Back in the Open Water
After giving my sinuses a few days of rest I’m more than ready to get back in the water. Today’s task is training search patterns at 20m depth. The thermometer shows 7 degrees this morning and the fact that the water is twice as “warm” is little consolation. But we’re getting back on the boat, my suit is dry when I put it on and then sun is shining. The sky is crystal clear and on the horizon you can see the snow on the peaks of the Sierra Nevada. Seems like the perfect day to go for a dive.
We pack up all our kit and even though the loading process (we seem to be especially gifted in that regard) is slightly chaotic we don’t seem to be screwing up too bad. Phew. Looks like we’re off to a good start.
This time the new additions to our equipment include a brick, used as dead-weight to signal the start of our circular search pattern and a nylon chord.
Toni, Ronan and I are teamed up we’re among the first two teams to jump in the water. “Prepare! Ready? Water!”
We descend down the buoy line and reach the bottom, so far so good. We attach our nylon chord and after a few initial communication issues we get our search started. I place the brick at our starting point and off we go. One big round, looking for weird or out of place things. I find an odd looking bucket and show it to the guys. We all shrug, unsure what to do with it. Were we supposed to bring the things with us?
… VIDEO COMING SOON …
I recognise a rock formation an am pretty sure that we’re getting close to our brick when Cesar comes over and signals me to ascend. I point towards the direction of our dead-weight and try and signal that we’re only a few meters away. But when he signals me again to go up, I return to the buoy line with the guys and we begin our ascent. Did I misunderstand what we were meant to do? Were we meant to leave it there for the next group to find? I did hear someone on the boat say they didn’t have one. I’m a little bit confused.
At the safety stop I try asking the guys by writing on my little slate. But my illegible scribbles earn me only a giggle and a shrug.
When we get back to the boat Tato immediately notices the missing brick and gives us quite the talking to. Well, at least that clears that up, either misunderstood Cesar on the surface or under water. Either way, we woke the angry polar bear.
The rest of us don’t seem to be doing much better. An anchor was supposed to be brought up that wasn’t and we all feel a little dazed and confused. Clearly we missed something here. For a while its almost quiet on the boat. But the spirits lift soon and by the time we get back everyone’s back to their old, cheerful selves.
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