My First Scuba Dive - by Tristan

Today I went on my first scuba dive. My dad and I and our friends all went to this cove that had a blow hole, close to Santiago, Mexico. When we got there we were getting on our dive gear when the blow hole blew a bunch of water out - it was like watching a fire hydrant exploding. 

Before I went in the water my dad taught me some of the things about diving and about the hand signals. As I was going in I was terrified that my regulator was going to cut out on me and I wouldn’t be able to get up for air in time, but it turned out that it was like breathing underwater. When you are above water the gear is heavy all together but when you get into the water it feels like nothing. When I was just floating on the water line waiting for my dad I decided to put on my snorkel and look down.  It was scary because I saw what looked like a really big fish below me, but it was actually just my friend scuba diving. 

When my dad got all his gear on and came in the water we started to practice going up and down because if you fill your BC, or buoyancy compensator, with air you go up but if you empty it then you go down. There is a point that is called neutral that is where you want to be - it feels like you’re floating in space because you are in between two forces. When we got to the bottom, we practiced sharing a regulator and when all that was done we started to look around and it was awesome. 

Unlike snorkeling,  I was not in such a hurry to look around while diving and then going back up for air. We spent about twenty minutes in the water, getting as deep as 27 feet and then we got back out took all of our dive gear off and went back for lunch.

After we finished lunch we went to a sunken ship that was in shallow water and it was awesome. Everything was almost in the same shape it had been in when it sank and it was filled with fish. When my dad and I went into the water we started to explore the inside of the ship. The visibility was good you could see about 40 to 50 feet. When you looked around the ship you saw that it had turned into a coral reef and there were a bunch of fish.  At one point we saw 32 pufferfish all in one little corner. 

It was cool seeing all the rooms and looking out the windows and holding on to the wheel. One of my favorite things about scuba diving is that when you go deep then look up you can see everyone floating above you and it just looks awesome. When I go diving next I am going to do tricks.

I think I am really going to like scuba diving, I hope that I get certified so that I can dive around the world.   Tristan

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Earlier, I wrote a blog post about epic moments.  I probably haven't been great about keeping these up to date, but real epic moments always remind you about the fact that you are having an epic moment.  Scuba Diving with Tristan for the first time brought it back to me, quickly.  

Tristan, Lexi and Mykaela have played around Scuba as they have breathed off my second regulator (breathing device) in a few feet of water, but Tristan always had a greater interest in it.  Our adult friends, Mike and Amy, on Pelagic are both divers, and their 12 year old, Zander, was just getting started as well, and had started reading the PADI diving instruction manual.   When Mike talked about doing a second real dive with Zander, I thought it might be fun for Tristan and I to start playing more seriously with the scuba gear- and thankfully we had an adult XS size setup on board as well.  (Thanks Dan Nater!!!)  I truly hadnt decided what we were going to do when we got to the dive sight, but we just started going through some instruction and Tristan just ate it up.  Both Lexi and Tristan are super comfortable snorkeling, and Tristan just followed the instructions so easily.  

We descended to 12 feet and did a bunch of drills, went back to the surface and after a few more lessons in buoyancy control we were off!  It was such a rush for me to look to my side and see this little dude cruising through the water like he had done it all his life.  You could see the amazement on his face as he experienced new things and how much he loved being in this new environment.  We didnt take any chances and kept it shallow and safe, but I can see we will be doing a lot more of this in the near future.  I dont think Tristan quite knows how lucky he is, diving on an awesome wreck on his second dive, and diving in 83 degree water- all you Northern California, 20 foot visibility, 5-7mm wetsuit scuba people know what I mean!

I have already been in touch with Luis in Zihuatanejo, who is a master dive instructor, and am looking in to Junior Open Water Diver certification for both Lexi and Tristan.  Let the great new experiences continue!!!   Chris

Tristan exploring the wreck