Scuba – The ExhaustNotes Blog

Rescue Diver Certification

By Mike Huber

With an open schedule and in need of some routine I took it upon myself to enroll in a Rescue Diver Certification Course. With still being in Thailand and continuing to dive while learning every mistake not to make it only made sense to become more proficient if not for myself, then for the fellow divers around me.

Returning to Koh Tao Thailand seemed the perfect place to take this course. With so many dive shops on the island and being unsure who to use for this next level class I did what I always do. I went to a bar and chatted other divers up. One shop that seemed to always be spoken highly of was Scuba Shack. It was not only a great decision to choose them for their professionalism, but it was right next door to where I was staying on Sairee Beach.

There are several requirements prior to beginning the rescue diver course. One is having an advanced scuba certification which allows you to dive to a depth of 30 meters and further educates you on proper buoyancy while underwater. Having just taken this a month prior helped me as the fundamentals were still fresh in my head. The second was to obtain an updated First Responder course. This part of the class was half a day and entailed covering CPR, proper bandage application, and procedures on how to help others in numerous types of emergency situations from car accidents to everyday incidents you may come across anywhere on land. Once that was completed and I passed the online course, the real challenge began. Scuba rescue operations while at sea include incidents well below the water’s surface.

The water rescue portion was what I was really itching to learn. It was a challenging experience both mentally and physically. Many of the scenarios involved how to identify and treat divers who are exhausted, panicked, or unconscious. Another major prop I will give Scuba Shack is the actors in these scenarios did a fabulous job (I think I may still have a lump on my head from rescuing the panicked diver). The most work was in having to rescue an unconscious diver underwater. This included how to bring them safely to the surface, how to bring them to the boat while they are yelling for help, and providing rescue breaths every 5 seconds (including doing wo while taking both your gear and their gear off). It was humbling how much work and focus it took to perform these tasks with precision. My partner, Naz and I managed to successfully perform these tasks both solo and as a team.

Upon completing our final skills test (which was an underwater navigation search and rescue), we both relaxed on the boat celebrating with some coffee and fresh fruit when we heard several people screaming for help in the water. It was the final exam. Naz and I had to rescue three divers needing help. We had to prioritize each one and work as a team to safely rescue them all in order of priority. We performed this successfully.

We both passed our course, and our confidence and diving abilities greatly increased from attending this class. Naz is currently in the Dive Master Program with Scuba Shack on Koh Tao. She will be an excellent dive master. My travels are continuing; I’m currently examining a map and selecting the next country I’ll visit.

I want to thank all the wonderful people at Scuba Shack and our instructor Sita on the great experiences during this class and on our fun dives we performed several times each week.

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Koh Tao, Thailand

By Mike Huber

Having a new addiction to scuba diving, it didn’t take me long to learn that Koh Tao (an island in southern Thailand) was another mecca for my new hobby. Koh Tao wasn’t a very large island and I was a bit concerned I would succumb to island fever. The big difference is now I would be spending much of my time underwater, thus making the island much larger and more exciting than previous islands I had visited. This new hobby opened up a new world to me just as learning to off-road on the BMW GS1200 had done. They both were previously unexplored frontiers that drew me in and begged for more exploration after each experience.

Koh Tao isn’t exactly easy to travel to from anywhere as you need to fly or bus, and then take a 3-hour ferry out to the island. This to me made it a great destination as I knew those that were there were far off the beaten path and would be well grounded (mentally, not geographically). Although the island was touristy, it was small enough that it was easy to make friends quickly. Another draw to this isolated location was that almost anyone that was here long term had the same line “I came here to visit for two weeks and never left and that was X years ago.” This clearly told me it was a great place to set up a home base for a while and improve on my diving skills.

Outside doing a short blast up to Cambodia and some rest time in Bangkok (yes, it is possible to rest in Bangkok), the past month has been spent in scuba classes (to include advanced diver and rescue diver certifications), fun dives, spending time on the beach, and really just taking a few moments to enjoy chatting with someone at a bar while being fully present in life. The laid back island vibe and hospitality was something that had been missing in my previous travels due to my constant moving. Koh Tao is where I was learning to finally slow down and really embrace the moments without tripping myself up with the racing thoughts I previously had of “what’s next?” This provided an important step into my new lifestyle.

The happiness of being in the moment with my focus on watching my dive log fatten and my circle of friends grow is all I need at this time. As I wrap this article up while sitting at a beach bar with a cold Chang beer sweating next to my laptop, it has me thinking if one day I will tell others “Yeah, I just came here for two weeks but that was X years ago.”

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Indonesia: Part 4

By Mike Huber

It was a relief to be back on the boat and done diving for the day. My anxiety level was still pretty high having run out of air 10 meters below the ocean’s surface on my second dive. Nonetheless, I registered to dive the following day. There was a sense of relief knowing that I would have the same diving partner. He understood the emotions going through my head and he would be right at my side to help me through the next dive.

The remainder of the boat ride back to the dock consisted of me pulling sea urchin spines out from everywhere on my body with needle-nosed pliers. That’s one way to pass the time. The spines under my fingernail would need to be pulled out by a doctor at a medical clinic somewhere in Flores. My biggest concern was that it might become infected. The closest clinic was a few kilometers outside of town so I would have to taxi to get there.

Then, upon disembarking from the boat I looked up and saw an Indonesian Naval Base. Right behind the gate was a giant red cross. I decided to give it a try, not expecting any success. The Military Police stopped me instantly ,asking what I was doing. I showed them my finger and pointed to the red cross behind them. They invited me in and within 5 minutes I had an Indonesian Naval Officer using a razor blade to pull the pines out from under my fingernail. After about 45 minutes of him carefully removing all the spines, he gave me some antibiotics, he only charged me about $12 (US), and he sent me on my way. During the whole ordeal he and I were chatting quite a bit over our past military experience and we even exchanged phone numbers. We trade texts every few weeks.

With the sea urchin spines removed, the next day came and it was time to get over my anxiety from the previous dive. The first dive of the day proved to be challenging and my only motivation was to just survive it. I wasn’t too concerned with the enjoyment or the wildlife. Fortunately, by the second dive I had regained my confidence and was back to enjoying this hobby again. Swimming by seven manta rays changed my mind and helped me reprioritize my goals.

My 30-day Indonesian visa was nearing expiration. Indonesia has around 7,000 islands and was much too large to cover in 30 days. Even having experienced 10 of the islands felt rushed. I knew I would need to slow my travel to more deeply absorb these countries. Having done SCUBA dives in two countries, racking up 19 dives, and overcoming adversity provided renewed confidence. I was ready for the next country: Thailand.

Indonesia: Part 3

By Mike Huber

Having found myself in Flores, Indonesia (one of the scuba diving meccas of Southeast Asia) I took it upon myself to dive as much as I could. On my second dive of the first day I saw some manta rays up close and personal and I managed to get a lot of sea urchin spines under my fingernails, hands, and pretty much everywhere. I was bleeding green as I was deep enough underwater that colors would change, and it looked like I had been rolling around in some saguaro cactus or been on the losing side of a fight with a porcupine. I had spines sticking out from every part of my wetsuit.

This was part of the adventure and part of the learning. What I didn’t expect was upon our ascent my air ran out, even though moments earlier I had checked and confirmed I was at about 25%. This was another “So this is how it ends” moment. There wasn’t much time to think about that as I was not prepared for running out of air. I figured I just had moments before I would black out due to no oxygen. Being about 10 meters deep I knew I could have just surfaced quickly to get air and many people probably would have done that. Well, just as in jumping out of airplanes, you train for these type of scenarios. Also, the approach is to take your time as you have the rest of your life to resolve the no air issues, just as you would with a parachute malfunction. The problem with that mindset is that the end of your life is only seconds away.

Fortunately, my dive partner was only a short swim away. I swam over to him as quickly as possible, signaled him I had no air, and calmly (I was actually panicking by this point) grabbed his secondary air hose, and took a much-needed breath in.

That first breath in was a relief on every level you can possibly imagine. We then performed our 3-minute safety stop off using both of his air supplies before we surfaced. Even with my fingers still bleeding from the sea urchin spines and having run out of air, I managed to make a couple jokes as we swam back to the safety of the boat. This is where we learned that my regulator was faulty and provided a false reading on the amount of air remaining. That was a bit of a relief that it wasn’t some rookie mistake by me.

The joking ended on my next dive that day. As soon as I hit the water I had some massive anxiety about the no air issues and going under. It was so intense that everyone on the team had already submerged and I was just sitting there on the surface having fear to let the air out of my BCD to sink and join the rest.

After a few moments, it passed and I did join them. I don’t think I have ever swam as close to a dive partner as I did on that dive. My air barely lasted 32 minutes as my stress and anxiety were causing me to breathe faster, using up my air rather quickly. This was fine with me, as I really had no interest in staying underwater.

Once back on the boat, I was seriously thinking that scuba diving wasn’t for me and would bow out of it using one excuse or another. The lack of air experience was that traumatizing. I began to think back to the Army and our jumps. Whenever someone had a bad jump the best thing to overcome it was to put them on the very next jump ton regain their confidence so they could continue to be effective. Since diving and jumping had so many parallels, I thought this would be the best way. I booked three more dives the next day with the mindset if I didn’t overcome it I would quit diving. I owed it to myself to give it one more try.

More epic adventures are here!

Indonesia: Part 2

By Mike Huber

It took about a week to get to Flores, Indonesia from Bali, as it is over 1,000 kilometers away. This was accomplished via three ferries and finally, a 4-day cruise. The cruise was a blast, but once aboard I realized it was a one-way cruise and I would have to find a ferry back (which could take up to 36 hours) or book a return flight to Bali. Normally this would alarm most people, but I had time to kill and quickly learned Flores was an Indonesian scuba diving mecca. Some of the most beautiful wildlife could be seen diving here. This was not a bad place to have a several-day layover.

It didn’t take long to find a scuba company. It had only been a few days since my prior dive and I was already itching to get back underwater. I chose a dive center based on its three-dives-in-one-day regimen. Most the other dive centers only offered two dives in one day. This would help rack up my dive numbers (and my experience, as I would soon learn).

Diving the Komodo Islands is just amazing on so many levels. The biggest draw is the wildlife. The second draw is the strength of the underwater currents. On an average dive we would float with the current for close to an hour and travel several kilometers during the dive. The current was a constant underwater river that was at times overwhelming, depending on the direction it was taking you.

If you got caught in a side current it would feel like you were on the Space Station and someone just cut your tether and you were floating off into nothingness. Feelings of anxiety emerged when this happened, and this caused me to go through more of my air and shorten my dive. It was always important to remain calm, move slowly, and not over-react. That’s easier said than done.

The cool part about these currents is when I was in a “controlled” area I could just watch the beautiful corals go by. The downside was if I saw a turtle or another cool species of wildlife, I really couldn’t get to it as I was swept along with the current. We were told, if possible, to get low to the ocean floor and grab a large rock as an anchor so we could enjoy the wildlife.

I took this rock grabbing suggestion as I happened upon three beautiful manta rays. They were huge, about 12 feet in width. While blowing by them in the current it was like they were in an underwater thermal hovering in place motionless unaffected by the strong currents. It was like watching a stealth fighter Jet hover. Meanwhile I was doing my best to slow down to try to remain close to them. As I descended to the ocean floor seeking refuge from the currents behind a large piece of coral, I grabbed a rock. I instantly felt something sharp on my fingers. I had accidently grabbed a sea urchin and the spines were in all my fingers to include deep under my fingernail. Almost instantly a large gushing of green fluid began pouring out of my fingers. This is when I learned you bleed green when you are deep under water.

Realizing there was nothing I could do about the bleeding until I surfaced, my focus was on watching the manta rays flying by as the current pulled me just underneath them. During this time, I religiously checked my air levels on my respirator. Once I hit 60 bar (25%) it would be time to slowly return to the surface.

We began our ascent to a 3-minute safety stop at 5 meters below the surface to allow our bodies to adjust to the pressure. At around 10 meters and still being abused by the strong currents I went to breathe in and there was nothing there. It was as though I was breathing through a straw and then suddenly someone put their finger over the end. I was out of air. This was a good time to see how much of the training I actually retained and how much of I ignored while being distracted by the beautiful scuba instructor in Australia.

More epic adventures are here!

Scuba: Part 2

By Mike Huber

It was 0700 and the location was a pier in Cairns Australia as 30 of us were boarding a live-aboard boat to perform 9 scuba dives over the next 3 days and 2 nights. There were only 3 of us that had never performed an open water scuba dive before, and I was one of them. It would take 5 dives while completing our drills for us to obtain our PADI open water certification. We were ready.

It took the boat about 3 hours to get out to the reef for our first dive. 27 of the others were seasoned divers, so as the newbies we felt privileged they’d help us gear up and make jokes about our fumbling around prior to getting into the water.

Others may disagree with me and that is fine, but I have sky dived and to me, nothing felt closer to jumping out of an airplane as a paratrooper than scuba diving. You suit up, perform checks on your gear and your scuba buddy’s gear, shuffle to the edge of the boat, give an OK to the dive master who checks your air is on (I always stuck my hand out and yelled “ALL OK JUMPMASTER!” just to get into the moment a bit more), and jump off the boat into the water. I understand the two experiences are almost polar opposites, but what isn’t is the comradery and the procedures prior to diving (or jumping out of an airplane).

As soon as I hit the ocean waters of the Great Barrier Reef in full scuba gear I felt two things: A brief moment of anxiety, just as I felt in the pool during onshore training, and when we signaled to go down. This was a moment of bliss and freedom as you leave the world you know and enter a realm of tranquility beneath the ocean. It was so similar to exiting an aircraft as you leave the chaos and perform the 4-second count prior to your parachute opening. Both are moments when you have a quick chat with the big guy upstairs and are alone in the world. There are few experiences in life that compare to these. I was instantly hooked on scuba diving.

Our first five dives were work. They encompassed the same drills over and over that we performed in the pool. The objective was to review the same emergency procedures for a multitude of issues that you can face while underwater, and how to calmly overcome them. This was another similarity to being a paratrooper. The only big difference is there was less yelling for your mistakes, but the instructor did have a whiteboard to correct any errors you were making while on the dive. Another reason I knew my instructor was great was when she wrote my mistakes on her whiteboard for, I literally could hear her stern voice in my head just as clear and loud as if we were above water.

Upon all three of us successfully meeting the criteria we were now PADI Certified Open Water Scuba Divers. Now it was time to begin having fun and enjoying the benefits of diving. We were on The Great Barrier Reef after all and the coral and wildlife we saw over the next 3 days was magical. We were literally in God’s aquarium. Each of the dive sites we experienced had something unique to offer, from schools of colorful fish, to sea turtles, to even a couple nurse and reef sharks. If I wasn’t hooked before on this new hobby, I surely was now.

The remainder of the days were passed with dives, delicious food, and wonderful new friends. The beauty of this live aboard boat were absolutely the people I was surrounded by. We each had different experience levels in diving, and were from countries all around the World, yet we all bonded over this one passion, scuba diving. Once the evening festivities died down instead of returning to the tight quarters below deck a few of us decided to sleep on the open upper deck of the vessel. This was the perfect way to wind down. We would tell a few jokes while staring at the Southern Cross as it slowly made its way across the sky until we fell asleep, and in the morning awaking to the sunrise hitting this spectacular part of the World and lighting up the Australian Flag as the sun rose. A feeling of accomplishment washed across me each day and evening of this trip. It may have been the most rewarding time along my travels to this day, and for good reason. I had found a new way to add even further adventure to my travels.

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Scuba: Part 1

By Mike Huber

As I had begun to enter my 5^th month of travel, not knowing where I would be sleeping the next night became routine. My mentality was “Future Mike will figure this one out, he always does.” And I always did. That mindset isn’t wrong, as crazy as it felt. However, as time pushed on and the countries began to be more in my rearview mirror something was missing. A way to deeply experience a country, more than most experience it. Similar to my past life with living off the BMW GS1200. The bike added a much-needed color to my adventures whereas most were just doing these adventures in a van or car. The BMW gave me that extra level of depth that awakened my senses and really allowed me to meet some wonderful people I wouldn’t have otherwise.

Realizing I needed to experience something new (besides circling the globe solo). I needed something thrilling but something I had never done. I was two months into driving through Australia and about to board a flight from Sydney to Cairns. When I asked others in my hostel what was worth doing up there, one reply was always consistent: Scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef. That was it! I would become a certified scuba diver and head for the Great Barrier Reef.

I registered for the dates I would be in Northern Australia for a 5-day Open Water PADI Scuba Certification Class. This class would include two days of classroom/pool training and three days and two nights on a live-aboard boat in the Great Barrier Reef. Upon filling out the school course paperwork it seems that due to my ripe old age of 51 I would require a physical. Not a big deal; there was a clinic across the street from my hostel. I am sure they would rubber stamp me through this, so I booked an appointment. Upon being called into see the doctor I noticed his clothing apparel seemed a bit…off. It wasn’t until I went into his exam room I noticed posters of Elvis all over the walls. Now his butterfly collar, gold glasses, slicked back hair made sense. He was an Elvis impersonator, or a big fan at the least. Once reviewing the physical requirements with him he explained the physical entailed much more than I expected, including chest x-rays, hearing tests, vision test, drug test, etc.

So I am not saying I cheated on this physical, nor am I disclosing if I did cheat how I would complete such an act. What I am saying is I passed the physical with flying colors. Sweet. I sent the paperwork off to the diving school and was formally accepted into the program. I was still smiling as I boarded my flight from Sydney to Cairns in Australia (which was one of the northern-most points of this mind-blowing continent).

Arriving on time to class (15 minutes prior to its scheduled start) I learned the class would be small. Myself, a young man from France and an American female from San Diego. Our instructor was from Pittsburgh. Normally I would hold that against her, but she was beyond stunning so it was easy to let that go as we began our class instruction on the equipment and different emergency protocols, hand signals, and a tutorial of almost any underwater emergency we could possibly encounter. This was the first half of the day and post lunch it was time to put these lessons to use, using our scuba gear in an enclosed 12-foot deep pool.

The first thing in the pool we performed even before learning about our gear was a swim test. This consisted of treading water for 10 minutes in place and a 300-meter swim. Upon successfully passing this, it was time to learn about all our gear. This included the air tank, BCD, respirator, fins, mask and snorkel, and how to successfully connect it all together.

It was now time to put on the scuba gear and go underwater in the pool for the first time. I will admit this caused a bit of anxiety for the first few minutes, even though we were just a few feet under. It was a new experience for me and the others, so that was normal. In no time we were nailing the different drills, such as mask removal and replacement while underwater, and buoyancy control. We also performed drills in the event we ran out of air and how to signal and use your buddy’s secondary air supply (I of course made sure I was paired with the instructor). Little did I know at the time, but paying attention to this lesson would prove to be lifesaving in just a few weeks in Indonesia.

Upon successfully completing the classroom, pool sessions, and passing a written exam, we were ready to take our skills into the ocean. The next day we were scheduled to meet at 0700 at the boat launch where we would be on a live-aboard boat for the next three days. The remainder of our training and honing our skills would be performed in the open waters of The Great Barrier Reef in Australia. This is where we hopefully would pass and become Open Water Certified Divers. Bad ass!

More epic adventures are here!