Under the Sea

5/12/10
Location: Great Barrier Reef, near Cairns, Australia

I took years of swimming lessons as a kid, and later I became a lifeguard and taught lessons myself. Consequently, I’ve spent a lot more time in pools than most people. Last summer alone, I spent 30 hours every week at the Concordia swimming pool teaching everything from the front float to the feet-first surface dive. In all of my time swimming, I’ve always had to hold my breath as long as I could when swimming underwater until I finally had to come up for air, or I’ve had to rhythmically breathe when doing strokes near the surface. Never have I swum underwater for more than a few minutes. Today that all changed when I scuba dived for the first time, by the Great Barrier Reef of all places.

This morning we left our hotel at 7:30 A.M. to walk to Cairns pier to board our Ocean Spirit cruise ship with about 30 others that would take us to and from the Great Barrier Reef. Cairns is home to rainforests and is very hot and humid, so all of us were pumped to explore the reefs under the jade waves of the Pacific. (Sorry to rub it in—I hear ND/MN is cold and rainy right now;) ) Right when we got there, Scott asked who was up for scuba diving and who was going to stick to snorkeling. Jenny and I both said we were definitely up for scuba diving, as was Scott, and a woman named Lauren on the Ocean Spirit had us fill out medical forms and a waiver that basically said they were not liable if we died from loss of blood in a shark attack or if we suffered hyperbolic tension after diving, and anything in between. Lauren said she would consult the “dive doctor” about the medications we had listed to see if we were OK to dive. The good news was that I was good to go, but Jenny wasn’t because of her allergy medication. She was really bummed out and so was I because it would have been even more fun with her and I know she was really looking forward to it.

So, it just ended up being Scott and me, the only student who ended up scuba diving. The others snorkeled, but I had the best of both worlds because I got to snorkel after my dive. Scuba diving cost extra, but I’ve always wanted to try it and wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass. After sitting on the boat for a couple of hours, we were almost to our anchoring point by the reef. Lauren, a scuba diving instructor and the same woman who checked us in, gave us a brief class on scuba diving a tourist dive (which allows you to dive up to 30 feet) that taught us all of the essentials: never hold your breath, never go anywhere alone, breathe through your mouth, and equalize your sinuses and ears frequently by pinching your nose and blowing against your fingers. She also taught us the hand signals we would be using underwater for “OK,” “I have a problem,” and “I need to go up.”  Lauren then announced the dive groups. Scott and I would be in the first group going at 11:00 A.M. with another dive instructor, Kelly.

I rented my wetsuit (tight, but thankfully, black), picked out my fins (construction orange) and mask (face encompassing), and grabbed my waterproof disposable camera in hopes of capturing some awesome photos under the sea. I was almost ready to go. First, I got my waist belt and air tank on, which felt like I was putting on a suit of armor because it was both heavy and cumbersome on land. I cleaned my mask with spit and then rinsed it in the ocean (it prevents them from fogging up underwater) and was sitting on the edge of the platform off the boat ready to go. I was rolled in and then got to practice breathing underwater for the first time by hanging onto a bar on the side of the boat and putting my face in. I was pleased to find that this was pretty easy, just like a snorkel only you never got a mouthful of ocean water from dipping down too far. I was also glad that my tank was much less annoying underwater. Next, our dive instructor Kelly, came around to each of us individually in our group of four (Scott and I were joined by two women) to test our skills: breathing underwater, equalizing the pressure, clearing water from your mask, and properly replacing your mouthpiece if it happens to come out underwater. For the skills test, we went a little farther underwater and I couldn’t breathe because I was so nervous and thinking about it too much. Kelly just told me to relax, and then I could do it.

We were ready to set out then, and we lowered ourselves into the water and had to link arms. I was surprised at this and I didn’t really like it that much because I couldn’t swim well being attached to someone and I couldn’t look more closely at something if I wanted to investigate. But, I was breathing underwater and really, that was all that mattered to me. Breathing underwater is such a cool feeling. It’s almost like the superhuman feeling of paragliding—I’m doing something I’m not supposed to be able to do. It felt foreign at first, even after I relaxed and was breathing through my mouthpiece easily. My ears are sensitive and hurt whenever I fly, so I made sure to equalize the pressure on them and my sinuses often. One thing I was not prepared for was how claustrophobic I would feel underwater. I’ve never been a claustrophobic person and I’ve swam in lots of bodies of water before, but I was always readily available to the surface because I needed to be. Swimming a few meters under the surface and looking up was a little alarming to me at first. I just told myself that I could do it and it’s really no different than any other kind of swimming and I was OK, but the feeling of being trapped still lingered.

Then, scuba diving got even better. All kinds of coral came into view. I claustrophobic feelings were abandoned and I was entranced by what lay ahead of us. This is what I came to see. I was snapping photos left and right with my waterproof disposable. Wavy, dusty pink coral swaying in the water, goldenrod coral that resembles a neatly trimmed hedge, a network of sprawling dark purple coral. It was everywhere, and sometimes, I was swimming directly over it and I was oftentimes worried that I would touch it. Some did brush my leg once, but it wasn’t the sharp coral ,so it was all good. We flutter kicked our fins and the five of us took in the sections of reef in its unfamiliar glory. Everything looked strange and I was fascinated by everything that called the Great Barrier Reef home. I saw a lost snorkel beside a ray skimming the tan sand. I saw iridescent blue fish flit in and out of the coral. I felt so lucky to have a front row seat to this ecology system that I have only seen on TV screens and in pictures on the Web before.

I got water in my mask and had more pressure the deeper we descended, but I easily remembered the steps I had to take to amend the problem and I did just fine. I was happily kicking away and checking everything out. As I said before, my only desire was to break free from our chain link wall of divers, but I knew I couldn’t. I got to kneel in the sand on the bottom and take a picture—I just can’t wait to get the waterproof disposable developed.

Scuba diving was a blast and I was bummed when it was over. Maybe someday I’ll take the time to take classes and become certified and I can dive on vacations whenever I want to. Snorkeling is very fun as well, although I preferred the scuba diving. After a delicious lunch of chicken legs, prawns, bread, and various pasta and fruit salads, I went out snorkeling in the afternoon with most of the group. I still could see a lot of cool coral and some of it went so high that I was swimming right on top of it, just inches away from touching it. However, the waves were pretty rough and it was very difficult for me to swim around. It might be because I refused to wear fins since I don’t like swimming with them in pools, or because I used a waist floatation device just because I wasn’t sure what swimming on the surface of the ocean would be like. Anyway, it was much harder to move (even with the linkage when diving), but both were great.

I’ve tried so many new things already on this trip and I plan on continuing to try more. I didn’t know I could and really didn’t think I could paraglide or scuba dive before this trip, but I’ve done both successfully. I’ve tried new kinds of food and I’ve explored new places. So far, I’ve honestly liked, if not loved, everything and I can’t wait for the challenge of the new experiences that lie ahead.

A rainbow over the ocean.

The Great Barrier Reef



Scott and I before scuba diving!

Anna, Caitlyn, Me, and Scott about to go snorkeling.



Dusk on the boat...so pretty.