My First Dive

First dive, 10 meters (33 feet) depth, and I was ready to explore the underwater world.

However, submerging my body more than a few meters under the ocean kind of freaked me out. Actually it totally freaked me out. What if I can't equalize the pressure in the ears? What if I die? What if my legs go numb and I can't swim any more? And my worst fear of all, what if I get eaten by a shark?! I kept this to myself, and here on this post it finally comes out.

I decided to face my fears in Havelock and what better place to give it a go! Without really thinking, I signed up at Sea Shell Scuba Diving Centre for 2 hour session.

The very next day I was ready to explore the underwater sea. With sore muscles and a body deprived of sleep, I left my hotel at 7 am and reached the Havelock Dive Centre at Sea Shells.

And finally it was time to suit up. That in itself was an experience. And getting on that wetsuit, no matter the size, was no easy feat. I remember tugging and pulling, and stretching and squeezing for what felt like ten minutes. The material made it extra difficult to squeeze into. After I was zipped up to my neck, my fins were on, and the air tank on my back, it was time for the weight belt. OHHH the weight belt. I could hardly walk. Must have added an extra 50 pounds, about half my body weight. How ridiculous! I was told I would basically float in the water without it, so it was obviously necessary for the task.

During those short but precious 30 minutes, I learned how to clear our masks, equalize the pressure in our ears, how to adjust the air in our tubes so we could either sink or rise, the numerous hand signals and when to use them, how to displace water and fog in our mask underwater, and basically, how to be at one with all the sea life we were about to interact with.  I never examined an air tank before, and didn't realize all the tubes attached were so complicated! Or so I thought at first.  It's a pretty challenging contraption for the first timer!

Walking backwards into the water, which is way more difficult than you might think with the wetsuit, fins, air tank, and weight belt, I was finally ready to give diving a go. Curious and frightened at the same time, I made my way into the water, holding onto the instructor’s hand (I just couldn't get used to the 5 foot fins strapped to my feet, I kept falling over).After getting past the small waves crashing onto the shore, we started descending into the water. It was time to equalize my ears, which I surprisingly did pretty well.

And we descended lower, and lower, and lower.

I felt like I was in a different world. An underwater world that was. I was surrounded by more fish than I could count, my eyes unaware of where to look next. I had totally forgotten all about my breathing and equalizing and adjusting my buoyancy level, it all didn't matter any more. (Well, I guess I did alright since I made it back, thankfully my guide was there for the constant check.) Schools of fish swam through us constantly, and I found myself honestly enjoying where I was, meters beyond meters below sea level. Even though my ears hurt like hell at some points, the fascinating colours of the life underwater kept me from signalling to my instructor that I wanted to go back on land.

 There is nothing like breathing underwater. You feel your throat dry up and try blowing air from your nose but you can’t. In the struggle of breathing from your mouth, you can’t help but swallow the salty sea water. And then you make a conscious effort to try and convince yourself to breath from the mouth. My instructor taught me all the basic gear handling techniques and the emergency tips to stay alive in emergency situations. What fascinated me thoroughly was the sound of my own breath underwater – it was hypnotising.

The experience left me feeling serene and mellow. Being submerged under water, with heavy weights pulling you down, I was surprised to note that there was absolutely no gravitational pull, despite the heavy weights and gear I was wearing. You can keep yourself in total control, regardless of what level of water you choose to stay at. All I had to keep in mind was that I had to continuously blow air to neutralise the water pressure but I hadn’t had enough. I wanted to explore the greater depths of the ocean and, on my insistence, my diver decided to take me down a little deeper than usually permissible for a newbie.

Swimming deeper, I suddenly saw the other professional divers waving at me and clicking pics. It was so quiet though, that the only thing I could hear was my own breath. But when I looked around, I was amazed at the infinite lengths of the ocean I could see. Unlike in big cities, where your vision is hindered by numerous obstacles, underwater all I saw was clear-cut beauty. I was in awe of the sheer magnificence of it all and just wanted time to stand still. I wanted to stay there and take it all in until I was rudely interrupted by my cylinder indicating that I was left with low levels of oxygen and so, hesitantly, I swam back up.

P.S.: Vimugdha Premi! Without you, this would not have been possible and I would have regretted it!
I can't thank you as you know. But still thank you for bearing me and my fear.

That was my first dive :)