Into the DEEP

French Angelfish

Dan had been keen on scuba diving for a long time and finally got his PADI Certification two years ago during our last stay in Bonaire.  He put it off for decades because I was reluctant to take the plunge with him.  My hesitance stemmed from two issues: 1.) I have a history of ear infections during my teens and twenties that has resulted in problems with clearing my ears at depths greater than 10 feet;  2.) I had NO desire whatsoever to increase my chances for an encounter with a shark!

So while Dan hooked up with other dive buddies, I was happily resigned to snorkel at the surface. Many of our buddies have encouraged me to overcome the ear issue by clearing them early and often.  (Which calls to mind- one day before the general election- the Democratic Party’s voting policy in Chicago…)  So lately, I have been practicing free diving deeper and equalizing my ears with a degree of success.  After a recent dive outing with two other couples, both of the men complimented me on how effortlessly I appeared to swim down and focus on marine life near the bottom. 


That simple encouragement from men younger and stronger than me put me over the top and I began to seriously consider taking the plunge.  To help me decide whether I should take a scuba course, I began reading Dan’s Open Water course book, quizzing myself using the questions that followed each section.  In a few days, I had convinced myself to sign up for the DISCOVER SCUBA course offered through Dive Friends Bonaire whose shop is nearby.






Lion Fish

Greg, from the USA, was my instructor for this half day course.  I was truly dreading a few of the in water skills that were required BEYOND clearing my ears- specifically filling my mask halfway with water followed by emptying it and recovering my lost regulator (breathing mechanism) while I was submerged.  Twenty-something Greg was SO patient and positive with me and carefully guided my success during all the exercises.  He even read my incorrect hand signals correctly.  While diving, the OK hand signal means “OK” or “OK?”  and the Thumbs Up signal means “Go up; end dive now.”  I kept responding to his “OK” with a Thumbs Up- meaning “I’m good” and he intuited that I didn’t want to “end the dive”.



Filefish

Immediately after my lesson with Greg, I signed up for the full PADI Certification course and was given my very own Open Water course book that was revised after Dan’s class.  The first day was individualized intensive book and video work at the dive shop. I paused the video when each short section concluded and completed the study questions and quizzes that followed.  About two hours into it, one of the staff there noticed that I was working through the study questions and said, “Oh, you don’t have to do those.  That is only for yourself, we’re not going to check it.”  When he walked away I whispered, “I AM doing this for myself.  THIS is how I learn!”




During the final two days of the course, Alexandra (Alex)- another twenty-something American- was my instructor.  Shamira, a lovely young woman from Toronto, joined me for this portion of the program which largely focused on the more difficult in water skills.  Alex was just as wonderful as Greg and her calm demeanor numbed my fears in no time flat.  I had high anxiety about completely removing my mask for one minute and then replacing and clearing it underwater. We also had to remove our mask while submerged and swim 50 feet with a buddy’s guidance before replacing it.  But with Alex's helpful suggestions, I got through them.



As a sixty-something woman, it felt GREAT to stretch myself mentally, emotionally, and physically.  At this point, I am grateful to be so much more comfortable with equalizing my ear pressure.  My use of air seems to be good and I believe I’m weighted correctly.  There is much room for improvement on many skills, though, and I am committed to practicing often with my favorite DIVE BUDDY DAN as we venture into the deep. 

Bluestriped Grunts

PS:  I’m still going to steer clear of sharks!