The first day of diving, for most sport divers, is a day of getting re-acquainted with the sport. There's all the gear to manage, there are steps and checklists to become familiar with, and there's the act of diving itself: moving slowly through the water, and breathing at a rate that doesn't use up all the air too quickly.
The weather was rough on this first day. A stiff wind had kicked up and was sustained, causing some taller, stronger waves. On the way out, it was like hitting speed bumps every couple of minutes, and on site, the boat rocked considerably. Once in the water, most of this goes away, but while we waited to enter the water, it was pretty brutal.
Our first dive was at Gardenella, for about 40 minutes. I descended to a max depth of 62 feet, but kept between 45 and 55 most of the time. We saw a few fish, but mostly coral. I did see one sea turtle, and off in the distance, a ray.
Our second dive had rougher water and fewer sites. The site was Cypress Garden, and we descended to a depth of 74 feet - slightly more than standard open water, and technically requiring a deep dive safety stop at max half depth. Our guide found some tiny little spider-like creatures, and a flutefish, but otherwise, it was mostly coral.
Coming back to the boat was a little jarring. As we floated at the surface, we could see the boat and dive platform moving vertically five or more feet vertically. The protocol for the boat was that they would throw a line for us to hold on to and take our fins off prior to coming in. This worked well, allowing us to align and plant our feet on the ladder before climbing up.
E got sick, as did another diver. We all felt a bit queasy, and were a bit disappointed by what we saw. Overall, these were slightly rough acclimation dives. After such an auspicious start, we hoped for better diving in the days to come.
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