Scuba Diving

In preparation for my future cruise contract, after I was initially hired by Princess, and when I had nothing else to do, I began my scuba certification. It's been a long process, starting in Delaware with online learning, continuing in New Hampshire, when I had some time, then progressing to pool classes in Pennsylvania. Finally, a year later, in Hawaii, I have the opportunity to complete my open water dives and become certified. I became certified on the flat, shallow reefs off Waikiki in Honolulu over the course of multiple cruises (two days of diving took me a month, since visits are so long apart on this itinerary).

Yesterday, I went diving from Maui. We boated over to Lanai on a fast Hard Rigid Inflatable Boat (HRIB), at about 45 knots (about 50 mph). We saw plenty of whales on the way over, with a few breaching in the distance. It was an awesome start to the morning. Then we hit the dive site, got our briefing, suited up, and went in. The sites were incredibly different from anything that I was expecting. The sites in Honolulu were flat and shallow, as I said. They were reefs emerging from a sandy bottom, and scuba was just snorkeling underwater. This site had topography. We moored on top of a pinnacle of rock, jutting up from the sea floor 40' below. We descending along its wall, swam to nearby rock walls, went through lava tubes, explored the vast coral floor as it descended into the blue, and checked out crevices and caves. It was a three-dimensional exploration that raised my expectations of what scuba diving can be.

I can't wait to go back.