Three times attempted. Three times thwarted. Fourth time’s a charm.

I have been involved in diving death investigation for going on three years, and in that time, I have tried to arrange an introductory session in Albufeira (Portugal), Okinawa (Japan), and Plymouth (UK). Illness and poor weather conditions have stopped me from diving in the past, but nothing was in the way in Sicily. The weather was crap (drizzle and dull skies) but the sea was calm, and the depth of dive was shallow (max 6m) to get me accustomed to the process.

The waters around Taormina are filled with interesting marine life, but this was a side benefit. I wanted to learn more about the equipment and to gain a little insight into the psychology of diving, including how it feels when things are going slightly awry.

For more on diving death investigation, check out my post In Too Deep.

The dive took place at Nike Diving at Isola Bella, down the hill from Taormina. Knowing how much can go wrong isn’t a great starting point for a calm experience, but my instructor David put me at ease. I’d be lying if the thought of cerebral artery gas embolism (CAGE) didn’t cross my head. Luckily it was just the thought, and not the bubbles…

My knowledge of the kit was purely theoretical. I hadn’t seen much of it in-person and getting to handle it was helpful to deepen my understanding. This will be invaluable when reading through equipment testing reports following incidents. David was going to handle pretty much everything for my first dive, including managing my buoyancy through the use of a weight belt and a buoyancy control device (BCD). The water was a fresh 18 degrees Celsius; a wetsuit and hood helped to make it much more manageable. We had spent a few hours swimming around Isola Bella the day before and had felt the impact of the water temperature.

The focus was on relaxing in the underwater environment, managing my breathing, and clearing my ears. The pressure differential is greatest between the surface and 10m depth; it’s really important to be able to equalise the pressure in your middle ear. It’s the reason you shouldn’t dive with a cold – you can get sinus barotrauma, even extending to orbital bone fractures in severe cases. Again, it’s a case of too much knowledge of what can go wrong. Of course, these are worst case scenarios and the risk was minimal given the shallow depth and short dive time here.

Once I was in the water, a low grade panic started building. What if my mask filled with water? (I was already briefed on what to do) What if I couldn’t breathe properly? (Not really an issue) What if I shot to the surface suddenly? These were unfounded thanks to the careful guidance of my instructor. One thing I struggled with was swimming with fins without resorting to bicycling. I had no experience of finning and it felt quite unnatural compared to ordinary swimming. It’s something I’ll need a bit more time to adjust to, and with the rest of the things to think about, it was unlikely that I would crack it my first time.

The whole thing lasted for about an hour and was exhilarating once the initial panic had subsided. We saw a lot of different fish and a few tiny white nudibranchs. The other thing I noticed was how much I needed to pee afterwards. The combination of immersion and cold water combines to concentrate blood volume centrally, and in an effort to manage blood pressure, the body increases urine production. Physiology in action!

Diving is not the only thing I’ve been up to in Sicily. Stay tuned for more food, fun, and folcanoes. Would you rather it was vood and vun? This is the best you’re going to get from a tiny keyboard on a tablet.