Dive, dive, dive, eat, deep dive, shallow dive, eat, dive, wreck dive, dive, night dive, eat, dance, dive, dive, dive, eat, dive, dive, eat, dive, dive, sleep, eat, beach, snorkel, rest….Now that’s a vacation!
All ready to dive!
On a “Liveaboard” vacation that’s all you do is dive, eat, sleep, have fun, and dive some more. My first experience was in June, 2009 aboard the boat called “The Conception” in the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. The boat is owned by Truth Aquatics. They have two other boats called “The Truth” and “The Vision” you can charter.
We were spending three days aboard The Conception. We drove into Santa Barbara on Wednesday, had dinner on the pier then boarded the boat with dive gear and all. Wednesday evening we spent on the boat getting to know all the other divers. The trip organizer was Fisheye Scuba. We called it a night and when we awoke on Thursday morning we were in the Channel Islands at our first dive spot called Santa Cruz Island, Quail Rock.
Getting ready to dive the Channel Islands
This was my first cold water dive since getting my certification. I was eager but a little nervous. We dropped down to about 49 feet the visibility was around 20 feet and the water temperature was 63 degrees. We are swimming alongside the wall looking at all the beautiful colors and fish. Then all of sudden my regulator hose gets caught in the rock and is being sucked into it. It pulled my regulator out of my mouth and I started to panic. I am trying to grab my secondary for air at the same time I am pulling on my primary trying to release it from the coral. The only thing going through my mind was the movie “The Deep” when Jacqueline Bisset’s stick gets grabbed by an Eel and is slamming her into the rock. The whole ordeal only lasted less than a minute, but in my mind it was a big Eel that had a hold of my hose and wanted to eat me! As I got free, I thought I had punctured my hose so I made my way to the surface and flagged the boat. Immediately, one of the crew members dove in and swam out to get me. By the time I was back on the boat I was feeling a bit foolish. Of course, there was no hole in my regulator hose and Kate, the dive instructor and owner of Fisheye Scuba, thought I was insane. We had a good laugh about it during the rest of the trip.
We did another dive at Quail Rock on Thursday then moved over to Pelican Bay for a dive and a night dive. The visibility at Pelican Bay that day was only around 15 feet. The night dive was sweet though. Everyone grouped together and looked at all the rock formations.
I love to scuba!
Day two we dove at Diablo Anchorage and Dave’s Cove. Day three we did two dives at Ruby Rock. It was a nice relaxing spot. The visibility was more around 25 feet. The last night on the boat we had a party. It was a great time. The food was also very good. The cooks were two young girls, Rachael and Tasha. The captain’s name was Jerry. The first mate was Louie and the crew members were Jona and Chancy. They all made us feel very welcomed and at home. I can’t wait for my next “liveaboard” adventure.
Sounds fantastic! I’ve snorkeled by I’m just too claustrophobic to dive. The description of your mishap was making me panic!
After that dive I was good to go, haven’t been nervous since. I love diving and as long as you are pro-active and stay safe it’s a great sport. Thanks for you comment!
I too love to dive…and I would have surely had a panic attack if that had happened to me. Diving is nothing to fool around with and of course the more you do it, the less you panic when things like that happen. I say, good for you for going up and checking on your equipment. Better safe then sorry!
I always liked the idea of diving but your almost mishap did send me into a bit of a panic too! It was always something I planned on learning to do when we lived in Australia but we weren’t there long enough. Now I live too far from the sea. Still, if I can do my first zipline at 50 there’s still time
Thanks for your post.
ledington.aupairnews.com
Louise,
You can also dive is lakes and rivers that’s fun too not sure where you live, but there’s diving everywhere, pretty much.
Peggy – I know you can but it doesn’t appeal to me – also we are 6500ft up in the mountains and the lakes are freezing here even in summer! I’ll wait until I can do it in the ocean
Yes the ocean is really the best so many beauties to see.
There is some beautiful diving at the Channel Islands. Doing as a live-aboard charter sounds like the perfect way to experience it.
If you haven’t already done it, I recommend diving around Catalina too. A shore dive from the rocks off the Casino is very doable. Stay shallow and the wild life is spectacular. Go deeper and there’s a wreck to explore
Thanks Kerry, I haven’t dove Catalina yet, but it on my list.
Peggy, wonderful descriptions. Thanks. I have snorkeled in the Caribbean and the Sea of Cortez. I always enjoy it.
Your welcome. The Caribbean is on my list too!
Peggy, your movie flashback experience reminded me of one my husband had while we were diving in Belize. He was so fascinated with all the beautiful coral and fish around him he neglected to see the barracuda hovering above him. When he finally did see it he was close enough to see it’s teeth. When he tells the story he relays that he flashed to the opening scene in Finding Nemo when the barracuda quickly devours all Nemo’s siblings. He slowly swam away and all was well.
Darcie, that’s funny! I loved the movie Nemo.
What a lovely excursion that was! I enjoyed experiencing it vicariously, but will probably never do it in reality. Your description of your near mishap gave me goosebumps! especially as I am not a good swimmer! But as I have said before, it all sounds so wonderful and romantic to go beneath the waves, enjoy the undersea beauty and mystery, and the fellowship and good food with the other divers! I look forward to reading about more of your adventures!
I love diving and I am certified. But I am part of the 5% of the population who has significant problems with ear equalization and diving. In fact my tinnitus is due to a boat dive and trying to keeping up with the people descending.
Ironic because I am very comfortable in the water and breathing through a regulator.
All of you that are a bit scared of diving, give a a try, there are courses that really help you become more comfortable. And I will be jealous.
Also, if you have a chance, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia is absolutely fabulous and a must see. I’ve done snorkeling and shore diving (which is more doable for my ears) in the Caribbean and Thailand and no where matches the diversity of coral you will see on the Outer Reef.
Yes the equalization can be a bit of a pain when diving. So far my ears have been good. Thanks for sharing. Australia is on my dive list also.
Agghh! I’m not a diver and was panicking just reading about the air hose! I have lived aboard a boat though and that sounds fabulous. Getting pulled behind one while on an innertube sounds even better
What a fun adventure you had – makes me want to plan one (above water, of course).
Brandy Mychals
Split Second Perceptions
Tubing does sound fun. Thanks.
Fun story-
I was certified years ago but haven’t been on a dive since!
My best non-scuba dive story was I was snorkling/diving, looking for breakfast with a harpoon gun (not sure what the real name is) by the Perlas Islands off of Panama when I rounded a huge bolder in about 12 feet of water. I came face to face with about a 10 foot shark. I screamed (not easy to do under water) and the shark screamed and we both went the other way. I don’t know who was more scared, me or the shark!
Candace Davenport
http://www.ourlittlebooks.com ~ Little Books with a Big Message
Candace, that is hilarious! Thanks for sharing.
Peggy I’m not a diver. Actually I can barely swim. It seems I always had something I’d rather be doing.
Your post was well-written and had me right there with you. It reminded me of a few of the reasons as to why I don’t dive.
It sounds gorgeous and exhilarating. And I’ll just share the experience through your pictures and posts.
Thank you Bill for your comments. I’m glad you enjoyed it.