Page 32 of The Sailor in Polynesia
“Our plan is to drift snorkel here along the outer wall,” Eivind said as I slipped a weight belt on. “The current will pull us back toward the pass and through it. Jonas will hold the dinghy while we drift along, and if he needs to pass it to me, he will. We’ll stick together as best we can, but we will buddy up and stick with our buddies. Jonas and Mia, me and Lila, Marcella and Elayna.
“In the pass, there will be reef sharks. A lot of them, hopefully. It’s not quite peak season, but we will see how many there are. When we get far enough inside the atoll, Jonas will get back into the dinghy and fire it up. When you hear that, make sure he sees you before you approach the dinghy. Wave if you need him to drive over and pick you up. Any questions?”
Four snorkel-masked faces shook their heads. Jonas was still maneuvering the dinghy, holding us off the reef, but he spoke up. “Mia, do not dive too deep, yes? None of us can go as deep as you can. Can you stay above ten meters?”
I nodded.
Eivind and Jonas spent some time studying the current and maneuvering the boat into the perfect position.
“Ja?” Jonas asked.
“Ja, looks good,” Eivind agreed.
Jonas nodded, killing the engine. “Okay, time to go in!”
Next to me, Elayna pinched her nose through her mask and launched herself backward over the side. Head over heels she splashed in, and when she surfaced, she gave Eivind the all clear signal.
Marcella had gone over the opposite side, so I was next. As soon as Elayna was clear, I tumbled backward, feeling the chill of the water hitting my sun-warmed skin.
I gave Eivind the all clear so he and Jonas could jump in. Putting my face in the water, I took stock of the ocean beneath me and it took my breath away.
To one side was the outer edge of the reef, a straight drop down. The visibility was stunning—easily over a hundred feet, and the ocean floor beneath me went even further. The reef was perfect, colorful and intricate. But that blue of the open ocean? It called to me. The sunbeams cascaded from the surface and little motes of life floated like leaves on a breeze. There was something about staring out into the face of the ocean like this. It humbled me. I knew that I could start swimming and the current would catch me, carry me away, and the last thing I would know was nothing but blue.
I rotated my wrist, pressing a button to engage my dive watch. We were already drifting quickly toward the pass, so I focused my attention on the wall of coral.
Lila swam at the surface to my left, starfished out and drifting with the current. Eivind dove under her, keeping pace in the current about twenty feet under the surface. Elayna and Marcella were ahead of them, Jonas behind me.
With a quick glance back at Jonas, I took a few deep, easy breaths, and tucked and dove. My free-diving fins were longer and hydrodynamic, allowing me to propel myself further. My weight belt helped keep me down, and I didn’t have to use as much energy to get there.
I kept an eye on my depth, careful to stay above the agreed-upon ten meters. I leveled out at eight and let the current push me along.
I drifted past sea anemones and their clown fish guards, staghorn coral vibrant with life, and an eel languidly gulping water outside its home. I was down for several minutes before I had to kick up to the surface for air.
When I popped up next to Jonas, I blew hard to clear my snorkel. He looked at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling a bit inside his mask. He gave me the okay signal, which I gave back.
I hadn’t seen Jonas dive yet. He held on to the dinghy, but the line was long enough that he could come down a little bit. I hesitated at the surface. I wanted Jonas to experience this too, for him to enjoy the reef as well.
I took a deep inhale and dove below the surface, angling my fins to use my slow, steady strokes to keep me a few feet down, and then I spun around, facing Jonas.
I reached out a hand, beckoning.
Come join me.
His ribs expanded and he tucked and dove. We leveled out together, our bodies close, our arms nearly tangling together. The rest of the group was ahead of us; it was just us in our own blue bubble.
Jonas gripped my forearm and squeezed before he turned and kicked upward to refill his air.
We dove together a few more times, tugging fingers and tapping shoulders to show each other things. Finally the pass came into view and we spotted our first shark. It swam lazily along as I steered into the pass. I dove again and leveled out mere meters from the shark.
He was fairly small; reef sharks only got to be four or five feet long. Another one was below me, and then another, and another. The water clarity meant I could see the whole shiver of them. I looked back up and made eye contact with Jonas at the surface. Even with his mask, I could see the concern in his eyes.
Okay?he signaled me.
Okay.
When I popped up at the surface, Jonas reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze.
The pass spat us out inside the atoll, and the coral started to rise. It leveled out, a plateau of colorful life jigsaw-puzzled together, filling every nook and cranny. It was only ten feet deep now, and we had caught up to Lila and Eivind. I watched her dive, seeing her practicing her technique, and felt a burst of pride. She was pretty good, despite only having gotten a short lesson. I let go of Jonas’s hand and joined Lila on her next dive and we drifted together above the coral.
