How Deep is Your Pinnacle?
Photo Cred: @ZandiTheMermaid (Zandile Ndhlovu)
The initial shock of being in the pool for three days straight is only starting to wear off when the ladies are told to mentally prepare for their first open dive. A collective sigh and groan can be heard echoing, the anxiousness of being in the open water is shared amongst most.
Stefanie, Muneera, Simangele and Juliet getting prepped by Dive Mommy, Amanda.
Thandeka, Kimerudi, Nancy and Lebo preparing their gear.
"I was not ready at all , I kept thinking how this isn't cool" Lebo reminisces. In her defence she had only been in swimming lessons a mere 6 days before the commencement of the Lab. Hailing from Polokwane, an inland province, she had never imagined herself a water baby. Let alone ocean ready after only three days in the water.
Whispered affirmations and encouraging looks are passed around the boat ride to Pinnacles, our dive site for the day. Dive plan in mind and regulators in our mouths we're counted down and lean away from the the boat and into the ocean upon hearing "GO!"
At first it's all limbs flapping about followed by orientation of our surroundings, and lastly a peek through our masks into the deep blue that lies 12 meters below. In that moment the pruned hands and dry ankles from the days spent in the pool are worth it. Honestly it wasn't even being in the water that was difficult, it's adjusting to the weight of the gear, equalizing your ears when they start ringing and wrapping your mind around the fact that you're actually BREATHING underwater.
I remember being pulled onto the boat after the dive and I felt like I was a visitor in my body, how we had just achieved what we had. Oddly I felt I could do it again tomorrow, and so I did, we did. With each dive we became more aware of our surroundings, bettered the science of buoyancy, moved more intentionally and generally believed we could do it.
Everyone seemed much more in their element, island life had given us all a tint to our skin and pep in our step, group morale was high. It was at this point Mother Nature sent a mammoth storm our way, it made for a wonderful fatigue day lounging around with fluffy blankets.
The day after the storm was difficult on more than one front, the sound of sneezes filled the lounge area and everyone enlisted their favourite warm beverages to stay warm and healthy. For some that was enough, not for my buddy Kimerudi and I though. We suffered from what we thought was mild congestion, but as we descended into the deep blue it got worse and equalizing wasn't possible. Ultimately resulting in an excruciating pressure headache around your nose, eyes and forehead and a constant ear ring that can't be helped. Discomfort breeds panic, suddenly everything we'd learnt and known was forgotten. We flailed about, bumped fins and at some point even fell.
To say our instructor had his hands full with us would be an understatement, the moment he managed to calm and help one the other would start moving about, triggering the headaches and ringing ears more. Anyone observing our dive that day must have been hysterical at the gang signs we were throwing underwater trying to communicate many things at once.
Remnants of the storm were still evident , visibility was the worst I had ever experienced we couldn't see beyond 7m and the swell was having it's way with us. At 39 minutes our instructor terminated our dive, kind and encouraging at the surface he told us we'd do better on the next dive.
Of course we were terrified, not only was the water on washing machine setting spin and quick rinse, but the dive was so bad that we couldn't even log it as a qualifying one.
Footage by @ZandiTheMermaid (Zandile Ndhlovu)
'These things happen , even to the most seasoned divers' comforted Tembisa Jordaan after we animatedly told her the horrifying dive story. TJ, as she is affectionately known, our first “in-person” mentor is an Ecologist, Filmmaker and Diver herself, had a wealth of knowledge to share with us during our session. We watched her captivating film Ulwandle Lushile, which follows a day in the life of a traditional marine harvester.
Guiding us on depicting subjects humanely and shying away from “poverty porn” really stood out, as days leading to us watching her film we had seen films that had done anything but dignify and honor their subjects. The session left an air of courage and sense of duty to oneself, both came in handy the following day when we would pay the ocean a visit.
#DDSL2021 Fellows with Mentor and N.E.W Pitch Fellow, Tembisa Jordaan
We descended OW20 students and emerged one step closer to being divemasters.
Oshun be with us as we trek towards our Explorer 30 qualification and enhancing our buoyancy, filming & storytelling skills.
By Mermaid Gogo (Thandeka Hlongwa) | #DDSL2021 Fellow
