In Retrospect...

I probably shouldn't have done the dive I did this morning. The waves were breaking up against the seawall, and the only people going into the water were surfers... no other divers... not a good sign. But alas, I was with a group of Marines and we were all really itching to get into the water... so we did!

We did our dive at "Junkyard" -usually a benign spot with pretty coral and fishies- but today it was ROUGH!! We got sloshed around by the waves going out to the drop off, and once we got under the water the current was still strong. You know you're in for a hard swim when even the fish are swimming sideways! At times, in the current, I felt like I was on a treadmill. I was kicking my feet, but staying in the exact same place! We finally got deep enough to actually swim, but the visibility was pretty poor and with the exception of two other divers, the rest of the group was straight out of their Open Water classes! So I was preoccupied with keeping them in my sight and making sure that we all stayed together and watched our air. On the upside, I saw two seasnakes and two blowfish. And I think I spotted Nemo again!

The swim back in was even more tough than the swim out. I kept getting battered by the waves and pushed back from where I wanted to be. At times I just pulled myself along on the reef! When I finally made it back to my car, I was very certain that I would NOT be doing a second dive and fairly sure that I shouldn't have even done the first one!

It has to be said, though, that Marines Do It Better. Breathing, I mean... The guys I was with today didn't suck down their air quite as quickly as some of the members of the other Service Branches with whom I've had the pleasure of diving! Go Marines! I was the only girl (again) but had a really good time despite the poor dive conditions. I just hope on the next big Marine Group dive, Burr will be certified and able to join us!

On the upside of only doing one dive; I was home by eleven and got to soak up sun and read on the roof for a couple of hours this afternoon before going to the POPs beach party. Life really doesn't get much better...

rmf