Many of you commented on my Facebook photo from a few weeks ago where I shared my tired and sunburnt, yet very happy, face post scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef. Let’s talk about how that happened and why I thought it was a good idea to submerge myself six metres underwater.
Let me start out by saying, I am terrified of open water. Absolutely terrified. You can chalk that up to my fear of the unknown, or whatever – go on, analyse away. Go figure, I like boats. And I like swimming – in clear water with nothing potentially deadly under me. But when I booked this tour and I learned that there was an optional scuba dive, I started seriously thinking about it. I have a lot of former coworkers that scuba dive. I have plenty of dive master friends. And nothing bad has ever happened to them… I just always think of the worst. #pessimisticrealistoverhere
How was it? I had one of my favourite experiences ever. Come with me out to the Great Barrier Reef and explore the underwater world with me…
passions of paradise
When I checked in for my sailing trip with Passions of Paradise, they gave me a form to fill out if I planned on diving. I tucked it into my bag, not really convinced I’d take the plunge, but better to have it, right? Once we were away from the dock, the staff came around to talk about the scuba diving. They asked us to fill out the forms and began to tell us what to expect from our dive. They went over hand signals, how to breathe, and the best way to swim. I got shakier and shakier.
I was put in the first group of divers, and when we were about fifteen minutes from the first dive spot, they asked us to start getting ready. There were five dive masters; one would be in the water with me and my small group.
scuba diving in the great barrier reef
Once my wetsuit was on (I hate those things) they had me sit in front of an airtank. Crew came around and cinched me into the harness attached to the airtank. They asked me to demonstrate taking the regulator out, putting it back in, and getting water out. When it was time to go in the water, I stood up and penguin waddled over to the steps. I looked around and then figured, well, gotta go. And jumped in to the water. Kieran was my diver guide, and he directed me to the rope they had strung up between the catamaran.
Here, we once again demonstrated the regulator and the breathing before going about a metre into the water and doing that once more. Then, Kieran signaled to us, asking if we wanted to go down. I waggled my hands, indicating that I wasn’t sure, and he pulled me to the surface. I told him I was claustrophobic, and he said he didn’t think I really was. He said, “you will be by my side the entire time.”
Even though my heart was pounding, I had tears in my eyes from the nervousness, and my entire body was shaking, I agreed to go down. Kieran squeezed my hands and smiled.
*I don’t have an underwater camera, so I’m sorry, but you don’t get any fishy shots*
dive number one
I pulled my mask back on and put them regulator in my mouth. Immediately, I began taking long, slow breaths. I was panicked, but I didn’t want that to show and I knew that I needed to take deep breaths. There were still tears in my eyes and I blinked a few times to clear them. I wanted to see what I was looking at! Kieran lined us up and took my arm in his. We set off down toward the sandy bottom and began exploring the reef.
Oh my god! I was scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef!!
While still shaky, I loosened up as we swam along. I began to appreciate the colours in the water, the way that the coral waved slightly in the current, and the brightly coloured fish that darted past us. I can’t give you names, I have no idea what they were.. although I did see a nemo fish 😉 We returned to the surface after thirty minutes and I was ecstatic that I’d done it. I pushed my limits and I was so proud of myself for that.
However, my first dive was a blur; I was linked with Kieran and one other person. This other person kept bumping into me and blocking my view with his camera. That was a very negative aspect of my dive, but I can assure you that my second one was a thousand times better.*
*Why did I go on a second dive?, you ask. Well, I joined a guy and his mom for lunch. James is a certified diver, so he was out on his own. He – and some of the dive staff – said that the second dive is better. Reasons? I’m already aware of what I need to do (depressurising ears, what the hand signals are, how to add air to my vest, how to swim down, etc) and I can be more focused on what I am seeing. I knew that I would kick myself for not going, so I did. (And I am so glad I did.)
dive number two
After lunch, I suited up for my second dive. I talked with Kieran and I told him about how squished I felt in the first dive; he said he was planning to let us swim solo this time. I felt a little frisson of excitement at that and even though my heart was still pounding and I was once again shaky, I was prepared to go at it alone.
Once in the water, I adjusted my mask and put the regulator in my mouth. Kieran had one guy attached to him, and he motioned for us remaining three to follow him. Off we went. The minute I was more than a metre underwater, I panicked. I felt like I couldn’t dive deeper. My breathing became shallow and fast, and my ears started to pressurise. I took a deep breath, swallowed to clear my ears, and swam to touch Kieran’s flipper. He turned and I waggled my hands. He nodded and we all came to the surface. I said, “I’m sorry, I panicked.” He looked at me and he said, “just hold on to me.”
So once again, I tucked my hand into Kieran’s arm and off we went down into the reef. This reef was shallower and brighter than the first one. One of the others spotted a sea turtle poking his head out of a crevasse in the rocks and we saw a ray swimming along below us. Kieran kept looking at his air gauge and finally looked at the two solo divers. They’d been swimming along and breathing faster, therefore they had used up all of their air. Kieran began swimming back to the boat and said they needed to get out because they had no air left. But, lucky me!, Kieran took me and the other guy back down.
I felt more comfortable this time, so much so that I was barely touching Kieran’s arm. Then I looked to my right and saw a turtle swimming. I tugged on Kieran’s arm and pointed. Without waiting for an answer, I turned and started swimming after the turtle. We followed him for about thirty seconds until Kieran turned back the other way.
Finally it was time to go back. I surfaced with the biggest grin on my face. I had scuba dived in the Great Barrier Reef! James took a photo of me – the one I posted to Instagram – and I divested myself of the tank and wetsuit. It was time to head back to Cairns under sail, and I spent the rest of the day laying on the deck with a cold beer. (pro tip: best way to end a scuba dive ;))
final thoughts
If you had told me that I would go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef, I would have laughed at you. Open water is scary, full of big ugly things that can eat you, but in the end I felt completely safe. I forgot about the dangers and focused on the pretty things in front of me.
The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest reef system, but it is also one of our world’s most endangered areas. It’s comprised of more than 2,900 individual reefs and it stretches 2,300 km along the Queensland coast. There are more than 1,600 fish species and over 130 shark and ray species in the waters of the GBR. It is also home to six of the seven turtle species on the planet. Millions of animals depend on the ecosystem created by the GBR – for food, for shelter, for reproduction, and more. While I don’t want to get political, etc (those of you that know me know that I love a good political discussion!) if you want to know more about the Great Barrier Reef and what we can do to minimise the effects that we as humans have on this natural wonder, visit the Great Barrier Reef Foundation for more.
[themify_box style=”question”]Did you know I took a flight-seeing trip over the reef a few days later, in Airlie Beach? Read about that adventure here![/themify_box]
I am not sure I’ve been able to convey my nerves accurately in this post. It was not unlike how I felt on my first skydive: sheer nervousness at the thought of the unknown ahead of me, a pit in my stomach, tears in my eyes, fidgeting because I’m so scared. I want to emphasise that I felt safe thanks to the attentions paid by the staff to my feelings and thoughts, especially Kieran. Thanks to him, I gained a new appreciate for underwater life and I ticked off something I didn’t know was on my bucket list. This outstanding experience will stay with me for the rest of my life.
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