Diving in Key Largo
I returned to Key Largo, Florida to do six more dives with Ocean Divers. I took two courses with them in 2004 and became a SCUBA instructor here so this was a chance to get back in the water in a familiar location and replace memories of old experiences with new ones.
I also wanted to see what kind of emotional pull diving has on me. It was my passion in 2004 and I'd planned to move to the Caribbean to work full time as an instructor but got pulled to another path in life.
To my delight, diving for me is like riding a bike and everything came back with very little effort. Even my professional manner and natural ability to take care of and look out for other people returned without any effort.
Each day we did a deep dive on either the Speigel Grove or USS Duane shipwrecks taking us down to 100-125 feet, then a shallow reef dive in the Pennekamp marine park which was only 20-30 feet but let us stay underwater for 50-60 minutes easily. Weather was fantastic with no summer storms, rain or cloudy skies. Visibility underwater was good to excellent. Current was a problem only on the USS Duane but that was a challenge that made it more of an adventure dive than normal.
On these dives I was planning and leading dives for other less experienced divers. When I do so, I put a lot of effort into the balance of giving them the best dive available while also keeping them safe. This behaviour is something I found in myself when I was training to dive as a student and has helped me become a good instructor. The only time I can shake it is when I'm diving with a good friend whose skills I trust and dive conditions that don't worry me. Only then do I really relax underwater and not worry about where my dive buddy is or how he or she is doing.
So after getting back into diving for a couple days I'm still happy with it, but my attitude of pushing myself hard to try new things and learn new skills suggests I might have reached a peak in diving. Mountain Climbing and Skydiving are on the list. I never would have tried them I learned how to dive, but diving changed me -- it taught me I could do more than I previously thought -- so the question now is: What else can I try?
I also wanted to see what kind of emotional pull diving has on me. It was my passion in 2004 and I'd planned to move to the Caribbean to work full time as an instructor but got pulled to another path in life.
To my delight, diving for me is like riding a bike and everything came back with very little effort. Even my professional manner and natural ability to take care of and look out for other people returned without any effort.
Each day we did a deep dive on either the Speigel Grove or USS Duane shipwrecks taking us down to 100-125 feet, then a shallow reef dive in the Pennekamp marine park which was only 20-30 feet but let us stay underwater for 50-60 minutes easily. Weather was fantastic with no summer storms, rain or cloudy skies. Visibility underwater was good to excellent. Current was a problem only on the USS Duane but that was a challenge that made it more of an adventure dive than normal.
On these dives I was planning and leading dives for other less experienced divers. When I do so, I put a lot of effort into the balance of giving them the best dive available while also keeping them safe. This behaviour is something I found in myself when I was training to dive as a student and has helped me become a good instructor. The only time I can shake it is when I'm diving with a good friend whose skills I trust and dive conditions that don't worry me. Only then do I really relax underwater and not worry about where my dive buddy is or how he or she is doing.
So after getting back into diving for a couple days I'm still happy with it, but my attitude of pushing myself hard to try new things and learn new skills suggests I might have reached a peak in diving. Mountain Climbing and Skydiving are on the list. I never would have tried them I learned how to dive, but diving changed me -- it taught me I could do more than I previously thought -- so the question now is: What else can I try?
posted by maxwax at
4:00 PM
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