Author: Dr. Helen Walter

Last Open Water Dives

The last two weekends have seen some of the students finishing off their Scuba certifications.  On Saturday, Hayley, one of our swim team members started her Open water dives. She had missed our training last time because of a swim meet.  On Sunday, Hayley finished dive 4, and Masha and Dolores finished off dives 3…
Read more

Open Water Dives

The last part of our PADI Open Water certification is to repeat the same skills the students learnt in the pool, in the open water. California is an interesting mix of cold water, even when the days are warm.Our training was at Shadowcliffs Regional Park in Pleasanton. Saturday, the weather was in the 70’s. Warm,…
Read more

Classroom and Pool Work!

Before getting in the pool, students need to learn about the physics and physiology of diving. They need to know how to calculate safe limits as well as safety procedures. There are a number of tests they had to show mastery of. The classroom portion took place on Saturday and Sunday morning.  Once that was…
Read more

Gearing up

One of the largest logistical pieces is ensuring all of students are trained Scuba divers. Some already are, but for the others our trip  really begins with getting them PADI Open Water Diver certified.    The first of those pieces is to try on gear. Scuba diving requires a fair amount of specialized gear. For…
Read more

Where we are going..

Our trip is going to take us from our home in California – Mills College – to Roatan in Honduras.  We will be there for one week during our Spring Break.  We will be staying at St. Anthony’s Key and working with the Roatan Institute of Marine Sciences. These are the rooms we’ll be staying…
Read more

Introduction

  Greetings! If you found this site someone, possibly a student, referred you. Always at my happiest underwater! Can’t wait to share it!        First, let me introduce myself. My name is Helen Walter, and I’m a Scuba addict. Ah yes, so much better! Honestly though, I am. I started diving in 1989…
Read more