The Seabed
It was a normal fall morning in Australia. When we arrived at the local diving charter, the air was thick with the salty, crisp scent of the ocean. The sight of a dock with a dive boat waiting for us, as we'd seen it countless times before, seemed different this time.
The boat wasn't ready to transport us to the office or on a mission. To put it another way, it was taking us to a new location, one we had never been to before. We boarded the boat and unloaded our stuff after saying our goodbyes and paying the dive charter. After leaving the pier, the sun peeked through the clouds as we set sail for the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
We had a tough time getting to the dive spot on the boat. We were tossed from side to side since the waters were moving in the opposite direction of our intended course. A wall of water was all I could see on either side of our vessel as we sailed over and between the waves. Some of the less experienced seafarers succumbed to seasickness. All of the equipment was towed behind them in a boat as the rest of us sat in the cabin and wondered, "For what?". After about an hour and a half, the waves began to lessen and the journey became more comfortable for everyone on board. We made it to our final destination on time. At the Great Barrier Reef, we were awestruck.
I took in the vastness of the ocean as the boat came to a stop. Gearing up and seeing what lay under us was all I could think about. We went through the motions of checking our equipment one last time and were ready to jump in. Then I got my scuba gear on and got my fins on while sitting in the boat. My swim boots sank into the chilly water as I took my time getting into them. I put my fins on over top of them and prepared to jump in. Despite the fact that this was not a job, I entered the water with the same technique I learned at diving school: 1,2,3, STEP!
As I jumped in, the water rushed around me and felt refreshingly cool. I leapt out of the water with a quick kick. Afterward, we performed our underwater routine and checked for air leaks with my dive companion. We released the air in our buoyancy compensators (BC) and proceeded to sink after our tests were complete and satisfactory. A new adventure was about to begin for us.
The wonders of the Great Barrier Reef came to life as the water rose over our facemasks. Only the sound of our regulators squeezing air in and out and the bubbles we exhaled were audible. As we plunged into this natural wonder, the water was immaculately clear. It was simple to see two hundred feet in all directions. Ten feet from the bottom, we began to slow our descent and regulate the air pressure in our BC. For what seemed like an age, we sat there, awestruck by the kaleidoscope of hues that flooded our vision. This undersea paradise was a veritable rainbow of hues. The coral reefs were alive and brilliant, with bright orange and neon pink corals, deep greens, dazzling blues, and multi-colored shelves.
It was then that we began photographing and examining every detail of the reef. As the sun entered the water and reflected off the fish's scales, schools of vibrantly colored fish passed past. Large schools of fish darted about the reefs while we sat on the beach and marveled at them from afar. The light was hidden by a gloomy shade that appeared out of nowhere. There was a six-foot-long reef shark just twenty feet away from us as we looked up. We were in his sphere of influence, and he was making sure it was safe for us to be. Our gaze remained fixed on the mythical beast that most people had only heard of. We were intrigued by its sleek, flowing form, unique dorsal fin, and jet-black eyes. When he eventually swam away, it felt like a lifetime had passed, and we were left speechless. We continued to savor the sights and sounds of this awe-inspiring landscape as it unfolded before us.
We decided to take a group photo underwater because we were running low on air. In this area, a group of Navy Divers, SEALs, and Recon Marines let their hair down and behaved like kids at a playground. Underwater beauty washed over us as tough warriors enjoying a good time and forgetting about the hardships of war. We were able to commune with nature and ourselves in the Reef.
