Page 108 - AlertDiver_Winter2013

MEMBER TO MEMBER
Water is life on this planet. The surface of
our Earth is 70 percent water, and our own
physical bodies are more than half water. As
divers, we explore various bodies of water
around the globe — experiencing, existing in and being water.
This is what I tell my open-water students as we stand on a
rise above one of southern California’s many wonderful beaches.
The salty morning air and the thunderous sound of softly
pounding surf awaken our senses. Purple and bronze reflections
dance on kelp blades that sway atop swells. Gulls, pelicans and
sea lions search for their survival. It’s a natural symphony of life
waiting for us to join in and play our part.
From the top of the rise we watch the waves, observing their
timing, sets and lulls. We look for signs of currents, rips, rocks
and reefs. As we learn to see all the elements before us, we can
begin to consider the ocean a place where we belong. We can’t
fight or overpower the force of the sea, but we can understand
its motion and learn to harmonize with its rhythms. We can
begin to think of it as a safe place in which to immerse ourselves.
Most people aren’t naturally inclined to be comfortable
in a foreign environment without some type of adjustment
experience. This is especially true for environments with
cold, salty water, powerful waves and roiling currents.
It’s tremendously helpful to get acclimated gradually and
incrementally — crawling before walking. We call our
adaptation technique “evolution.”
My students and I begin their first open-water experience by
donning our wetsuits, boots, hoods, gloves, masks and snorkels.
If the surf is minimal or nonexistent, we forego masks and
snorkels. If the air is warm, we might skip the hoods or gloves.
Then we get down on our bellies (like a reptile) and crawl back
into the sea from which we once came. We let the waves splash
over us, and then we turn around and crawl out. When you’re
flat on the ground, you can’t be knocked down.
As the cold water starts warming up inside our wetsuits,
it feels pretty nice. The next phase of the evolution depends
on conditions and location. If it’s a sandy beach we learn to
walk into the surf without fins, turning sideways to make
A-frames with our legs. Perpendicular to the incoming
wave energy, we crouch and lean into the force as we grab
our pretend masks with our ocean-side hands.
Next we ease out into chest-deep water. We bob around
and take some waves, just having fun playing in the ocean. We
learn how to dive under oncoming crests and pop out of the
backsides. We make our exits on all fours until we’re high and
dry. Then we add hoods, gloves, masks, snorkels, BCDs and a
little weight, and we repeat the entry, wave play and exit.
Finally, we add fins and go for a “Zen” skin dive,
continuing along the road of adapting to, bonding with and
existing contentedly in water. AD
The “Evolution” Technique of
Ocean Adaptation
A Zen-inspired approach to being in water
98 | SUMMER 2011 106 | WINTER 2013
Tips, advice and updates from your fellow divers
Do you have tips, advice, travel strategies, dive techniques, lessons
learned or other words of wisdom to share with your fellow divers? Alert
Diver wants your story! Email it toM2M@dan.org, or mail it to “Member
to Member,” c/o Alert Diver, 6 W. Colony Place, Durham, NC 27705.
SHARE YOUR STORY
B y T o m Q u i c k
JASON BRADLEY