This Saturday I went diving in the oceans around Ras Al Khaimah for the third time. (the second time didn't really count much because it was from the beach, even if I did get to hold a Sea Cucumber... yeah!) I was prepared for the issues I had faced the previous time, wearing a motion sickness patch and taking a nodiz pill just as I got on the ship. It is a beautiful ship and I really wanted to enjoy this trip. We arrived at 8am and were right on time, the rest of the divers arriving at the same time. This time we were with a group of Arabian sport fishermen and divers. One of them was a member of the coast guard. I think he was just checking out the ship.
Anyway,
We headed out to sea. We were going to dive first, me and my dive buddy, at the site of a deep wreck (lowest point is 25 meters, but we were only planning on 18 meters at the deepest). I was worried. Today is the day of my final exam. 50 questions on a topic that includes mathematical equations relating to nitrogen times and maximum depths. I spent most of that early trip reciting things in my mind, glancing over my book now and again to make sure I understood aspects. I even made up funky acronyms to help me remember which things come when. Not that you really want to hear about me studying while riding on a yacht out in the ocean.
Sooner than I expected we arrived, and I hadn't gotten sick. Not even a little queezy. I was doing beautifully.
Our dive instructor dove in to tie the yacht up to the buoy marker for the dive and as I watched she swam. First she swam out to the buoy and yelled back " the current is really strong". The captain turned to me and my buddy and said "I sure hope you two are strong swimmers". !!!!! Well I know I am, but my buddy is a little less sure of herself, so I just smiled and turned back to watch the instructor. She dove down to the chain... and missed. She did it again... and missed again. The current was so strong that my instructor could not tie off the lead rope. So they hauled her back to the ship and we canceled the dive.
When a dive instructor says no, you can bet that I agree completely!!!
So we turned the ship to head to an alternate dive site (one I had never seen or heard of) and off we sail. Brunch is served. I had salmon with poached eggs on a bed of fresh baked bread and a side of fresh fruit. Yeah baby! I ate every bite, with great joy. Delicious.
We arrive at the site, again sooner than I expected. We prepare our equipment and choose to get into our gear in the water. It just looked like more fun to me. We slide into the water, it is so nice against the hot black wet suit. I place the regulator in my mouth, slowly let the air out of my BCD jacket and sink under the waves. At first I couldn't get down. Then I realized that I was not breathing deep enough, so I let out all of the air in my lungs and took slow, long, measured breathes, exhaling completely and remembering to equalize my ears at every meter. I sank into the water and down, down down to the bottom. And there in front of me lay the remains of a sunken ship, shattered by age and wear into scattered pieces across the sea floor. And there is the hull, a hulking dark shape in the distance. Slowly we begin to glide across the ocean floor towards the dark shapes. Then, it comes into view. A living breathing thing. A mass of metal overcome by coral anemone and giant sea urchins. At each breath it seems to take, a curtain of fish shower across like a living waterfall, multicolored, multi-shaped, yet uniformly moving making the this skeletal remain one of the most beautiful and vibrant I have ever witnessed in my life. And as we swim around this beautiful living reef, I spot something more exciting to me than anything else can be. A sea turtle. A beautiful sea turtle, his shell caked with barnacles, his head stretched out among the fish, his flippers moving him forward in a steady beat. He was gorgious, one of the truly great thrills of my life. We followed him around for a time and then we swam back to the wreck. We spent about 50 minutes swimming around and around that wreck, finding fish, playing with everything we saw.
Too soon for me, we returned to the ship (I was at the point of air when the instructor had said we would need to return, so I suppose we had to)and it was time for us to take our final exam.
It didn't take me very long... For some reason I take to this like a fish to water.... I passed.
While we took our exams the other divers went for their turn under the water. Then the others came up and we headed back for the docks. As we sailed back it was time for dinner. I had the doris fish with a creamy gorgonzola sauce and boiled vegetables. It was amazing. I had such a good time. Took a few photos, got back to the dock, and headed home.
I will post the photos soon, even though there are not many of them. But, it will be a few weeks before the underwater photos and video are developed.... Yeah, you didn't think I would forget to take pictures did you! I love sea turtles.
Hope you are having as good a time as I am!
Anyway,
We headed out to sea. We were going to dive first, me and my dive buddy, at the site of a deep wreck (lowest point is 25 meters, but we were only planning on 18 meters at the deepest). I was worried. Today is the day of my final exam. 50 questions on a topic that includes mathematical equations relating to nitrogen times and maximum depths. I spent most of that early trip reciting things in my mind, glancing over my book now and again to make sure I understood aspects. I even made up funky acronyms to help me remember which things come when. Not that you really want to hear about me studying while riding on a yacht out in the ocean.
Sooner than I expected we arrived, and I hadn't gotten sick. Not even a little queezy. I was doing beautifully.
Our dive instructor dove in to tie the yacht up to the buoy marker for the dive and as I watched she swam. First she swam out to the buoy and yelled back " the current is really strong". The captain turned to me and my buddy and said "I sure hope you two are strong swimmers". !!!!! Well I know I am, but my buddy is a little less sure of herself, so I just smiled and turned back to watch the instructor. She dove down to the chain... and missed. She did it again... and missed again. The current was so strong that my instructor could not tie off the lead rope. So they hauled her back to the ship and we canceled the dive.
When a dive instructor says no, you can bet that I agree completely!!!
So we turned the ship to head to an alternate dive site (one I had never seen or heard of) and off we sail. Brunch is served. I had salmon with poached eggs on a bed of fresh baked bread and a side of fresh fruit. Yeah baby! I ate every bite, with great joy. Delicious.
We arrive at the site, again sooner than I expected. We prepare our equipment and choose to get into our gear in the water. It just looked like more fun to me. We slide into the water, it is so nice against the hot black wet suit. I place the regulator in my mouth, slowly let the air out of my BCD jacket and sink under the waves. At first I couldn't get down. Then I realized that I was not breathing deep enough, so I let out all of the air in my lungs and took slow, long, measured breathes, exhaling completely and remembering to equalize my ears at every meter. I sank into the water and down, down down to the bottom. And there in front of me lay the remains of a sunken ship, shattered by age and wear into scattered pieces across the sea floor. And there is the hull, a hulking dark shape in the distance. Slowly we begin to glide across the ocean floor towards the dark shapes. Then, it comes into view. A living breathing thing. A mass of metal overcome by coral anemone and giant sea urchins. At each breath it seems to take, a curtain of fish shower across like a living waterfall, multicolored, multi-shaped, yet uniformly moving making the this skeletal remain one of the most beautiful and vibrant I have ever witnessed in my life. And as we swim around this beautiful living reef, I spot something more exciting to me than anything else can be. A sea turtle. A beautiful sea turtle, his shell caked with barnacles, his head stretched out among the fish, his flippers moving him forward in a steady beat. He was gorgious, one of the truly great thrills of my life. We followed him around for a time and then we swam back to the wreck. We spent about 50 minutes swimming around and around that wreck, finding fish, playing with everything we saw.
Too soon for me, we returned to the ship (I was at the point of air when the instructor had said we would need to return, so I suppose we had to)and it was time for us to take our final exam.
It didn't take me very long... For some reason I take to this like a fish to water.... I passed.
While we took our exams the other divers went for their turn under the water. Then the others came up and we headed back for the docks. As we sailed back it was time for dinner. I had the doris fish with a creamy gorgonzola sauce and boiled vegetables. It was amazing. I had such a good time. Took a few photos, got back to the dock, and headed home.
I will post the photos soon, even though there are not many of them. But, it will be a few weeks before the underwater photos and video are developed.... Yeah, you didn't think I would forget to take pictures did you! I love sea turtles.
Hope you are having as good a time as I am!
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