Last week I enlisted to get my Scuba Diving Certificate. I thought, "about time, shame on me living on the island so long, loving the ocean so much and not being certified."
Mind you I had dived previously but this was way back in 1981 as a fearless teenager. Wow, what difference 30 years makes! Talk about contrast - a funny tale nonetheless.
Arriving in Sint Maarten a few months shy of being 18, I decided to walk the beach at Great Bay, since dad lived there. Also, it was basically the area where most things were happening. Beautiful and pristine in those days, as you can well imagine.
One of the few hotels was Great Bay Hotel where they had a water sports facility which included diving.
A guy at the water sports spotted me and asked if I wanted to dive. "Fine," I said, "why not?" His name was Craig (who obviously had a hidden agenda).
So this is how it went then:
Craig strapped a tank on me with a regulator and pressure/depth gauge, a weight belt and of course mask, snorkel and fins. (Mind you, the tank was held by two straps over my shoulder and one around my waist). In the pool we went for ten minutes, out to the tender afterwards (while he handed me a shirt, no wetsuits in those days), dropped in backwards off the boat at the diving site and voila! I was diving! Easy as pie.
And this is how it went now:
Believe me, I'm not naïve and fully understood that scuba diving has evolved into a very sophisticated sport that covers all safety procedures as it well should. (Not anywhere near like in the movie "The Deep").
So off I went on Monday to Dive Safaris, with my heavy tome of literature to plow through. Lessons in the morning, the afternoon in the pool for three hours plus. We were taught all sorts of necessary diving skills, some of which were quite claustrophobic for me. Our instructor Mike was highly professional, extremely calm and patient. I was exhausted at the end of the day, all that info to process.
Day two we went diving in open water and I had a hard time to deal with all the gear and such remembering what to do. The second dive that day went thankfully much better.
On Wednesday we did our final two dives and it was spectacular. Being finally familiarized with my gadgets; you got it, easy as pie!
Also not forgetting I made new friends, the guys were great. And I bonded quickly with my dive buddy and another girl.
Shame, though, is that I remember how vividly beautiful and colourful diving was 30 years ago, lobsters, conch, untouched corals and a multitude of lovely fish.
For all of you who love the ocean, I highly recommend scuba diving. I had a wonderful three days. Intense, but absolutely fantastic. Thank you, guys, for giving me a new passion, you'll definitely see me again!
M.I.A. Roos
