The Wandering Waterman

Wow, I really suck atthis whole blog thing, don’t I?!? I mean, it’s been 3 months since my last entry, and I stopped right in the middle of a trip! It’s that short attention span of mine and all the shiny, flashy things around me. I’ll start formulating thoughts, thinking about what I’m going to wtie, getting prepared and… oh, what’s that?…it’s my guitar in the corner!… Think I’ll go stumble over some power chords! Sigh, and then the writing is forgotten and this blog doesn’t get updated.

Well, I’m going to try and ignore the guitars, the camera, the television that runs in the background, my iPod, my two dogs (which is a bit difficult, ’cause they both rock!) and anything else that might distract me for the 20 minutes it takes me to bang something out on this here blog!

Alright, so last I left you I was in Utila… not there anymore, back in L.A. with the smog, the traffic, and the WAY TOO MANY people! The rest of the trip was spectacular, we went out to Tarpon Hole and came across some amazing stuff, including… TARPON! These babies were huge, and it was great seeing them just hanging in the water, not really moving.

I also paid for one more day of diving, which I’m glad I did, because we ran into Whale Sharks again that day, and I got the best shot of the trip, which made me extremely happy! To be honest, the whole time I was there I was extremely happy, because I was in my element, where I belonged, in the water, camera in hand, filming the denizens of the sea! Which is where we all want to be, right? No, I don’t mean in the water with camera in hand! I mean, we all want to be doing what makes us happy, what completes us, and what we were placed on this planet for, right? Of course we do! I can’t picture some reader going “No, no, no, no, I wanted to be a football star, practiced everyday as a kid, even in the pouring rain, dedicated my life to it, knew it was my purpose for being here, but I’m fine working in this tiny cubicle, for a tiny minded man (or woman, yes, you women can be tiny minded too, it’s not just a guy thing!) and watching my waistline rise as my life sinks!” NO! Well, unless that was his dream, to be stuck in a cubicle, though if it was, then that reader needs help.

No, I think if more of us followed our dreams we would be living in a much happier, and healthier society. I think we would all get along better, and our lives would run fine, because we were doing what we were meant to do. I went hiking this weekend with a bunch of friends, and during one of our conversations one of them said to me “We just have to do what makes us happy in order to survive this life, don’t we?” and you know what, it’s true, isn’t it?

So, you might be thinking “WHAT THE HELL DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH DIVING!?!?!” Well, it may not be about diving, but it is about diving, at least to how it pertains to my life and to this blog. I have to focus on diving, filming and writing in order to become successful, and be happy. So that being said, I’ll try to keep the non-diving, non-adventure writings to a minimum, but I ain’t promising anything… except that there will be writing on here!

So, I’ve been in Honduras for 4 days now, on Utila for three, and I’m loving it. The flight down here took forever, left L.A. at 12:50am, transferred in Houston at 9am, after a 3 hour layover, and got to San Pedro Sula at around noon. Stepped off that nice air-conditioned plane, and stood there wondering what the hell I was doing wearing jeans, as I got smacked in the face by the full force of Central American jungle humidity! If I’d had any hair it would’ve wilted.

Stayed the night at the Tamarindo Hostel, a basic hostel, run by Angela, a very good musician and jazz singer, and her associate Doña Maria, who, like most older Latina women, seemed to be hooked on novelas, since the television was tuned to one at every hour of the day. It’s a great little place, secure, you have to buzz in and out, and in a more suburban location, away from the center of town. For $11 a night, it was a great deal! Now, the only reason one should be in San Pedro Sula it seems, is you live there, you’re doing business there, or you’re on your way to, or from, somwhere else. The city really has nothing to attract visitors. I’m not bad-mouthing the town, I’m sure the locals love the place, but from a tourist point of view, there’s just not much to do there. I did a walk around, saw nothing but houses and fast food joints, decided it looked too much like Northern Florida, and went back to the hostel, where I promptly fell asleep at 8pm for the next 12 hours!

The next day we had to take a bus ride over the mountains to the city of La Cieba in order to catch our ferry to Utila, since our flight had been canceled. Now, I driven through the streets of New York City, survived the avenues of Manila, and faced down the 405 during rush hour traffic on a Friday afternoon, so I’m solid when it comes to traffic involved excitement… except, it seems, when riding in a mini-bus ona Honduran Highway! Apparently drivers here have the uncanny ability to see around blind-curves! What else would explain their decisions to pass each other on these curves? We had a few near misses, and all I have to say is thank god for my iPod, put those headphones in, turn up Johnny Winter, close those eyes and hope we make it to our destination! The driver was rushing because we HAD to make it to the ferry by 4pm, because, in his words, “They will not wait for anyone, they say 4pm and they leave at 4pm on the dot!” We left at 4:25pm… on the dot….

The resort, Utopia Dive Village is nice, newly built in the last 3 years, owned and run by a group of American friends, and based on an Eco/Green philosophy. Have to say, this place rocks! Air conditioning and fans in the rooms, a Grade A chef, pool table, friendly people, this place is perfect… though they do have one little request that seems to make every guest go “huh?” It seems they have a special kind of toilet/sewer system installed, and it seems that toilet paper tends to mess up this special system, so they ask that you not throw toilet paper in the bowl… just put it in the waist bin… sorry, just grimaced a bit… anyways, I, of course, keep forgetting that rule, and have now fished out toilet paper from the bowl, oh, a half dozen times. Yeah, let that image sink in a bit… grossed out yet? I just have to thank God that I haven’t had anything bad to eat… ok, we’ll leave it at that!

The dive operation U Dive, is awesome, and our dive masters, Juan Carlos “Huka”, and Gina, are pros, really taking us to some great dive spots. I highly recommend this place so far! The diving…well, yesterday was our first day out, and we hadn’t been out more than 30 minutes, when shouts of “Tiburon Ballena!” Filled the air… WHALE SHARK! They hadn’t seen any in awhile, and our first 30 minutes in the water we hit it! You snorkel up, sit on the rear of the boat, and when you’re given the signal, you slide into the water and snorkel around, looking for the spots that will tell you WHALE SHARK! This was my first time experiencing Whale Sharks, and 3 Sharks in an hour’s time, it was incredible! The rest of the trip, we dove two sites, and have to say, the reef life is incredible, just beautiful, AND unlike my story on Fiji… I wasn’t running a Marathon underwater, nice and easy!

Todays’ dives were equally exceptional, we first did the wreck of the Haliburton, a small ship specifically sunk for divers, and then, after an hour surface interval, we dove Black Coral Reef, a spectacular little reef covered in, what else, Black Coral! All my dives, except for the wreck have been at least an hour,, water temperature has been in the high 70’s low 80’s and I’ve been getting some great video, which I’ll post when I get home.

We’re doing our night dive tonight, as long as the sea stays calm, and tomorrow we’re off to search for more Whale Sharks… wish us luck!

On Dec 29th Elmer Munk, a pioneer in the sport of Scuba Diving, passed away at his family home. Mark Zaloudek of Herald Tribune had this to say:

Elmer Munk Scuba Pioneer

Munk was an avid fisherman living in Evanston, Ill., when a newspaper article in 1956 about scuba diving caught his attention.

He took his first dive the following year and lobbied his local YMCA to offer a scuba diving course.

In 1959 he completed the Y’s first course nationwide for certifying diving instructors and instructor trainers, and by 1961 was teaching a scuba course at his Y.

“When I started diving it was literally just getting started in this country,” he told the Herald-Tribune.

Munk turned his hobby into a career when he opened Elmer’s Water Sports in the Chicago area in 1971.

He later helped develop courses in underwater search and rescue techniques, night diving and other advanced skills.(more)

I hope to make it as far as he did, and to be just as influential in this sport. Because of guys like Munk you’re able to enjoy your time underwater, so next time you’re at a dive site and you’re hoping that grizzled old dude with the ancient gear doesn’t start talking to you, take a step back and say hi, without guys, and gals, like them, we wouldn’t be enjoying this sport.

Become the old person in this sport yourself….

Ed Zieralski of the Union-Tribune reported on the following story January 10, 2009

Some local scuba divers and an executive chef combined this week to eliminate a controversial seafood item from a menu for a Chinese New Year celebration.

Scuba-diving enthusiast Carl Robbins noticed the menu in an advertising flyer from Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino.

Among the offerings was shark fin soup, the controversial Asian delicacy that relies on the fins of sharks, some of which are finned and released in a mutilated state back into the sea. The practice is being blamed for a decrease in shark populations around the world.

The Year of the Ox, which commences Jan. 26, was going to be started with some fin of the shark, which traces its beginnings to the Ming Dynasty in the mid-1300s. (more)

Yeah, it’s part of a culture, and I tend to respect most cultural traditions, but when you’re obviously advancing the demise of a species, maybe it’s time to change those traditions. Every culture has changed traditions with the times, even the tribes that ate humans (not just South Pacific tribes BTW) don’t do that anymore and it was a HUGE part of the culture. Time to take a second look at what’s really important…

Wow! My last post was October 6th, 2008! 4 months fly by when life is kicking you in the nuts, doesn’t it! Alright, maybe I’m being a bit over dramatic, but things have been CRAZY! Though not difficult, life never really is, is it? We make it difficult, Life just is…

Anyways, let’s pour a cup of coffee, or tea, sit back and get re-acquainted. Lots has gone on, but I won’t bore you with the small stuff.

First big piece of news: The Travel Channel, bought, and aired, my La Paz trip on January 5th… at 6 in the morning, so you might have missed it… but I don’t mind, because MY WORK WAS SHOWN ON A MAJOR CABLE CHANNEL!!!!! Just a bit psyched about it, so bear with me. I’ve requested a copy of the show, hopefully they’ll send me a dvd and I’ll post the clip up here for you guys to see. Now I have to re-edit my Fiji footage, and the new La Paz footage I have.

Which leads me to the second thing, my last dive trip of 2008 was back to La Paz to look for Whale Sharks and dive with Hammerheads…. which didn’t happen, because apparently someone forgot to tell them that I was coming down to shoot footage of them… damn talent…. Nevertheless, it was still a great trip, did some great diving, the conditions were awesome! Warm water, got 86f on a daily basis, visibility was good, and the sealife was pretty stunning! Last time I was there I got to see my first sea turtle, and this time I got to see not one, but two, seahorses! Yes, I get easily excited when I see stuff underwater, even though I’ve seen Moray Eels more times than I can remember, I still get just excited when I look into a crack and see a little beady eye staring at me, or the gaping maw of one of those suckers coming out. Maybe it’s just me, but I would get excited even if I was looking at one little gold fish swimming around, because Hey, I’m underwater and not behind some piece of glass!

On that trip I did get caught in a minor hurricane, just the outskirts of it really, nothing too exciting, but what was really cool is I got to meet one of Diving’s, and underwater photography’s, pioneers Joe Liburdi who was just a great guy. Even though he showed up a few days after I did, and was hosting his own dive group, he brought me into the group, not only inviting me to eat with them, but insisting I dive with them as well. That was a great experience and if you ever get a chance to go on a dive trip with him, you won’t regret it, I swear. It’ll be a great experience!

So, that being my last dive trip I hunkered down and helped my wife out in her store, YOLK. We were getting ready for the holiday season, and to be honest, a bit worried due to the economy. I spent a lot of time pouring over the numbers in the back, figuring out promotions, making phone calls, while she busted her butt putting the store together, working the floor, bringing in beautiful products and just being the boss woman. After all was said and done, the year ended well, we survived the economic doomsayers and had a decent holiday season, being the neighborhood gift store for Silver Lake is a good thing for us.

The holiday season is over, the shop is back to normal, the sun has been shining in L.A., and I’ve been itching to go diving. Will be going out to Catalina in the next few weeks, including the 21st of February to participate in the Avalon Harbor 2009 Underwater Cleanup which you’re totally invited to join in on. You like having a chamber nearby incase you get bent while diving? Well this event pays for that chamber, so donate, or participate, because you may never need it, but you’ll be glad it’s there if you ever do!

What’s on the horizon? Well, I’m off to Utila in March to swim with Whale Sharks! (you’ll need to be on Facebook to see the info) Should be a great trip, they’ve already started spotting them! Also planning on doing a trip down to Cozumel, either with my buddy Lorenzo, in June, or maybe with a much smaller, more exclusive group in July. Depending on what I decide for Cozumel, I’ll also be heading out to North Carolina to dive Wreck Alley where there a number of WWII wrecks, including a German Sub the Coast Guard sank, along with a few Sand Tiger Sharks that love to make these wrecks their home! Rounding out the year, I’m hoping to have a reunion with a few friends I made while working at the Walkabout in Newquay, England back in 2004. I want to shoot a diving trip with the lot of us, and, quite frankly, just want to see them all, it’s been too long!

Anyways, thanks for reading all this, the next few posts will be significantly shorter, and much more visually appealing for all you ADD addled, MTV raised, non-reading fans out there! I’ll be posting all new video and photos here in the next few weeks, plus some new reviews, including one on Canon’s new G1o camera and housing, Sealife’s Universal Strobe, Pinnacle’s Evo2 Drysuit, and much much more, so keep coming back!

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It’s 2a.m. Monday morning, my flight leaves in a little over 9 hours, the dive gear is packed, camera and housing are in their cases, and I can’t sleep… at all. I woke from a dead sleep at about 1a.m. not knowing why, the dogs were quiet, Maria was lying next to me, still breathing soft and slowly, lost in slumber, but I was wide awake. Not anticipation, I don’t get like that, I haven’t had an anticipation filled night since I was a kid and decided that I didn’t care if I saw Santa or not, I just wanted to sleep. See, when my body tells me It’s ready for bed, well, it’s ready for bed, there’s nothing, nope, not even that, that can keep me awake and I crash. Of course, once I’ve crashed I become the lightest sleeper in the world, I can hear a dump truck three blocks over!

Anyways, figured since I can’t sleep I might as well catch up with my writing. Actually went underwater last weekend with a few new students. Did one dive at Redondo, which was fun as always, tiny surf, though surgy and almost no vis. The students did great, handled it all in stride, but they were glad to be out of the water and ready for the easy dives at Casino Point the next day.

We were joined out there by Kyrie and Yoshi, two friends who happen to be sisters and great divers. The class was uneventful, everyone rocked through the skills, the water was warm, at least by California standards, the vis decent at 30 feet, though I did get the standard “Dude, you should’ve been here last week, it was over 70 feet in vis!” from the guys at the air station.

After the last dive with the students, I took Yoshi and Kyrie down to the little wrecks in 65′ of water and we hung out there as we were surrounded by a huge school of minnow. We all just hovered there as the school circled us, the light dancing off their scales, flashing blue, silver and white. I glanced over at the girls and both of them were smilinmg, their eyes shining just as bright as the fish around us. I was in my place, home, just listening to my breathing, feeling the water holding me in place, and I was at peace.

Just got back from the doctor, been wheezing while breathing, so thoughts of “Asthma!!!!” started banging around in my head. The thought of me developing “Asthma!!!!!” scares me, because it could end my career underwater, and then I’d really be a grumpy mofo! Turns out it’s simply an add-on to my seasonal allergies…or so says the Doc.

Anyways, started teaching 3 private students this past weekend, Saturday and Sunday we did classroom and pool, everyone did great. This weekend we’re doing one dive at Redondo (I know, EVERYONE seems to hate beach diving, especially at Redondo, but I love it, plus I think it’s good for students to get a taste of what it’s like) and Sunday we’re going to Catalina, where I’ll also be meeting up with my friends, the Maezumi sisters, Kyrie and Yoshi! I taught Kyrie how to dive, and Yoshi is my dive buddy who stars in my video “Yoshi and the Sea Lion” (I posted in an earlier post). I haven’t had a chance to dive with either one of them in ages, so I’m really looking forward to seeing, and diving, with them!

After the pool session on Sunday, I stopped by my LDS to get some new dive booties, and while there, Joe, the sales clerk that was helping me out, asked me what I had been up to, so I told him I had just spent the day in a pool teaching. He answered with, “Oh, bummer, must really suck when you have to teach and be in a pool when you can be diving in the ocean, huh?” I paused as I looked at him and answered honestly, that I actually enjoyed teaching, love introducing people to my underwater world, and that I’m happy whether I’m in 100′ of water, or 6′ of water, what it boils down to, is that I’m UNDERWATER!!!! and that’s what makes me happy. I’ve hovered above the deck of a 5′ deep pool before for an hour, not doing any skills, not moving, just hanging there, listening to my breathing, watching the bubbles squeeze through the water, feeling the water holding me in suspension, and I’ve been happy. Though I love seeing fish, playing with the sea lions, swimming through incredibly clear and warm waters, the thing I’m in love with is simply being underwater, that’s all…

“…the diver finds deep immersion the ultimate gentle release, a homecoming in an element where they have known only joy.” – excerpt from NEUTRAL BUOYANCY by Tim Ecott -

me, where I feel most at home

I’m sure I’m not the only diver out there that finds solace and peace under the surface of the sea. I tell non-divers that the underwater world is my church, where I go to meditate and put my life into perspective. It’s really the only place I’ve ever felt 100% at home, where I belong, and where I’m the happiest. Just the ocean, the sound of the sea and my bubbles, and the gentle squeezing of the water as I hover in the water column, not kicking or moving, just existing in serenity, for as long as my air lasts.

Non-divers always, without fail, ask me if I’m not afraid of dying while in the ocean’s embrace, they see the ocean as something huge, dark and frightening, they’ll never understand the peace I experience when I’m down there. I try to describe it, try to explain, but there really aren’t any words, or actions, that can be used to enlighten them, so I usually end up stopping in mid-sentence, smiling and shaking my head, you can’t understand if you don’t go under. I just tell them that there are worse ways to die, and to cross the line to the other side while under the sea wouldn’t be so bad… it would feel like a homecoming.

I leave to Fiji tonight, scheduled to arrive on Monday… it’s the whole “International Time Line” thing i.e. you leave here on a Monday, cross the line and you get to your destination on Wednesday of last week… or something like that!

I’m packed and ready to go…finally. Had a repacking session last night due to many travelers warning me about Air Pacific’s stringent weight rules. Apparently you’re only allowed an 11lb carry-on, which is basically my camera, a book, my tickets and the bag. So I went through everything and culled, culled, culled. I won’t be diving with my Oceanic mask, don’t really want to pack it in my checked luggage and risk having it “get lost”, kind of bummed, but no big deal, it would be worse if I couldn’t take my housing and camera because, well because its the whole purpose of this trip, to shoot as much as possible and build up my stock collection as well as put together something for the Travel Channel.

Alright, going to go and have another look at my gear, see if I can leave anything else behind. Big question: Should I take my BC or not? I’m used to my back-plate setup, but if it’s going to be an issue I’d rather rent out there. hmmmmm, I don’t know? Maybe I’ll decide at the check in counter.

Keep coming back this week, I’ll try to post while I’m out there!

sea lions – 25, originally uploaded by the wandering I.

Took this photo awhile back out at Anacapa Island. Love it…see, told you I’m obsessed with Sea Lions!