Last year for the first time in ten years I did not take a group of Trinity students to the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf but instead took a group of eight girls through the process of obtaining their PADI Open Water certification with the help of Professor Audra Gray. Audra is a scuba instructor so during the fall semester we did our book and pool work and then went to San Diego, California for almost two weeks and completed our open water dives. A good friend of mine, Dave De Fer, owns a dive boat so we lived on boats while in San Diego, did our dives in the waters of Mexico and also found time to explore the many attractions that San Diego has to offer. Our last two dives in San Diego were at Los Arcos and we did our dives with hundreds of baby sea lions.
Well, one of the things that I was very excited about when I found out that I had received a Fulbright Scholarship to work in Jamaica was that I would be able to scuba dive again. I had one opportunity to scuba dive in Mexico last spring break but had not participated in this sport for almost a year.
I got online and discovered that there was a dive facility about ten minutes away from my condo…excitement!…nervousness!…anticipation! I wondered whether I would be able to remember everything I had learned but I called the dive shop anyway and set up my first dive.
Yesterday afternoon I decided to do the coral reef dive and set it up for 2:00 in the afternoon. The seas were starting to swell but the crew decided that it was safe for me to go. I soon discovered that I would be the only diver so it would be the instructor, Jay and myself. We got in a seaworthy but questionable small boat and made our way out to the reef, the boat lurching over 2-3 foot waves. Once we arrived I realized how much I remembered but also how many details I needed to be refreshed on. Luckily Jay was a patient instructor and he only had one diver, me, so I had his complete attention. I had trouble fitting my mask correctly and once in the water, my weight belt fell to the bottom of the ocean. Fortunately, I was able to wear Jay’s and he retrieved mine while we were diving. I had trouble regulating my ears but once we took the descent slow enough, I was fine.
Seeing the myriads of coral, colorful fish of all types, a lion fish and a stingray were all very exciting. We swam through narrow passages where it was important to keep our arms across our chest so that we wouldn’t disturb the natural environment. When we were finished, Jay gave me a quick lesson in the pool on unflooding my mask, something I had problems with at the bottom of the ocean.
I felt such a sense of accomplishment when we were finished and plan on returning for at least two more dives while in Montego Bay. Now all I have to do is refresh myself with how to fill out my dive work. I guess that will be my job for this evening. Help, Audra!
Yay! So glad you got o go diving! I’ve been enjoying reading your blog 🙂