January, the first month of the year finds me reminiscing of
other firsts. My first time breathing
underwater, my first open water dive, my first large aquatic life sighting.
For many this brings great smiles and hearty laughs as they
remember their firsts.
First Ever Dive
[Discover Scuba]
The Cozumel Divemaster provided a tank and regs and helped
us into the pool. Soon we were scooting
along the bottom, and loving it. Both of
us couldn't believe how well we took to it.
Scuba seemed so natural, so easy, like breathing. LOL
Next step would be to try this new skill in the open water –
our mini scuba lesson included some basics in the pool and two open water dives
on the Cozumel reef.
Have you ever heard that the most dangerous thing in the
world is a little bit of information? Not knowing what it is that you don’t
know can scare anyone. I am an information
based person, detail orientated. To
function properly at any task I need to have all the facts.
On the 20 minute boat ride out to the reef,
suited up in a men’s large 8 millimeter wetsuit, that I could not move in and
it felt very heavy to me, I started to get very nervous. This was the first
time I had even seen most of the equipment that they were now strapping to my
body. It was all a bit over whelming. The weight belt and lead weights were so tight
they were digging into my ribs. I
notified the Divemaster that I wasn't sure about this and that I had
butterflies, but he reassured me that it was all normal/routine. There were five
of us that had never dived before with one Divemaster. He was focusing on hand signals, while I was
trying to ask practical ‘what if’ questions.
There was so much equipment involved, and I had no idea what 80% of it
was for. I did not even know how to add or dump air from my
BCD. As my mind started to create reasons
for not going forward with this crazy idea, the boat motors came to a halt.
My answer? I told him
to *FORGET* it and that I
wanted to get back on the boat.
His answer? “What Boat? Please get down the line, your
husband and the others are at the bottom and I can’t leave them alone”
The boat had left, and realizing that there really was no other choice;
I sucked it up buttercup and down the line I went, convinced that I would
indeed die in Mexico as my mother-in-law had predicted.
Just as I started to accept my fate, or rather relax, the Divemaster was
signaling me to hurry around a large coral head to where the rest of the group
was. As I came clumsily around a put
both hands up to stop and became vertical again, my knees came up under me. As
I knelt, a very large turtle around 400 lbs floated gently over top of my head. I kept blinking as it drifted about 30 cm
just above me, I seen every detail of its shell. The complex pattern, scars, and bumpy skin of
its feet and tail. It was my “God Moment”. How could something this large and heavy, fly
over me?
It was weightless, like me. I too could fly in this environment, and enjoy
weightlessness. My Zen, nirvana found.
Right there in that minute, everything that lead up to this point was
forgotten and I knew in my heart that I would learn all there was to know about
Scuba Diving, and be the best I could be at this sport. It became an obsession, a passion.
If you ask if I would do it all again? I would, but not on a resort. Get to know the facts; a big part of diving
is trust. Dive with people you know, locally,
join our club, and do your Discover Dive with a friend. Spend the time learning to dive, with someone who is willing to spend the time helping you learn.
More information about Diving, upgrading your current skills,
or to try out diving in a pool during one of our Discover Dives simply contact
us using the information below, it’s that easy!
Also, if you learn to Scuba Dive with us, your membership is included
for your first year of diving.
Just contact us:
We'd love to hear about your first dive. Post below in the comments or visit us on Facebook;
Patricia Sideris on behalf of the Ajax Scuba Club.
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