Today, our class was spilt up into different groups. Some people were in the classroom learning diving basics so they can get SCUBA certified. Others were on the boat with Dr. Brad Peterson deploying BRUVs (baited remote underwater videos) off shore with Go Pro cameras so we can later watch the videos and identify the organisms that were seen. My group had our check out dive. Myself, two other students and our TA Colin had previously gotten SCUBA certified in the past so the dive instructors here at Discovery Bay Marine Lab wanted to make sure that all of our scuba skills were fresh in our minds before going on any dives. After breakfast the four of us set out on the SeaHorse with our dive leader, Snow, and into the water we went. We went to the bottom in about 20 feet of water and performed all of our skills. Some of the skills we had to perform included losing and retrieving our regulator (which is what a diver breaths with), buddy breathing (sharing your air source with a partner) and buoyancy control. Once Snow saw that we were all able to safely dive, we set out on a mini adventure along the outskirts of “The Blue Hole.” We didn’t see many interesting organisms on this dive, but it felt great to be in the beautiful blue water diving again. I’m already excited to get back in the water and see what else I can find!

The Clear blue water of Discovery Bay.

– Marissa