”The First Step”
Part I
It was so cold when I first stepped in, but in order for me to accomplish what I’ve always wanted to do I had to face my biggest fear, water.
One of the requirements was to float or tread water for ten minutes. I wasn’t a very good swimmer and already I could picture myself drowning. But I’ve wanted to learn how to scuba dive. It was a dream that I’ve carried with me as far back as I can remember.
As a kid I watched Jacque Cousteau, seeing the wonders that lived and thrived under the sea through his eyes. Fascinated by the creatures he discovered. Watching dolphins swim to sharks that hunt. It was a world I wanted to see firsthand.
I would watch any show and read any book to gather information so that one day I would be able to have some idea of what I was looking at once I was there.
Now I had the opportunity to live one of my dreams.
I was loaned a wetsuit and managed to get it on. It was very tight and showed everything. There was no hiding behind a big t-shirt this time.
The instructor told me that I wasn’t allowed to hang off the sides and I couldn’t stand up, if I did I wouldn’t be able to continue with any further lessons. I’m only 5′1″ and I had to use the deep end. I thought to myself, well if I stand now, I’ll really drown.
Once in the water, I swam out to the middle and immediately rolled onto my back. I had heard that if you hold air in your lungs it would make you float better. So that’s what I did, gulped down enough air that I became buoyant. Now I just had to concentrate for the longest most agonizing ten minutes of my life.
As I floated, I reminded myself to keep breathing in short quick breaths and prayed that I wouldn’t meet the end of my life here.
There were a few times that lost my concentration and water would cover my eyes. I had to really fight down the panic and continue to breathe air into my lungs.
Time to me stood still; kind of like when the dentist is working on a tooth. You just want it to end. I could hear my heartbeat loud and clear.
What seemed like hours past and I heard the instructor finally say the magic words.
“Time’s up”
As I swam to the side of the pool, I had the biggest smile on my face. I had not only faced my fear of water but now I could proceed with the lessons.
It was a time I will never forget and it was the first step to becoming a certified scuba diver.
Join with me in the coming weeks on a trip of a lifetime, where we will travel to Belize, Honduras and Cancun together. Hope to see you there!
“Blind Faith”
Part II
It seemed like I had passed one hurdle to only face another. I succeeded in treading water for the required time without drowning myself and now they were asking me to fill my goggles up with water, while underwater, to learn how to get the water out.
Was the world insane?
I had learned all about the equipment a diver needs, from the BC (Buoyancy Compensators); to the regulator, to getting my flippers on while in the water to name a few.
In fact, one time while I had all the equipment on the instructor took me to the edge of the pool and asked me to step off into the water. Sounds easy doesn’t it? Nope; it was like asking someone to jump out of perfectly good plane. Though the water wouldn’t hurt, it just wouldn’t register in my mind how to do it.
I kept picturing in my mind stepping off with the tank on my back and thinking that it would pull be back toward the edge and crack my skull open.
It made me take pause, Do I really want to learn how to scuba dive?
Yes, I did! So with that in mind, I took a giant stride off and landed in the water. No cracked skull. Once I completed that several times, it was easy.
But the thing with water in your mask, how was I going to do that?
My instructor was the best person to learn from. She made it fun and always told me that if what I was asked to do was uncomfortable for me then I didn’t have to do it.
I always felt safe in her hands.
Before we go underwater, she does a dry run on how to fill up the mask to empting it back out. Then once we were underwater she showed me again. I was worried about my contact lenses, so we came up with a plan for me to shut my eyes and when I got all the water out she would tap me on the head so I could open them back up.
It is quite nerve racking doing something totally opposite of survival, but with her help I was able to lift up my mask allowing water to filter in, secure my mask back, left it up and blow water through my nose while bringing my head back.
Against all odds it worked! Who would have thought that?
Once I completed that several times, it became natural to me. It really came in handy when we finally made it to open water.
Since training started, my adventures had only been in a swimming pool. In order to complete my training I had to go to either the Blue Hole at Santa Rosa, N.M. or to the Balmorhea State Park four miles west of Balmorhea, Texas
The Blue Hole is a natural, bell-shaped pool which is 80 feet deep and has astonishing clarity and a constant water temperature of 64 degrees. There is a flow of 3,000 gallons per minute; water recycles every six hours and has an altitude of 4,600′ above sea level making the bottom equivalent of over 100′ of depth in the ocean.
At Balmorhea State Park there is a total of 22 to 28 million gallons of water flow fed by San Solomon Springs. It covers a 1 3/4-acre size, with a 25-foot depth and the 72 to 76 degree constant temperature. It also has a variety of aquatic life in its clear waters.
I chose to go to Balmorhea Park for the final test.
As the final lesson on becoming a certified scuba driver draws near, join with me in the coming weeks on a trip of a lifetime, where we will travel to Belize, Honduras and Cancun together. Hope to see you there!
