or: It’s good to be back though painful at times

Finally back in the water after another lockdown, a phased opening of some services and it’s finally our turn. And I had ear problems so couldn’t dive!

A couple more days after four months didn’t feel like the longest time in the world (it had potential) though this was helped by spending time on the boat and still hanging around the dive centre chatting with people before and after dives. Diving isn’t just about actually being underwater for me.

It’s a lifestyle.

I enjoy the social aspect, talking about fish (that should come as no surprise to anyone that’s dived with me) and whatever else we happen to have seen, peoples’ progress with their diving goals, and what’s going on in their lives in general.

And then there’s being underwater.

What I forget in between these long bouts of no diving is how fit diving actually makes me and how the fitter I am, the easier it is. You don’t have to be fit to dive. It just makes it easier.

For me, it feels like the ultimate lazy person’s sport. I have now been reminded that it’s only this if I’m fit to start with!

I remembered after my second dive on my first day back.

I was tired.

I’m normally tired after two air dives in a day anyway but this was another level. My usual siesta wasn’t long enough so I had a sleep. Or given the length, maybe it should be called a sleep+.

The next day I woke to a sore lower back.

This meant my core wasn’t working as it should. No surprise when I’d spent more time on a chair than underwater for four months. My triceps were also a little sore. This is from launching myself out of the water, back onto our boat – I call the manœuvre – beaching whale. Normally I can do this, turn around before my body hits the deck and be sitting on the edge to take my fins off.

Not the first few days.

These were more like a worm sliding onto the deck, rolling over, and then slowly sitting up to then struggle with bending my knees to remove my fins. To be a bit fair, I am wearing considerably extra neoprene and this doesn’t bend so well around the knees. The other part is because I’m just not that flexible right now.

A few days in and my lower back didn’t improve.

My triceps did.

I realised, because of the extra weights I need to carry due to the extra neoprene I’m wearing, it’s made difficult for me to even get myself onto the side of our boat to backward roll off. Pre-lockdown I moved from my seat, wearing all my gear, to then sit on the edge. When I’m diving throughout the year, I’d gradually be adding weights as my wetsuit thickness and layering occurred. This time, I’ve gone from no diving to elephant weight with no transition.

No wonder I’m struggling.

I’ve a few more dives under my belt now and getting onto the boat is a lot easier though my last dive today was a little fresh so my arms weren’t coordinated very well with my brain. The earlier dive was fine – I could feel my arms.

My lower back is now normal.

Sitting on the edge of the boat without assistance definitely needs work!

It’s not being helped that I’ve just added another 5mm…

Very happy to be back underwater. It’s this surface stuff that’s a challenge!

**Note – photo is from my first night dive back. It’s a sailor’s eyeball algae – the largest know unicellular organism; and orange cup coral found on the side of a wreck. This coral isn’t a reef builder and during the day, the tentacles are all sucked into a tube like structure. These tentacles then come out at night for feeding. It can do this only because it doesn’t contain zooxanthellae (a type of algae that has a symbiotic relationship with a lot of different sea life including many corals – it needs sunlight to survive as it photosynthesizes which provides food to the corals). Cool isn’t it?!

* Thanks to Paul Kelly for the title to this post.