A tribute to dive buddies – by Mary Schneider

Amy Christopher   May 25, 2013

The following was written by one of our clients, Mary Schneider.  She shares her love of diving and her unique perspective on the relationship that forms between divers on a dive trip.  I thought it was beautiful and wanted to share it with you.  I have taken the liberty to edit it slightly.  Thank you Mary!

 

I am passionate about scuba diving. There’s

something that happens on the boat between dives,

waiting for enough surface interval time to pass so we

can go on our next dive. Sometimes we are flying over

the waves, salty, and with the wind in our hair on the

way to the next dive site. Sometimes we sit quietly,

bobbing softly in a sheltered cove. There are usually

a group of us just being together. Sometimes there is

raucous laughter about a playful prank someone played

underwater, or we would remember with awe the 5 foot spotted eagle ray

that soared silently through our midst as we all

drifted together with the current. Or how we gasped

as the frigid thermocline abruptly gushed into our

balmy water space. So there we are on the deck of the

boat, between dives, waiting. Sometimes quiet,

sometimes munching starbursts, or sipping water.

Sometimes chatting, sometimes not. Not caring where we

sat or lay in the sun. A huge bond exists among us.

No one is self-conscious. We have expended energy

and are thrilled with what we have just done. Only we

understand it because we just had this totally unique,

exciting experience. We are bonded in an inexplicably

warm and wonderful way.  We’re all there because we love it, all levels

of experience, all levels of risks, we have

experienced something successful and fabulous

together, and we’re waiting to do it again. With

contented, although sometimes tired, smiles inside

and/or out.

Maybe this is bonding. I don’t know of another

word. But “bonding” seems too simple. It is a very

profound deep feeling. Maybe it’s simple, yet profound

at the same time. I didn’t have this with my family of

origin. I just needed to write this and say that I

cherish this feeling and thank every one of you for

being part of its creation.