by Zachory Brockman

Created on: October 03, 2009   Last Updated: October 04, 2009

Dive adventures can happen in almost any location no matter where you live or places you visit. For us land locked scuba divers who just happen to live far from the ocean we have to use our imaginations to find interesting dive sites. In my case I've been visiting former rock quarries that have been revitalized as recreational bonanzas. The water is tested often by state and local governments to ensure it is safe, the visibility is generally very good, and the temperature is fairly warm without having to resort to an expensive dry suit during the Spring, Summer, and Fall.

While I've only been a certified diver for a few months each time I dive I find it to be a very pleasant, rewarding, and thought provoking endeavor. My adventure began on my sixth dive. It was my first time diving without an instructor around. Although there was a certified dive-con on site for this evolution he was letting us take the reins and planning the dive with two other dive buddies. Our objective for the dive was to go down thirty feet to see a sunken aircraft sitting on the bottom of a quarry in Ohio. Afterwards we were going to navigate a few hundred feet to see a boat and from there end the dive trolling around a large former grain silo.

After we suited up, verified our equipment was safe, and surface swimmed out to our intended drop site we made the final preparations to submerge below the surface. From the moment I dumped my BC's purge valve my adventure began. Although it wasn't the adventure I had intended. First being a newbie diver I didn't take in account the buoyancy my 4 mm hooded vest would provide when used in conjunction with my normal 5 mm wet suit. Having never worn it before I was caught off guard and found myself unable to sink.

The next unpleasant issue was that my mask immediately flooded. So here I was proud of myself for conducting my first "real" dive on my own and I was flailing around like a wounded fish. Had I had more time to ponder the situation I guess I could have been embarrassed. But under the circumstances my training kicked in and the helpful words of my instructors came back to me. Don't panic and most of all just ensure you can breathe normally.

Mentally slowing my thoughts down I just focused on the task at hand. I slowed my breathing and went vertical with my legs up above the water. From there old man gravity took over and allowed me to gently plunge deeper into the abyss. Once I was at ten feet I had to use my fins to power down to a rally

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