July 25, 2001
Students get in the swim of scuba diving
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Swimming with curious bass, seeing scads of zebra mussels up close and checking out a wreck in West Bay, students in the College for Kids Scuba Diving class had a week packed with learning and excitement.
Nine students ages 12-16 took the class last week, including summer visitors from Scotland, Chicago and Atlanta, all eager to acquire their scuba diving certification. For six hours each day, they learned about all the equipment, practiced suiting up and testing their equipment and ways to control buoyancy, depth and air intake.
After a daily dose of classroom time at Scuba North, the students headed for water to apply what they learned.
This in-water time was the best part of the class for the students.
"You don't really know you are in water, sometimes, it is a whole other world down there," said Matt Mervau, 12, of Traverse City. "Whatever you can see from the top, you cannot really see all of it but when you get down there it is really awesome."
Shannon Lowe, 13, agreed.
"I just like going underwater and looking at the fish," said Lowe, a Traverse City resident who had snorkeled before but now loves scuba diving.
The students spent hours diving each day in either Long Lake or West Bay under the guidance of instructor Duane Miller of East Jordan. There, students also practiced buddy diving and rehearsed a variety of rescue situations, including an injured diver or a non-conscious diver.
For five days straight, Miller drilled the students on all they needed to know to have a safe, smart and fun diving experience. Even as they donned their wetsuits, tanks and masks before a dive, Miller quizzed them about a variety of topics, always keeping the students learning.
"It is really an intense class for five days, we usually do it in the evening over a number of weeks," Miller said. "We have been doing skills all week because you have to be a perfectionist in open water. On the last day, we can have fun diving."
Before their last class on Friday, Miller administered an 85-question exam. He was very pleased when all of his students passed, earning their NAUI Scuba Certification, which lasts a lifetime.
To prepare for the test, students worked their way through a thick notebook of technical and practical information about scuba diving. They did much of their studying on their own time, reading up to 80 pages and completing five workbook pages each night.
"There was a lot of homework," said Colin Nesbitt, 13, of Leland. "There wasn't time to have a life this week."
The long days and piles of homework were all worth it to Mervau, who has been interested in scuba diving for years. An avid swimmer, Mervau did not let asthma stop him from getting into the class. He made sure to take a breathing test and get his doctor's approval to take the class.
"I love to swim so this is just a bigger step, more advanced swimming," he said. "I plan to continue diving and may take the advanced course and am interested in evening dives. It is really fun, I hope to dive more this summer."