My first and fourth dive on the Star Clipper were my favorites! The first was great because I was diving with Terry in Tapu and I got to swim with my first sharks! In case you have not noticed, I love sharks and even more than that I love swimming with them. On the fourth dive, in Opunohu Bay, Moorea, we went down to 80 ft.
Diving Side Note 1: During your first four open water dives…you are not supposed to go any deeper than 45 ft.!
I began to sweat a little under my wetsuit as I watched the dial on my gage move from 55 ft. to 65 ft. Then the next time I looked I was 80 ft. below, with nothing but my life support strapped to my back.
Diving Side Note 2: When you feel the urge to throw up underwater, you do it into your regulator and then continue breathing (just the thought of breathing through your regulator after such an atrocious event could cause you to throw up).
As I cruise above the tips of the fire coral and butterfly fish I feel the nausea set in. All I can think to myself is
Don’t you dare throw up in your regulator, not only is that absolutely disgusting but it would be social suicide when the entire boat finds out what you did.
So I continue swimming until the feeling subsides (about 10 min. of these thoughts and feelings). At that precise moment I see two sea turtles glide by! My first thought is that one is Crush from “Finding Nemo.” The dive instructor we were with began to feed them and they nudged him with their pointy noses and long “flippers.” I was so excited I had to take my regulator out and smile :)
On top of seeing these magnificent turtles I saw several lemon sharks and black tip reef sharks, which only added more excitement to the experience!
On the way back from the dive excursion our zodiac hit a branch and a coconut underwater, leaving us adrift in front of some nice straw huts…. If that happened in America somewhere I don’t think I would be so content about being stranded.
Tags: scuba diving, Star Clipper, Tahiti
