Take the plunge – My first dive
Well, I finally did. In a previous article I wrote about my lifelong ambition to dive and two weeks ago I found myself 12 meters deep playing ‘pillage’ with a lizard fish.
In case you haven’t read the above article, I am a 44 year old male, somewhat overweight but basically fit who has a persistent fear of water, but has wanted to dive ever since I saw Jacques Cousteau on TV when he was a little boy. . My plan had been to train in this country and then do my first dive abroad under the PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) scheme where you can divide your training between dive centers. Circumstances took hold of me and it didn’t happen that way at all.
Three weeks ago my partner and I had the opportunity to fly to Gran Canaria for a short break and, to my delight and horror at the same time, I discovered that the Cordial Mogan Playa (the hotel we were staying at) had recently opened a dive center in the gardens. Years ago my daughter (then 10 years old and a strong swimmer from all the lessons I took her to) taught me to swim in a local pool, just saying “go ahead daddy, just push and swim.” The thought of my daughter seeing me weaken overcame my lifelong fear of water, so I pushed and, to my amazement, found that I could actually swim (by which I mean not drown too much). Similarly, finding a dive school on my doorstep with five days of no excuses and an expectant couple raising their eyebrows at me, I had no choice but to take the plunge, so I found myself at the dive center booking for an introduction. session.
This center (part of the Extra Divers group) offered SSI (Scuba Schools International) courses instead of the PADI courses I had previously seen, but the basic training pattern looked very similar and I had heard of SSI before so I booked for the half-day “Try Scuba” course at a cost equivalent to around £ 60.
My instructor for the course was Carlos, who had excellent English (I try, but my Spanish doesn’t go much beyond asking for coffee). Reassuringly, Carlos turned out to be a former military dive instructor and local dive safety expert, so I knew I was in good hands.
The first part of the course was in the classroom and one on one, where Carlos taught me about basic techniques and safety issues such as pressure equalization, illustrating its importance when executing calculations based on bars and depth in meters. He did a wonderful job of linking theory with practice by allowing me to calculate the kinds of things that would happen to my eardrums if I dove to 20 meters without equaling, as well as what would happen to my lungs if I surfaced from 20 meters while holding your breath (in both cases, the short answer is “bang!”).
From there we moved to the pool and, properly equipped, I was able to test underwater breathing for the first time. Aside from the exercises (cleaning the mask, recovering from a downed regulator, and basic buoyancy control), I cannot describe the excitement of my first dive. Initially, like most beginners, my focus was on breathing, but I soon learned to trust the equipment and to think about how the inflation of my lungs was affecting my buoyancy and to use this to make brief buoyancy corrections while adjusting for inflation. from my vest (vest) (buoyancy control device or “jacket” as Carlos called it). Around the third round, I was able to swim around the deep end of the pool maintaining a constant 2-3 feet distance from the bottom and was able to move on to thinking about how I was using the fins. Carlos had pointed out that the goal is to use leisurely rather than frantic effort to conserve air, so I slowed my flapping speed, stretched my legs, and found myself navigating smoothly through the water and being able to look around. This was the moment that I realized I was finally doing it: I was diving, looking down at the bottom of the swimmers, and driving with a comfort level that, while I couldn’t afford to be arrogant or laid-back, allowed me to feel like I was here, I was doing it and this was my space to explore.
The final part of the training was a dive in the sea and for this we were joined by a couple of excited German schoolgirls who were doing their next level of training. We drove to Amadores Beach in Puerto Rico on the southwest coast of Gran Canaria, a popular crescent-shaped beach in a cove protected by two rocky piers. Getting ready provided an opportunity to get another lesson on safety equipment and controls (I have to remember to put my cylinder back on the ground after plugging in the regulator), then Carlos walked us through the hand signals for the dive and He ended up jokingly telling us that he would allow it. “no mistakes” as we were diving in front of a rival diving school here. Walking onto the beach through the crowd of bathers was a thrill, as heads turned towards us and I could almost hear the “damn, I wish it was me” thoughts behind some of the envious stares.
I must confess that I was a bit clumsy both to get in and out of the water, I actually stepped on my own fin as I got out and fell into the surf, but Carlos tells me that this is not unusual and you become less clumsy. with practice, so I guess it was a forgivable mistake. The entrance to the water was from the beach and initially the water was so cloudy with sand that I had to hold onto Carlos’s vest to make sure I didn’t get lost. However, once inside, all I can say is wow!
We went down the stepped sandbars, dotted with eroded volcanic rocks, to a depth of about 12 meters. As he watched me and included me in the underwater exercises (plus mask cleaning and regulator recovery), Carlos’s main concern was keeping an eye on the children and this left me free to explore while staying close. We gradually swam deeper until I had my first aquatic encounter, which was with a lizard fish. He hadn’t noticed it until he was about 2 feet away, when he was startled from his position almost buried or well camouflaged in the sand. He dived a few meters further and, as he was on our course, I kept swimming. This turned into a magical game of ‘tag’ in which he would swim within a foot or two of the fish and dove forward again. After three out of four attempts, Carlos pointed out that we were turning right, so I had to outrun my gutsy friend and follow him.
This was not my only encounter with the denizens of the deep. Later, while kneeling at the bottom of the sea to do an exercise, I managed to disturb a hidden flatfish that made me jump. Later, when we were in the deepest part of the dive, Carlos found a couple of cute cuttlefish, one of which seemed quite happy floating on his outstretched hand while the girls tickled him. I’m not sure how long we were down, long enough to drain my tank to 110 bars before heading back to the beach, but it seemed like forever. Clinging once more to Carlos’s BCD, we ascended through the submerged sandstorm and arrived almost exactly where we had entered from. With the fins out and out of the water it may have felt good going down the beach, but coming back up I felt on top of the world, I had finally done it, I still might have a lot to learn but I could finally say Yes. he had been diving.
Of course divers need to know how to take care of their gear so once we got back to the dive school the final part of my lesson was rinsing and packing the gear I had used before saying goodbye to the girls and thanking Carlos for his encouragement, training, and stewardship. He is an excellent instructor and I cannot recommend him highly enough.
Experienced divers would certainly not be impressed by what this dive offers, but I have heard before that you never forget your first dive and I would have to agree with this. This first dive gave me the opportunity to enjoy the richness, excitement, and feelings of freedom and achievement that come from exploring the underwater world. Since then I have read a few dive magazines and seen the incredible views and experiences on offer around the world on reefs and shipwrecks. Thanks to the SSI web registration system, I can continue my training at any SSI dive center in the world, so I don’t know where my next dive will be. What I can say is that there will definitely be an upcoming dive, and soon. Diving is everything I hoped it would be and more, and no matter what happens next, I am sure I will never forget the thrill of that wonderful first dive.