Sandfield, Hikkaduwa, 12m.
Reads the first entry in my dive log book. We began day 2 with another video presentation and a theory lesson looking at more underwater communication, standard descent and ascent practices and more safety procedures. This took up much of the morning and after a lunch of roti and fried rice we were set for our first open water dive. That morning all the divers returned to shore with glowing reviews. “Perfect conditions man, 25m visibility, no jokes.” It sounded auspicious. This time we had to sort out the equipment on our own, and somehow everything came very naturally - BCD over oxygen tank, regulator in place, check oxygen, check BCD inflation and deflation, weights, fins, spit in goggles - good to go. Again nervous energy filled my body as Raina sat us down for our first dive briefing. We were put into buddy teams to look out for one another, for communication and for emergency procedures - I was with G and S and the two girls were together. Final buddy check before getting on the boat - BWRAF - BCD, Weights, Release, Air, Final check - OK. Raina suggested we remember it with the mnemonic - Burger With Relish And Fries. We got on the boat, wet suits half on, everything else piled into the boat.
The Sandfield is just a few minutes boat ride away from the shore. When in the surf spot in Hikkaduwa you’d probably have noticed the rocks on the far right - Sandfield is just there. It was a great spot for a first dive bc it’s shallow and sandy. Looking out of the boat the water was so clear you could almost see the bottom - turquoise beauty. Finally the boat came to a halt and Sarath yelled out for the anchor to be dropped. We were ready and quietly began to kit up - serious mode again. Raina gave us a final briefing - it was quite simple; maximum depth would be around 12m, we stick together, watch out for your buddy, follow signals - first descend down the anchor rope, equalize and meet at the bottom. Raina dived in first and one by one we followed. I knew what to do, it was all very simple but I was nervous as hell - and I think everyone could see it. I was penultimate in and I stumbled towards the end of the boat held by one of the guys. I stood on the edge while Sarath checked my equip one last time - he told me to hold my mask to my face using three fingers of my right hand and to hold the regulator to my mouth using the other two fingers. Left hand holding the BCD inflator. “Baya nathuwa paninna” he said. I waited. I wanted to compose myself and be ready. Everything stopped. “Kalabala wenna epa.” Instinct took over and I felt calm somewhere deep inside. I took a deep breath from my regulator and extended my right foot out and let myself go. Eyes closed but yet wide open.
The water felt great even through the wet suit - quickly inflated my BCD, signalled to the boat that I was ok having achieved neutral buoyancy. I was afloat and breathing fine so I switched to snorkel to save oxygen. I swam on my back towards the rest of the crew who had assembled near the anchor line. Raina checked we were all ok - gave us a couple of minutes to feel comfortable in the water and he put the thumbs down sign - we were going down. Regulators on, hands on rope - deflate BCD. From that moment you enter a different world. The water was crystal clear and I could see the two girls in front of me and the two guys behind me when I looked up. I was a bit worried about my ears and my congestion - but luckily equalisation wasn’t a problem at all. The descent was smooth - I took deep long breaths and in a minute or so my feet hit the sand. Soon everyone was on the sea bed - we sat down in a circle. M was playing with the sand, I felt calm, happy, excited, exhilarated; no longer nervous. Raina went around the asking in sign language if everyone is ok - index and thumb forming a circle, and the other three fingers upright. And we were off, Raina leading the way. The next 45 minutes were among the best of my life - just thinking about it makes me smile, gives me gooseflesh and butterflies in my stomach. Just 12m beneath the surface of the ocean lies a different world and we were going to take a peak.
A different world really is the only way to describe it - I can only imagine what it would have looked like when the corals were alive - we asked Somay (who’s been diving for 40 years) and he just smiled nostalgically and looked beyond us towards the horizon and said “magey es deka hithanna bari tharam pin karala thiyanawa mata dakinna labuna ewa gana hithana kota.” The visibility was amazing - it was beautifully clear. There were scores of fish of just the most spectacular colours; they were all doing their own thing - nibbling on the rocks, swimming with intent, going places in orderly schools, not a care in the world. It was a privilege just to be amongst them - to be a part of their world for a special 45 mins. It was frustrating not being able to as yet name and recognize every fish we saw. But the few I did know were the Angel Fish, Parrot Fish, Sweet lips (Boraluwa) a few small Groupers. There was a cute lobster who kept going back and forth from the crevice in his rock home. The final highlight was a large eel whose name now eludes me. Every single one of those 45 minutes was remarkable to me - even though they felt like 15 mins - it was almost too much for me to take in in one go - I don’t think I registered in my mind even half of what I saw. I was simply awestruck. We swam around the rocks and returned to where we started - I have no idea how Raina found his way around bc I had absolutely no bearings under water - I barely have bearings on the surface. The only indication I got that the dive was coming to a close was when I checked my pressure gauge which read 50 - almost red and time to head back up. My buddy G’s pressure was less than 50 and he was a bit worried but by then we were ready to ascend. We gathered around in a circle again and Raina gave us the thumbs up. Slowly swim up releasing the expanding air from the BCD - right hand up for protection. The water gets warmer as you reach the surface and finally you bobble up on the surface of the water - inflate BCD. All 6 of us were up. Everyone removed their masks - giving way to grins of naked joy and excitement. We stumbled back on to the boat and could barely contain our emotions, describing what we saw and our own experiences - from the corner of my eye I could see Raina smiling at us from the side.
We were done for the day so we drove back to Unawatuna - tired but delighted. We spent a short while in the sea watching the most spectacular of sunsets, relaxing and telling our friends about our experiences and re-living them all over again. We had a couple of drinks at Lucky Tuna where Ricky came over for a chat. “Don’t you wish you had my life man? I work here during season and during off-season I travel - Thailand, Germany, France, Philippines - the works. Tell me the truth man, if you could, you’d do this, no?” I smiled and nodded. If only I had the courage. He was going to Germany in April to stay with one of his girlfriends. “My friend, the white girls, they like our dark skin. What can I do my friend?” he grins and walks back to serve up a Lucky Tuna Special Arrack Sour. After a solid dinner at Happy Banana we headed back to Shangri-la to be greeted by loud hip-hop music and about 20 ppl in our garden. wtf? There was a youngish bunch of fellows who seemed to have come down (up) from Aussie and had got set for what is now known as a Johnny party - for want of a stereo proper, a car stereo is tuned up full blast and the doors are opened - let there be dance. They had also set up a BBQ. If this wasn’t dubious enough there were two of the buggers halfway into our fridge. I was all set to have a go at them when G comes out of the shower and says “They’re alrite buggers men” and explained how they’d come in earlier and said that a few extra chaps had come over and asked if its ok to have a small do. Decent enough to ask is good enough for us. They earned more brownie points by asking us to join them and then giving us food. Good buggers. We proceeded to have our own fun with a shisha bong and Unawatuna’s finest.
