2. Last year, I got certified as a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver in Bali, right after I had completed my Open Water dive trip. I was extremely excited in the days leading up to Bali, having gotten hopelessly hooked onto scuba diving from the outset, but people around me kept saying that Bali wasn't the place for newbies. As it turned out, they were kinda right.
.jpg)
While I know now that if you're feeling uncomfortable it's perfectly okay for you to sit out a dive, back then I had a whole lot of bravado and pride. Despite not having had any theory lessons, textbooks or briefings, I followed a bunch of divers more experienced than me into Crystal Bay, where just a month before us a female diver had gotten swept away by a downward current. Her body was never found.
I wasn't aware before I jumped in what drift diving was about. It was also my first time at a depth of more than 15m, and to add to that the water temperature was a good 4 degrees colder than what I had experienced on my Open Water dive. I was also battling a severe case of seasickness that left me near tears (seriously, try throwing up underwater, while floating on the choppy surface, and from the boat).
The wall dive was beautiful, no doubt about that. But even underwater I could see the other divers getting tossed first on way, then the other, then back again, by the relentless current. 15 minutes in, we hit a downward current.
Everyone scrambled to hang on to the wall, finning hard against the suction. And yet I knew I was getting deeper, as tiny bits of coral broke off under my fingers, and the colorful wall crept up in front of me. It was impossible to get a good hold with just my thumb and fingers, which is what they teach you to do to avoid injuring yourself and killing the coral; but this time, anything less than a firm grab was futile.
Not knowing what to do other than to struggle against the current, I tried pulling myself up hand over hand. It was at that exact moment that someone much more adept than me from another dive group came up beside me. She stripped off a glove and pushed it into my hand, then gave me a quick check before rejoining her group.
It felt almost like a scene from a movie - that's how thankful I was. At a time when I was feeling scared and alone and tired, that little gesture was a huge reassurance that I was going to be okay. I wonder if she realized how much her action meant.
Of all the experiences I've had in diving, this stands out to me as one of the most memorable. The memory of the emotions I felt then plays a large part in motivating me to become a better Dive Master, so I can hopefully give others that kind of confidence when they need it the most.
.jpg)
While I know now that if you're feeling uncomfortable it's perfectly okay for you to sit out a dive, back then I had a whole lot of bravado and pride. Despite not having had any theory lessons, textbooks or briefings, I followed a bunch of divers more experienced than me into Crystal Bay, where just a month before us a female diver had gotten swept away by a downward current. Her body was never found.
I wasn't aware before I jumped in what drift diving was about. It was also my first time at a depth of more than 15m, and to add to that the water temperature was a good 4 degrees colder than what I had experienced on my Open Water dive. I was also battling a severe case of seasickness that left me near tears (seriously, try throwing up underwater, while floating on the choppy surface, and from the boat).
The wall dive was beautiful, no doubt about that. But even underwater I could see the other divers getting tossed first on way, then the other, then back again, by the relentless current. 15 minutes in, we hit a downward current.
Everyone scrambled to hang on to the wall, finning hard against the suction. And yet I knew I was getting deeper, as tiny bits of coral broke off under my fingers, and the colorful wall crept up in front of me. It was impossible to get a good hold with just my thumb and fingers, which is what they teach you to do to avoid injuring yourself and killing the coral; but this time, anything less than a firm grab was futile.
Not knowing what to do other than to struggle against the current, I tried pulling myself up hand over hand. It was at that exact moment that someone much more adept than me from another dive group came up beside me. She stripped off a glove and pushed it into my hand, then gave me a quick check before rejoining her group.
It felt almost like a scene from a movie - that's how thankful I was. At a time when I was feeling scared and alone and tired, that little gesture was a huge reassurance that I was going to be okay. I wonder if she realized how much her action meant.
Of all the experiences I've had in diving, this stands out to me as one of the most memorable. The memory of the emotions I felt then plays a large part in motivating me to become a better Dive Master, so I can hopefully give others that kind of confidence when they need it the most.
No comments:
Post a Comment