Bail Out

Monterey Bay, CA USA

Merriam–Webster’s definition of : “Waterman” (noun)  One who works &/or lives on the water (i.e. a skilled boatman who makes a living from the water)

Some have suggested that the term ”waterman” is pretentious by nature.  That it is hubristic & usually self-proclaims a greater level of knowledge & expertise into the marine world & its many pursuits. I would offer a much more simple explanation … that the term “waterman” doesn’t necessarily describe an exemplary skill set as much as a lifestyle that includes an array of experience within the marine environment. “jack of all trades … master of none” if you will ?

However you define it & to whatever degree I have attained the title of “waterman” … I can tell you it started in this moment …

Friend/Diver: (excited) “Hey did you know there’s a Marine Sanctuary in Monterey Bay” ?

Me/Not Diver: (unimpressed) “No, but I’m not surprised … It’s a beautiful area & it’s got that cool ass aquarium !”

Friend/Diver:  “True dat but this is like a National Park … in … Monterey Bay … the bay not the town”

Me/Not Diver: (perplexed look) “WTF are you talking about ?  in the water ? of the bay ?”

Friend/Diver:  (condescending smirk) “Yeah … underwater ! wanna go?”

Me/Not Diver: (dismissive “as if ” gesture) “Sure I guess … so what ? … instead of hiking we swim ?”

Friend/Diver:  “Nah man … we’d scuba dive through the kelp forest”

Me/Not Diver:  (completely dumbfounded facial expression) kelp … forest … yer just f***ing with me ?!  

Friend/Diver:  “Totally not dude … have you ever been scuba diving?”

Me/Not Diver:  (blank stare) “No”

Friend/Diver:   (filled with pride) “I have … I can teach you & then we can go diving in Monterey Bay”              

Me/Not Diver:  (skeptical) “Don’t you need some kinda license or hafta take a class ?”

Friend/Diver:  “I did & yeah you can … but my dad’s got a pool & some equipment … so I can teach ya”

Me/Not Diver:  (blank stare gives to naïve yet intrigued smile) “cool !”

So days later there I was standing on the edge of his dad’s pool in a Capitola, CA apartment complex.  My friend in his infinite wisdom, as an Open Water Scuba Diver (beginning level of scuba certification) explained the equipment & it seemed simple enough.  Wet suit to keep you warm … jacket that fills with air so you can float & holds the tank on yer back … coupla hoses from the tank with mouthpieces to breathe the air … lead weight to keep you underwater … mask to see stuff … fins to swim around …  watch to tell time ? Then he explained diving theory & some rules … seemed the most important rule is … DON”T HOLD YER BREATH … again all seems pretty simple. Put the gear on … jump in the water … breathe … swim & look for fish & cool stuff.

So far so good … now it’s time to learn scuba skills … so my friend takes all the equipment & throws it into the deep (8ft) end of the pool.  I’m told there are a number of underwater skills to master but if I do a “Bail Out” I’ll learn most all of them at the same time … & that’s what I like … efficiency !  I’m instructed to jump in & swim across the pool … then take a deep breath … hold it … dive down … put all the gear on underwater then scuba dive back to the shallow end.  Seems ironic that the first skill after the short swim is a free dive wherein I need to hold my breath … completely contradicting the “Don’t hold your breath” rule … hmm … maybe it’s more of a guideline than a rule ?  

Turns out that the “Bail Out” is sort of a problem solving puzzle that with few suggestions, from the only person of the 2 of us with answers … took me a bit of time.   With all the equipment scattered about the bottom like a yard sale … choosing the order of importance becomes quickly evident.

1)      don weight belt cuz I can’t seem to say at the bottom & that’s where everything is

2)      find either of the 2 regulators cuz (regretfully) I don’t have gills & can’t breathe

3)      clear water from regulators cuz again I have no gills & the regs have been submerged

4)      mask on face cuz I can’t see so much underwater

5)      clear water from mask cuz you still can’t see much underwater thru a flooded mask

6)      attach tank to back plate/BCD cuz it won’t fit in my pockets

7)      wrestle the BCD & tank on like a strait jacket

8)      fins on the feet so I can swim & not hafta walk back to the shallow end

20 mins later I’m standing in the shallow end of the pool, in full scuba gear, filled with pride.  It’s at this point, I was congratulated & unceremoniously proclaimed ready for scuba diving in the open ocean by my not an instructor … instructor.

Scuba adventure day #2 (the day of reckoning) After a morning of shuffling scuba gear, tanks & etc. around the bay area we find ourselves standing on San Carlos beach flanked on one side by a towering & seemingly endless rock jetty & on the other by the open water of Monterey Bay & the Pacific Ocean.  I recall a similar view when months before I had visited the aquarium just up the road & gazed out over the water, while standing in their man made tidal pool. That little bit of trivia becomes more relevant as the story turns.

After a short reminder of the important scuba rules/guidelines, we settle into our gear & begin to discuss a dive plan.  Plan A: inflate BCD to stay @ surface while kicking out to the dive site approximately 300yrds from the beach along the jetty.  Upon arrival, at what seems like a completely random spot, we deflate our BCD’s, descend to the bottom, stay together, look for cool stuff & explore the kelp bed/forest. After 40 mins, return to the surface & make our way back to the beach.  Plan B: same as Plan A except if we (dive buddies) get separated during the dive … search for 5 mins underwater, if we cannot find each other, return to surface to reunite.  With planning now over, we rolled onto our backs & slowly kicked our way along the jetty discussing a few hand signals (diving sign language) & noted the warm sunny day as well as the water clarity, which was 30ft ish … pretty good I’m told ?!

As we descended … my mind struggled to understand what I was seeing … it simply was otherworldly.  Shafts of sunlight piercing between the labyrinth of kelp strands that extended top to bottom. Add to that a myriad of brightly colored fish that I could not begin to identify but seemed impervious to my presence.  Initially, my attention was to my scuba gear & my buddy but soon this environment & all its foreign distractions had me entranced to the point of “Oh Sh** … where’s my friend !” Damn! … I guess it’s gunna be Plan B ?!  So I serpentine through the endless kelp forest for what seemed like 5 mins then settled to the bottom to assess my situation. My situation was this … everything was fine or even better than fine except for being alone. Occasionally, this nearly silent world was interrupted by a metal tap tap tapping from which I assumed was my buddy attempting to find me … but soon even that went silent.  The mind is a funny thing in situations of unfamiliarity … it creates stories. I convinced myself that the quick movements in the shadows of the kelp & my periphery were seals or sea lions darting through the flora & fauna to check on me.

Well … Plan B was to look for 5 mins & considering I was 25 mins into this dive (according to my watch ?) & hadn’t seen my buddy but for the first 10 mins, some quick math said it was past time to cancel the dive & return to the surface.  So … I began kicking upward but it seemed I was going painfully slow … so as instructed, when you want to float, one should fill the BCD with air … so fill I did … & away I went, like torpedo shot from a submarine, I rocketed upward & breached the surface … I imagined it looked a lot like a whale from a Nat Geo documentary.  That I remembered the most important rule “Don’t hold your breath” is probably why I was only dizzy & not coughing up my lungs when I launched to the surface. A quick scan found my (shocked & less than amused) friend not more than 50 feet away, who was quite obviously relieved to see me … as he shouted … where the f*** have you been ?! … which seemed rhetorical considering the nature of scuba diving.

Satisfied not to return to the kelp forest we slowly began making our way back toward the beach … as we kicked through relatively calm water & while recanting each of our experiences … a sea otter appeared not more than 100ft away.  At this point, my buddy must have felt a bit surly as he whistled & called out to the otter as if it were a dog in the park … AND (I SH** you not) the otter looked up & at us then swam swiftly in our direction. At that time, my experience with marine mammals was limited … so I was taken aback by how large a sea otter actually is & how fast they swim.  Within a NY second this otter was darting back & forth under & over us as we continued to speak to it like it was a puppy. There was a long moment as we continued toward the beach that I literally had this otter sitting in my lap poking his or her whiskered covered & fishy smelling nose into my dive mask … I felt as if I was getting otter kisses ?!

As you might imagine this scene didn’t go without notice to the many people walking along the rock jetty … & before long it felt as if we had an audience admiring the audacity & innocence of our playful new dive buddy.  Even as we exited the water, at the beach & began removing our gear, our otter friend continued to play with us in the sand ?! Not really knowing what to do … & as the onlookers began to crowd around … my friend continued with the dog-like approach to otter playtime when he whistled & dashed back toward the water taking myself & the otter in tow.  As we all dove into the waist deep water, our furry friend disappeared into the waves just as quickly as he or she (remember: waterman newbie not marine biologist) had appeared out in the open water.

Back on the beach … now lying back in the sand we couldn’t help but to laugh uncontrollably at how ridiculous the last hour of our lives had been.  For me the laughter was in part ignorant bliss … still not fully understanding the scuba diving thing but for one simple fact … I had been living & breathing underwater & it was an unimaginable world.  Even bigger than that was the fact that a wild sea otter had welcomed me to this brave new world with playful hugs & kisses.

So 2 months later … thanks to another unorthodox teacher but this time properly licensed Open Water Scuba Instructor … I became certified to dive. This time no Bail Out … instead multiple training days in his backyard pool & classroom (landlocked in Van Nuys), a day crawling through the 6ft surf @ Hermosa Beach & the last day @ Anacapa, in the Channel Islands.  Based on this reckless but mind altering beginning some might question the title … but pretense aside my resume’ is on this website & justifies … “jack of many marine trades yet master of none” … WATERMAN

Footnotes:

• The tide pools @ Monterey Bay aquarium were often visited by wild otters from the area that would interact with aquarium divers/marine biologists.  As I alluded to earlier, it’s likely that my furry little dive buddy near the jetty, was one of those aquarium visitors that enjoyed his or her human playtime anytime & anywhere.

• Astrological Sign:  Aquarian (Jan 21-Feb 20) Yup … seems almost cliche’ doesn’t it ?!  

Check in soon, for “Snow Blind” a story from the Alps & others … or find me on social networks for a few photos highlighting my words.