Watch Out Below! (85 Days & counting)

Denise & a fellow course participant at evening lectures
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When Denise and I finally decided to commit to our Round the World adventure I knew that I had to convince her to join me in getting scuba qualified.  With destinations like Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and the Pacific Islands on the cards I knew that it would be a criminal waste to be unable to dive their waters.

One of the most exhilarating memories I have of my teenage years was the first time I experienced the weightless undersea wonders of scuba diving.  The setting was idyllic - a plush resort hotel on the coast of Mauritius graced with long white beaches, shimmering turquoise waters, innumerable palm trees, and ringed by spectacular coral reefs teeming with marine life of every shape and hue.

Alpha Dive Centre - Strand
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The mantra of all Mauritian locals (emblazoned on every tacky souvenir T-Shirt on the island) is "No Problem" - and it was this philosophy, embodied in the hotel dive instructor, that allowed a certain exuberant South African teen, with zero diving experience and no clue as to the real dangers, to plunge into the Indian Ocean to depths of almost 20 meters with 2000 liters of air strapped to his back.  The full extent of the pre-dive instruction was a quick dip in the hotel pool with the gear, a short talk that can best be summarised as "stay close to me and do what I do" and a firm injunction to not break off any coral from the reef.

Watch out Down Below - here we come!
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Following a very short boat ride and a plunge backwards over the edge, the dive itself was amazing - about half an hour of fantastic sights and the unbeatable experience of 'flying' weightless underwater.  What was even more amazing though, which I realise now, was that the dive went without incident and I walked away with nothing to remember it for aside the great underwater images.

It was only a few years later, when I tried to repeat the experience at a hotel in the Maldives, that I encountered the brick wall that is international diving regulations.  Much less accommodating (and lax) the Maldivian instructors explained the need for proper scuba qualifications - at that point well beyond my own ability to afford - so I skin-dived and snorkeled, whilst all the time regretting not being able to properly experience one of the best dive sites in the world.

Denise on the other hand had already tried formal scuba training.  At Indiana University (where we met) she had taken a full semester of scuba classes (only one of countless 'elective' courses available to IU students - I was fencing or at Brazilian Jujitsu whilst she was in the pool).  The theory she aced (no surprises there) but the pool sessions were another story.  The problem was that she couldn't get past her phobia of being unable to keep water out of her nose.  For those of us who are able to do this naturally it sounds strange - but there are many people who simply never learned this skill that we take for granted.  The result was that she dropped the class after the first semester and never got her certification.

So when, towards the end of last year, I mentioned to her that I wanted us to get qualified before we left, I knew there was a big chance that she would refuse.  It says a lot about her character and courage that she chose instead to face her fear and give it a go.  From that moment on she spent her free time at our local gym in the pool - trying first to simply swim underwater whilst breathing out through her nose.  The evening she first achieved that, I knew she was going to get her scuba qualification.

Knowing that we would need more time than was normally available in the working week, we registered for the introductory NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors) Scuba Diver course with the Alpha Dive Centre (see separate review or visit http://www.alphadivecentre.co.za/equipment.htm) - situated close to our Strand apartment it was perfectly located for the upcoming festive season break.

We started our course in the week before Christmas.  After two evenings of theory lectures and an exam (she nailed it with 100% I got 99%) we were ready to hit the pool - although Denise was rather nervous.  One of the most difficult skills to learn is called the Mask Clear.  Simply put you are underwater, your mask floods or is knocked off, and you need to retrieve it and clear it of water by exhaling forcefully through your nose - pushing the water out again.  Tough enough for anyone - but for somebody who finds water up the nose unbearable it was a nightmare!

The first pool session was without any scuba gear - just masks, fins and snorkels - which meant that the Mask Clear was done on the surface.  Denise found it tough but managed.  The second session added the gear.  This meant that the Mask Clear had to be done underwater - which she found much harder since you have to remember to continue breathing through your mouth at the same time.

The guys from Alpha Dive (our instructor Danie and his colleague Pierre) were brilliant.  Patient, professional and totally sympathetic they gave Denise private pool tuition at no extra charge.  Pierre even gave her a whole extra evening of his time, one-on-one, to get it right.  There was never any pressure, never any rush, and ultimately it worked wonders!  Last week Thursday, in our third scuba session in the pool - we were both pronounced ready for the final component of our course - the 5 dives in the open sea!

Saturday and Sunday were days to remember.  We dived at Long Beach (in Simonstown near the naval base) in water that was not at all the normal cold Cape ocean (we had water temperatures of 20 degrees on Saturday and 22 on Sunday).  We saw some cool fish, two octopus, a pipe-fish, some beautiful jellyfish and countless sea stars - not bad for dives that the instructors warned would be rather boring and probably the worst we would ever see underwater!  We also got to dive around a small wreck and practice all of the theory and pool work for real!  It was incredible - and again I can only marvel at how my Mauritian dive ever ended without incident!

So - with only 85 days to go before we leave - we are now both fully qualified NAUI Scuba Divers - and have been 'bitten by the bug' - we plan our first "fun dive" this weekend and can't wait to get back into the water.  Although this is a great achievement by itself, I am most in awe of Denise's accomplishment - she faced a major personal fear and dominated it.  What a gal!!!