Free two-hour scuba dive class offered March 23 at YMCA

RED OAK — The Montgomery County Family YMCA will be offering SCUBA diving lessens, with a free trial class March 23 from 3-5 p.m. 

Taught by Grant Plowman of Creston, the class will consist of three parts. 

The first part is the educational component, which will require a $100 deposit for books for the online class. 

Next, Plowman will conduct four three-hour pool sessions. This step will cost $175 for the rental of equipment. Students are only responsible for their own towel and swim suit. 

Finally, students will be taken to a quarry in southern Illinois for open water training at a $350 fee, which includes everything besides food and transportation. 

Following the open water training, students will be SCUBA certified for life, which is recognized anywhere in the world. 

Plowman said he is flexible on times for classes. He prefers weekend classes of a maximum of four students. He will also conduct private lessons on a case-by-case basis.

Students must be at least 10 years of age, and decent health is beneficial. 

Plowman added students do not need to be excellent swimmers; he is willing to work on the needed skills. 

Plowman is a member of the National Association of Underwater Instructors and has been diving since 2005. He is the owner and founder of JGP Dive Adventures, which began in 2009 as a travel planning agency. 

He has since expanded the business to provide full service dive training and travel planning. 

For more information on Plowman or the course, contact him at scubediver@live.com or 641-344-0217. His website is jgpdiveadventures.com.