Getting lost on night dives

Mhmm yes as you can see from the title of this post, a little mishap happened last night. You could say several things went wrong which all amalgamated into a bunch of people getting lost and running out of air.

It all started off amazingly. We saw tons of octopus, lobsters, crabs and eels. On our way back from the wall, however, we had to cross a big sandy patch which usually leads to the sunken ship. What we think happened was that a) several people separated creating little groups and b) people turned off the wall too soon therefore missing the buoys and heading off past the ship in the wrong direction. What happened to me was that after several minutes of swimming, I knew something was wrong because we should have already been at the ship. I checked my gauge and I was at 80 feet, which is way way to deep for a night dive while breathing enriched air (which I am now certified to breathe...essentially 30 or more % oxygen instead of 21%...it allows you to dive longer but a bit shallower). I then knew that I was lost. I was with Izzy and Becca (Chris the dive intern's daughter). Becca was a little worried so we calmed her down. I immediately grabbed my compass and turned it to 30 degrees north because I knew that that heading would lead us back to the beach. Unfortunately, I couldn't coordinate everyone to follow me. Then, out of nowhere, Julia appeared and we decided to head to the surface. Usually, before a night dive you want to set a time limit for how long you will search for people before heading to the surface. Clearly, we did not do this before our dive probably because we are so used to diving in the front yard and around those walls. When you take any PADI course, they always say that the number one reason for mistakes is diver error and this dive proved that absolutely right. Julia and I decided to surface to look for people. As soon as we got to the top, we both got stung by sea wasps which are incredibly painful and I still have ugly marks on my arms. We reset our compasses to lead us to the beach, descended and somehow managed to gather everyone up with Corey's help. In the end, we all arrived safely, though some only came back with 200 PSI left in their tanks. Luckily, some of us had a lot of air left (Izzy and I don't breathe apparently because we had 1500 and 1800 PSI) so we could have provided emergency air if needed.

We all learned a lot from this experience and for me, personally, this was the first dive where anything went wrong. I am so glad to have the training I obtained in the last 2 weeks because I remained calm, helped others stay calm, obtained my compass heading, followed diving protocol and safely headed back. My one mistake was that I ascended a bit too quickly with Julia but I did not hold my breath and didn't shoot to the surface.

We realized that many things went wrong. The main two are that we didn't have one designated leader and we were much too large of a group for a night dive. We were over confident in ourselves because we thought we knew the location so well, but that all changes at night. Luckily Chris and Jess are dive masters as well as Izzy and I. Overall as a group, everyone was a very experienced diver but it goes to show you that no matter what level you are at, things can ALWAYS go wrong. The best thing is to Breathe, Think and then Act.

On the bright side, my big toenail on my right foot fell off !
Diving with Auntie Eunice has been hilarious. She is very calm and has a lot of knowledge to offer. She has been taking lots of pictures so I will post them soon, I promise! It will be very sad when this week finishes because the three Alabama interns leave as do Eunice, Jess (Izzy's friend) and Maud. Tonight we are going to West End for our weekly outing and a last hurrah.

Tomorrow, we are going on a deep dive to 130 feet and I am hoping to get my deep diving specialty. We have been working on underwater search and recovery and will soon be interning on the boats with the awesome Honduran dive masters that I love so much!

Anyways, I hope everyone is well and until next time (with lots of pictures), stay happy!



Octopus, my favourite!



Sea wasps, what stung me.

Watermanship skills, night diving and more!

Wow! So much has happened since I last wrote but I have been so busy that I have fallen a little behind. Since I wrote you last, I have done two night dives, did all the dive master theory, wrote and passed the exam and completed all the watermanship skills!

I was a little apprehensive at first because my night dive at christmas ended in a battle to the death with jellyfish and a generally stressful experience. This dive, however, was probably the best one I have ever had. My buoyancy was perfect and I loved the feeling of being totally engulfed in darkness with only my little torch to allow for exploration. As soon as we reached the 15 foot buoy, I saw an octopus coloured purple and green...they are so cool. As we moved onwards towards cocoview wall, we started seeing star fish and lots of phosphorescent creatures. Corey and I discovered that if you turned off your torch, you could see millions of little lit up creatures (I initially thought they were bubbles, the science majors weren't too impressed). We also thought we probably saw a shark but he was quite a bit deeper and light was limited so we couldn't be sure. What was also absolutely breathtaking was looking towards the surface and watching the lightning (yes, there was lightning in the distance) as it lit up the coral reef. The second night dive I went on was also incredible but visibility was a bit more limited. We did, however, see 3 octopus and a green moray.

As soon as Patty got here, who is one of our instructors, we began on all the dive theory. We learned everything from the details of equipment to different tides, currents, and environmental factors that all affect diving. My least favourite, the dive physics, ended up not being terrible and I actually really enjoyed learning and better understanding dive tables. After a day and a half of solid theory, we took the exam and both Izzy and I passed with flying colours. Later that day, we went for a shore dive where we practiced underwater skills we have to be able to demonstrate. These skills involve removing your mask, equipment removal, hovering for 30 seconds without moving, buddy breathing while swimming, regulator removal, out of air scenarios etc. Essentially, they are all the skills you would have to demonstrate in any of the courses we will have to learn to teach.

The next day, Alejandra, our other instructor, brought us over to Fantasy Island where we completed the dreaded watermanship skills. These included a 15 minute water tread, 800 metre swim with mask, snorkel and fins as well as a 400 metre swim. All of them were timed and then you were given a rating out of 5. I respectively got a 5, 5 and 4. Later on, we had to complete the 100 metre tired diver tow and the full underwater equipment removal while buddy breathing. Both of these last skills were so hard. Obviously, it was the waviest day we have had so far with 4-5 foot swells. Izzy pretended to be a 'tired diver' and I had to chose a type of tow and get her to a boat as fast as possible. I ended up with a 4/5 which I was thrilled with considering how horrible the conditions were. I guess in a real emergency, you don't get to choose the ocean conditions so I am glad to be tested at a high level so I know I will be able to complete and deal with anything. For the equipment exchange, we went down to a sandy patch where I pretended to be out of air and had to buddy breathe with Izzy. What this means is that we share her regulator. She inhales, exhales, inhales and then passes the regulator to be while continuously exhaling. Remember, if you don't exhale and hold your breath, you put yourself at risk of an air embolism, pneumothorax, mediastinal emphysema or subcutaneous emphysema. Essentially, if you hold your breath, once you start ascending, the volume in your lungs increases because there is a decrease in pressure and your lungs essentially 'burst'. So, don't hold your breath!! The equipment exchange is a test of your patience, problem solving skills and ability to stay calm. Near the end of one person's breath cycle, you really start to feel a bit panicky for air so you just have to stay calm, blow bubbles and remove your equipment slowly, one piece at a time so nothing flots away. I never thought this course would be so challenging but I love every single minute of it. I like being mentally and physically pushed and I also love knowing that I am obtaining all these important life skills that will one day allow me to help someone in danger as well as lead people in discovering a world that most people will never know.

Besides diving, we have gone to West End on the weekly little staff tour. This involves Deb and Mitch (the managers) as well as the Alabama interns (Julia, Emily and Corey) as well as all the dive master interns. We went to sundowners, a canadian-owned bar on the beach to watch the sunset and then later on went for amazing pizza! It was so much fun and a nice chance to leave Cocoview. Last night was the Friday night party (the last night of the week before the guests all leave and new ones arrive the next day. This involved fire dancers, music and free rum punch.

Anyways, it's time for lunch before we move to the weight room to hand out all the new guests their appropriate weights! Until next time, stay happy!

Rescue Diver

Surprising is the word of the day. Why you may ask? Let me tell you. It started with theory which was totally fine. Too fine actually. It gets a little boring reading the same thing over and over again about giving rescue breaths and reading about surface tows with unconscious divers. The surprising part started when you actually get in the ocean and start doing all the work. Our victims for the day were Jess and Chris, the other two dive master interns. My sister and I rotated victims (one was about 200 pounds while the other 130). I never thought it would be so tiring to tow someone in the water. I guess when you have around 50 lbs of equipment on and you are pulling someone with the same amount, it adds up. Lucky us, there weren't 4 foot swells like Jess and Chris had. We finished the day learning how to pull an unconscious victim out of the water. Once again,reading all the steps in the book made it seem so easy but once in the water it was difficult. You start by approaching the victim and flipping them over while removing their weights, mask and regulator. Then, all while trying to get to shore, you listen to hear breathing. Obviously, they are not, so you beging giving rescue breaths every 5 seconds while removing their gear and your own while NEVER breaking the sequence. Does this sound simple? Ya, it does...but it's not! Especially when it is wavy. Then when you are ready with all your gear off and the victim's, you flip them onto your back and carry them out. Poor little Izzy will actually have to carry a big man out of the ocean. I'll try and take pictures.

Permit the break in chronological order, I will talk about yesterday. It was such a beautiful day and we got to do several dives on our old boat; number four with Kirk and Dave. It felt great to be back in the ocean swimming with all the fish in the warmest water you could imagine. Unfortunately, a week ago one of the boats was picked up and dropped on cocoview reef and is still stuck there so there have been incredible efforts to try and get it off not to mention irreparable damage to the coral. Today, they have been using hydraulic jacks to raise it and then try and tow it. Hopefully, they can get it off tonight. After our dives yesterday we sat at the staff table with the university interns and Mitch and Deb (the managers) as well as Doc (the old treasure hunter) and had a great dinner while watching the lightning light up the ocean. We later moved up to a patio where we stayed up, relaxed and had great conversation about Alabama.There is something about island life that makes you so sleepy, especially after several dives breathing compressed air. I think it would be all to easy to never leave a tropical island, life is so much slower and, in my opinion, a generally better pace for people. Things move too fast in North America, especially in metropolises like Montreal.

Tomorrow we have our rescue diver exam as well as underwater search patterns. We will then finish with more unconscious victim removals, the core of the rescue diver course. I will let you all know if I succeed in passing the course! It is a little scary to then know that all of a sudden you might be the most qualified person around to help save a person. Hopefully if I ever encounter an emergency I can stay calm and remember what I need to do!!

Anyways, it is time to get a bit of studying in and spend some time in the clubhouse.

Until next time, stay happy!!



Our lovely boat!

Arrival

After what feels like 400 hours, I have finally arrived and only one word can describe this feeling...HOT. It is so hot. Melt in an oven while bundled up in wintery-alpaca clothes hot. Saw Alejandra from Christmas as well as the dive masters and boat captains and had a super happy reunion! It is so nice to be back in this little paradise! One of the first guys to greet us is a Quebecer, go figure, who is doing his dive master here. He has been super excited for us to show up! And the other intern is this super cool lady from Seattle (thought of you Suzanne) who has qualified to the olympics 3 times in swimming, volleyball and tae-kwon-do! Yup, cool. Also, we are living in the staff house which means we are sharing it with two environmental science students from the University of Alabama. They are here doing research for 8 weeks (they have two to go) on species and coral stuff. Hopefully they are pretty nice people (they seem to be so far). Anyways, tomorrow we get to do the daily dives (with Kirk...yay!) and then we start the rescue diver course on Monday. It is supposed to be pretty heavy, from what Jesse (quebecer) said.

The first two weeks we will be doing a lot of dives and material and then in the last two weeks we start working on the boats and in the shop, etc.

Anyways, I know this all sounds brief but I want to go for a dive before the day is up!!

Cheers and stay happy!


View from plane of Cocoview, my new home!

Dive Master

I am about to embark on a one month adventure in Honduras where my sister and I will be working to obtain our dive master. As some as you might remember, I kept a blog when I went to South America a year and a half ago. It seemed to be fairly successful and allowed people to follow what I was doing through images and words. My last blog showed people what it was like to backpack through a country as well as what Bolivian and Peruvian life is like. This blog, however, will explore diving, underwater life and the environment, honduran culture as well as the people I will be sharing this adventure with.

At the moment, I am just preparing by packing and putting together essentials I might need for the next month. Izzy and I can't wait to go back to Roatan. At Christmas, we were fortunate enough to travel down with our family for our first diving vacation. We did 4 dives a day and saw everything from shipwrecks to sharks while living on a tropical island. During our 10 days there, we completed our advanced diving certification and fell in love with the sport. When we got home I threw out the idea to my mom that it would be fun and useful to complete the dive master which would allow me to potentially one day work and dive. I never thought it would actually happen but with izzy starting med school, my parents thought it would be a good last hoorah.

Anyways, she is nagging at me to finish the laundry so we can run to walmart and finish up preparations.

Cheers and stay happy!