SCUBA - It's for the birds.

We were certified to SCUBA in 1993. It was pretty cool; you get to watch videos of the “beautiful deep blue sea” with all the colorful fishes and creatures of the deep. Then you get to don the gear; BC (Buoy Vest,) the “skins,” the regulator (your breathing apparatus,) the flippers and the tank. Then you learn how to get in and out of the YMCA’s pool. After you become accustomed to the gear and the breathing they let you go to the lake and actually dive deep.

They make it sound so easy. You can’t wait to get to the ocean and see the wonderful, beautiful sites….

After our classes ended, we played all summer at Lake Ouachita. We had a houseboat and went out every weekend. Diving all around the dam and the cliffs, all over the lake. I thought I was doing pretty well and started looking forward to diving in the ocean.

We planned our trip for January, right after Christmas. We headed off to the Keys and warm weather. I love Florida. If I had to live anywhere else I’d choose Florida. The Keys were awesome. We drove the long highway stretching from island to island; all the way to end of the US Hwy 1.

The day we went diving was sort of blustery. We arrived at the boat, met the captain, loaded our gear and set out to sea. I should have known better – the swells that day were “eight feet,” according to the captain. But no, I was determined to dive.

We rode into the Atlantic for about an hour or so, when we stopped you couldn’t see land in any direction that you looked.

I geared up; careful to ensure my gauges were within reach, my mask was snug, my weight-belt the proper weight, etc. I was the first one on the boat that was ready to hit the “drink.” But then that fear hit me. I wanted to go, but I didn’t want to be first. So I unzipped my “BC” and acted like I was still getting ready.

Finally the others began to disembark. When I stood up to enter the water, you’d a thought I was a pro. I kicked out my left leg forward and jumped with my right leg backward. I held my weight-belt and my regulator. Everything was going swimmingly.
My buddy (my husband) was right behind me and we began our descent to about 90 feet.

Remember, this was my first time. I was “so very” a novice. I was looking for blue water and bright colored fish.

What I saw was murky, dirty, sandy water. I couldn’t even see my buddy beside me, let alone any fish. A shark could be swimming right next to me and I’d a never known. Down we kept going. It seemed like we were kicking and going down, I could barely see our friend, Les, just ahead of me.

I went to grab my gauges to see how deep we were. Reaching all around, reaching to the other side, NO GAUGES! I thought to myself where could they be? And I remembered. I had unzipped my BC to stall when I was on the boat. I had forgotten to ensure the gauges were secure when I re-zipped and inadvertently zipped them up inside my BC.

I still couldn’t see my husband/buddy. So I stopped kicking. Then he came in closer to me; I made the sign to ascend. He looked at me and shook his head “NO.” So I started to go up without him. I could feel him grabbing at my fins; trying to keep me from going up. I still went up.

Then the adventure goes berserk.

When I surfaced I looked for our boat. I turned all around and didn’t see anything. My buddy surfaced and I yelled, “Where’s the boat?” He looked all around and pointed to this very small dot on the horizon. Yes A DOT. The current had carried us so far from the boat that you could barely tell it was a boat.

That’s when my panic went out of control.

You see there is a reason why you must be a very good swimmer to dive the ocean. It’s not like a lake where the water is still and calm. There are currents like rivers all over. If you get caught in one it will carry you miles away in just seconds. And, at the time of year that we went, it was probably the worst time for any novice.

So let’s recap. I’m in the ocean looking for the beautiful blue water with all the colorful fishes. The only thing I found was dark, murky, fast moving water – everything was the color of sand. I decide I’m not going to do this and surface only to find myself halfway to Bermuda.

I go ballistic. “My Buddy” is trying to soothe my fears. He’s talking calmly to me and steadily kicking to the little dot on the horizon. I’m dog-tired, praying to God, and yelling HELP! (What he should have done is knock me out and drag me – which I told him he should have done.)

Finally, the captain of the boat realizes our plight. He begins to let out these buoys with a long line of rope. But we still have to swim to meet the buoy. I’m so exhausted by now that I can hardly kick my fins.

I feel someone unlatch my weight-belt and it falls away. After that I feel a little lighter and get enough energy to help kick to the buoys. We slowly reach the first buoy and captain begins reeling us in.

I finally make it to the boat. I climb aboard and fall into a heap. I am so exhausted. I want to go home.

Tim gets on board. I tell him that it was a good idea to release my belt because after it fell away it was easier to maneuver in the water. He said he didn’t touch my belt and didn’t know what I was talking about. I know I felt someone’s hand at my belt. So I guess my guardian angel was swimming the Atlantic that day.

Man, I’m getting exhausted just by writing all this down. We make it back to shore and do the tourist thing for the rest of our stay. It was an adventure for sure, but I will NEVER jump off a boat in the ocean again.

Maybe we’ll try sky-diving next.