It was not long at all after our successful certification that our first trip out into the deep blue occurred. I remember Brad and I being incredibly ecstatic and nervous as to how the experience would be. I don’t remember any other time when he and I felt like that around each other, except perhaps when we first started learning to snow ski in Pennsylvania when we were 
younger. That also was a crazy experience – to look down the mountain and witness the degree of the incline that we would have to ski down to get to the bottom; or to look out straight while standing at the top and to see across the entire valley to the other side. The air was so clear and crisp that we could see the paths through the trees and the homes built on the side of the mountain across that valley. What an incredible thing to experience together. We stood by each other and looked down then looked across then looked at each other and gulped in terror! Of course eventually we got more and more comfortable with skiing after multiple runs on the ‘bunny’ slopes. After a while we got to the point of pointing the skis straight down and flying down the slope in a few seconds, racing each other down the whole time. Great Fun!
So similarly, we would find that the same experience would hold true to Diving, even as we sat chatting together at the hotel poolside the day before our first dive with hundreds of butterflies in our tummy’s. Luckily we had a fairly large group of other dives in our crew, most of whom were quite experienced with SCUBA. This, I think, helped dissuade our nervosa greatly though our nervousness still wasn’t gone by any means! Ok so onto the diving!
If you’ve been to the Caribbean before and are familiar with the weather down there, you likely know the difference between a good day and great day…this was a really great day: the sun was shining so bright and warm as we assembled the gear on the boat, boarded and set off. Brad and I scurried up to the bow (front part of the boat) as the captain sped up, hitting the swells harder
& pitching the bow skyward as we were coming out into open water; we had a 15 min ride ahead of us. As the boat climbed up one swell and dropped/freefell (sp?) onto the next one first causing a huge spray back onto us and also causing the boat to drop down faster than us, we felt weightless for a few seconds, right up until our hind-quarters smashed back onto the boat as it started to climb up the next swell. This continues until your bum hurts too much and you adopt a feet on the boat squatting position (with your hands clinging to the bow handrail) which makes it much easier to ride out the trip. Somewhat physically demanding but a load of fun to be had before (and after) the dive!
Soon after leaving the dock and the “slow lane” (where boats must travel slow due to high traffic from the proximity to the port – the first ~300 yards from shore) we see the color of the water start to change to shades of deeper and darker blues. In the slow lane we putter along and when looking over the side the clear water allows you to see all kinds of little fish and even larger marine life as they swim to and fro around the coral heads and sandy expanses that dot the inner coastline. The colors of green mixed with blue and tan are truly breathtaking, similar to what you'd see from a plane but when you are literally on top of the colors it takes on quite another look. {I honestly dont know how anyone could ever chaulk up the constant blending of the varying shades of teals, greens, tans, reds, blues, yellows, turquoise, and many others to something other than an intelligent Creator God.} Back to the story: It’s actually a really great way to quickly get a sense of the type of reef structure and ocean life that you’ll be seeing over the course of your stay on the island. You’d never be able to see that much of the reef so quickly with just a pair of fins! Well I guess you could if you had one of those James Bond personal torpedo propeller things (http://www.travelizmo.com/archives/000425.html).
After a few minutes of boating in the deep water the dolphins arrived, riding the wake that the bow creates. This, needless to say, is always a huge treat.
Usually, pods consist of between 15 and 35 individuals and they will swim and play together as well as hunt as a team, many times using bubbles to trap schools of fish in small, tightly packed groups and to drive them to the surface where they can be much more easily eaten. When the dolphins ride the bow wake it is so easy to see all the detail of their coloration and any spots or scars they may have from fights with sharks, killer whales or other dolphins. The high degree of clarity of the pristine water down there makes it so easy to see the dolphins jockey from below for the best position in the wake. It is always so cool to witness how these animals move and relate to each other, how their hierarchy works (the bigger the animal, the more important it is in the group). The higher in the wake, the easier it is to ‘swim’ – basically the water displaced by the boat is pushed forward and makes it so that the dolphin doesn’t have to put forth near as much effort to swim through the water. 
Its nuts to see the smaller ’teenager’ dolphin enjoying the ride and playing together, then to have the older dolphins catch up with the boat (travelling at 20+ knots!) and push aside the younger, slightly weaker dolphins without a second thought. I think its also interesting to note that the younger ones move immediately – solely because the older offer high levels of protection from predators that could easily harm them or the pod as a whole.
I swear I will get to the actual first dive next time!
younger. That also was a crazy experience – to look down the mountain and witness the degree of the incline that we would have to ski down to get to the bottom; or to look out straight while standing at the top and to see across the entire valley to the other side. The air was so clear and crisp that we could see the paths through the trees and the homes built on the side of the mountain across that valley. What an incredible thing to experience together. We stood by each other and looked down then looked across then looked at each other and gulped in terror! Of course eventually we got more and more comfortable with skiing after multiple runs on the ‘bunny’ slopes. After a while we got to the point of pointing the skis straight down and flying down the slope in a few seconds, racing each other down the whole time. Great Fun!So similarly, we would find that the same experience would hold true to Diving, even as we sat chatting together at the hotel poolside the day before our first dive with hundreds of butterflies in our tummy’s. Luckily we had a fairly large group of other dives in our crew, most of whom were quite experienced with SCUBA. This, I think, helped dissuade our nervosa greatly though our nervousness still wasn’t gone by any means! Ok so onto the diving!
If you’ve been to the Caribbean before and are familiar with the weather down there, you likely know the difference between a good day and great day…this was a really great day: the sun was shining so bright and warm as we assembled the gear on the boat, boarded and set off. Brad and I scurried up to the bow (front part of the boat) as the captain sped up, hitting the swells harder
& pitching the bow skyward as we were coming out into open water; we had a 15 min ride ahead of us. As the boat climbed up one swell and dropped/freefell (sp?) onto the next one first causing a huge spray back onto us and also causing the boat to drop down faster than us, we felt weightless for a few seconds, right up until our hind-quarters smashed back onto the boat as it started to climb up the next swell. This continues until your bum hurts too much and you adopt a feet on the boat squatting position (with your hands clinging to the bow handrail) which makes it much easier to ride out the trip. Somewhat physically demanding but a load of fun to be had before (and after) the dive!Soon after leaving the dock and the “slow lane” (where boats must travel slow due to high traffic from the proximity to the port – the first ~300 yards from shore) we see the color of the water start to change to shades of deeper and darker blues. In the slow lane we putter along and when looking over the side the clear water allows you to see all kinds of little fish and even larger marine life as they swim to and fro around the coral heads and sandy expanses that dot the inner coastline. The colors of green mixed with blue and tan are truly breathtaking, similar to what you'd see from a plane but when you are literally on top of the colors it takes on quite another look. {I honestly dont know how anyone could ever chaulk up the constant blending of the varying shades of teals, greens, tans, reds, blues, yellows, turquoise, and many others to something other than an intelligent Creator God.} Back to the story: It’s actually a really great way to quickly get a sense of the type of reef structure and ocean life that you’ll be seeing over the course of your stay on the island. You’d never be able to see that much of the reef so quickly with just a pair of fins! Well I guess you could if you had one of those James Bond personal torpedo propeller things (http://www.travelizmo.com/archives/000425.html).
After a few minutes of boating in the deep water the dolphins arrived, riding the wake that the bow creates. This, needless to say, is always a huge treat.
Usually, pods consist of between 15 and 35 individuals and they will swim and play together as well as hunt as a team, many times using bubbles to trap schools of fish in small, tightly packed groups and to drive them to the surface where they can be much more easily eaten. When the dolphins ride the bow wake it is so easy to see all the detail of their coloration and any spots or scars they may have from fights with sharks, killer whales or other dolphins. The high degree of clarity of the pristine water down there makes it so easy to see the dolphins jockey from below for the best position in the wake. It is always so cool to witness how these animals move and relate to each other, how their hierarchy works (the bigger the animal, the more important it is in the group). The higher in the wake, the easier it is to ‘swim’ – basically the water displaced by the boat is pushed forward and makes it so that the dolphin doesn’t have to put forth near as much effort to swim through the water. Its nuts to see the smaller ’teenager’ dolphin enjoying the ride and playing together, then to have the older dolphins catch up with the boat (travelling at 20+ knots!) and push aside the younger, slightly weaker dolphins without a second thought. I think its also interesting to note that the younger ones move immediately – solely because the older offer high levels of protection from predators that could easily harm them or the pod as a whole.I swear I will get to the actual first dive next time!
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