Story 17/21: Diving to 40 meters depth at 5th PADI dive
| Tale group: | 1st 21 stories |
| Class: | Stories by continents |
| Themes: | Backpacking, nature, diving |
| Media: | DVDs: Jacques Cousteau, Tintin. Books: Tintin, Robinson Crusoe, Jack London, diving log and PADI-books, guide book |
| Continent: | South and Central America |
| Location: | Utila, Honduras |
| Time: | June, 1998 |
Deep diving Utila
Story 17/21: Diving to 40 meters depth at first advanced dive
June, 1998
“How do you feel about the dive?”
“Well, bit anxious about the depth – I mean it is just two days of my first dive ever and they are already taking us to 40 meters depth…”
“Are you concerned about the Nitrogen narcosis?”
“Yeah. When I was reading the book yesterday, it said that the risk is higher, if you are less experienced in deep diving or exhausted. And this is our first deep dive – could not be less experienced! And all the studying and diving… has been quite long and busy days…”
“Huh. It really has been bit rushed. But I am more concerned on that “swim through…” Cave or not, but on our first multilevel dive… I would not mind having more stable buoyancy…”
“She said it would be easier, as we are swimming downwards.”
“I guess… talk about jumping in at the deep end…”
“OK guys – all clear? Have you done your buddy check yet?”
“Um, nope. But just about to…”
Jumping into the Caribbean sure feels great! The warm, salty, turquoise water kind of washes away the sorrows. Despite the heavy tanks, the inflated BCD keeps us effortlessly afloat.
I glance at the tropical bushes and sigh. Late yesterday afternoon we had briefly been able to enjoy the tropics on the beach at the other side of the island. Leaning against a palm tree, listening to the crushing waves and sipping one beer to celebrate our graduation into Open Water divers.
Yet, even before the beer was finished, I felt obliqued to open our next study book “Adventures In Diving – Advanced Training for Open Water Divers”. As I was paging it through, I was wondering how different approach the two British Sub-Aqua Club instructors at Cyprus had had in the 80’s.
Sure, I was just a school kid at the time, but how they enforced on not to do any other exercise on days of my introductory diving and to remember to drink enough water and all that. I felt they were really responsible and aiming to teach a healthy respect to diving. And somehow guiding towards a personal view of the underwater.
Here – well. I did not get the same impression. There clearly was a good reason to call this a backpacker’s diving paradise, but it was really running like an industry. Well-oiled and fast.
On the other hand. We had come here to dive and that we were doing. Yet, I would have preferred a pause between Open Water and Advanced Open Water. But since it was not possible, well…
I grabbed my regulator, signalled my partner to dive down and started to empty the BCD…
Epilogue: Looking back to the first pages of my PADI Diver’s Log Book is somewhat shocking. I did remember the suspicion I had on how fast we were speeding on learning scuba diving. And that I had commented on that to our changing instructors – wondering do our bodies really recover that fast from multiple dives. It did, until it did not. But that is another story. There were great dives then and has been later.
Some background data:
Moving waters:
Gulf Stream: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Stream#Future_predictions
2021 European floods: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_European_floods
Human impact:
Capitalism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism
Corals:
Coral reefs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_reef
Threats: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_reef#Threats
Protection: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_reef#Protection
Restoration: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_reef#Restoration
Questions – see links above, books, Internet or digital media for answers:
1. Gulf Stream and weather. The North Atlantic drift brings the warmth of the Gulf of Mexico to east coast of USA and to Northern Europe. There has been concerns about this Gulf Stream to end. In further studies that is seen unlikely. However, some changes to this ocean current are possible due to climate change.
Some possible changes are:
– rising sea level along east coast of USA
– stronger storms in Northern Atlantic and
– variation in how and how often heavy rains take place in Europe and in the tropics.
Recorded changes:
– Past decade there has been increase of forest fires in Europe (and other locations)
– 2021 there was heavy rains in Central Europe
Links have been drawn to climate change.
1a. Rising sea level. What kind of preparation should coastal cities do to battle raising sea levels? Think of construction, buildings, solutions including nature (more trees and plants to absorb the excess water and to cool down hot cities). If land masses are moved, how does it change the ecology on the places where land is removed and added?
1b. Changes in rain patterns. How about cities and lands by rivers. If there will be more droughts and floods, how does that affect to people, nature and agriculture? Consider also preparation methods as described at assignment 1a.
2. Time is money. As the idea of growth is built in to capitalism, most services and companies aim to that. To get as many people through their services as fast as possible or to produce something in least amount of time and with largest reasonable profit.
When this business logic is applied to diving, it often means opening new dive sites to new – previously undisturbed reefs. And to have as many customers as possible through those sites as many times a day the tanks can be filled. This said, reefs and well-being of the marine life is vital to dive operators, since it is the under-water nature the divers come to experience.
2a. Risk assessment. Can you see some risks, if the growing human population keeps consuming decreasing natural resources the way it has done past few decades? Considering the nature, human well-being and climate?
2b. Improvement. As the current system has helped creating the climate change and sixth extinction, would there be some alternatives? Think of your daily life. Are there ways to buy things less often? If something breaks, could it be fixed instead of buying a new one? How could things last longer than they do now? How is it possible, that there are still some household appliances made in 1980’s in daily use and some new, that only last few years?
3. Coral reefs. The higher parts of the reefs in Honduras are shallow tropical coral reefs. They are endangered and now there is only half of the number of these reefs there was 1950. Even though coral reefs cover only a small area of our ocean floor, they are vital in ocean ecology. They are homes for at least every fourth marine species.
Read about the threats, protection and restoration of corals (links above). Do you think we are doing enough to protect the corals? Is there something else we could do? Can you find some way of protection or restoration, that you like?
4. Discuss. Your view: What thoughts did rise in your mind having read the story, browsing through the background material and answering to the three questions above? Can you see links between the three topics handled in questions above? Discuss with your pair.
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