Well, OK, so my "ya'll" is not that great since I'm from Kansas, but I've been in Atlanta since 1982, so I'spect I'm gettin' there.
My first dive was a resort course off of New Providence Island, Bahamas. We had been to the islands a couple of times and I was tired of watching drunk tourists bake in the sun and ride the big yellow bouncy banana boat, so we signed up for a resort scuba course.
Once I demonstrated that I could do a mask-clear I swam straight to the bottom at 50-ish feet and lay on my back in the sand next to the James Bond wreck and looking back up at the boat, the divers, the fish and my bubbles floating serenely back up to the world I said, "Cool, I'm BREATHING UNDERWATER!" From there we never looked back.
In 1990 I read an OUTSIDE article about Bill Stone's Huautla expedition to explore the deepest caves in the world and in it they described CAVE DIVING, a murky, exciting and dangerous plunge into the waters a thousand feet beneath the surface of the earth wearing space-age suits and rebreathing devices from out of science fiction. I had never even considered such a thing before, even though I had lived for 5 years in Gainesville, FL, CAVE DIVING CENTRAL. That tale and my memories of Nautilus floating through an immense cavern in the movie of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea got me jazzed about cave diving, so I found a good instructor and late in 1990 I was Full Cave certified.
I still remember my first cavern dive into Devil's Ear Cavern. It was like flying into a dark, jeweled cathedral of primitive stone set in perfect crystal clear waters. I was thrilled and frightened all at once and, like before, I was hooked.
Since then I have dove caves in Bermuda, Bahamas, Mexico and Florida. Lately, though I've been hanging with my new 3-month-old daughter, Olivia who has a somewhat stronger hold on Daddy than water-filled caves do, but I'll be back.
Dive Safe Ya'll,
JoeL
PS -- Olivia sez "poot!"
My first dive was a resort course off of New Providence Island, Bahamas. We had been to the islands a couple of times and I was tired of watching drunk tourists bake in the sun and ride the big yellow bouncy banana boat, so we signed up for a resort scuba course.
Once I demonstrated that I could do a mask-clear I swam straight to the bottom at 50-ish feet and lay on my back in the sand next to the James Bond wreck and looking back up at the boat, the divers, the fish and my bubbles floating serenely back up to the world I said, "Cool, I'm BREATHING UNDERWATER!" From there we never looked back.
In 1990 I read an OUTSIDE article about Bill Stone's Huautla expedition to explore the deepest caves in the world and in it they described CAVE DIVING, a murky, exciting and dangerous plunge into the waters a thousand feet beneath the surface of the earth wearing space-age suits and rebreathing devices from out of science fiction. I had never even considered such a thing before, even though I had lived for 5 years in Gainesville, FL, CAVE DIVING CENTRAL. That tale and my memories of Nautilus floating through an immense cavern in the movie of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea got me jazzed about cave diving, so I found a good instructor and late in 1990 I was Full Cave certified.
I still remember my first cavern dive into Devil's Ear Cavern. It was like flying into a dark, jeweled cathedral of primitive stone set in perfect crystal clear waters. I was thrilled and frightened all at once and, like before, I was hooked.
Since then I have dove caves in Bermuda, Bahamas, Mexico and Florida. Lately, though I've been hanging with my new 3-month-old daughter, Olivia who has a somewhat stronger hold on Daddy than water-filled caves do, but I'll be back.
Dive Safe Ya'll,
JoeL
PS -- Olivia sez "poot!"
