Burr Hole to Blue Hole: A Surgeon's Desert Diving
Posted By Charles Engles on 13 February 2006
My introduction to the Blue Hole came the next day. Okay, it's nothing compared to its oceanic namesakes: pretty unimpressive. In the midst of eastern New Mexico's typical brown and beige rolling terrain, it's a spot of deep blue spring-fed water amongst the rocks on the side of a hill - in a Santa Rosa city park. There's a non-descript concrete block building with the air station for SCUBA divers, and a large parking lot which is usually empty during the winter except on weekends. The spot is not much bigger than a large swimming pool but is 81 feet deep, a constantly cool 61 degrees Fahrenheit year round and clear due to a constant flow of 3000 gallons per hour. At the surface the visibility extends to about 30 feet. Below that the visibility clears notably.
It felt closer to 51 degrees. Not balmy at all.
As the certified rookie and official student, I started out with pulldowns on the line. Cold water and specific directions on techniques made the early going a bit tentative, but as I adjusted to the training situation things did come along. Progress was slow, but safe and steady, and Aharon's critiques and comments were specific and accurate.
The Hole was deserted: we had the whole place to ourselves. I adjusted to the unfamiliar wetsuit hood and made mask adjustments to minimize leaks. My comfort depth was a bit below 30 feet and was limited due to the combination of an unfamiliar style and concern about ear equalizations on the very first day. While I did have some drive to “make a dive”, I was quite content to pull down and up the line. I attended to details of technique and style and felt them to come along well enough. The stress was mild, motivating and manageable.
I did find that my longstanding freediving posture of neck extended on descent to look forward did not meet Aharon’s approval. The proper style with a non-extended neck in a neutral position did seem to make equalization a bit easier. This correlated with one of the Safety Rules and related to the definite but subtle effect of neck position on the soft tissues of the throat and, especially, the Eustachian tubes.
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