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SCUBA DIVING
| I first began looking
into SCUBA diving when I was about 16. I actually
was living on my own at the time in New Orleans and when was
barely 17 I had finally landed a relatively "okay" paying job.
Well, enough to pay the rent and buy gear, which was all
that mattered at the time. I started out by saving
for one piece at a time, and even bought some used larger
pieces. Next thing I knew I was ready to take the Openwater I course. and
finally became certified by NAUI
in 1989.
In my opinion the NAUI
course is more difficult than PADI or SSI. I know the
age-old argument still exists, but I have witnessed these
other courses take place, and have even taken a PADI
refresher. Compared to NAUI, the rest are cake. In my
NAUI course, I was
made to swim lap after lap after lap, holding my leg and
swimming with only one side of my body for laps on end, treading
water for 30 minutes with just my arms, then just my feet.
Then float for another 30 minutes. I have to say though,
it prepares you and weeds out the ones who would otherwise
depend solely upon their BC (buoyancy compensator) to stay
afloat. Through all of the training I felt prepared, so
off I went to Panama City, Florida for my check-out dive.
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Florida water is crystal
clear, warm and its aquatic life is abundant. I feel it
is a perfect spot to become certified. My first dive was
a shore, or beach dive out to some jetties The current
was hardcore and the surf was high so we struggled to get in
and out of the water. Truth be told, I was actually miserable.
Dragging tanks in and out of the water, crawling out of the
surf to rest before going back out to the jetties.
Hopefully the next day would be better; it had to be because
at this point it was more fun in the pool. Our second day was spent on
a wreck at about 50-60 feet. We had to kneel on the
wreck and I remember really scuffing up my wetsuit knees
because the current kept dragging us along the deck of the
boat. it was pretty murky and my first jump into the
ocean was a shocking one. I jumped right into a school
of silver baitfish that with every turn flashed a brilliant light, so
it would be black...silver...black...silver. I could see
nothing else but bait fish, I didn't know which way was up and
I couldn't even see well enough to find the rope under the
boat to descend down to the wreck to the others. Plus
all I thought about was "why are these fish so frantic?
SHARK!?!" I think I almost went through a quarter of my air in the
first 5-7 minutes. I finally made it down and well, obviously
I passed. I remember seeing all sorts of pelagic marine life:
electric rays, a bat ray, a large manta ray, a few reef
sharks. It was amazing. I was finally hooked. This is
what I had imagined.
Most of my dives have been
in Florida, or below the oilrigs in the Gulf of Mexico. A lot
of Louisiana diving is such. We either travel by car to the
panhandle or further, or we drive to the gulf and hop a boat
for 2 hours. Everyone remarks on how great Pacific
diving is and I have never had a great experience. A. it is
cold, I hate the cold. and B. there is a whole lot of nothing
on the reefs than what I am used to. So much of the coral is dead. Although I have to
admit even in the Bahamas and off the coast of Cozumel, the
reefs are dying. It's quite sad.
A few months after
certification I landed a job with my best friend at a
restaurant and bar called Sharky's Reef. The focal point at
Sharky's? A 135,000 gallon Gulf of Mexico aquarium exhibit. We spent
50% of our time in SCUBA gear during the day and 50% in
mermaid tails and bikini tops at night. Think that
sounds boring? There were 9 sharks in that tank. Six
nurse sharks and 3 lemon sharks. It was far from boring.
|
low visibility! |
These days my dive time is
spent off of Catalina or La Jolla. The last few dives
have been frigid and murky so I could really use a warm, clear
dive somewhere soon. My next desired stop? Maybe not that
warm, but pretty clear...The Channel
Islands! Although The Farallon Islands for
great white shark diving is on my list!
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