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A tale that has not ended.
I have always had a love of the water. My brother and I were taught to swim by enthusiastic aunts in Youghal in the 1950's during a family holiday. In the 1960's the swimming and diving skills were honed during our annual summer trips to London as students. We also paid a few trips to Greek Street in Soho to flavour the folk music. I was and still am comfortable in the water without being a particularly strong swimmer.
The years went by. Water wise, I dipped the toes into the sea each Summer. During some of the trips to the continent I was able to appreciate a warm swim in the Mediterranean.
The urge to investigate under the surface of the sea was triggered by my reading a book called Underworld by Graham Hancock. This book suggests that the thaw brought on after the end of the last glaciation about 10,500 years ago caused the flooding of cities previously situated at sea level. The investigations reported by Hancock in the book and on his website suggest that these cities and temples were inhabited by a people with a highly evolved culture. These cities and temples are situated off the coast of India and are thought to be predate ancient Harappan archaeological sites existing in the unfortunate state of present day Kashmir. If this is true it challenges the accepted theory that man the hunter/gatherer first settled down to farming and settled city life in the area of present day Iraq.
During a holiday to Turkey with my wife I took a try dive off Kusadasi. It was a success. Diving was a challenge but the reward was worth the effort. On my return home I enquired about how I might learn how to dive. That Autumn I started to learn how to dive in Newry swimming pool. I found the theory easy enough as I have a scientific background. The practical skills in the pool were more of a challenge but I succeeded.
Next Spring saw our first dives in the sea at Strangfort Lough. Here the theory and practice were put into good use. Gratefully, experienced divers accompanied me at all times, and the dives were relatively shallow. I had my moments of concern. Once I took in water with the air and had to surface. The mouthpiece had developed a leak. The theory was fine but it was taking a while to put it into practice.
Summer 2003 my son and I took a trip to Thailand. It included a week in Kao Tao. There I had what is still my favourite dive at Sail Rock. We dived through shoals of fish while enjoying the sight of coral of awe-inspiring beauty. If only I had a camera to capture some of the sights! The holiday also included a trip to Ankor Wat in Cambodia.
Back home the development of the diving skills continued at the club. I moved on from being qualified to dive to 20 meters to qualification for 35 meters. I was getting closer to the depths required for India.
The beauty of a local club is that the experienced divers pass on their skills to the new recruits. The experienced divers know the interesting local and not so local dive sites. The club is really a community of people interested in diving. While the club dives in Ireland each Sunday the members collectively and individually also take diving holidays abroad and to the West and South coasts of Ireland. Our Sunday dives take us as far as Donegal and Rathlin Island.
We have our agm each September. While I am no chicken I still regarded myself as a rookie in the club. However it was time to give something back to the club that had and continues to develop my diving skills. So in September 2004 I was elected joint secretary of the club and assistant trainer of the new divers.
The computer made short work of the job of secretary. The minutes were emailed down the line to the members. My contribution to the training was the delivery of the theory by means of Powerpoint presentations. This I found a great way to really get my head around the theory. It also makes it easier to apply the theory in practice.
The training continues. I am training to be an Advanced Diver. A boat-handling course has given me the skills to navigate to and from a dive site, to put divers into the water and to recover them after a dive. A first aid course has prepared me for dealing with the unlikely but possible day when a diver needs first aid. This integration of theory and practice in the sport of diving is something that gives me great satisfaction. I enjoy the conversation of the more experienced divers as they discuss the movements of the winds and the tides and the effect that they have on the movement of the boat in the water.
Summer 2005 saw the family on holiday in China. It was a great experience. We finished it off with a week in Thailand where I returned to Kao Tao for some really satisfying dives. This time I was much more confident in the water. and had an underwater camera.
Autumn 2005 and now I am still at the job as secretary. I have purchased a camcorder and am planning to get an under water housing for it. At club level a new batch of recruits is being trained, a membrane compressor has been purchased and the next course for me will be in the safe use of Nitrox. This story will go on and on.
Why don't you give it a try? You will never know what you are missing!
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