Deep Diving Baby

The "thing" I am entranced by.

Boy, sometimes dives just sneak up on you when you least expect it. Yesterday and today were exactly like that. All this week there are boats going to the North side of the island because there are deep walls there and one of the instructors is teaching a tec class that needs deep water to practice in. Since I am new to the North side I decided to sign up for as many as I could and so both yesterday and today I have been on morning boats heading to the North side.

Our first dive of yesterday was actually to a site that I have already been to, called Raggedy Cay (pronounced "key") but I didn't mind because it is, in my opinion, one of the best dive sites around. The site is a wall that drops off to 100+ feet and has a shallow reef along the top (20-30ft). Since it was still technically my "pre-week" I was paired up with a DMT who would leave me in the dive. It turned out to be just me and Zach, a guy from Arizona who is starting his instructor training. We dropped down to about sixty feet and started swimming west along the wall. We jumped in before everyone else on the boat so we were the first ones diving the wall which is always a nice thing. The dive started off normal enough, we saw the usual things: fish, coral, fish, coral. I will admit that I was starting to have the thought that all these dives were starting to be routine. The dive sites are amazing yes, but after awhile you see the same damn fish over and over again. I am glad that I brought a camera down here because I think it will help keep me from feeling bored. It sounds terrible to say, how could anyone get bored of diving these incredible waters? The truth is that being underwater is never truly boring to me. Every single time I feel a bit of a thrill as I descend into the depths. But I will also say there comes a point where seeing the same things are no longer as exciting. I think that is just the nature of diving sometimes. So I was just starting to lament this fact when things got real exciting in a hurry. Zach spotted a Lionfish and when I finally figured out what the hell he was pointing at (it is really hard to tell underwater) I was shocked by what I saw. The day before I had seen my first Lionfish and was frankly a little disappointed. It was such a puny little thing. This one, folks, was anything but puny. This was very, very impressive. With spines and all it probably measured a good foot across. We were also a bit shallower so some of its color came through a bit better and I could see the beautiful orange color. I sat mesmerized and watched it for a minute or two. While it may be a terribly destructive species that needs to be eradicated from the area, it is also amazingly beautiful and cool to see. Just as I turned to Zach to give him the "rad" sign (think surfers, thumb and pinky hang loose dealy) I spotted something that damn near stopped my heart. Swimming ten to fifteen below us was a five foot nurse shark. It swam gracefully through the water, quickly disappearing around the corner behind some coral. Holy shit I thought! We only saw it for a moment but it was unreal. I wasn't scared in the least and my hand didn't even stray to my "shark knife". I was just in awe of the beautiful creature I had just seen. So very cool. I turned to Zach and flashed him the "double rad" sign with both hands. Sometimes being underwater sucks because you can't express how pumped you are about life in any given moment. I was very pumped on life in that moment.
We turned to start swimming after the shark (long gone, there wasn't any chance of catching it) and out of the blue flew a Spotted Eagle Ray. It sailed past us, gliding through the water like a condor on a thermal. In the space of a minute, without moving, I had seen three of the coolest things Utila, and really the diving world, has to offer. I quite literally peed my pants I was so excited (I also just had to go. Its a big ocean okay, relax). What a dive I kept thinking! Shortly after all the excitement we hit the halfway mark on our dive and had to turn around. Hardly had we done so when Zach spotted another huge lionfish! I again spent a minute or two just staring at it, marveling at its beauty. This one seemed to be hunting so it had all of its spines spread out and was twirling above a piece of coral. Awesome to see. We saw a DM named Mike right after we spotted it and tried to signal to him as he was carrying a spear gun and is certified to kill them. The Lionfish Containment Diver is a specialty you can get that teaches you how to properly use a spear gun and then unleashes you on the lionfish population. The goal is to eradicate them from the Caribbean because they are causing so much harm to the native fish populations. I am thinking that that particular specialty has my name written all over it. Suit me, I'm ready to kill something!

Needless to say, that dive was spectacular. I keep saying it, but it was one of the best I have ever done. There came a point when I was diving the Channel Islands this past August where I realized that I couldn't keep writing "most incredible dive and moment of my life" dive after dive after dive. I have just had to accept that each dive adds something inexplicable to my life and that they are almost all "incredible" and "the best dive yet". Its not the worst situation in the world to be in, I know!

The second dive we did yesterday was all primed to be a let down. It is tough to follow up such an incredible dive and I had low expectations. We went to a site called "Labyrinth" where I have been a couple of times already, although it is a pretty cool place so I don't always mind. Most of the dive was pretty normal and I was starting to get that "bored" feeling again. Once again, the diving Gods intervened. As we were diving along a wall at about fifty feet, a Spotted Eagle Ray came soaring out of the blue. It was cool to see it with nothing but a blue background and really increased its beauty and grace. We also got to see it from below a bit, with that goofy grin like mouth it has. Towards the end of the dive we got to go through a couple really cool swim throughs, spaces barely big enough to fit through. I again thought of Dallas and how he is likely hyperventilating a bit just reading this. Something about those tight spaces is really cool to me, even if they get my heart pumping a bit more. One of them was long enough and shaped in such a way that as you entered you saw only darkness and didn't actually know where you were going. Luckily they are relatively short and so you don't have a ton of time to freak out about getting stuck. It was yet another stunning dive in Utila, one that I have trouble adequately describing.

And that is just yesterday! Today might have been the best dive yet! Since it is now officially "low season", they made this mornings boat a staff boat, meaning that we didn't have any pesky classes or anything to deal with. Because it was a staff boat we were able to go all the way to the middle of the other side of the island. Unfortunately this meant that we would only be making one dive. Luckily it was totally worth it.

The wind was a blowing (luckily no Volvo's though) and the seas were nice and choppy. Certainly not for the faint of heart. It took us about forty minutes to reach the dive site on the other side of the island and when we did everyone was very happy, given the conditions and the waves smashing into the boat every few seconds. Getting into the water was a challenge in itself and I more or less toppled in, hoping I was buoyant enough.
Maya, one of the instructors, gave a quick briefing about the site and ended it with, "please don't go too deep". Oh boy I thought. This was the first dive where I was not assigned a babysitter and could do what I pleased so I grabbed my camera and buddied up with Simon, a Swiss fellow who has become a friend. He was also taking pictures so it seemed like we would be good. Everyone headed out in the same direction so it was hard to get lost or too confused. We descended quickly over the top of a reef and began sinking next to a deep, deep wall. Going off the edges of these walls is always fun because if you don't add air into your BCD you start to sink faster and faster so you can pretend to sky dive and free fall. Its the little things in life!
We drifted deeper and deeper and the first time I looked at my computer we were at 80 feet, the bottom nowhere to be found. 90 feet and falling. 95 feet. 101 feet. 103 feet, my new deepest record. 110 feet. I finally pulled up at 118 feet, mostly because my no decompression time was dipping quickly. This means that the time I was "allowed" to stay at such a deep depth was limited to about ten minutes to start. If I stayed any longer than this I would be forced to do lengthy decompression stops at shallower depths. Essentially you want to avoid that like the plague (unless you are tec diving).

When 103' felt deep! Notice on the right it says I have 9 minutes left at this depth.

Being so deep was...well it was unreal. I still couldn't see the bottom and visibility was at least forty or so feet, so I knew that it was very, very deep. Its hard to find the words to describe what it feels like to be 118 feet underwater. Any mistake at that depth will likely lead to death. The pressure at 118 feet is four times what it is at the surface and you consume air much faster. Watching my no decompression time dip down to four minutes gave me a thrill unlike any I have experienced before. Just knowing that I was so close to the edge of safety but perfectly in control and capable was beyond words.

Crazy because I had no idea all this color was down there until I saw the picture!

In addition to that, the wall we were diving was just incredibly beautiful. So many healthy corals and life to see. One of the other divers spotted a Lionfish and quickly speared it. I watched as it wriggled a couple of times on the end of her spear before going limp. I'll be honest, I felt only awe at watching that all happen at 100+ feet. Several of the other divers shot smaller Lionfish and soon it was a party.

Kate with her Lionfish. Notice how unexciting the color is at this depth.

Lionfish hunting party!

Actually really beautiful on land huh? Watch out though, it stings!

Since my no decompression limits were fast approaching I decided to ascend a bit to around 80 feet. There was still so much life and things to see. The North side is so much more vibrant, so much more alive, it is crazy. We reached the halfway point on our tanks and ascended further to the top of the reef, turning slightly to angle back towards the boat. Simon and I spent the rest of the time taking pictures, sucking our air down to the absolute minimum. The dive lasted an entire 52 minutes which is pretty good considering we spent a decent amount of time below 80 feet and a couple of minutes at 100+ feet. I came up feeling elated and like it was the perfect dive. I had managed my air well, gone deeper than ever before, and saw some pretty cool things. I climbed back onto the boat beaming, once again happy to be alive and diving in Utila.

Not looking so hot.

Tonight we start class, and homework is actually hanging over my head right now. After class we'll probably play a little trivia at the UDC and then its time to hit the hay early because we go out again tomorrow morning for a little boat briefing followed by more diving!
I hope all is well with everyone! I am already looking forward to sharing my next diving adventure, maybe one including the whale shark that is rumored to be back! Thanks for tuning in as always.

Until Next time,
Deep Diving, Lionfish Spotting Gringo signing off.

I think it is making the Oregon face!