The "Current" Environment
Posted By Chris Elam on 11 September 2000
Being a U.S. military serviceman stationed in Okinawa, Japan has many great benefits. Among them is the opportunity to dive some of the greatest reefs in the world. Additionally, the waters are unusually clear and relatively calm at most recreational dive sites. With the multitude of dive instructors on island teaching both NAUI and PADI courses, SCUBA is one of Okinawa's leading recreational sports.
My wife and I began to dive seriously about one year after initial certification when we completed an underwater photo course. The course gave us the motivation to dive more frequently, and, with camera in hand, we now had our purpose for each plunge.
We had been diving on the island for nearly two years when we finally decided to take advantage of our ideal location. We were anxious to test our diving skills on other exotic reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. Our intent was to eat, drink, and sleep diving. After an exhaustive search, we decided to stay at a five star resort in the Republic of the Maldives. They offered dives on the house reef, boat dives, and various levels of certifications, so we anticipated being in a group with various skill levels.
My wife and I were psyched up about the approaching trip. We dove every weekend in anticipation of getting the perfect underwater photo. Macros were Jessica's specialty, but she perfected her use of the wide-angle lens in anticipation of the scenery. We were brimming with confidence on the day we arrived on our vacation.
Like many tropical regions, the Maldives cycles between two seasons, wet and dry. We were arriving at what should have been the beginning of the dry season. However, due to unusual weather patterns the wet season was lingering, which would make the dives more challenging.
On our first boat dive we received all the prescribed pre-dive briefings. In fact, I was actually shocked at how much detail the dive masters were going into. They gave each briefing in English, Japanese, and German for our multi-national party. Additionally, they insisted on certain types of safety equipment we did not use at home. It was clear that this tour operator was very thorough.
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