Jake was 15 years old and could not believe that today he and his father would try scuba diving for the first time. I jumped right into simple physics by asking Jake’s opinion about what would happen to a balloon if I filled it up at the surface and pushed it down to 30 feet. He quickly responded that it would get smaller. I knew this kid was on the level and would be a natural. Most kids are. They just do not have the inherent fear that breathing underwater is dangerous. I have found that we as adults tend to believe that scuba is technical, that it’s dangerous, and it’s dark down there. Kids on the other hand have grown up watching shows on NG or Discovery that glamourize diving and make it look simple. And it is!

Jake’s father, Ken, was just as keen on picking up the essentials for the intro class they were in. Once I felt all was covered, it was time for the pool. Jake was more than helpful. It reminded me of a time in 1981 when I went through my Junior open water course. Excited and asborbing everything like sponge. We got in the water and started with operation of the equipment from within the equipment, then sank down to start our skills training. After about an hour, I had Ken and Jake kicking around, and clearing mask like nobody’s business!

I checked my watch and discovered that we still had some time before the morning boat was back. I asked Jake if he had had enough or wanted to play around in the pool a little longer. And in a split second he said “sure!” and dove back into the pool. Right as it hit 11 AM I got Ken and Jake out of the pool and took them down to the beach where my boat leaves from. An absolutley perfect day! Waveless surface conditions and visibilty at about 50 ft.

I helped Miguelito, our captain, set the anchor and then began to help Ken and a very anxiously Jake, get ready. After I had checked all their equipment (buddy-checks) we were set to do our “James Bond-style” entry (back-roll).These two were bright-eyed and all smiles as they both looked over their shoulders into the blue-turquoise water of the Caribbean Sea. And with that, the countdown began….

-Three
-Two
-One
—GO!!–

And with that, I launched two new adventures into the sea. Just like clockwork, they bobbed right up and smiled.

“Swim to the anchor rope!” I directed them. and they turned and both swam towrads the front of the boat. Now my turn…slam on the fins…slam on the mask…and go! …oh yeah, regulator. No problem…don’t need it. And all at once, we were together at the anchor rope. I checked to make sure all was still in place, then instructed them to realease the air from their jackets and start their descent. I pulled my way down the rope backwards as to keep eye on my new little dolphins. They did so good. With each hand hold down the rope, they equalized their ears as they were taught. Once on the bottom, Jake and Ken adjusted to the weightless environment quite easily. Neutral buoyancy was achieved, they trimmed out and the tour began.

We swam over and under and around the reef, exploring the octopus’ garden like there was no tomorrow. I made a “OK” hand signal to Jake and he responded with “ok” signs on both hands. He was loving it! I think we all were. Anytime you can see that many fish, that many different type of corals, all on a shallow dive, you can’t go wrong. After about 50 minutes, we actually finished the reef section and came up. We hit the surface and without me even telling them, they began to fill up the jackets with air and start chatting away like a couple of old experienced divers. I could tell that this moment, this instant, had brought a father and son even that much closer. I took great pride knowing that I had helped them experience this monent. Some days, you just can’t beat!