Found at Sea - By Anne Marie Duquette Page 0,25
place,” Neil said. “You won’t go past seventy, and she’s planned for an hour only, no decompression time. Like Donna said, trust the lady. We’ve both dived with her countless times. She’s the best dive master I’ve ever worked with, and I’ve got twenty-three years of experience with the navy. She won’t steer you wrong.”
“See?” Aurora said. “Come on, Jordan, do you want to see your ship or not? Get into your gear.”
Jordan headed down toward where the tanks, regulators and dive vests were stored.
“Talk about a stickler for rules,” Aurora murmured.
“Can’t blame the guy,” Neil said. “Safety is safety.”
“I know, and that’s one thing I’m always careful about. We won’t be long.” Aurora easily descended the ladder to Jordan’s location, where they both ran through the safety drill on the tanks. She also examined the valves, the gauges, tested the buoyancy compensators and checked out her octopus. Jordan did the same.
“Secure your octopus to the Velcro, or it’ll get snagged in the kelp,” she warned.
“I already have. Let’s hope neither of us needs it,” Jordan said tightly. The octopus was a double air regulator and mouthpiece system, providing a backup mouthpiece system for the wearer or another diver if the first breather malfunctioned. “If you were anyone else, I’d refuse to dive at all. I hate working this way.”
“Normally I wouldn’t,” she said. “But I want this to be a special experience for you, Jordan.” She spoke solemnly, then abruptly switched to a matter-of-fact tone. “You have enough lead on your belt?” California waters were cold year-round and required the quarter-inch-thick neoprene suits, hoods, gloves and boots to maintain body heat. Even surfers wore neoprene surfing suits. But unlike surfers, who used the neoprene’s natural buoyancy as life jackets, divers needed lead weights to counteract the suits’ flotation properties.
“I’ve dived colder waters,” he said. “I’m all set.”
Aurora nodded, shoved her hair under the hood and watched as Jordan spit in his mask and smeared it around with his fingers.
“I’ve got some professional defogger, if you want,” she said, holding out a small bottle.
“No, thanks. The chemicals irritate my eyes. I’ll stick with the old-fashioned way.”
“Sure? This brand isn’t too bad.” She squeezed two drops of the white liquid onto the inside of her own mask. “I don’t want you to miss a thing. This is your heritage we’re talking about. Part of your family’s history! The San Rafael.”
He started to catch some of her excitement. “Trust me, I won’t miss a thing. Let’s go.”
Within minutes they were on the dive platform, dive watches synchronized, face masks on, one hand keeping their masks in place, the other holding on to the lead-weight belt in case the buckle popped open. With a thumbs-up and a nod, both jumped into the water.
Jordan gasped as the shock of cold Pacific seawater flooded his suit. He ignored it, knowing the neoprene would keep that same water against his skin, and the water temperature would soon match that of his body. With a button valve, Aurora let out the air in her B.C., as buoyancy compensators were generally called, changing it from a life jacket to a deflated vest. Jordan did the same.
With a few more powerful kicks against the crosscurrents, they were at a metal line, its end fastened to a piton firmly pounded into the rock.
How did she get that there? Jordan wondered. She must have anchored away from the currents in the open water and swum out here. Hard to believe that lithe body had the strength.
Working efficiently, Aurora tethered first him, then herself to the line. She reached for her gauge and checked it, then his watch. Jordan did the same. She flashed him the thumbs-up sign again, silently asking if he was okay. He flashed her the sign back, indicating his readiness for the dive.
Aurora led the way. She swam on the left; he stayed on the right, the tethers keeping them close. Huge kelp from the ocean depths filled the waters with the life-giving forests of this part of the Pacific. Jordan observed her carefully, making sure he didn’t snag his diving gear on the hardy giant kelp or on the smaller buoyant bladder kelp.
Jordan kept watch for sharks. He knew they tended to frequent the kelp beds, especially those with rocks for sea lions to occupy.
The light started to fade, unable to pass through the deeper water and the kelp. The thickness of the kelp increased until he had to force his way through it, as Aurora did.