1/26/2006 - You Can Learn a Lot From Dive Buddies

I have been very fortunate to have shared hundreds of dives with some wonderful people over the years. Each buddy has taught me more about diving than I could have ever learned in any classroom. I began snorkeling with my first wife Marilyn. We found so many wonders of the nearshore that we just had to get certified so we could stay underwater longer than we could on one breath. We made our first few hundred dives together. When dive related hand signals weren't enough to convey our messages underwater, we used slates. When most replies to our scribbles were,"What??!!!" we learned a bit of sign language. After dozens of frustrating dives, we learned to enjoy the moment and talk after the dive. Other frustrations led to my first solo dive. I have learned to enjoy the silence of the solitude under water.

I met my friend Tim in my Divemaster class. He was the first tech diver I knew. He introduced me to deep diving and the gear that goes with it. He was a very meticulous teacher and made sure I could perform all drills before he would even let me in the water. Unfortunately, he wasn't as careful with his own diving. He was lost at sea in 2001 while making a deep dive at Catalina Island.

Around the same time, I met Colin and Bob. They were the first DIR divers I knew and it was a good thing I met them. They were able to teach me the Hogarthian gear configuration and skills of DIR without the usual attitude I found from most DIR divers on the internet.

While working at a dive shop for several years I met many divers who became friends for life, including Marc, Tim & Terri, Gary & Ann, Joe and Kathy and many more.

I also dived with several nurses and doctors who seemed to always be on call right when the conditions were best. More solo dives.

I read many dive reports from Ross-O and invited him to dive with me. He has the same passion for diving I do, including an unhealthy thirst for finding wrecks. Through Ross, I met several dive buddies including Susan, who is not only a great instructor, but the love of my life.

I met Missy last Summer. You can read my earlier blogs for more about her, but the one thing I learned from diving with her is to slow down and enjoy the small stuff more. Not only has my SAC improved, but so has my nudibranch photography. Elaine, Claudette and Jeff not only make diving fun, but funny as well. They each understand Rule #1 very well. Diving is supposed to be fun.

My last few dives have been with Hilary. I "met" her on diver.net a couple years ago, but didn't get to meet her face to face until a couple weeks ago. She makes me smile a lot with tales of her husband and kids in New Mexico, plus their brood of animals. She has the cutest kitties, and kiddies! I promised to babysit her on our first dive at the Caissons, which is a potentially deep dive. After just a few minutes I realized that the babysitting job turned into a fun time for me. She not only dived comfortably and skillfully, she was enjoying the dive as much as I was. Another kindred spirit. She even got to hear some of Marc's stories, which all seem to begin with,"I did something really stupid once..." Each story usually involved some alcohol consumption.

 I feel blessed to have known so many great dive buddies, and hope to meet more in the coming years. Divers make the best friends.