Dive: 44
Belize Dive: 2
Date: 11/26/10
Site: Tackle Box
Avg/Max Depth: 44/67
Temp: 81
TBT/CBT: 1:00/35:04
Buddies: Ted, Nick, Curtis, Kristen, Cindy, Ellie
The seven of us boarded the boat to the diveshop as well as three other people from our resort. I think it was a father and his two daughters. They were in the process of getting certified. Once at the diveshop, the seven of us boarded a bigger boat. With us came another divemaster named Loidy, two other divers, and Dianne, a Divemaster-in-training.
For our first dive outside the reef, Rudy took us to Tackle Box. The boat ride was a bit choppy. We backwards rolled into the water and descended immediately to about 40 feet. There were lots of fun tunnels to go through, unfortunately I was having equalization issues at about 66 feet. I followed from above and watched as everyone passed through the caverns. As much as I wanted to be down there with them, it was fun watching from above.
The dive was good and we swam at a leisurely pace. There was no strong current like in Hol Chan, so I didn’t have to excert much effort. I tried to stay at 17 feet for my safety stop at the end. At about 12 feet I could feel the motion of the swells. It’s an unsettling feeling to be dizzy when it doesn’t seem like you’re moving. It also helped to not watch the boat thrash around in the water, or the people trying to hold on to the ladder while they removed their gear.
Getting in went somewhat smoothly for me. I had my fins and BCD off in record time, and I kept the reg in my mouth until my gear was being pulled onto the boat. Once I was on, it was another story. A giant wave rocked the boat and I started to tumble forward. I saw Nick and aimed for him, but fell at the last minute. I smashed my nose right into his stomach. I’m just glad it wasn’t his knee or the boat!