If you have ever tried SCUBA diving, you probably can at least understand what I am about to describe. I have been a SCUBA diver since 2005. I am from California, but ever since I started diving I have lived in Utah. How did I begin diving? My sister informed me there was a course that offered college credit. I had always been curious about SCUBA, but had never tried it before. This was the perfect opportunity to throw some money down on a class as well as what sounded like a cool hobby. So I took the class. I must say, that while many of the others in the class were a bit hesitant or nervous, I loved it and never had one ounce of any problems with it. Clearing my mask, equalizing my ears, everything came natural. My first dive buddy wasn't the most competent, but what is a dive buddy for? So I helped him and made sure he didn't sink to the bottom during our certification dives. This was the start of a great adventure.
After I finished this class I thought my diving would be just a summer thing. You know? When I went home during the summer, maybe I would do a dive in Monterey, or if my family went on a random vacation to Mexico. It was a fun thing to do, but I didn't know where it would take me. When I went to pick my Certification card up a week after class ended I ran into one of the instructors there. He is a Russian who at that point I didn't know at all. He taught a different group of divers than I was in. Apparently he had watched our class as well as ours and noticed that I had skills. He approached me and said in a deeply Russian accent. You are very good at diving, have you thought of taking more classes? Or even becoming an assistant instructor or instructor? To tell you the truth, I really hadn't. But after a crazy cool Russian compliments your skills in such a manner it is almost impossible not to.
Well needless to say, after a few days thinking it over, I decided it would be a good idea. I signed up for Advanced Open Water class and Stress and Rescue. I really enjoyed both of these classes. I learned about night diving, navigation, limited visibility, rescue, and deep diving. My favorite class was the stress and rescue class. It taught about what to do in a stressful or panic situation, and simple rescue procedures. About halfway through these classes I was ready to advance into more diving. I signed up for the assistant instructor/dive master course and the instructor course and began my training to the professional side of diving.
Did I love diving? If I loved diving, I almost loved teaching it more. It was exciting to see students learn. To see the passion some of them had about it. Many of them weren't very good, many didn't have the passion. But those that did, made teaching worth it. Many people think that diving is easy, and that anyone can do it. This is true, that almost anyone can dive, however, here is a certain trait that makes someone a “good” diver, and that is something almost impossible to explain. I finished my training in about 7 months. From here I started working at a hot springs at a resort.
You must be wondering where in Utah is there a place to SCUBA dive or teach it. There is an amazing formation called the Crater at the Homestead Resort in Midway Utah. I managed it a few days a week and worked this job constantly for three and a half years. This is where my love for SCUBA diving really picked up. I taught SCUBA updates here, took uncertified divers on underwater tours so they could see the miracle of diving. Whenever I had time I took my own dives in the Crater. I have about 325 dives in the Crater. That might sound boring or redundant, but every dive is unique to me.
Now this is what it really is all about. What I started this article with. If you are a diver you will know what I am trying to express, or I hope you do. For me, being underwater is almost magical, I take that back, it is magical. Honestly even if I closed my eyes and just sunk to the bottom a lake, the Crater, the magnificant ocean and just kneeled there. To listen to the sounds, and the vibrations, and the tranquility, it is something that really cannot be explained, only felt. You feel free, liberated, and weightless. In these moments, nothing else matters. You feel the bubbles tickle your cheeks and you enjoy pure peacefulness. It is really hard to explain anything that comes close to how amazing the feeling is. The only thing that comes close for me is something very special and sacred to me.
Now if just closing your eyes and kneeling there is this amazing, how much more amazing it is to explore and discover the world that we do not see! Wherever you look there is life! I have dove in many places, and whether it is the Catfish hiding in a crevice in Lake Powell, the lone crawfish in lake Tahoe, the school of Bass in Lake Rollins or Folsom, the Corals of the Caymans, Mexico, or Belize, there is some form of life that you would never see if you never tried SCUBA! To discover and observe these creatures is something you cannot fathom. Once in Belize, me and my sister observed a giant sea turtle gently navigating the ocean at a depth of 77 feet. It was something majestic, so beautiful, that I will never forget! I got video that I will post soon, but being there in person, in that tranquil place is priceless. To be visitors in such a place is amazing.
I love being underwater, to me it is my refuge. A place of peacefulness, tranquility, silence. I use my time there to think, to pray, and ponder everything. I joke around, that Moses prayed on a mountain top only because he didn't have SCUBA gear. I don't know what the future of SCUBA holds for me. That is the beauty of it. I hope to become a cave diver, a technical diver, and a better diver. What this means, to be a better diver? It is hard to explain, but it is easy to see. When you meet a good diver, you know. I am grateful to have met the Russian Instructor who saw it in me, and I am glad every time I see it in a student. I hope if you are a diver you will continue your experience and education, and I hope if you are not certified to dive, that you will go find the best shop in your area and do it as soon as possible. Find the best shop, not the cheapest, I promise you will thank me later. Please follow or add me as a friend. I love to hear from divers.
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