SCUBA Belize, May 29, 2011
by Casey Wilson, East Sierra Branch
(CWC past president Casey Wilson made his first SCUBA dive in 2015. What follows is a shortened version of the account that later appeared on his blog.)
I had dives one and two for my OW cert in the book from Catalina Island, California. Had equipment problems that precluded dives three and four. The COLD water and three-foot surges at Casino Dive Park convinced me to finish up where it’s warm.
After vacillating back and forth for a couple of weeks, I picked Ambergris Caye for no reason other than the name. I mean, how could anyone pass up an opportunity to go to an island named after whale vomit?
Day 1: Arrived at San Pedro Airport.
Day 2: Kick-back day.
Day 3: Scheduled for my OW #3 dive but the winds from hell were creating actual whitecaps INSIDE the reef so the dive shop dealt the safety card. For those not familiar with the jargon, OW is the SCUBA diver’s acronym for Open Water Certification by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors.
Day 4: Give me a break! Somebody find the damned switch and turn off the freakin’ winds!
Day 5: Hooray! I finally got my fins wet.
Day 6: ¡Un día más en paraíso! One more day in Paradise!
Most memorable was the cluster of more than a dozen yellow with blue vertical stripes fish inside some sort of ropy plant. The plant looked to be about 3 feet tall with 1- to 2-inch strands that waved in the gentle current surges. The fish, 6 to 10 inches long, were backed into the plant and just “hanging out.” I did start taking notice of the coral formations this time, particularly the brain coral. Whatever the purple fan stuff is was intriguing also….
Back at the dock, dive master Carlos asked me if I was ready for a dive on the reef. When he briefed that it was going down to 80 feet I reminded him that I’d already had two dives at shallower depth. He checked the “plan mode:” on my computer and showed me the dive was well within acceptable parameters and wouldn’t be a problem.
Day 7: Another reef trip with Carlos. This time to the Caverns of Love, only a 10-minute ride from White Sands Dive Shop. During the brief, Carlos specifically asked me if I would be okay doing a swim-through. His explanation that it was a series of arches with lots of vertical clearances, short spans with nothing resembling a tunnel, and lots of open chimneys made it sound like fun. I hesitate to use the word exciting to keep from implying a significant increase in heart rate and squirts of adrenaline,
It was a great tour. We went down to 85 feet and entered the first hole in the wall. I could see sunlight reflecting brightly off the sand just 10 or 12 feet away as I kicked my way in. I will admit my breath rate went up a tad. I discovered that when my tank bumped off the roof during the second arch. After I got my buoyancy under control I bumped gently into the walls a couple of times, but nothing serious. It was a great and fun dive for a total newbie.
Days 8 & 9 are just boring stuff about going home.
That’s my story and I’m sticking with it….
Casey has since traveled the world to SCUBA dive.
See more about him on his blog http://afreelancewriter.wordpress.com