Friday, October 12, 2007
What a cluster!
Today started out to be a beautiful day! The sun was out; there were some clouds. But the sea looked calm. It’s always good when the sea is calm.
We were on the Oystier again this morning, along with five other divers and Alberto as our Divemaster. Pingo and Juan were also onboard along with other divers for a private dive.
It was decided that we would be diving Palancar Bricks for the first dive, the deep dive. We like anything that starts with Palancar so we’re happy.
Alberto and his charges, including us and Sonita, head to the white sandy bottom. You could feel the tug of the current, and you could see it as it whipped the sand at the bottom in small wisps. To get a good visual, think of this: you’re standing in the desert and the wind is blowing. It whips the sand up and off the ground in a swirling motion. Yep, it’s just like that.
Alberto motions for all of us to follow him toward the reef, under a small ledge, which takes us to the other side of the reef. The current is pretty tough, and Greg and I are handling it well, making our way to the reef. And then we see the rest of the divers—up, down, kicking madly, using their hands, and pretty much just trying their best to get to the reef. Finally, they all make it and head under the ledge.
Meanwhile, Greg and I are hanging back a bit—we want to be last. But, there’s just one diver left who hasn’t quite made it to the ledge in the reef. It looks like he’s going to go over the reef to meet us on the other side. Ok, no problem. So, Greg heads in first, I follow shortly just behind him but giving him some room. Because it’s such a short space between the sand and the top of the overhang, small kicks are a must. You don’t want to stir up the sand for the person behind you and you certainly don’t want to kick the top. I’m using small kicks but I think I hit something. It can’t be the sand because it’s too rigid and it can’t be the top because I’m not kicking so big. Once on the other side of the reef, I turn around. Yeah, great. It’s the diver we thought was going over the reef that decided to follow us under the ledge. Must have kicked him. Oh, well—I guess that’s what happens when you follow too close.
We continue with the dive, Greg and I minding our own business, just making sure we keep sight of Alberto and the other divers. But, at some point, they get just a bit ahead of us. As Greg videotapes the dive, my job is to keep one eye on him and the other eye on the group ahead. As the group rounds the corner of a huge coral head, I check to make sure Greg is doing ok, and I continue toward the coral head where I last saw the last diver in the group. I slow down a bit and let Greg catch up. As we round the corner of the coral head, check it out.
Just 18 minutes into our dive, four of the five other divers are already heading to the surface. Say what? Greg and I both check out our computers. Holy cow! What the heck were they doing? Sucking air, we guess. We’re not ready to head to the surface so we keep going at our pace. Minutes later, there goes the fifth diver, heading for the surface. We’re not too sure but we think Alberto is heading to the surface with them. We continue on, just Greg and I.
It was an amazing experience. It’s just Greg and I, and the fish, of course, amongst the coral heads. Greg continues to videotape as we glide along with the current. Neither of us was worried—letting the current take us along, we knew the boat would follow our bubbles.
Just as we passed another coral head, we see Alberto. He had signaled the boat for the five divers but stayed behind to make sure we were ok. He reeled in his signaling device and continued the rest of the dive with us.
About 36 minutes into our dive, it’s time to head for the surface but first we need to do our safety stop. We signal to Alberto that we’re ready for our safety stop. He unfurls his signaling device to attract the attention of the boat. We hit the surface and don’t have to wait very long before the boat swings by to pick us up. And look, everyone is on the boat, waiting for us!
What a sweet dive!
We were on the Oystier again this morning, along with five other divers and Alberto as our Divemaster. Pingo and Juan were also onboard along with other divers for a private dive.
It was decided that we would be diving Palancar Bricks for the first dive, the deep dive. We like anything that starts with Palancar so we’re happy.
Alberto and his charges, including us and Sonita, head to the white sandy bottom. You could feel the tug of the current, and you could see it as it whipped the sand at the bottom in small wisps. To get a good visual, think of this: you’re standing in the desert and the wind is blowing. It whips the sand up and off the ground in a swirling motion. Yep, it’s just like that.
Alberto motions for all of us to follow him toward the reef, under a small ledge, which takes us to the other side of the reef. The current is pretty tough, and Greg and I are handling it well, making our way to the reef. And then we see the rest of the divers—up, down, kicking madly, using their hands, and pretty much just trying their best to get to the reef. Finally, they all make it and head under the ledge.
Meanwhile, Greg and I are hanging back a bit—we want to be last. But, there’s just one diver left who hasn’t quite made it to the ledge in the reef. It looks like he’s going to go over the reef to meet us on the other side. Ok, no problem. So, Greg heads in first, I follow shortly just behind him but giving him some room. Because it’s such a short space between the sand and the top of the overhang, small kicks are a must. You don’t want to stir up the sand for the person behind you and you certainly don’t want to kick the top. I’m using small kicks but I think I hit something. It can’t be the sand because it’s too rigid and it can’t be the top because I’m not kicking so big. Once on the other side of the reef, I turn around. Yeah, great. It’s the diver we thought was going over the reef that decided to follow us under the ledge. Must have kicked him. Oh, well—I guess that’s what happens when you follow too close.
We continue with the dive, Greg and I minding our own business, just making sure we keep sight of Alberto and the other divers. But, at some point, they get just a bit ahead of us. As Greg videotapes the dive, my job is to keep one eye on him and the other eye on the group ahead. As the group rounds the corner of a huge coral head, I check to make sure Greg is doing ok, and I continue toward the coral head where I last saw the last diver in the group. I slow down a bit and let Greg catch up. As we round the corner of the coral head, check it out.
Just 18 minutes into our dive, four of the five other divers are already heading to the surface. Say what? Greg and I both check out our computers. Holy cow! What the heck were they doing? Sucking air, we guess. We’re not ready to head to the surface so we keep going at our pace. Minutes later, there goes the fifth diver, heading for the surface. We’re not too sure but we think Alberto is heading to the surface with them. We continue on, just Greg and I.
It was an amazing experience. It’s just Greg and I, and the fish, of course, amongst the coral heads. Greg continues to videotape as we glide along with the current. Neither of us was worried—letting the current take us along, we knew the boat would follow our bubbles.
Just as we passed another coral head, we see Alberto. He had signaled the boat for the five divers but stayed behind to make sure we were ok. He reeled in his signaling device and continued the rest of the dive with us.
About 36 minutes into our dive, it’s time to head for the surface but first we need to do our safety stop. We signal to Alberto that we’re ready for our safety stop. He unfurls his signaling device to attract the attention of the boat. We hit the surface and don’t have to wait very long before the boat swings by to pick us up. And look, everyone is on the boat, waiting for us!
What a sweet dive!
// posted by Leenie @ 7:49 AM 
