“Let’s sink to the bottom of the pool” said my instructor Chris. We descended all of four feet and he settled on his tummy on the bottom of the pool with his arms clasped in front of him. I could see his bubbles gently heading up towards the blue sky. He lay there breathing gently in and out through his regulator and encouraged me to settle facing him. I stretched out in front of him and started to breathe more normally.
This was the ‘Refresher’ scuba session I’d booked. We were doing the training in an outdoor swimming pool in Florida. Before we started the session Chris listened to my story and my big fears. It was six years since I’d learned to dive and gained my PADI certificates. Two years later I’d developed PMR, a nasty illness that stops you moving and is very painful. That seemed to be the end of my diving. However, I’d recovered, my strength was returning and I wanted to see if I could still dive. I confessed I had some solid fears. I thought I’d forgotten everything I’d ever learned and setting up and checking the gear scared me to bits. I also had worries about the diving itself and whether after these few years away I would remember how to descend easily. But I thought I should face up to my fears and see if I could still do it. Would he help? The answer was ‘Yes’.
I could not have had a better or more confidence-inspiring teacher than Chris. He didn’t presume anything, he simply asked me to set up my gear on the poolside. As I fumbled around, trying to remember how the tank fitted and which way round the regulator (otherwise known as the ‘octopus’ because it has hoses and nozzles which link you to the tank of air) he watched me attentively and, seeing my confusion, simply offered to demonstrate and then I could do it myself. What a star! When you’re confused or struggling, ‘helpful’ teachers sometimes take over and ‘show you’ by completing the task. Often they add in a sexist or ‘put down’ comment and roll their eyes, At this point I’m known to blow a gentle fuse. This grandma is too old, wise and impatient when someone isn’t able to communicate with respect.
Chris was a superb communicator. He demonstrated how to perform the task and then watched patiently whilst I struggled with the gear, When I finally succeeded and was fully confident it seemed like a personal triumph for both of us. Finally, land tasks completed we were ready to put on our gear and edge towards the pool.
Once I was lying on the bottom of the pool I began to relax and my breathing reduced to a more normal rate. My regulator, miraculously, was allowing air to flow in and out and my heart was pounding less and less. I observed Chris lying peacefully on the swimming pool floor. What better spot for a quiet meditation? I copied him and we lay facing each other, breathing gently.
At one level it was almost funny. I wasn’t 40 feet down in the ocean. I was four feet deep in an empty swimming pool in Fort Lauderdale and at any point I could stand up with my head well out of the water. But it still felt a little disconcerting.
Gradually I began to notice sunbeams shooting through the water. I felt as if I was inside one of David Hockney’s Swimming Pool paintings. I looked closely at the small leaves scattered on the floor, a small pink hair band floated past and I recognised a child’s plastic toy fish. The detritus of a public swimming pool. Tomorrow it would be shimmering, multi coloured fish and white coral in the Cayman Islands. Chris slowly lifted his head and using the familiar diving sign language ‘O’, formed by the thumb and third finger, asked “Are you OK?” I responded “OK” with my own ‘O’ sign. Later in the week I would be really ‘out of my depth’ in the Caymans so this confidence-boosting scuba refresher was exactly what I needed.
We moved on to the underwater skills. Again, with perfect simplicity and authority Chris demonstrated each technique. “Take the respirator out of your mouth, throw it away, recover it, replace it in your mouth.” Then, on to flooding the mask and clearing it, taking off my buoyancy jacket and oxygen tank and putting them back on, all whilst completely submerged. Repeat three times. Every achievement was rewarded by the familiar ‘O’ and the positive nod of Chris’s head.
Finally, he indicated we should rise to the surface – all of four feet.
This training was a perfect example of how to encourage someone who is nervous, apprehensive, nay, downright scared – ME – and leave them feeling quietly confident and aware of how much they already know and how much they have learned. We continued a little while longer in the Florida sunshine. This was my serious preparation for the week-long Cayman scuba trip ahead.
Thank you Chris from Divers Cove in Davie http://diverscove.fl.com who taught me more than scuba skills and reinforced my belief that good communication comes from listening, hearing and having a conversation. But most of all it starts with having respect for where the other person is at that moment.
Now I was ready to see if I could dive again in deep water. My buddy Merlin was alongside encouraging and ready to literally hold my hand in the water. She’d been diving all the time I’d been ill, so her skills were very impressive and she was now intent on becoming a dive master. She has been the most encouraging buddy one could have and, it was thanks to her I decided to see if I could dive again. It was a challenge for both of us as we headed for the Caymans.
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