Just so ya’ll know…
Posted by Ray @ 10:40 pmA dive to 26m (85ft) in gusty winds, choppy, 19-degree celsius (66 fahrenheit) ocean waters and strong currents is pretty thrilling. But anyone who claims anyone can SCUBA needs to try it for themselves (and have their collective asses handed to them by the Pacific Ocean).
The waves were big! And our boat was oh-so-very small (it’s a hard-bottomed rubber dingy… or in the words of Ken, our skipper, a rubber ducky). Currents were strong enough to bring a diver clinging onto the anchorline at the front of the boat, to behind the boat, in a couple of seconds (I know, it happened to me). Waves would crash over your head and clog the snorkel. The snorkel, the precious, indispensable snorkel, which I almost didn’t bring along because I was a bloody newbie who’d always gone in calm waters and heretofore never needed to use it to breathe.
Luckily I’d gotten my advanced licence; I think the open water divers were a bit frazzled with how fast their air ran out. Technically (if they’re PADI certified) they’re not allowed to exceed a depth of 18m (60ft). The particular site we were diving went down to 26m and below. For those of you not in the know, the deeper you go, the more air you use per breath, and the quicker you run out. Some of the open waters ran out of air mid-way through the dive, and had to ascend without a safety stop (believe you me, this is a bad thing).
One girl lost the group in the strong currents, and had to ascend alone. On 20 bars (290 PSI) of air! Again, for those not in the know, anything under 100 bars is considered “time to go up!” pressure, and even more so at that depth. And you never separate from your buddy.
Enough on the bad stuff, I’m exhausted. I’ll get a nice post up with all the awesome stuff later, once I’ve stolen the photographs from Josh (a guy with an underwater digi-cam). I’ve seen the shots, they’re worth checking out, believe you me.