Winter2016AlertDiver

started diving in 1985 and have been traveling

the world to dive ever since. I have always had

DAN® dive accident insurance in case I ever

experienced a dive emergency, but thankfully I

have not needed it. Another reason I’ve always

been a DAN member is the evacuation benefit.

I had the occasion to use that service just a few months

ago, and it saved my life.

For the past 11 years I have guided expeditions

dedicated to observing and photographing Southern

Hemisphere humpback whales in Tonga, where

swimming with the whales is permitted. Known as

the friendly isles, this South Pacific nation is about a

90-minute flight from Fiji or a three-hour flight from

New Zealand. It’s remote, its infrastructure is lacking,

and in many ways going there is like going back in time.

Because of this remoteness, I require everyone who

goes one of my tours to be a DAN member and have

DAN dive accident insurance. It is better, of course, to

have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Fortunately, I practice what I preach, because on

Aug. 29, 2015, I needed it.

That afternoon we observed a relaxed mother and

calf at the surface. After watching them for a while, we

decided the time was right and slipped into the water.

We swam about 100 feet and saw the whales, so we

stopped and watched. We made no attempt to swim

toward them and let them decide if they wanted to

interact with us. As it happened, they did, and we floated

side by side for more than an hour.

When the encounter began, the mother positioned the

baby on her far side. As she became more comfortable

with our presence, she made some subtle changes to her

position, and the baby reacted by changing its position.

The calf swam over the mother’s back and alongside her,

close to us. At one point the mother and I were floating

just a few feet apart and looked into each other’s eyes —

it was magical.

During that swim I had some stomach discomfort,

but I shrugged it off as indigestion. It persisted through

WINTER 2016

RESEARCH, EDUCATION & MEDICINE

DAN WAS THERE FOR ME

Touch and Go in Tonga

Text and photos by Douglas Hoffman