When I first moved out to Maui, I never thought I would go scuba diving. I had some horrendously uncomfortable snorkeling sessions in my past. I feel that snorkeling is (in essence) sucking air through a straw while waves threaten every sip of air.
I would much rather jump in the ocean with a pair of swimming goggles--which is what I usually do.
It wasn't until my family visited me last February, and I had an opportunity to Snuba (a blend of snorkeling and scuba where you breathe through a regulator that is connected to an air hose) that I decided that I may want to give Scuba Diving a real try.
{snuba}
Our friend Drew, a certified dive instructor, is leaving island in the fall and as a very generous (and awesome) goodbye gesture, he took a small group of us out for a Discover Scuba adventure dive. Our new neighbors (and good friends) Will and Ashley cooked Bryan and me breakfast this morning before we hopped into the car to meet Drew and our friend Kimo at the dive shop to get fitted for gear.
Our day consisted of two dives, one at Black Rock in Ka'anapali and one at Mala Ramp in Lahaina. Before we got into the water, Drew led a small lesson on dry land and reviewed basic skills and exercises--several of which we mimed on land before we had to do it for real under the water.
After our lesson, we geared up. We had already been fitted for our wetsuits and masks at the dive shop, and let me tell you, the wetsuit that I had on was like a 3 inch second skin. That baby was on TIGHT!!
Then Drew strapped on a weight belt around my waist, then I shrugged on a buoyancy control vest with the air tank and regulator. When we were all suited up, we walked down to the water with our fins and mask in hand with about oh, fifty extra pounds strapped to our backs.
I felt like a penguin with all the waddling I was doing.
It was a relief to walk into the ocean and let the water relieve me of some of the weight.
Drew made sure we had properly cleaned our masks before telling us to put in our regulators and breathe. Then he helped us submerge for the first time.
My mind was racing for the first few minutes. Then, I looked at Black Rock from under the water and watched a school of fish swim over me and my mind instantly settled. Once I focused on looking at all my surroundings and the fish, I became a lot calmer.
After we were all settled under the water together, Drew led us through the skills we practiced on land under the water. Once we had performed them to his satisfaction, Drew led us around the lava wall at Black Rock.
As we swam around the lava wall, Drew pointed out lots of creepy crawly creatures like nudibranchs and eels. He also found a turtle of epic proportions. He was so big that all of us had trouble describing its size. The turtle was wedged into the cave sleeping, so we couldn't see all of him, but what we did see was startling. None of us have ever seen a turtle of his size before. He was probably the size of my queen size bed. HUGE! Bryan and I also saw an Eagle Ray sifting through the sand for a snack.
After about an hour, we had made it to the other side of Black Rock and got out of the water. We regrouped and then hopped in our vehicles to the second dive spot.
We went to Mala Ramp. I have always wanted to snorkel at this submerged pier (a hurricane knocked over the pier in Lahaina), but have always been wary about the entry (wading over sharp rocks and coral). With the booties on, we had no problem walking out into the water. Once we were deep enough, we put on our fins, our masks, our regulators and then headed back down.
The Mala dive was my favorite dive because not only was there so much more to see, but also my comfort level was so much higher. I wasn't as anxious or nervous, and I was much more confident in my equipment and skills that I was really able to enjoy being under the water.
At Mala we did "swim throughs" where we swam under submerged portions of the pier that created underwater archways. Under these archways we saw white tip reef sharks (the first sharks I've seen in the water since my arrival to Maui), more sea turtles, and of course, lots of amazing fish.
It was incredible how close we were able to get to the turtles, sharks and fish. You move much slower scuba diving than you do as a swimmer, so I think most of the sea creatures are more comfortable with you around--and some of them were downright curious. We all had experiences of fish coming straight up to us and literally staring into our masks.
At one point, a small sea turtle came swimming directly at me. I had to spread my arms and legs starfish style to come to a complete stop so we didn't collide.
We had such an amazing day in the water, but holy hell, I'm exhausted! I think that has something to do with the amount of adrenaline that pumped through my veins during this adventure, but we did spend about two hours total under the water kicking around and cruising.
Drew and Kimo had an amazing underwater camera with them, so I have some great photos to share with you once I get my hands on them. I should have them up within the next two days. I cannot wait!!
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