Dive Into Your Imagination

Sometimes when you are in charge, life can be challenging. I was producing these segments of real divers learning to scuba dive and I was teaching J and Rebecca how to dive. This was not divers pretending to be students, we were recording J and Rebecca’s first experiences in the water. And from the night before I knew we were going to be challenged!

First of all, I booked us on the Truth, a vessel in the Truth Aquatics fleet. The boat departed at 6:00am which means we had to be on the Truth at 5:30 with all of our equipment. The night before was a Jack Johnson concert that I had bought the team tickets for and they had a call time of 4:45 at my place to get to the boat on time. Thank goodness everyone showed up for the first fear was they were all going to party and miss the boat, but in the end, J and Rebecca were so nervous, they didn’t sleep much the night before and Rebecca was afraid she was going to get seasick. And this anxiety all started first thing in the morning. But onwards and seawards we departed Santa Barbara Harbor at 6:00 am.

Within a couple hours we were on the front of Santa Cruz Island and trying to organize everyone for their first open water dives and trying to direct Mat for his first big shoot responsible for the entire shotlist I created. There was tension running on all levels. Thank goodness the dolphins came to the bow of the boat because it put Rebecca at ease, but at the same time I started listening to more of J’s fears…and they were real. He was afraid of the fish and potential monsters underwater. Now, the hardest place for any student is not actually under the water. Once you get under everything is amazing. The challenging part is at the surface. So I knew we needed to get into the water and under into the ocean habitat as soon as possible. But it was now 9:00 am on a foggy morning. It was cold and the water was green. So it was going to be dark. UGH! I never think of what it is going to be like for me, I am trained to think through the anxiety of my students and to know I am responsible for them!

And success was the only option in my mind. We had an amazing time as on the first dive we went on an underwater tour with very few skills just showing them what fish and kelp looked like underwater. It was amazing and I could not believe how far we had come. Some scuba diving classes have 8 and 10 students in them. It is a luxury to teach a private class. Even though when you have 8-10 students they learn from one another, when you have just a couple of students, they get to experience what scuba diving is all about.

The next day we had our beach dives scheduled. Off the coast of California we can have great conditions or so so when you go beach diving. One thing is for sure, I like to do the boat dives first because when you go beach diving you often have longer surface swims and if the students are not strong swimmers, this alone can tire them out. Besides that, surf conditions can also be challenging. But J and Rebecca worked as a team and they were AMAZING underwater. The compass and navigation skills were the last ones they needed to complete and they both did an excellent job in limited visibility.

Yet, it was not until we were out of the water and I saw their smiles that I knew what an experience they had. And I knew in an instant that their lives were changed and we had two new scuba divers on our hands. I can’t wait to go on our next adventure as this one was FANTASTIC and I know the ocean will be forever a part of their souls.

When we did the post interviews with J and Rebecca, my heart swelled as each of them unprompted by me shared that the ocean had changed their lives. That was worth more than a thousand words and the best present any scuba instructor could hope for.

What are you waiting for, go sign up for scuba diving classes today!!!!