Week 2, Day 8

Today we headed down to the pier and got everything ready for our dive. Chamber, Compressors, Comms, Diver Panel, Suits & Helmets, etc. After this we were given the task of going down and cutting a piece of pipe using a hacksaw while another diver filmed us. This sound easy but under the water cutting a piece of pipe is really tiring and tricky as your mask can fog up and you need to open your overflow.

I started the job and after I few seconds cutting no marks appeared on the pipe. Basically they turned the blade upside-down so I was cutting on the blunt side. Needless to say I got a lot of stick.

After everybody went in, it was my turn to go in the water for a second time. Due to the fact that we all managed to communicate effectively with the surface, we were given the chance to use pneumatic tools… in this case a steel brush. Using air tools underwater is a lot of fun but can be dangerous as bubbles come out of the tools and you constantly have to stop to see what you are doing. At the same time, unbeknown to us we were getting assessed. This was our first practical assessment and I passed with flying colours. Hopefully during the rest of the course I will do as well as I am at the moment.