PEER PRESSURE

This diver stayed at the wreck too long. (Gabrielle's photo)

    

As a novice scuba diver, I’m very green around the gills, so to speak.  It’s not a sickly green, but rather a tender, emotional need to take every step required for diving with caution.  I have only eleven dives under my weight belt and that includes five easy dives under the close supervision of expert PADI Instructors. 


Rose (at top) and Dan (below) behind the rigging.(Gabrielle's photo)

Soon after I finished my course, our Swiss friends, Thomas and Gabrielle (sv MASELLE), instigated a dive of a wreck located near Bonaire's Something Special dive site. Being well-seasoned and skilled divers, they said that it would be good for me to experience a wreck dive.   They assured me that the wreck was not very deep and that we would not enter the structure.  That dive went well and I felt proud when they commented how relaxed I seemed in the water diving at that depth (49 feet).

Quite a variety of fish at this wreck.(Gabrielle's photo)

     

A few days later, we made plans with them to go on another dive just south of town called 18 Palms.  Before we descended, I made  it clear that I wasn’t comfortable diving deeper than 60 feet.  Gabrielle and Thomas said, “Oh- no worry.  Once you get down to 60 feet, 90 is nothing more.”  I kept an eye on my depth meter, but was distracted by the sea creatures and reef and reached a depth of 96 feet without realizing it and had no difficulty.

18 Palms Dive (Gabrielle's photo) 

  

This week the supermoon rose on Monday and that meant that we had an opportunity to do a NIGHT DIVE and see the Ostracod Phenomenon (see blog entry of 10-26-16, Sparks DO Fly During Sex).  A few days after last month’s full moon, our Swiss friends arranged a night dive to witness the Ostracod Phenomenon.  I snorkeled during that trip and saw huge tarpon gliding around Dan and the other divers near the bottom.  Tarpon are harmless, but I had no desire whatsoever to do a night dive.  But Thomas would not take “No” for an answer and calmly encouraged me to make the dive, as it would further “round out my dive experience.” 

Christmas Tree Worms (Gabrielle's photo)

Although I harbored a degree of anxiety about doing the dive, we joined the group. We met the crews of sv MASELLE and sv SEABORNE (a Swiss flagged catamaran with Nadine, Thomas, and Rosita) at Petrie’s Pillar dive buoy around sunset.  Just before we were to enter the dark water, Rosita accidentally dropped her dive computer (worn like a wrist watch) off the boat.  By the time Dan and I got suited up to help, Thomas surfaced with the computer.  That diversion inadvertently acted as a catalyst to get me into water and then the six of us descended together.

Juvenile Spotted Drum (Gabrielle's photo)

Each of us carried a dive flashlight (Europeans call them a “torch”), but I still tried to stay close to Dan.  Our group of six divers moved slowly along the reef at around a depth of 40 feet using our torches to light our path.  A couple of four foot long tarpons continuously wove their way in and around and over and under us.  Their presence did not bother me, but at one point I was startled by a large lion fish.*

Lion Fish are delicious to eat, but have poisonous spines. (Gabrielle's photo)

A short while later, Gabrielle swam over to me and covered my torch with her hand.  She did so to indicate that it was time to turn off our lights in order to watch the ostracod do their thing.  Suddenly, it was pitch black!  I knew where Dan was a moment before, but now all I could make out was some large darker masses hovering at various levels around me.  I prayed they were my dive buddies.

18 Palms corals and sponges (Gabrielle's photo)

One L O N G  minute later, a few of the divers waved their flashlights at the nearby soft corals for a second or two.  Darkness followed  again briefly, but then- O M GOSH!!!!  Tiny tubular-shaped lights appeared before our eyes as the sex play of the ostracods  began to cause sparks to fly!   Some floated mere inches in front of my face mask.  It was an awesome sight and  I was totally mesmerized!  I felt like I was in the midst of a computer generated film and in the darkness I lost perception of how close I was to the bottom.  The ostracods provided enough light for me to find Dan and we locked arms to hover and enjoy the glow.  When the sex play dimmed, our dive buddies took turns activating the ostracod with a quick wave of their flashlight.  The phenomenom only lasted for about twenty minutes, but I will never forget this unique experience.

Again- THANK YOU, Thomas and Gabrielle, for providing just the right amount of peer pressure to “round out” my diving vitae and get it off to a great start.  

Gabrielle & Thomas

*Gabrielle told me afterward that she saw three lion fish during the dive and that they tend to follow the lights.
  Y I K E S !!!!

PS:  It is next to impossible to take photos that capture the Ostracod lights, so none could be included in this blog.  Gabrielle shared her photos taken during our dives because we don't have a camera that is waterproof below ten metres... yet.