A Diver's High

Hello to my blog followers!  I was listening to a story on PBS about runners and how some evolve from someone who is dragging themselves out three times a week to run “because it is good for them” to someone who runs 5K’s, Tough Mudders and triathlons and loves it.  I got to thinking that diving is like that for many people.  They start out taking the course because it was on their bucket list, their partner wanted to do it, or they thought they would like to dive on their vacation, and before they know it, they are diving fanatics, living from dive to dive.

Now, I was hooked on diving from the beginning, but I thought that I would only be doing it in clear, warm saltwater.  After all, what is there to see in a lake?  However, my eyes were opened when I really started to explore the lakes and quarries in my own back yard. I found lots of interesting animals: snails, bass, bluegill, walleye. When I encounter something I cannot identify, I take a photo and do research when I get home.  I found interesting artifacts from abandoned ice houses, logging operations and farms.  I discovered the fun of lifting these found objects and moving them underwater.  I also learned that with the right gear, it is not at all cold! 

Like the athlete who experiences a “runner’s high,” I experience a diver’s high--and I am not talking about narcosis!  I always tell people that I can have the worst day, busy, stressful, frustrating, but once I don my gear and descend a few feet into the water—even pool diving can do it for me—I feel a wonderful calm.  The rhythmic sound of my breathing, bubbles expelled from my reg, racing upward to make their escape at the surface soothes me like a lullaby. On those days when my joints are complaining, the weightlessness of diving relieves the pain.   Under the water, no one can complain to me, crab at me or even talk to me.  It is just me and my bubbles.  Shutting off the talk seems to waken my vision somehow.  I guess that is why I get such a kick out of the strange stuff we find in the lakes!

For some divers, diving a wreck is the equivalent to a runner doing their first road race.  They find themselves curious and excited to do it, but nervous.  Is it too deep?  Will I get stuck inside? Will I get lost?  The boat attaches to the mooring and after the briefing, the divers gear up in preparation to step off into the water.  Your heart is pounding as the wreck slowly comes into view.  You take in the view of the entire ship and then swim in for a closer examination, to discover what secrets the vessel will share.  Before you know it, it is time to ascend once again and you realize that your heart no longer beats with trepidation, but with excitement!  You reach the deck of the boat with a feeling of accomplishment and an eagerness to share your experience with the other divers and plan for you next wreck dive.

I guess it’s about keeping it interesting, pushing a boundary, growth.  That is the wonderful thing about diving.  There are so many specialty courses, UW sign language, photography, night diving, drift diving, to name a few, that expand skills and knowledge.   There are so many bodies of water to explore, fresh, salt, clear, not so clear, foreign and domestic.  In short that world, 70% water is out there to explore.  So many places to “get high!”