Thankfully, one of my good friends recently went diving for the first time and had many of the same concerns that I did: worry about clearing ears properly/ear pain, getting freaked out 35 feet down and not having the option to just swim right back up, being cold. After a 15 minute conversation, she pretty much calmed all of my fears and explained the whole process she went through, raving about the experience.
I'm sure this is done anywhere diving is prevalent, but a short program is offered to non-certified divers that consists of a very short class and skill practice before being allowed to get in the deep ocean. Jeff and I both attended the pool class, actually I had taken it once before as an experiment to find out if I'd really freak or not, but Jeff only took it as a refresher. The pool class was no big deal, unless you count the small children and adults who don't seem to care that you are at the bottom of the pool beneath them. I got kicked and jumped on and was probably more afraid of the 3 year olds kicking my mask off or my reg out of my mouth than anything else. Hmmm, maybe that's part of the class as a forced distraction.
Since we had a car and knew of a delicious ice cream place (Bubbies) near the harbor, we drove ourselves over to Koko Head Marina in Hawaii Kai. Apparently, a new boat captain and high winds caused us to sit tight for a while, a long while. After almost ninety minutes of waiting, we got on the boat to head out for our first of two dives. Eek, I had had time to get nervous and was quite fidgety. Chit chatting with the 6 other people on the tour helped some but not entirely. On the boat ride out, the head diver began describing some of what we should expect to see under the sea. I actually began to get excited.
Since Jeff is certified and confident, he got to go in the water first with me following behind. Basically, they had us hold our mask and take a giant step off the boat. Then, down we went. After a few feet down the rope, I finally figured out how to really clear my ears well. It was funny to hear my left ear squeak each time. Going down the rope was not too big of a deal except that there were strong currents pushing us around. Upon reaching the bottom, Jeff looked at me expectantly, like "Are you going to panic?" But, I didn't. I was uncomfortable since the amateur divers are not allowed to touch any of the gauges or the buoyancy control device. I had to roll around on the ocean floor waiting for my diver to come over and help me float a little. I was jealous of Jeff who could control his own BC. This proved to be a source of aggravation during both dives, as the currents would drag me to the bottom or lift me toward the surface, and I would have to wait patiently until my diver could get to me and level me out.
One of the coolest parts of being 35' down happened almost immediately. The diver picked up a sea urchin and placed it on my hand. She had me turn my hand over to show that it had sucked to my palm! It was amazing! I wanted to exclaim but the reg prevented me from doing anything but awkwardly smiling.
We swam around for a while on the bottom, but there really wasn't much to see. Jeff and I traded the camera back and forth. Best use of the underwater case yet! Some colorful fish swam by, I did my best to dodge the spiny sea urchins as I dipped toward the floor, and here and there was coral. Finally, it was time to go back up.
Dive two was tremendously better than the first with weaker currents, better visibility, and an eagle ray siting before we were even off the rope! Also during our decent, we saw a couple of sea turtles (honu) swimming around. They couldn't have cared less that we were there. So fantastic. During the tour, I saw far more brightly colored fish, a couple of eels, and several honu. Time went by so quickly! A few times, I held my reg in my mouth with my hand to give my jaw a break. I'm sure I was clenching. Clearing my ears was needed every few minutes, something, I imagine, would taper off with more time in the water.
Being so near the honu was simply amazing. I couldn't get enough and wanted to follow them...but I wasn't really supposed to venture away from the group. Jeff took almost all of the pictures since he had more freedom than me. He did such a wonderful job.
I look forward to going on another underwater adventure. Jeff loved it and had no trouble getting back in the groove after 8 years of distance between dives. We were both thrilled with the chance to explore a different part of Hawaii. What a blast!
