The Aquatic Adventures of Scuba Sean

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to scuba dive.

When I was younger I used to get incredibly jealous when my dad and uncle would leave on dive trips, and I’d have to stay at home and do fun things like go to school.  Exotic places like Cozumel, Roatan and Thailand became implanted in my brain as these holy grail destinations – perhaps that’s what led me down my current path.

For years, I considered the prospect of getting certified, but there were numerous road blocks that always got in my way.  First off, is the proximity factor.  While the Willamette Valley is a mere hour drive from the Oregon coast, the diving conditions you would find there are far from ideal.  I mean who really wants to hop in water barely above freezing in a full dry suit with visibility that’s equivalent to that of your great-grandpa’s when he forgets to put on his glasses? Yeah, me either.

Then there were the physical limitations.  Something most people don’t know about me is that when I was younger I had a myriad of ear problems.  Constant ear infections, three sets of tubes, and a completely rebuilt left ear drum later, I can say I am 100% – I know this now.

Koh Nang Yuan off the coast of Ko Tao, Thailand

While these ear problems happened over a decade ago, there was still the concern that I wouldn’t be able to properly equalize if I were to dive.  This fear has kept me from taking a class on it in college, and unfortunately it’s what has made me delay attempting it until 7 days before I depart one of the dive capitals of the world.

However, I knew that if I didn’t give it a shot, I’d regret it forever, and probably never actually go through with it.

So I did.

I found one of the many dive shops on Ko Tao that offer “try dives” or “discovery dives”.  I paid my 1500 baht and hopped on the boat with no sense of what would happen.  It was a beautiful day and our dive site couldn’t have been better.  Named Japanese Gardens for the rock formations that surround the bay, we found ourselves near the island of Koh Nang Yuan – what can only be described as one of the most beautiful beaches on earth.

I had no problem at all with the 45 minutes of training – I was actually surprised at how natural everything felt.  Whether it was breathing underwater, clearing my mask or finding my regulator, I was a natural.

That is, until the words came out of my instructor Tom’s mouth: “Alright, lets go for a dive!”

That’s when the nerves kicked in a bit.  I was actually surprised at how the mention of equalizing was a bit of an afterthought.  He explained how to do it, but was much more concerned with other aspects of diving.    I never thought that something that’s been haunting me for years would be mentioned for a mere 30 seconds before diving into the crystal clear abyss.

And then I went.

Tate and I preparing for our first dive

There was some adjustment, and even some minor discomfort, but somehow minutes later I was swimming around at about 6 meters completely oblivious to the fact that I ever had ear problems.  I was jetting through schools of small fish, and observing blue spotted stingrays as they fluttered around below me.  I even dodged a few attacks by a trigger fish.

This is what I’d been putting off for 25 years?  Man, I’m an idiot.

More so for the fact that I didn’t give it a shot sometime in the last 6 months – I can forgive myself for the rest of the time.

About to take the plunge

I could have been certified and exploring some of the most majestic spots on earth for months, and yet I found it easier to put it off and continue to wonder about what could be.

As I mentioned, had I left Thailand without giving diving a shot, I don’t think I would have forgiven myself.  For months I’ve been harping on about overcoming the fear of uncertainty.  Hell I’ve written a whole book on the subject, but this is one time, where I truly realized how little we actually have to be afraid of, and how important it is that we don’t let our fears get the best of us.

If there’s ever been something you’ve wanted to do, but have put it off, don’t put it off anymore.  Life presents itself with opportunities to make you a better person and ways to actually do all of those things you say you’d like to.

When one of those opportunities comes your way, how are you going to react?

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