Volunteer Diving

Yesterday Lee and I visited the South Carolina Aquarium in downtown Charleston. In addition to enjoying all the sites and scenes of the aquarium, we checked out the volunteer program. We learned that the next volunteer training class is Jan. 31. After we complete the initial class and pass some tests, we'll be able to be volunteer divers. Duties include preparing food for dives; helping to feed the animals and maintain exhibit tanks; helping maintain backup areas and equipment; interacting with visitors to educate them about the animals and their ecosystems; and general help as needed.

When I saw the volunteer divers in the tank feeding the fish and answering questions of guests through a full-face dive communication mask, I literally became enraptured by the possibilities. What a great opportunity for me to combine my love of teaching, diving and writing. I'm certain there will be many stories I can write about from my time as a volunteer diver at the aquarium. I can't wait!

Underwater "self-portrait"

I haven't been on a dive for several weeks now and I'm "jonesing" to go down deep, get wet and practice taking photos of fish. So, I thought I'd post a photo I took underwater when we were diving off Jupiter to remind myself of diving. (It's me at about 80 feet underwater.) :-)

Unless you're a diver with a passion for exploring the underwater world, you probably don't understand the drive to dive. Scuba diving is one of the most invigorating and amazing sports I've ever known. I don't know when or where it will be - - but I can't wait until my next dive...

Underwater Photography Woes

The photos in the previous post are great. Lee took them with his new underwater 35mm camera and strobe. While my photos, taken with a digital and no strobe, well... let's just say they are a work in progress. Once I get more practice and a strobe (someday) I'm sure they will have more definition and clarity like his photos. Here take a look...

Drift Diving in Jupiter

This weekend, Lee and I went to Jupiter, Florida to do some drift diving. These dives were amazing and superseded my expectations by far. I must admit that at first I was skeptical about jumping into the ocean without a line to descend and ascend by. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found after I jumped in behind the leader who held the buoy. I looked down into the blue, tranquil water and could see clearly to the 80 foot bottom. The boat followed the leader's buoy as we traveled approximately four miles or more along the Gulf stream. The current gently floated us along the bottom as we were, in essence, sight-seeing in an open water aquarium. The beauty that surrounded us was full of life. There were abundant schools of brightly colored fish swimming in and around brilliant varieties of sea vegetation.

During this dive, Lee saw his first Goliath Grouper which we estimated weighed in around 900 pounds. (I'd seen one before on a previous dive, but not quite this large.) And I saw my first shark; a nine-foot nurse shark which was cruising in and around the reef and ledge. We also encountered a very curious sea turtle that was about two-and-a-half feet big. He swam up and hung with us while we were doing our deco safety stop at about 15-20 feet deep.

The dives were incredible and fun. And I met one of my online scuba buddies, Sandy, who lives in the Jupiter area. While we were drift diving, she and her dive buddy, Michelle, were hunting lobster.

Confrontational fisherman

Last I checked, the Atlantic Ocean was a huge body of water. In fact, according to Wikipedia, it is the second largest ocean covering approximately one-fifth of the earth's surface. So one would think with this amount of space, boats could easily share the Atlantic.

Unfortunately, this past Saturday, this was not the case for one fisherman as he proceeded to tell us off and demand we leave the area he was fishing as he was there first. He ranted and raved and yelled colorful things. But my favorite line was "I don't care if I bring up a fish or a diver; I'm not leaving this spot."

Keep in mind that there was no other boat on this dive site or anywhere within our field of vision. Here we were 30 miles off the coast of Charleston, with a kind, gentile fisherman (sarcasm intended) who didn't want to share the water.

Please note that I was on a dive charter with a captain. The site we were anchoring to was absolutely huge. So there was plenty of room for many boats to share. And funny thing is, the confrontational fisherman wasn't anchored at all, nor was he on the site when we arrived. He showed up once we got there.

It reminded me of the funny trick an old friend, Steve, used to pull years ago when we'd go see a movie. The theater would be empty with the exception of one person. So Steve would go up to that one person and say, "Excuse me, you're in my seat." Of course, he was kidding and it did evoke laughter from all parties.

In this present day example, however, the fisherman did not evoke any good emotions. In fact, he was so close to our bouy he could have reached out and pulled it into his boat. Never mind that South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has a state law that requires boats to remain a minimum of 50 feet from diver-down flags.

But even if there wasn't such a law, I just don't get why anyone would behave so poorly. There is no excuse for it. You'd think I wouldn't be surprised by such cantankerous folks in today's "me-oriented" society. But being the Pollyanna type, I keep hoping for the best in people.

By the way, the guy decided to leave after a while and the rest of our time on the water was awesome.

Three is not for me

As most divers know, we are encouraged to dive with a buddy for safety reasons. Although solo divers are not uncommon among the super advanced. Personally, I like having a dive buddy so I can share the experience. In addition, diving with a buddy ensures there is someone nearby should I need help getting untangled from fishing wire caught on my tank or to help put my weight belt back on that fell off at 70 feet. (Both of these things have happened to me already in my young diving career.)

I'm sure we've all encountered the charter that has an uneven number of divers on it. When that occurs, typically a threesome is sent down to explore the underwater world. Well, this weekend, I learned that diving with a team of three is not for me.

Here is what solidified this for me... I was diving on The Sugarbowl off the the Charleston Coast with two other ladies. All was well, although the distance we were covering was a lot slower due to stops for photos of fish. Two of us got ahead of one and we had to keep circling back to reconnect with the third. And before I know what had happened, they were gone. I swam around looking and looking for them, but it was like they had vanished or had been sucked up into a vortex. When I couldn't find them, or anyone for that matter, I had a choice to make. Did I keep swimming around looking for them? Or did I make a slow assent to the surface?

Well, I chose the latter and slowly ascended to the surface. I must tell you that prior to making that decision, it felt kind of eerie to be down there "alone." I had plenty of air, but I didn't want to risk it. There is simply a comfort in knowing your dive buddy - or buddies in this case - are nearby.

The captain and dive master saw me when I surfaced and called out to me. I gave the universal "okay" signal and slowly started swimming to the boat.

At that point, I decided that never again would I swim with a team of three. It's simply too easy to get separated. So, diving for three is not for me.

Things to write about...

It's the morning after a weekend of diving with Charleston Scuba; four dives in total. And my mind is swimming with thoughts of things to write about... I think I'm going to have to do separate little vignettes. The topics include:

• Three is not for me - How diving in a team of three is difficult
• Confrontational fisherman - An inconsiderate fisherman encounter

• The narc "game" - Demonstrating nitrogen narcosis at deep depths

• Rare & unusual Charleston tours - Seeing sights off the coast of Charleston few get to see
• My best two dives to date - Diving the Y-73 wreck and The Gardens
• Much practice required - Underwater photography is a learned skill
• A natural "aquarium" - The many fish I saw

I'll write more about these things later... As you can see, there is much to share...

One thing I can share immediately is how incredibly awesome Tom Robinson (co-owner of Charleston Scuba) is to dive with. As a dive instructor, I found him to be phenomenal as he gave us boat and underwater direction on our Wreck and Deep dives. He is top-notch. If you're ever fortunate enough to dive with him, or anyone from Charleston Scuba for that matter, you will know what I mean.