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Scuba Warm in Winter with Patriot Scuba
Byway Lead by Life & Race for Hope

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Scuba Warm in Winter with Patriot Scuba

By: Sam Horchler

Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you can’t scuba dive. The folks at Patriot Scuba dive year-round, and not just in the pool. I learned this first hand when I returned to Patriot to finish my scuba diving certification. I first encountered the good people of Patriot Scuba this past summer, when I began my journey to obtain my dive certification. After my first dive, I was hooked. However, it took me six months to get back in the water. By this time, it was December. No problem, they tell me.

So, on the appointed day, I showed up at a local pool to continue my training. We went over the basics again, and spent a consider amount of time in the pool. That being said, it’s not a particularly strenuous activity. True, you should be in reasonably good shape, and there are minimum requirements for swimming and treading water, and you will be tired at the end of the night, but no task or maneuver is particularly exhaustive.

Before and after my pool experience, I also had to do elearning modules through the Patriot Scuba web site. This is the classroom portion of the class, but due to the miracles of modernity, like the internet, it is no longer necessary for the classroom portion to actually take place in a classroom. A quick note here: Give yourself plenty of time to do the modules. I had a deadline and had to do three modules a day. Seeing as how the average number of slides per module is upwards of 150, I wouldn’t recommend this.

And then came the final portion: the open water dives. I’m not going to lie to you; I was a little nervous about this part. It was January after all. The open water dives were held at Rappahannock quarry in Fredericksburg. It was drizzling and about 35 degrees. It was very cold, but the wet suits were thick, and scuba diving elicits a sense of euphoria that has a tendency to drown out and sense of discomfort or malaise. My dive lasted about 20 minutes, and I was sad to get out of the water when the time came. Then we returned to the shop, logged the dive and that was it: I was officially a certified scuba diver! Definitely worth the effort and time spent taking the online classes.

If this sort of adventure appeals to you, check out Patriot Scuba in Occoquan. The owners and instructors are kind people and the instructions are top notch. They go out of their way to make sure everyone is comfortable in the fact that they know what they’re doing by the time they’re certified. Plus, they enjoy it as much as their students do!

Byway Lead by Life & Race for Hope

Never judge someones byway; You don’t know why they choose the path they do. It may be motivated by passion or duty but it certainly can be handed to you by life incidences.

Such is the case with Kathy Thompson, Susan Harmon and some to their Mason Neck Lorton friends of Team Krista.Krista Thompson fooled most of her classmates, living an almost normal high school life with a brain tumor. Her otherwise promising life was cut short before she could graduate.

Incredibly, Susan’s 4 year old nephew was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor so the friends Kathy and Susan share this cause even more.

Team Krista will be running the Race for Hope for the sixth time on May 1st this year. You can join them at Freedom Plaza or be a virtual participant.

You can find out more about the race at http://www.braintumorcommunity.org/site/PageServer and click on Washington, DC. Then click on Race Team List and find Team Krista.

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The point of learning to do SCUBA diving now in this season might be to get prepared for an exotic vacation and be able to enjoy this activity in more attractive tropical climates. However, it also serves to demonstrate that it’s never too late and that it really can be done anytime and as a career is needed all the time so it really doesn’t make any difference when you learn it. If it appeals to you, go ahead and contact Patriot Scuba to let them get you started in the slow season then you’ll be qualified in time to equip yourself to go anytime anywhere. You should never dive alone so bring a buddy and learn together.