Look at 'em go!

Southeastern Divers, Inc.

2720 Governors Drive SW, Huntsville Alabama 35805 - Phone: 256-536-8404

"Training the best divers in North Alabama since 1980."

Sean Davis - PADI IDC Staff & Master Instructor

Look at ‘em go!!!

This is all I could think to write on my dive slate as I hovered motionlessly in 60ft of Caribbean water with 100+ feet of visibility. Looking around I could see many things that made me remember exactly how much I love this sport. The subjects of my scribbled dive slate note and source of my almost teary eyes, were some of my previous student divers who had taken the challenge and gotten bitten by the “scuba bug”. Their parents had decided to take the entire family on a spring break dive vacation. In all there were six youngsters and of them, I had taught five to dive.

I flipped over to my back, got into a comfortable reclining position (still maintaining my depth), and watched the youngsters I had taught many years ago, join the wonderful world of inter-space exploration. Now several years older, they are doing exactly what every scuba instructor wants their students to do. They are diving! We are staying at Capt Don’s Habitat in Bonaire and we are having a blast!!

One youngster was taking pictures, fluttering from spot to spot composing the best possible shot she could using a neat little underwater digital camera with no housing. It really surprised me that it worked at the depths we were diving but it did seem to do ok. Whether any picture was exactly as she wanted it or not, she made it look as if she was having the time of her life. She is the Adventurer, one day to be ruler of the deep and maybe even a Tec-ee. Every once in a while I would glance to see if she was monitoring her air supply and of course she was, all is well. Advanced Open Water is calling her name.

The older sister has been on many more dives over the years. Her experience shows as she hovers upside down shining a flashlight into each tube sponge to get a glimpse of the small creatures living there. Leveling out and hovering horizontally occasionally allows her to see under the coral flaps where an occasional spotted moray or scorpion-fish is found. This is “Diver Dudette” (the female version of “Diver Dude”). By the way she monitors other divers in the family and her constant drive for more diving; Recue Diver is her next step, but I can definitely see a PADI Pro in the making.

Showing the slate to Supermom and Dr. G, I smile through my regulator as they get the message. Both of them have been diving for years but this is a great opportunity to get the entire family involved in this sport that they also enjoy. I think it was part of a master plan because it appears that as a family they do many cool outings. This happens to be one of the first dive trips for the entire family, and Supermom used her super powers to get the entire family through airports going and coming. Dr G is just a cool guy with a great passion for getting his family involved with new adventures. He is the one who makes sure everyone has what they need to ensure a great time. He’s not the sneakiest person, as we learned one night when he got caught read-handed “sneaking” a taste of Capt. Samplers’ (the oldest son) ice cream, but he sure can make you laugh.

After the dive, we packed up everything and headed back to our”home away from home” where the rest of the family had been relaxing. Capt Sampler, who always sampled everyone’s food at lunch and dinner, is an upcoming Army officer and, by the way, he is able to deal with the challenges of being the oldest of six; he will do just fine (I should know since I am the oldest of six in my family as well). On many of the dives we have done together, I have seen his watchful eye glance around and do a quick head count before kicking to the next coral head.

The Cruiser, the Seeker and the Trooper all get their names from neat little things they do as well. These are the final three, and when not picking with each other, they are really developing great dive skills. On many of the dives, the Cruiser could be seen speeding by, taking it all in I’m sure, but the “fella” sure knows how to use those fins. Always eager to be a good dive buddy, he completed a wide variety of dives including the Night Dive.

The Seeker is our “critter catcher”. You can find her combing the coral beaches flipping rocks looking for lizards, crabs and other critters. I remember her walk around with a local lizard in her hand on the day we were completing her Open Water dives back home. She is also great at creating “unique” jokes. “Knock, knock” seems to be a favorite. In the water, she knows her limitations and when something is not right, she is not scared to let someone know. I was her dive buddy on one particular dive and the current was moving pretty quickly. We jumped in and during the descent; she had a squeeze in her tooth. She signaled, we ascended and tried once more. Unsuccessful with equalizing, we decided to sit the dive out on the boat. The problem was, as we were sitting on the surface of the water, we were being pushed further and further from the boat. I turned around and looked at the boat in the distance and all I could say in my mind was “Mercy!!! That sure is a long way”. I looked at the little one, told her to put her snorkel in her mouth, turn around and kick. Away we went, latched hand to hand. After about an eternity, we reached the boat. She hopped up the ladder and onto the boat deck while I dropped below the surface for a few minutes to cool off and finally catch my breath.

Last summer, an energetic little guy came through the Jr. Open Water class who was so into the class and pool sessions that I remember saying to myself “this guy is a real Trooper”. As it turns out, the name stuck because it’s true. With five older siblings, I guess a person has to be tough. I have seen him jump into the water and tackle the current and waves just like the “big guys”. Although huge tarpon on a night dive makes him a little nervous, he always has the can do, will do attitude that I am sure will take him far in the future. Peak performance buoyancy is what his next step should be. He already has the right attitude. After diving all week in a shorty wetsuit (no dive shop carried long suits his size), he wasn’t feeling too well on one of the last dives but all during the dive, he would give the “thumbs up, ok, let’s go. After showing no mercy to me in a game of “Phase 10” on the plane ride home, later that night he wasn’t feeling too good again. With everyone trying to empathize with him, reminding him, it’s been a long day, everyone’s tired, anyone can get sick… his last words sent me to my knees with laughter. He said…” Yeah, and on top of all of that,…I Lost My Mojo!”. I still laugh now when I hear it in my mind. LOL! He is a real Trooper.

Look at ‘em go!!! That’s all I can say. I am proud to have taken part in opening the doors of underwater adventure to such a wonderful family. In Bonaire, we had a blast and I hope the “Scuba-bug” keeps biting for years and years to come.

Thanks Guys and keep on divin!!!

Sean :) (BS) :-D

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