Our instructor and divemaster Andre hooked us up with some excellent training.

I would have never thought that I would be able to do some of the things we learned to do underwater, like remove the mask, put it back on, and fill it with air...or deal with the pressure in my ears. (There's a very simple technique that totally alleviates any pain...pinch the nose and blow. Yes Jacob, you already told me...I just didn't listen.) Lori even soldiered right through it like a champ, and she's scared of everything! I was never prouder than when she sat calmly on the ocean floor at 30 feet down, took her air regulator out and switched over to my backup regulator during training...which means you go about 5-10 seconds without air while far enough below the surface that you'd have a hard time making it back up on a single breath.