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CLJBAmodern liaing By GEOFFREY NORMAN

THE WAItrR around the Maldive Islands, out in the spaces

of the Indian Ocean, 100 miles from Sri Lanka, is daz'zlingly clear. So clear that the diver is almost unaware of it.There is no distortion. No murkiness at all. Otly the col-or-a kind of blue that does not occur anywhere except inthe Sea. GOing dOwn intO thiS clear, azure warer is like swimming through

liquid air. The corals appear below the diver in perfect relief. Solemn domes of brain coral. Thngles of

elkhorn and staghorn. Vast purple fans. The colors in the blue world below the oceans surface are

implausibly vivid. The corals and sponges range from brilliant orange to smoldering reds and the

fish are even more spectacular. Blue tangs are not really blue. More indigo-a deep, mysterious color.

Parror fish are a shade of green that recalls the jungle. Squirrelfish are scarlet. The spots along the

flank of some grouper are a psychedelic purple. It is a world, down there, of lush growth and exotic crea-

tures, a world that you cannot be prepared for or imagine on dry land. A world that you must go halfway

PHOTOGRAPHY BY HERWARTH VOIGTMANN

f-------------

around the globe and then, most impor-tantly, 40 feet down, to see.

Not so long ago, the trip rvould havebeen impossible. You might have been ableto get to the Nlaldives 50 years ago, but get-ting down to the reef was another matter.Then Captain Jacques Cousteau inventedscuba, the self-contained underwaterbreathing apparatus. The military and sci-entific implications of this radical yet sim-ple method of allorving a diver to breathecompressed air rvere immediately appar-ent. The sporting possibilities of scubawere realized more gradually.

For years, sport diving rvas a fringe pur-suit, son.rething for thrill seekers and is-land vagabonds. If you didn't run outof airand clrown, then certainly somethingwould eat you. In the popular imagination,the undenvater world was lull of sl-rarks,

morays, barracuda and other predators. Itrvas like the uncharted areas of old, rvherethe maps went rvhite and the words HeRr srDR.\GON*S were printecl.

Early divers did their share to enhancethe sport's reputation lor danger. In thosedays, divers seemed to be almost at rvarrvith the undenvater environment.. Theyplundered it fior souvenirs and thevspeared fi sh indiscriminately.

"lt is a worldBut gradual-

ly; a nerv gener-ation of diversappeared.They went intot.he rvater as ob-servers: Theymeant to be un-obtrusive. Theyalso stressedsafe-divingtechniques,

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down there that

you car/t imag-

ine on dryLand."training and certification, and created amarket for nelv equipment that made dir'ing less hazardous. However, the sport is

not rvithout risk. And that calls for theproper instruction and correct equipment.

Clockwise from ll, Cordoflex full-foot fins, by

Docor, $34. The Boitom Lighi with wrist lon-

yord, from Princelon Tecionics, $39.95. Visro

tempered-gloss diving mosk, from Docor, $63.Mores Frontiersmon Competilion speor gun,

rockpoint ond steel shofl, from SeoQuest,

$220. T-2300 dive knife ond ABS quick-releose

sheoth ond belt by Tekno, $46. The Genesis

80 oir-tonk cylinder from the Genesis System,

by Sherwood, $330. Nikonos-V underwotercomero, $62O with optionol SBl03 quto-flosh

unit, $385, both from Nikon. Block Corol Se-

ries 1000 diver! wotch, from Tog-Heuer. $525.XLP-960 Pocer regulolor, $330, ond Turbo-Veni

Flex ll snorkel, $29, both from Docor' Tronspor-

eni Spectro-Fin with push button, odiust-

oble Strop-Fins, from Tekno, $112. The Edge

(center) submersible computer guide meosures

depth ond dive time ond helps you Prevenlthe bends, from Orco lndustries, $625.B5

"Now it is pos-

sible to learn todive where you

want to dive."struction that includes the basics of physicsand physiology-such elementary subjectsas how gases behave under pressure andhow the body reacts to depth. You learnhow to avoid decompression sickness (thebends) and nitrogen narcosis (rapture ofthe deep), which are far more dangerousthan sharks. The equipment is explained.Techniques such as hand signaling andbuddy breathing are taught in shallow-water environments. Many divers firstbreathe compressed air in Y.M.C.A. poolsin landlocked cities. Then, once the begin-ner has mastered the fundamentals, hemakes an "open-water dive" or two and, ifhis instructor is satisfied, he is certified.He has much to learn if he is to become anexpert, but he knows enough to dive safelywhile he gains that experience.

Learning to dive in an indoor pool andthen making your first open-water dive ina deep gravel pit somewhere outsidetown-as many divers have done-is notwhat most people have in mind when theydecide to give the sport a try. They wantthe tropics. White sea birds soaring over asparkling blue sea. Stunning coral reefsand exotic ropical fishes. The experience,in short, and notjust the mechanics.

Fortunately, it is now possible to learn todive where you want to dive, instead of athome, in less than ideal surroundings. Youcan combine your certification course andyour vacation in some of the most spectac-ular diving environments in the world.This is the right way to learn.

Club Med, for example, launched diver-certification programs at its Tirrkoise andSonora Bay resorts last spring. Other re-sorts from the Caribbean to the Red Seialso offer instruction and certification.Some of them, such as the venerable SmallHope Bay Lodge on Andros Island in theBahamas, exist for the. diving. Experi-enced divers from all over the world goback again and again to Small Hope forthe lush reefs, the imposing walls that falloff in a sheer vertical drop to more than1000 deep-blue feet and the eerie lime-stone formations known as blue holes. Thebeginner will make his first open-waterdive in world-class conditions. It com-pares, in a way, to learning golf at Augustaor St. Andrews rather than at the localdriving range. (conlimted, on page 154)

HOW TO BEGIN

To buy air, rent equipment or go diving,you must be certified and have received

a C card fromone of therecognized um-brella organi-zations towhich virtuallyall dive instruc-tors belong.

llb get your Ccard, you mustgo through acourse of in-

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SCL]BA DIVING (continuettfrompagess)

"As you begin to feel at ease in the uater, your eyes

take in the maraels around you."

Other resorts offer diving as part of a

larger package, one ingredient in a mix ofactivities. Kona Village on the big island ofHawaii is easily the most authenticallyPolynesian resort anywhere outside ofThhiti. One goes there to enjoy all that theHawaiian Islands have to offer, plus thewonderful solitude of the resort itself-some 125 small cabins (calied Dales)-con-cealed in the tropical growth that covers82 acres on an unspoiled coast. You candive there, if you choose. The instructionis personal and one diver, making his firstopen-water dive, found himself less than adozen feet from a whale shark. "He couldspend the rest of his life diving," the dive-master said, "and never have another ex-perience like it."

WORLD WITHIN \\'ORLDS

As a new diveq making ,vour first open-water dive, you'lI inevitablv feel a kind ofgeneralized apprehension. But as you de-scend, that feeling recedes, then vanishes.Evervthing rvorks as it should. The regula-

tor functions and you can breathe. Ifyou're weighted properly, you can let off a

little air and feel yourself achieve neutralbuoyancy, so that your body neither risesto the surface nor sinks to the bottom butfloats-hovers, almost-until you moveone way or another by gently kicking withyour flippers. And as you begin to feel atease in the water and confident about yourequipment, your eyes take in the marvelsaround you.

There is nothing to prepare a diver fbrhis first underwater look at a coral reef,which is a kind of aquatic jungle. At first,his eyes rvill simply try to take it all in. Theentire reef. The coral formations, the fish,the colors. With a little time and a fervdives, his i'ision will become more andmore focused. He will learn to see andappreciate the specific wonder. A plumeworm, an inch or nr,o long, sprouting froma rock, gills extended like the petals on a

florver, then rvithdrat n, instantly; rvhen thediver goes too close-that rvill seem likesomething \rorth the most intense study.

You could dive the same reef. to thesame depth, every day fbr a lif'etime andsee something new on each dive. But it is

human nature to extend yourself. Diverswant the next thing.

Generally, that takes the form ofan urgeto go deeper. Sport divers, in general,should not go deeper than 100 feet. Even-tually, however, most will. Perverselli as hegoes deeper and the risks increase, the div-er is 1ike1y to feel increasingly confidentand exhilarated and decide to go on deep-er still. This is nitrogen narcosis. Raptureof the deep. The effect of the nitrogen, un-der pressure, on the central nenous sys-

tem. It is intoxicating and dangerous anddivers often refer to the "martini effect,"which describes the way descending eachadditional ten feet after the onset of symp-toms is like taking another martini at a

cocktail party Experience will teach a div-er to recognize the symptoms of nitrogennarcosis and he will knorv what to do r.vhen

the,v appear-ascend a f'ew feet until thes,vmptoms disappear.

Depth, for its orvn sake, loses its fascina-tion fairl.v quickly: fhe diver looks fcrr oth-er things to engage his attention andprovoke his fascination. For manl'-lbrme-the most compelling thing under thesea is the treckage of ships. It is an unde-niable thrill to dive a shipwre ck in 70 or 80feet of water; to go floating dot\'tt on thehushed superstructure of the old vessel

and to swim through the passagertar, past

a school of surgeonfish, and then grip thervheel that is slowly crusting over rvithcora1.

The flrst shipwreck I ever dor,e u'as inabout 110 feet of water-deep enough-and of fairly recent vintage. No one knewthe ship's name or when it had gone downor the circumstances of its sit'rking. Its car-go accounted for its anonl mitl: The holdrvas packed u,ith rnariiuana, carelullybaled by a trash compactor and r,rrappedin burlap. There are l'recks in all theoceans of the rr,orld and each has a stor):

Iner,itably, the diver who finds himselfgrorving passionate about the sport llill be-gin to think about photography: It is a rvay

of framing and ordering-of bringing dis-cipline to the experience. The specialproblems of shooting film underwaterraise t he level uf ( oncentralion ertorn)olls-l,u Quality underwater shots are exceed-ingly difficult to set up, even rvhenconditions are ideal, which they seldomare. A little plankton in the water will scat-ter light all over the shot, for example. Buta clear shot, well framed, of some vivid un-derwater scene-a clownfish hovering inthe fingers of an anemone, for example-is an accomplishment to be prized.

Large fish, rays, turtles and mammals,including whales, are the big game of div-ing photography. The diver longs not tokill them but to see and get close to them.Where there is absoiutely no feeling ofkinship with sharks-the response is,

in fact, just the opposite, the diver ex-periences a kind of chilly awe-rvith the

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"These kids Jrom the busines.t schllls-they knowlhat gold is where ils at."

154

mammals. a diver makes a connection.Swimming amid a school of dolphins offHawaii, I had the sudden, delightful real-ization that they were interested in me.They swam away, then came back, againand again. One large dolphin looked atme-I'm sure of it-and there was bothcuriosity and mirth in that eye.

A final avenue for the passionate diver isarchaeology, o4 less elegantly, salvage andtreasure. While conscientious divers strict-iy do not break off living coral for sou-venirs the way they once did, they willwork mightily to recover artifacts. Some ofthose will have no value except as they en-hance the diver's personal collection.Countless anchor chains and fragmentsfrom cannon balls have been brought tothe surface by divers looking for trophies.But there is still treasure under the sea, as

onetime chicken farmer Mel Fisher estab-lished conclusively by finding the Spanishtreasure ship Atocha after following itstrail for 16 years and Iosing a son in theeffort.

GEARING UP

Gear has its own fascination flor divers.The equipment is seductive and elegant.The regulator, for example, is to the sportwhat an airfoil is to a pilot.

Next to the regulator, probably the mostimportant piece of gear to the sport diveris his buoyancy compensator. His B.C.This is a vest with a frame to support theair tank. The vest can be inflated either bymouth or directly from the tank by meansof a low-pressure hose. The most commonand convenient purpose sened by the B.C.is to maintain neutral buoyancy A bodythat displaces an amount of $,ater equal toits own weight is said to be neutrally buoy-ant. It neither ascends nor descends at thedesired depth. It hangs, or floats. Diversrvear weights to overcome positive buoyan-cy-you do not rvant to be fighting the lawsof physics that insist that your body rise tothe surface a1l through a dive. The troubleis, neutrally buoyant at one depth is notnecessarily so at another. When you arewearing a B.C., you can simpiy add or re-lease a little air to float at whatever depthyou choose.

A new and radical item in the diver's in-ventory is the computer used to computenitrogen saturation and outgassing. This isto help the diver avoid the bends.

The dive computer (the original and stilithe standard is called the Edge) will keeptrack of the diver's depth, time at thatdepth and nitrogen absorption. It will alerthim when he needs to ascend. It will tellhim the correct ascent rate, when to stop todecompress and how long he can dive atany depth if he wants to go back into thewater with residual nitrogen in his system.The biology is beyond the scope of this ar-ticle. Suffice it to say that the technology is

wonderfully liberating and coveted by ev-ery diver who does not already own a divecomputer.

Divers also like good watches, stainless-

steel knives, waterproof flashlights, wetsuits, masks, fins, snorkels and underwatercameras. Nikon's Nikonos is the industrystandard.

WHERI, TO GO

Destinations are almost without number.The A tour would include the Red Sea, theCoral Sea, Belize, the Caymens, Bonaire,Hawaii, Cozumel and a felv others. Thereare first-class facilities in all of these places

and divers will feel, when they arrive, as

though they have found the perfect spot.This will last until they get home and be-gin to think about the next trip. "fhere aremore reefs than time.

Lately, divers have discovered the "liveaboard." You book space on a large boat-a small ship, in some cases-that moves

around a large area to locations not easilyreached from a beachside resort. The ac-

commodations can be quite lavish. I lvas ona live aboard called the Thorfin in TiukLagoon. It was nearly 200 feet long andhad been built in Norway to chase whales.In its new', gentler configuration, it fea-tured several private staterooms, a loungervith bar and VCR and a hot tub on thefantail. Il rvas a trull sensuous experienceto come up from a night dive on one of thel,recks, shed my gear, pour a glass of rumand climb into the hot tub. I rvould sitthere, warming myself inside and out, star-ing up at the tropical sk,v cluttered withunfamiliar stars, thinking about . . . noth-ing at all.

There lvere some two dozen diversaboard f'horfil. Sun Seeker, out of Kona,Hawaii, represents the opposite extreme inlive aboards. When I cruised on Sun Seek-er, there were fbur divers and the boat'sowner, Paul Warren. I had met Warren onTiuk and had learned more about divingfrom him than lrom all my previous in-structors. We cruised the wild undevel-oped Kona coast, diving for the lobsters wecooked for dinner each night, swimmingamong schools of small whales and dol-phins and generally feeling the kind oftranquility .vou experience in the presence

of a few companions.The live aboard allons divers to explore

reefs where there are no nearby beach fa-cilities. Chris Newbert-one of the finestunderwater photographers ever-hasbeen putting small parties togethet for ex-ample, to cruise the reefs off New Guinea,where he says the diving is like nothing hehas seen before. And he has virtually seen

it all. One of those trips would be, for thediver, what the Himalayas are to the pas-

sionate climber. An unalloyed ultimate.But, in reality, for the diver, there is no

ultimate experience. Not even in the Mal-dives. No dive, no reef, no ocean that willonce and for all satisfy his craving to go

down into the ocean and explore its won-ders. Every destination is new and everydive is fuli of possibility The sport is,

finally, as endless as the sea. And there'sthe beauty of it.

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