Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
5 years ago I exposed myself to excessively loud dance music in Ibiza. I had been there for 3 months and only had 1 week to go. I was dancing inside a famous nightclub called Space. There were clearly no noise restrictions and all of a sudden something went horribly wrong with my hearing. A disturbing and painful ringing started in my left ear and all though it has subsided my hearing has never been the same since. Apart from the devastating implications with regard to my DJ and live music based lifestyle the other problem is that I was more sensitive to pressure on planes and underwater. I tried to equalise several years later and it resulted in significant pain and discomfort for weeks. I thought that my long harboured dreams of scuba diving were now never to be realised.
This had been my reality for that whole time until this trip where I met and spoke to a lot of divers and diving instructors. I built up the courage to try to equalise again when snorkelling and it went really well. Although very anxious I realised I had to try and go further into the depths. The opportunity came when on the Caribbean coast of Colombia in a place called Taganga. I found a dive school and was reassured by someone who had learned to dive there of their professionalism. I was to dive tomorrow.
This had been my reality for that whole time until this trip where I met and spoke to a lot of divers and diving instructors. I built up the courage to try to equalise again when snorkelling and it went really well. Although very anxious I realised I had to try and go further into the depths. The opportunity came when on the Caribbean coast of Colombia in a place called Taganga. I found a dive school and was reassured by someone who had learned to dive there of their professionalism. I was to dive tomorrow.
First however I was to watch a 180 minute PADI open water video. It started out well with the all the science and theory involved and I was really enjoying learning about buoyancy and pressure changes in your body. It did however drag when it became all self serving and basically a promotional video for diving. My time was done and I was to return mañana.
I slept well in my newly purchased hammock and got up with enough time to grab a flavour packed fresh tropical smoothly before dive school. Chan also came along for the ride to conquer her own fear of the deep sea. I met my dive instructor and he was calm and cool. He talked me through the equipment and the hand signals required for underwater communication. I strapped on the equipment and it felt cumbersome and awkward. Everyone talks about the first time they breathed underwater and it was cool but not something I felt apprehensive about. I was more concerned about the increasing pressure as we got deeper and my hyper sensitive hearing. Everything however turned out to be very sweet and I sailed through the required tests; taking out the respirator, filling and clearing your goggles with water, assuming the Zen Buddha position to prove you had mastered neutral buoyancy. It is really hard to express real emotion with just a few basic hand signals but my instructor was a pro and gave me an Oscar winning performance of a proud and pleased teacher. I was ecstatic. I had another dive in the afternoon and was treated to bright and brilliant coral and fish. Apparently you can see more wildlife in 10 minutes diving than you can in 10 days in the forest. Whether that is true or not the density and variety of life is incredible.
I slept well in my newly purchased hammock and got up with enough time to grab a flavour packed fresh tropical smoothly before dive school. Chan also came along for the ride to conquer her own fear of the deep sea. I met my dive instructor and he was calm and cool. He talked me through the equipment and the hand signals required for underwater communication. I strapped on the equipment and it felt cumbersome and awkward. Everyone talks about the first time they breathed underwater and it was cool but not something I felt apprehensive about. I was more concerned about the increasing pressure as we got deeper and my hyper sensitive hearing. Everything however turned out to be very sweet and I sailed through the required tests; taking out the respirator, filling and clearing your goggles with water, assuming the Zen Buddha position to prove you had mastered neutral buoyancy. It is really hard to express real emotion with just a few basic hand signals but my instructor was a pro and gave me an Oscar winning performance of a proud and pleased teacher. I was ecstatic. I had another dive in the afternoon and was treated to bright and brilliant coral and fish. Apparently you can see more wildlife in 10 minutes diving than you can in 10 days in the forest. Whether that is true or not the density and variety of life is incredible.
I instantly extended my 2 trial dives to the full open water course of six and the next days 2 days were a unique and rewarding experience. Looking up at the vast blue expanse and watching your exhaled bubbles rise until they disappear is like being in a dream. A happiness over came me as I had overcome 5 years of doubt and finally witnessed what it is like down on a coral reef. There were fish of all colours and sizes, squid, lion fish and much more. The word coral does not really do any justice to the massive living, life giving entity that it is. It would have been breath taking but holding your breath is not advised underwater.
Like when learning any new skill there is a lot to think about and the equipment is the thing on your mind as it is all completely new to you. Whether it is equalising your goggles, reading your air gauge or managing your buoyancy there is a lot on your mind. The most important rule is to breath the whole time as static air in your lungs can expand and cause serious lung damage and possible death. I did not find this a hard rule to follow and I follow the same rule above the sea. The other rule is to equalise early and often one which I obsessed about the first day and was probably why I had no problems. The second day I was concerned with all the other stuff and my goggle were moving all over my head and ears. I got distracted and had to equalise rather hard which was fine at the time but resulted in nearly a weeks worth of pain and discomfort. I did not come on straight away and after my 4th dive in two days I worked hard to complete all the theory and pass the exam so all that would be left was 2 fun dives. I tried to dive over the next 3 days but my ears never felt right. I decided to go to Venezuela for 10 days and then come back.
My ears settled and I was able to finish the dive and get my open water. The relief was tangible and although diving is not something I can do a lot of it will always be something that I have done. Chantelle jumped in and swam on that first day and we were both elated to have overcome our fears. To face a fear whether physical or psychological is to feel alive. So if you want to do something but are not sure you can or have the courage, do it soon and then the fear will be faced and gone.
Joseph Davies 12/11/10
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