"I'm king of the world," she said.
Hello people. I’ll just cut to the chase and tell you the ending first: No one died on the Great Barrier Reef today.
With that out of the way, let’s move on to what did happen: We had a really great day.
Starting at the beginning: We left on the boat with about 50 other intrepid adventurers, most of whom appeared to be 20-something European backpackers, all tanned and toned.
After a 75 minute cruise from the shore to the reef — about 20 miles or so — we reached our first stopping point where we would spend a few hours snorkeling, diving, or watching the activities from the safety of the boat. After that, we’d move on to a second stopping point for a couple of hours.
The ocean was a gorgeous sapphire blue as we cruised out to the reef...
... then turned brighter blue with lots of patches of varying greens right around the GBR.
Pete and Ellie were pretty keen to get out in the water.
Grace and I hung back, not sure if we were going to get in or not. She’s like me, in that she is completely unnerved by water and all that could be in it. However, after seeing how much fun Pete and El were having, Grace decided that she’d give it a try. We spent a solid ten minutes putting on our wetsuits, adjusting our masks, and getting our flippers on. We got in the water and pushed off from the boat…
… and within a minute, we were both VERY ready to get out of the water. A minute, I tell you.
I haven’t talked with Grace yet about what she was feeling, but I can tell you that even though I was reasonably calm getting into the water, as soon as I was in there, I started to panic. I had just learned that the water was 40′ deep, which is a lot of who-knows-what under my feet. I couldn’t breath through my nose because of the mask, but didn’t quite get the hang of mouth breathing through the snorkel, so I started to feel like I was suffocating. Add to that the light chop in the water, so that I was constantly bobbing up and down, and it was really damn disconcerting. So much so that I couldn’t even force myself to put my be-masked face in the water to see the reef. As soon as Grace said that she wanted to get out of the water NOW, I was with her, in mind and body and spirit.
I could feel upset about the whole thing, but I’m not. I wasn’t sure that Grace and I would even be able to get into the water at all, so I give us huge props for giving it a try.
We dried off a bit and enjoyed the day. It was in the upper 70s with a light breeze. We hung out on the top deck and did some people watching. The boat’s crew served us lunch and then we moved to a second reef for more adventures.
The water was much shallower at the second reef and the chop was calmer, but I didn’t know that until much later. Even still, I don’t think I could have forced myself into the water again.
At the second reef, both girls and I went into a glass-bottomed boat and got a pretty good — and quite dry — look at the reef.
The colors were brighter than the photos show, although they were not as bright in general as we all were expecting. It turns out that the reef’s colors fade and brighten over time, in response to various factors, including water and air temperatures.
While the girls and I were looking at the ocean floor through a window, Pete was having his first-ever experience scuba diving.
After his lesson was over, he and Ellie went snorkeling again. They were having a great time, when suddenly Ellie turned to Pete and said that she was cold and ready to get out of the water. Only after she was back on the boat did she confess that while she was indeed cold (the water was around 20C), she had also just seen a barracuda.
Around 3:00, the boat started to head back to land. We got in around 5:00 and walked back to our apartment. We all had warm showers and a yummy dinner and have been having a quiet evening.
Tomorrow is another adventure.
Updated to add: I would like to try snorkeling in the clear shallow waters of the Caribbean or some place like that. I think that if I could easily move around in the water and see what was around me, I would like it more.
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I give you big props for getting in the water too!
I feel the same way about water UNLESS I can see what’s going on around me. The murky ocean waters of most of the Atlantic coast? No thanks. I’ll walk along the edge and let the waves hit my toes, but that’s about it. However, the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean? I’ll swim in those all day long because I can see whatever else is in the water with me coming. I can see sea urchins and jellyfish and know to avoid them; I can see sharp rocks and glass and not walk on them. You get the picture. There’s something about being able to see everything that makes me feel in control – because I can make educated decisions on areas to avoid and when to get out of the water, I guess. Could you see far in the GBR water? I can’t tell from your pictures. Either way, kudos to you and Grace for giving it a shot, even if you could only stand it for a minute!
It’s so interesting how there are some things we just can’t do, however irrational it may seem to others. When I was taking my field course for my BS, we did a lot of wandering out and around in the mountains in WY. One thing I CAN NOT make myself do is jump off of something that is higher than I am tall. Even with someone’s help, I can not make myself do that. I had to go the long way around several times. I know that feeling well, and you deserve to be proud of yourself for getting in the water. Grace as well.
I once swam off the side of a research ship, about 400 miles west of the coast of Mexico while working on the ship. That was surreal –knowing there was 4 kilometers of water below me!! Such a strange feeling.
I love the water and I am sure I would have been with Pete scuba diving, but a phobia is a phobia and they’re hard to fight. Props to you both for giving it a shot.
Yeah, I’m with Jenn – it would be hard to keep me out of the water. But a big fist bump (heh, I typed “fish” the first time) to you and Grace for giving it a good go. Now you can say that you have snorkeled at the GBR and you tried something new!
I’m with Pete as a total fish in the water (and am trying hard to pass the love on to my kids in a landlocked typically chilly state), but huge props (and hugs too) to you for giving it the old collage try. And yea for glass bottomed boats and boat crews who we’ve yummy lunches!
The only time I ever snorkled was in Kauai, and the water was shallow enough to walk on the bottom. It was beautiful, but it also felt SAFE. Maybe trying it out in a safer context would be a better way to work up to going out on the Great Reef.
So I just polled Middle and K and we think we’d either stay in the boat or do what Middle did once, snorkeled with a PFD.
*Yeah, basically I just floated around with my face in the water.*
Sounds fine to me.
Look, I’m totally puzzled as to how ANYONE can swim around in 40 feet of choppy water nowhere near the shore and with no lifeguard and no PFD. I snorkeled in the Gulf of Eilat once – shallow and pleasant, with beautiful coral reefs.
If only for being able to say that you did it, or tried it. That’s what the take-away is. I have no idea if I could do what you did, at this stage of the game…used to be a water baby, but that was mostly while living in So. Cal, slightly murky waters of Huntington and Newport Beach….I’ve almost drown’d (drowned?) twice in my life—YMCA pool, doing laps, sudden leg cramp, middle of the pool (by myself, so stupid) and Huntington Beach caught in a rip tide, going out FAST…..saved by the Life Guard boat. All by the time I was 14…I chose to fight this by becoming a life guard, and then lifeguard instructor in my 20′s. It helped, but when you’ve been out of the water as long as I have now, I don’t know how I’d be able to get back in to an unknown body of water–like the GBR….I’ll probably never know, but I think if you can get past the first few minutes (seconds?) of near-panic, the beauty may overwhelm you enough to stay in. Unless a shark swims by…then it’s OUT OF THE WATER NOW!!
Good for you both for knowing when to say when. I feel the same way about most carnival rides.
Jenny
I’m enjoying reading about all of your adventures! We scheduled a snorkeling excursion back in 2009 while in Mexico. Jason had to make me go. I grew up with a pool and am a great swimmer, but I don’t like anything touching me while in the water. And not being able to see what is in there with me freaks me out. A lot. I am totally with you! We did however snorkel in Playa del Carmen and it was awesome. I fell in love with it. It was shallow water and I could see everything. Snorkeling again the next year, in Spanish Wells, was a little different because it was deep water. As in you could see a few feet in front and under you, then it went black. I enjoyed it, but I know my heart rate was somewhat elevated. And this time, even Jason would not enter the water! All that to say, yes, maybe somewhere in the Caribbean is a good start! Have a fabulous time on the remaining trip!
Huge props to you for giving it a true try and actually going in the water!
I’m exactly the same way with water and I cannot reason my way around the panic in my mind and body. I’ve snorkled in Haunama Bay on Oahu and even panicked a bit there because I could not get my breathing right with the mask on my face. I so understand where you are coming from!