down with the guys first and I stayed at the top with Drew and the girls. On the way down one of the boys just sank like a rock, while the other one took his time. Drew went down after him after him. After the guys were down and situated it was the girls turn to go down. I walked them through the 5 point decent and we started to go down. We went down the line very slowly, because one of the girls had problems equalizing her ears. It was no big deal, Drew came up to where we were and took the other girl that was doing ok. I remained with the other one and we just took our merry time going down. I was really proud of her for doing this. I know that sometimes when you see the other people in the group you want to rush into things and not be the last one, but she took her time and made it down safely. Once we were down there we go the students somewhat buoyant, and we took them on a swim. We were around 9m (29.5ft), and the visibility was around 1m (3.2ft) the water temperature was also 15C (59F). While swimming around I really couldn't see how Jen was doing with the boys, I was too busy trying to keep the girls moving. One of the girls was doing alright, but the other one had a floating issue. She kept on rising while she was swimming. She was a small to avg girl, and she had 12kg (26.5lbs) around her waist, so it wasn't her weight. I then noticed she had gotten her Low Pressure Inflator buttons mixed up. Anyways, I grabbed and dragged down, but in doing so we both started to rise. I dumped my air and I then I maneuvered her to a vertical position and dumped most of her air in her BCD. I was really proud of her during this time, because she remained calm and didn't panic while I was tossing her around in the water trying to get her to sink. Well with that out of the way we continued on. I had the girls by the hand and we swam around for about 20 some odd minutes. Around that time the students were getting cold and wanted to go up to get warm. We got on the surface and started to swim to the shore. Once everyone was there and the gear was off, Drew informed them that they had to do a swim part of the course. They looked at him with doubtful eyes, but they all got back into the water with just their fins, snorkel, and masks. Drew even got in with them and they swam around the bay. After the swim Jen and I took the students back to centre to warm up. We took the tanks with us and Drew stayed with the gear. While up at the centre They got warm and Jen went down to the beach so drew could come up and get warm as well.

After about 20mins at the centre we all gathered and grabbed tanks and carried them down to the beach. We assembled the kits and got geared up for the second dive. However on this dive the beginning part of this dive the students had to work on their skills. Just like before we go them all out the the buoy, and the boys went down first followed by the girls. This time going down with the girls we went down a little bit faster this time. Drew did have to come up for one of the girls and I stayed with the other one and we took our time again. Well when she got down there the other students had completed the skills and it was her turn. She did her skills and we went for a swim around. This swim was the same as the last in terms of stats. However on this swim around the girls did a lot better with their buoyancy. I swam above them this time making sure that they didn't rise up, but they all did really well. Towards the end I did end up taking their hands and swimming with them a little faster, because they started to get cold again and we were a little farther out than last time. Well after around 20 some minutes we got to the surface and got out. We got cleaned up and they sat around talking about the dive. Drew helped them with the log books and Jen and I worked with the gear. After they did their log books Drew, Jen, and I packed up the van. everyone was really hungry, so we stopped for some Korean kimchi pork soup. We finished the lunch and headed back to the dive centre.

Overall the day went really well, at least I thought it did. It also gave me a better understanding on what a divemaster does when working with an instructor in the ocean. I learned new things and it was an overall great learning experience. I can't wait for the second part of there course this weekend.

A Mid-Week Night Dive

Well last night we went on a night dive at Taejongdae. Drew had a customer that was from Sweden and he wanted to get a dive in while he was in Korea. Tuesday the the 24th was the only day that he could get one in, so Drew told him that it was alright and that the conditions were good. Well I arrived at the dive shop around 5:15ish, no one was there and a few minutes later Drew showed up. We sat there for a bit and talked about what we were going to do during the dive. We then got some food and waited for the guy to show up. Well 6:30 rolls around and he is not there yet. The customer called Drew a few minutes later explaining to Drew that he was on the subway, but had gone past the stop that he was suppose to get off. Anyways, he turned around on the subway and headed back to where he was suppose to be, and Drew and I went out to go meet him. Well he finally showed up and we all when back to the shop and got his gear for him. We headed out after getting him gear, and on the way we stopped at the nicest ATM that I have ever seen in  GS 25. It actually had an English button on it, which is great to know that they had updated their ATMs.
Well we got to the dive center and the shops around it were busy with customers wanting to eat delicious seafood. We got all of the gear laid out and arranged. We then headed into the ocean. The visibility was about 1m (3.2ft) and the temp was 15C (59F).  On this dive the bioluminescence was really strong. It was amazing how it glowed green every time we moved in the water. Well we went down about 11m (36ft) and started to swim around. There was a lot of night life out. We saw some octopus, crabs, shrimps, sea hares, scorpionfish, and cuttlefish all of the usual animals you would expect to see at Taejongdae. Then from nowhere, there appeared a mackerel. I was really shocked to see a mackerel at that dive site. It was great to see that there. I can now say I saw a mackerel living underwater and not dead or cooked in a store. It is really amazing what different things you can see while diving in Korea. For instance on the second dive of the season, Drew and I found some sea horses that are never here at Taejongdae. Well we continued to dive. The customer started to feel cold so, we headed back to the shore. At the surface he got a cramp in his leg and Drew and I helped him out. The dive itself was around 43mins and overall it was a really fun dive, besides the low visibility. Again another great time diving with Busan Scuba.

Wet and Rainy Weekend Diving on 4/21/12 part 2

Well once we got down on the bottom. Francois and Drew started to work on his diving patterns. He worked on his squares and his reciprocal paths. I just followed them and worked on my buoyancy.  There were a couple of times I had to poke Francois and get him back on track, but other than that he did very well in the conditions I thought. They were absolutely less then favorable. That dive we were down about  45mins. After the dive we got out of the water, and we talked about the possibility of diving at night. We all came to the conclusion that going into the water again was just too much for all of us to do.

JoLeen and Jen getting ready to dive.

Me, Francois, and Drew getting out of the water.

All of us finally out of the water and on shore.

Francois holding our fins while we help the Korean student.

Drew and I helping the Korean student out of the water.

Me

Drew

Jen and JoLeen in the water.

Drew helping out JoLeen and Jen.

JoLeen with her SMB

Jen trying to fight the waves as she gets out.

Drew and I helping out Jen.

Drew, Jen, Me, and JoLeen

Jen and JoLeen

All of us getting ready to go diving.

Overall the dives were all good, but the weather just sucked... Either way I would chalk these dives up into the good column. I am sure that there will be more days like this, because there is a lot of rain in the summer months of Korea. Well are the pictures of our dives that Francois's wife took from the shore. I hope that you like them.