As I've previously stated, I am a total sook and will only dive in a drysuit. Unfortunately, my drysuit is reaching the end of it's lifespan (it's had a very tough life, RIP), and I'm probably ending up wetter in it than I would in a wetsuit, but that's another story.

A few weeks ago a couple of friends and I planned to go out for a 'cray hunt' dive (it's getting close to Christmas and our freezers are all empty), and even though I'm not known for my desire to hunt anything, I was happy to go along with my camera purely to blow bubbles.

I have to confess, it's very rare that I don't enjoy a dive, however, this particular dive was all weed and kelp and weed and kelp and weed and kelp and I think the most interesting thing I found was a juvenile crayfish that looked more like a Morton Bay Bug than an actual crayfish... but I'm digressing again. This dive was seriously boring. Very very very little fishlife, and the weed/kelp was so thick that if you wanted to see anything you had to plow through it, and I get tired of battling against kelp very quickly.

Still, despite freezing my ass off in my leaky suit and really not seeing anything of great interest down there (didn't get a single photo), I managed to stay down for an hour. The only reason I actually came up was because my buddy had sucked his tank down to about 20bar and needed my occy to get up (19meters).

It struck me, at some stage between hovering over one piece of kelp or another, that I must be absolutely mad to put myself in that situation, and willingly hang out even though I was actually cold and bored and fairly miserable.

Why?

Because even though I won't ever dive that site again if I could help it (much better sites right next door), I was underwater, and there is something indescribably magic about being underwater. It's as though when the reg is in my mouth and I'm floating in midwater, just hanging there, time stops and all that matters is finding myself. I'm quite content to float around and play with my buddies bubbles while he tries (fruitlessly) to find a crayfish. Or I'll imagine pictures in the kelp fronds. Or pretend I'm hunting some great animal and prowl my way through the kelp.

I must be mad, right? Mad about diving, apparently :P Have I mentioned that this particular dive was the seventh or eight dive in two days? Probably not. It was a fairly intense weekend of 'work diving' followed by this 'fun hunt dive'.

I guess all I wanted to do was reflect on how far gone I am with diving, that even the 'crappest' dive site I've ever seen still managed to entertain me for an hour, and I got something personal out of it (hey, imagining pictures in kelp fronds only keeps one entertained for a little while, the rest of the time I guess I must have been thinking and considering and pondering fairly hard!).

So yeah. Every dive is a good dive, regardless of what you see or don't see ;)

Oh, and I'm really hoping I get a new suit soon because this business of freezing my ass off is really not good for encouraging me to get back into the water.

I've had the most amazing dive experiences in the last few weeks, including humpback whales, southernwright whales, giant cuttlefish, seals, wrecks... wow. And this is all part of my job. Sometimes I forget how truly blessed I am to be working in the dive industry!

I'm washing the dust off the journal, hoping that I find a bit more time to update, but the way things are going with courses and charters, I'm not spending much time above water these days!!

Personally, I'm really enjoying my hiatus from real life - taking this time off to work full time in the dive industry is one of the best choices I've ever made. I'm not regretting it for one instant. The active nature of the work means my fitness has skyrocketed, I've lost a lot of weight and I'm feeling healthier than I have for a long time.

In other personal news, things haven't really progressed on the love life front. I'm still hopelessly in love with one of my closest friends and dive buddies, and I sincerely doubt he has any idea. It adds that extra bittersweetness to our dives together, and it keeps me really keen for weekends of diving and teaching, as we work together more often than not!!

In other news, I am truly amazed at how some people have managed to get their dive tickets. I'm even more amazed that the instructors teaching those particular people have been given their teaching certificates. Mostly, I am disappointed because realistically, this problem exists with all recreational agencies and I don't know how practically the problems and practices could be changed.

Just as a side note - the Cressi Matrix is a brilliant, brilliant mask.

I often see glowing (or not-so-glowing) reports written by members of a group or club that went on a dive holiday and had a great (or not-so-great) time. More often than not they praise the diving itself, the crew, the accommodations, the food, the atmosphere... everything (or not-so-praise it all).

It's not often that I see reports written by the staff or crew of diving centers and resorts writing reports about the groups and customers that move through, so I'm going to change that.

Not so long ago, we had a 'bad run' with a charter and our crew was left feeling disheartened and doubtful about the services we offer, and our quality as a dive operation. However, the following weekend we had a completely opposite experience with the next charter. They were loud and boisterous, and made no secrets of their enjoyment of either food, diving or accommodation. They were great company, full of jokes and laughter and praise, and when you talked to them they also offered suggestions and ideas as to what they liked and didn't like about the operation.

When you all read the dive log, or sport diver, or whatever diving literature you lay your hands on, I bet most of you read reports on areas you're interested in diving, or have been to, or would maybe like to go to. You mark out the 'bad experiences' and tag the 'good reports' for future reference and research.

When you then go on your holiday, how many of you stop to think about what YOU are like as a customer for the dive operation you chose to deal with? Are you difficult? Do you create a fuss? Do you argue and expect them to justify all their requests (such as wear a snorkel, please) or do you completely ignore their time, depth and air restrictions because you're experienced and feel those things a waste of time?

I know I personally resent those sort of restrictions myself when I'm going diving, but they are there for a reason and it is that particular dive operator's right to have their own rules and operating procedures. If I choose to dive with that operator, I choose to abide by their requirements, no matter how silly or 'over the top' they might seem at the time.

Also, do you tell them you enjoyed yourself? It's not a matter of wanting our egos stroked, but rather an honest opinion of whether or not you enjoyed the dive. If you don't say anything (despite it being an excellent dive), we might think you didn't enjoy the dive, and in the future elect to take people to other sites before taking them to that one again rather than risk people not enjoying the dives.

There is nothing worse as a dive operator, than having a sullen, miserable dive group as a charter, especially if the weather is a bit below average. Please, for the sake of your crews, put yourselves in their shoes. For the most part, they're all probably doing their best to look after you and help you enjoy your dive holiday.  Let them know, at the end of the day, that you appreciate their efforts and thank them,e ven if it's just with a smile because our egos are surprisingly fragile and occasionally need encouraging to remind us that there are still divers ou tthere who enjoy all sorts of diving!