- Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (by Jules verne)
Programmes on Discovery, Eden, Blue Planet etc.; photographs and articles in the National Geographic and other publications have always created a sense of intrigue and curiosity in me about the wonderful underwater world, which is so serene, beautiful and tranquil at one time and can be so violent, ruthless and harsh at other times. The undersea flora and fauna have as much variety, if not more - compared to what we see on land and I have always been a bit jealous of these brave explorers, who venture out into the hidden depths to experience this world that so few of us have. To be able to slip into this liquid world which gives one the freedom of being able to move in multiple dimensions is almost exactly like being able to fly - to be not bound to the surface that you have to move on and not be restricted in the direction you move in - that is the true freedom of physical being.
And I have always wanted to do it myself to understand what it is really like and feel the sensations that people who dive, talk about - the thrill of breathing underwater, the freedom of weightlessness and the unique sights and sounds from unfathomable depths. There was some concern for safety, of course. Mainly, from my family - as SCUBA diving is still quite a high-risk adventure activity. It is similar to walking into the wild jungle and requires similar training, equipment, precautions and expert guidance. However, this was something that I was completely sure of - I knew that if I did not dive and explore the wondrous world below the seas, my life would somehow be incomplete. And I am truly glad that I followed through on this.
Now that I have a few dives at different sites under my belt and an 'Advanced Open Water Diver' certification to boot, I think I can say that SCUBA diving for me is one of those rare activities that has the same intensity and adrenaline rush that I sometimes crave for and at the same time delivers serenity and peace. Here are some of my diving experiences, which I hope you will enjoy reading.
April 2009, Havelock Island, Andaman & Nicobar, India: Discover SCUBA!
This was during one of our bi-annual pilgrimages to India. Having convinced Sudha, that we would leave the kids with the grandparents for a few days, so we could have a romantic get-away to the lovely Andaman & Nicobar islands (it was win-win arrangement all around) - I started researching the internet for options on how to get started with my SCUBA diving adventures. The Andaman & Nicobar are a group of islands around mid-way between the east coast of southern India and the west coast of Thailand. Havelock Island, which is where the dive centre (Barefoot Scuba) I had found was, is a small island around mid-way between the main island of Andaman and the west coast of Thailand.I had agreed with my family that I would only do the 'Discover SCUBA' session this time around to see whether I liked the experience. Any further plans around SCUBA diving would be reviewed after this - made sense!
The Barefoot SCUBA dive centre was pretty cool. Friendly, attentive staff and general good banter. The chef was just too good - he checked and made things specially for us (catering to vegetarians is something that these sea-side resorts have never been good at - but this guy really made an effort). They also had accomodation to suit every need and budget - from small thatched huts (standing space for two - lying down for one only) to beautiful sea-facing cottages. Anne, the Belgian (French and English speaking) dive instructor took me through the safety briefing and basic skills training.It felt very strange at first - the mask, the neoprene suit, the awkward gear, the heavy tank, walking into the shallow water, fighting to keep my balance against the gentle waves and soft sand. I was filled with doubt and trepidaton - how would I be able to breathe only from the mouth? Would the air coming from the tank be enough? Sure - I could breathe through the mouth using the regulator on surface - but that was always with the knowledge that if it did not work, I could always just remove it and breathe normally - this was not an option underwater! But as I eased into the water and my face slipped below the surface - I could feel the air come in through the regulator with a reassuring hiss and found that I could breathe underwater. In a few moments, I had forgotten that I was wearing a mask, the equipment felt light and comfortable and I felt myself agile and free, like I have never experienced before. With that first underwater breath, the doorway to a dream world had just opened up.
I do not want to give you the impression that I took to the underwater experience like a fish i.e. without any problems. I too went through the stages of evolution i.e. accidentally reverting to breathing through the nose (sometimes when the mask had some water in it and choking on it), forgetting to equalise because I was mesmerised by something I was looking at and then having to come up a bit to ease pressure and then equalise etc. I struggled initially and then coped with all of my basic exercises like regulator clearing, regulator recovery, mask clearing, switching to alternate air source etc. The one hand-signal I really struggled with was to not respond with the ‘Thumbs-up’ sign, everytime Anne asked me if I was OK. But I was always having so much fun being underwater, that all of these were just minor hindrances that I had to deal with, in order to continue the underwater experience.
After about 20 minutes in the shallow waters of the lagoon (dive site – Lighthouse) and having satisfied Anne that I could be trusted to handle myself (under her watchful eye, of course) – we strapped on new tanks and waded into the deeper waters. The deepest we went to on the first dive was 12m – not too deep, but I was already lost in the sounds and sights of this wonderful place. The water was incredibly clear (I would learn later that it was one of the poor visibility days – as there was a current not too far from us, which was dredging up some sediment) and I could easily see for 50 feet in all directions (Anne later told me that visibility was only around 10-15 m). I was like a sweet-toothed child in a candy shop – there were massive schools of fish – some that I have never seen before and some really amazing corals. The clown fish in the anemone was a huge favourite (Thanks Nemo!) but equally captivating were the sea urchins, sea cucumbers, stars and the angel fish. Luckily for me, Anne was keeping an eye on the time (50 mins) and my pressure gauge (just under 50 bar) and managed to pull us out on time with a little air to spare. The walk back to the beach was really difficult – not only did all the awkwardness of the gear re-emerge, but now I was dripping wet with my suit weighing a few kilos more – I now understand why the big creatures like Crocs and Hippos like to spend most of their time in water.
I was in no doubt that diving was everything I thought it would be and clearly I was able to handle myself underwater. Normally, this would have been the end of the course I had signed up for, but I asked Anne, if there was a chance that I could get another dive in. Fortunately, there was a small boat going out with a student who was going for his Open Water certification. Anne was going with them, as an observer (since the other instructor was fairly new). She said that I could go with them and she could keep an eye on me whilst they went through the course. She did say that she would not normally do this, but she saw that I had really enjoyed myself underwater. So I paid a heavily discounted price for a single dive and went out with them. My wife came along this time and as a non-swimmer, wanted to do some supervised snorkelling.
This dive site was called ‘The Wall’, as this is where the reef ends at around 15 m and drops off into the deep blue, thereby forming a formidable wall underwater. This time I
entered the water using the ‘back-roll’ entry – which basically involved my being fully kitted up, sitting on the edge of the boat and rolling backwards into the water. I was careful to hold on to my mask while rolling back, as I had seen the other student lose his mask when his head the water. Soon, we descended into the water following the other group just a few feet behind. Anne had told me to just enjoy myself and not worry about anything, as she would take care of the equipment and I just needed to make sure that I equalised as and when required. And enjoy myself I did – I think we must have gone down to around 15m – but the range of colours in the corals and fish were astounding. My highlight of this dive was the green turtle we saw at about 6m. There were a few Scorpion fish and Lion fish, that I had been warned not to go near. I also saw a feathered star and some pipefish. This time, we came up a lot sooner than we had on the previous dive and I thought that this was because we were following the course for the OWD certification that the other student was doing. But when I checked my pressure gauge on the boat, I saw that I was also in the red zone – which meant that I had gone through almost the same amount of air on my second dive in 35 minutes, that I had used up in 50 minutes on my first. Anne explained that this was because we had been a bit deeper but mainly because I was doing a lot of sudden, jerky moves and was so excited and trying to talk and communicate everytime I saw something interesting– all of which led to my consuming more air. The trick she said was to breathe normally and remain very calm and minimise any arm and foot movements to the what was absolutely necessary – easier said than done as I discovered shortly after.
After about 20 minutes in the shallow waters of the lagoon (dive site – Lighthouse) and having satisfied Anne that I could be trusted to handle myself (under her watchful eye, of course) – we strapped on new tanks and waded into the deeper waters. The deepest we went to on the first dive was 12m – not too deep, but I was already lost in the sounds and sights of this wonderful place. The water was incredibly clear (I would learn later that it was one of the poor visibility days – as there was a current not too far from us, which was dredging up some sediment) and I could easily see for 50 feet in all directions (Anne later told me that visibility was only around 10-15 m). I was like a sweet-toothed child in a candy shop – there were massive schools of fish – some that I have never seen before and some really amazing corals. The clown fish in the anemone was a huge favourite (Thanks Nemo!) but equally captivating were the sea urchins, sea cucumbers, stars and the angel fish. Luckily for me, Anne was keeping an eye on the time (50 mins) and my pressure gauge (just under 50 bar) and managed to pull us out on time with a little air to spare. The walk back to the beach was really difficult – not only did all the awkwardness of the gear re-emerge, but now I was dripping wet with my suit weighing a few kilos more – I now understand why the big creatures like Crocs and Hippos like to spend most of their time in water.
I was in no doubt that diving was everything I thought it would be and clearly I was able to handle myself underwater. Normally, this would have been the end of the course I had signed up for, but I asked Anne, if there was a chance that I could get another dive in. Fortunately, there was a small boat going out with a student who was going for his Open Water certification. Anne was going with them, as an observer (since the other instructor was fairly new). She said that I could go with them and she could keep an eye on me whilst they went through the course. She did say that she would not normally do this, but she saw that I had really enjoyed myself underwater. So I paid a heavily discounted price for a single dive and went out with them. My wife came along this time and as a non-swimmer, wanted to do some supervised snorkelling.
This dive site was called ‘The Wall’, as this is where the reef ends at around 15 m and drops off into the deep blue, thereby forming a formidable wall underwater. This time I
entered the water using the ‘back-roll’ entry – which basically involved my being fully kitted up, sitting on the edge of the boat and rolling backwards into the water. I was careful to hold on to my mask while rolling back, as I had seen the other student lose his mask when his head the water. Soon, we descended into the water following the other group just a few feet behind. Anne had told me to just enjoy myself and not worry about anything, as she would take care of the equipment and I just needed to make sure that I equalised as and when required. And enjoy myself I did – I think we must have gone down to around 15m – but the range of colours in the corals and fish were astounding. My highlight of this dive was the green turtle we saw at about 6m. There were a few Scorpion fish and Lion fish, that I had been warned not to go near. I also saw a feathered star and some pipefish. This time, we came up a lot sooner than we had on the previous dive and I thought that this was because we were following the course for the OWD certification that the other student was doing. But when I checked my pressure gauge on the boat, I saw that I was also in the red zone – which meant that I had gone through almost the same amount of air on my second dive in 35 minutes, that I had used up in 50 minutes on my first. Anne explained that this was because we had been a bit deeper but mainly because I was doing a lot of sudden, jerky moves and was so excited and trying to talk and communicate everytime I saw something interesting– all of which led to my consuming more air. The trick she said was to breathe normally and remain very calm and minimise any arm and foot movements to the what was absolutely necessary – easier said than done as I discovered shortly after.I then joined Sudha for lunch on the boat, who was also just back from her snorkelling expedition and had enjoyed it thoroughly. We had resigned ourselves to spend some time on the boat, while the other student went for another dive, before we headed back to the resort. Anne then came up with a big surprise for me – she said that they had an extra tank and if I wanted and felt up to it, I could join them for the next dive as well – for free! Feel up to it!!! Wild horses could not stop me!
And so for the third dive I went. Once again, the experience was simply amazing and sense of awe that being underwater brings was - overwhelming . Saw a lot of the fish and corals that are mentioned above, but this time as we went closer to the drop-off, I saw some of the bigger fish – Trevallies and Groupers. I did try to put Anne’s advise about staying calm and minimising into practice, but how could I not be excited? Here I was - in the middle of the ocean, 15m below sea-level and surrounded by the some of the most beautiful and mysterious creatures – everything about it was incredibly exciting!!! This time we were under for about 40mins, but every minute was worth it.
Over dinner that night at the Dive Centre, I asked one of the other senior instructors (Oli), how anyone could stay calm and peaceful when surrounded by things that were so exciting. He said that no one expected this to happen on the first day – after all, if it was not exciting, why would anyone like diving? However, he did say that with time, experience and training (and once the initial euphoria had worn off), one would learn to be able to control himself better. He said that when you realise that you really love being underwater and that the only thing that makes it possible is the air you take down with you – you begin to do everything that you need to prolong your time there.
Lesson learned, SCUBA discovered!
For more images, especially those that I clicked underwater, check out - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=78673&id=704152886&l=ac6c6bbfe8P.S.: SCUBA – Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.
Next Stop: Great Barrier Reef, Australia!
Next Stop: Great Barrier Reef, Australia!
bada hi achcha likhta hai oye chaloo cheez
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