We planned this detour of our route from San Diego to Norfolk to get in some diving with our new gear. We took Nitrox tanks out with Lost Reef Adventures to the Cayman Salvage Master and Joe’s Tug, where we saw a shark. Having reached depths of 91 and 66 feet, we weren’t under the water more than 38 minutes on the second morning dive (which is why I want to be on a liveaboard and spend the majority of my time diving, snorkeling, and eating).

We return to the dock to pick up the afternoon divers and visit Sand Key and Western Dry Rocks with our dive buddy, Sarah, because no one should dive alone. We got to spend plenty of time on the bottom and also saw a shark, but not before I started to panic. I was having trouble equalizing the pressure in my ear on our descent, and I’m usually the slow one, but it was starting to hurt. I felt so bad for holding up Sarah, as Caleb already knows what he’s gotten himself into.

One of the staff told me it was ok and I could use the anchor line to go down hand-over-hand, which is exactly what I did, fighting the pressure until about fifteen feet when my ear finally relaxed. This might have been a sinus issue, but I had no other problems, or I would have had to forfeit my dive. The next day, we’re back at it and visit Haystacks and Cannonball Cut. Caleb’s regulator o-ring breaks before the first dive, and he has to use company gear. I’d rather use someone else’s mouthpiece than have trouble equalizing. Caleb took this as a sign to be more prepared next time, which is always good advice.