SCUBA Training

Dark, murky--post hurricane waters. Normally clear water obstructed by hurricane debris. The instructor (Lance) tells me, "Blow out first, then inhale from your regulator." I hope I remember that! Instructions tend to be forgotten when you are suddenly immersed in a new environment, even such basic things as "blow out, then inhale." He also instructs me on how to "clear my ears" and "clear my mask." After demonstrating that I can do these things, first sitting on a platform just barely submerged, and again in about 10 feet of water, off we go, tethered to good old Mother Air flowing in a tiny rubber raft on the surface. The adventure begins.

At first I feel awkward and out-of-control. There's nothing to hang on to, to push off from, or to stand up on. There seems to be a tendency to roll from side to side. I concentrate--exhale, breathe in--exhale, breathe in. Hey, this is a piece of cake!

I steady myself by widening the spread of my arms and feel more stable. Lance points ahead and down, reminds me to clear my ears, and down we go. Deeper and deeper. The murky green light darkens. It feels mysterious, the magnified sounds of my breathing remind me just how foreign this is. But I feel comfortable, maybe even like I've been here before. Exhale, breathe in--exhale, breathe in--although I'm aware of this life sustaining rhythm there is no need to "think" about it anymore. I'm floating, floating 25 feet under the surface of the Earth in a totally new environment. Lance points out sea life. Hey, this isn't a zoo or city aquarium, this is REAL sea life!

I see a lobster and lots of small sponges. There are anemones--a few like those I've seen in California tidal pools. I see razor sharp oysters--no pearls here! And fish--some very small, some pretty good size, nothing REAL BIG--this is a small lagoon! No dolphins or great grey whales. But I'm not disappointed. I wasn't expecting them and look at all the TINY things--orange, purple, blues, white, yellow.

It's the sense of freedom, even while tethered to a floating air tank, my life support, that is the most amazing thing of all. I long to just extend my body in complete suspension, my weight belt allowing me to "hang" between surface and bottom, and "E-X-P-E-R-I-E-N-C-E."

Lance signals that it is time to go up. I'm reluctant. I've found a new habitat, a niche far easier to access than I'd thought possible. I long to do this again, and soon.