I finished the academic work for my advanced open water certification in Spring 2020, but our checkout dives (required for the certification) were canceled, along with all other university travel and events. This past weekend I was finally able to meet up with my instructors and classmates to complete these dives.
We dove at Hudson Grotto and Blue Grotto for a total of 6 dives. We went down to 120 ft on the first day, practiced using compasses, SMBs, reels, flashlights, and other gear we hadn't practiced with yet. On the second day we toured a cavern, practiced using lift bags, and completed a "men of honor" challenge of assembling and then disassembling a PVC pipe cube with nuts and bolts securing it, underwater with neutral buoyancy, as quickly as possible. It took my group 16 minutes, which was faster than the previous record of 17 minutes!
At the conclusion of the weekend I became certified in Advanced Open Water, along with the Advanced Rescue Diver and Nitrox certifications I previously earned in that class. Now, I only have a few more checkout dives to complete before I also receive my AAUS scientific diver certification which was also postponed due to COVID-19.
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