A World Without Bubbles

I remember the first time I put on a pair of prescription glasses; all of a sudden the world I thought I knew changed before my eyes. This is the same realization I had a few weeks ago while completing a rebreather certification course on Catalina Island with Jeff Bozanic. Prior to getting in the water for my first rebreather dive I was thinking more about getting everything right than I was about what I was going to see underwater. I had been diving off Catalina before and I already knew that I loved the allure of the kelp forests and their complex ecosystems. However, after dropping down and settling into my gear I looked around and thought, “Wow…this is new!” Suddenly, a world I thought I knew had changed.

The kelp forest came alive like nothing I had seen before and had me thinking, “I’ve been missing out on a lot.” Animals were seemingly unafraid of me and I was blown away by the interest and courage even the smallest critters showed. Flounders, halibut, and lobsters lay motionless as I hovered only inches above them. Who knew my first encounter with a leopard shark wouldn’t be from a distance as it swam away, but after two of them bumped into me out of the blue and continued to circle me as if asking, “Who’s the new guy?” Over the course of the class I spent hours and hours underwater being studied by creatures I had previously only seen in fleeting moments as they scurried away from me and my bubbles. Needless to say, after my first dive I was hooked! I have always understood the use of rebreathers underwater but after my first hand experience I can now say a world without bubbles will change everything I think I know about the ocean. Here’s to hoping there are more bubble-free dives in my future!