Remembering Scuba Class with Victor Worst

Does anyone remember the SCUBA classes of  1971 and 1972 lead by THS teachers,  Lance Arnold and Find Pederson?
We would like to hear from others who were in the class. We had the pleasure of reconnecting with Vic Worst recently who at  age 70 is still SCUBA diving and running his business near Groton, CT. 

Some students at THS attended training at the YMCA in Willimantic in 1971 and 1972 to become certified through PADI in 1972. We found the training to be pretty intensive.

Calisthenics on the cold wet tile floors before each pool session were just the beginning. Our swimming abilities were tested along with being able to make judgements swimming blind with masking tape covering our masks, while two Navy divers shut off our air and pulled off our equipment.  Passing this test meant turning your air back on as the first choice instead of fussing to keep the rest of your equipment on.  

One of the open dives was next to the nuclear power plant near Groton. (Swimming there is no longer allowed.)  A current carried some of out a ways necessitating  a long swim back to shore. Upon reaching the shore, the waves lifted our buoyant  tanks along with us onto barnacle covered rocks.

While seated gratefully and exhausted back on the sand nursing our bloodied fingers, Mr. Worst came by and said, "You're going back out in 5 minutes, to do it again."  

We asked Mr. Worst why the training was so intense back then. He said that the equipment was a bit primitive, nothing like it is today so it was important to know that we were all strong and able to cope.

Those who graduated Tolland High School in 1971-1975 should visit www.tollandhighgathering.org to learn more about this Labor Day  2012 event. To learn more about Victor Worst, Diving Legend, visit http://www.internationallegendsofdiving.com