We were invited to join dear friends, Jordan and Rebecca to celebrate Jordan's 40th birthday. He and I became fast friends while running our respective charter businesses down in the US Virgin Islands from 2005-09. We supported and encouraged one another during some tough times. We spent time fixing, cussing, and cleaning our boats and hustling clients for our snorkeling tours.
Jordan and Rebecca both are accomplished divers and were planning on spending most of the week down island under water. We tagged along and planned on snorkeling and relaxing reading while they played under 80' of water.
That all changed when we started talking to their dive master, Ricardo. He encouraged us to take is Discover Scuba Diving class. This is an opportunity to get in "confined" water and learn the very basics of scuba diving. I was a little more than surprise when Charlotte said "let's do it".
I had learned to dive when living in the islands but had not dived in over 5 years. So I thought it would be fun to get reacquainted with it. What transpired over the next few days was amazing.
One of the things you need to know about Charlotte is that she does not like confined spaces, having her face covered with anything, or what she calls 'edges'. Any place you cannot see over a ledge to her is like staring at the scariest monster you can imagine. Diving just happens to involve the following activities: being in a somewhat confined space i.e. being underwater, covering face with a mask and regulator, and staring into an abyss over 2000' deep. Other than those things, Charlotte thought it was a great idea. ;-).
Our instructor was amazing in helping her face her fears and just do it anyway. He focussed on the beauty and awe of sailing underwater while breathing normally. She bought it!
After learning all we needed to keep us alive underwater, we headed out for our open water dive to get our certifications to become official divers. If we could finish the course and pass the exams, we could dive anywhere in the world. Wow!
Things started a bit rough when we stepped off the dive boat into the Caribbean Sea. Charlotte had passed the first couple of training tests with our instructor with flying colors. But this was the ocean and full of creatures that can eat you including great white sharks and eels and coral that can burn your skin instantly! No small task to overcome internal self talk telling you that you have lost your f-ing mind. But we did it.
She had trouble clearing her ears at first and had that look of sheer panic on her face. But Ricardo took her in his care and calmed her fear enough to dive into 20' of ocean water. When we reached the sandy bottom we both succeeded in passing the physical tasks we needed to start our "real dive".
Once we got the OK sign and firm handshakes from Ricardo we swam off into our first diving adventure in the open sea. Believe me, this is WAY different than the confined water area that had a nice gazebo in the middle we could swim to whenever we wanted. Nothing separated us from 2000' feet of dark purple water that led to the abyss. But we both started relaxing and resumed "normal" breathing patterns as we began to explore a part of the world that we know less about than we do the surface of the moon. Amazing.
We swam around the corner of the reef and before us was a wonderland of beauty that is difficult to explain with mere words. It is exotic, intoxicating, frightening, and enlightening all at the same time. it's like being IN the aquarium looking out. We saw all sorts of amazing beautiful fish including Queen Angel fish that were at least 18" tall.
As we continued along the reef we gradually descended to fifty feet below the surface of the water. It was as if we were flying. The gentle current carried us along on a tour that was nothing short of incredible. We saw a Moray Eel that was at least 4 feet long just gliding along the bottom. It turned to look at Charlotte and she quickly put our dive master between her and the eel. It's rows of razor sharp showing as it "smiled" at her. Then we saw a very large Lion Fish with it's wings spread open as if to say "don't come any closer".
After 40 minutes that seemed like 5 we began our gradual ascent to reality. We stopped at 15' for our mandatory 3 minute stop to allow our bodies to adjust to life above the surface. When we surfaced Charlotte had the most incredible smile. She said "that was so cool, I'm hooked". So it looks like diving will become another activity we can share together.
When the boat returned to the dock we shared high fives with other divers that knew we were on our check out dive. They welcomed us with open arms into a fraternity of folks that called the underworld home.
Upon reflection it was one of the greatest days of my life. Watching the love of my life step into her fears and do it anyway filled my heart with such great joy. I have tears in my eyes as I type this blog three days later. She is by far the most courageous woman I have ever known. She inspires me to do more, be more, and love more. What more could a man ask for?
Thanks for sharing our journey!!!
Capt, Ms Charlotte, and Jojo the pretty good dog
The size of your world is directly proportional to the amount of courage you have. ~ Anais Nin
ReplyDeleteCharlotte, your world just became a lot bigger!