I couldn't swim. Not for a lack of trying but a genuine fear of water. Given my fear, it was more than strange to find myself extremely calm 30 meters underwater. My friends were not the only ones who thought I was crazy. I wholeheartedly agreed with their assessment when I signed up for a diving course over the Great Barrier Reefs. The idea was romantic, but to trust my life to an air tank and my ability to not freak out was nuts. My doubts were with me even on the 4th dive, which was the last dive for the Open Water Certification. On that dive, I sat on the ocean floor, looked up and couldn't see the surface. The instructor gave me the signal to take off my mask. I stared at him and felt a wave of fear rushed towards me. The stakes were high. If I fail the exercise, I would choke on salt water, panic and wouldn't be able to quickly get to the surface. The instructor gave me a reassuring pat. With him being inches away gave me tremendous amount of comfort. He taught the pool skills slower than other instructors to make sure everyone was comfortable. He knew my abilities and would never push me beyond my comfort zone. I took two deep breathes and took off my mask. With my eyes closed, I counted to 10, then put the mask back on. It took a couple tries to clear all the water in my mask and when I was finally able to open my eyes, I was greeted with a big thumbs up and a high five. I thought I would do only 4 dives, get certified, cross diving off of my bucket list and never jump into the water again. Instead, on my three day live-aboard trip, I completed 8 dives, gotten Adventure Diver certified and can't wait to go out again for my advanced certification. Friends, if you are interested in learning how to dive over the Great Barrier Reef, can I recommend you to look up Simon at Prodive Cairns? He'll not only teach you how to dive but will make you fall in love with diving.
