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Dear Kirk,
I just wanted to drop you a note to tell you about
a most amazing dive I had yesterday. Aaron Parker and
I went to Carmel on a clear, cloudless morning with
near-still waters and knew a good diving day was in
store for us.
We dove at the edge of the kelp forest, where I travelled
about at my neutral point (33') through straight-standing
kelp, which gave me a weightless sensation like floating
through a redwood forest. With water visibility being
~30', I couldn't see the surface or the bottom clearly,
so I would lose myself in the pure water world.
There were harbor seals around. Some were skittish;
some friendly. There was one that came to look us over,
more curious than afraid. So on this dive I inserted
myself into the water, gently undulated down through
an aggregate of feeding fish, careful not to disturb
them too much. I spotted my seal at 30', who followed
me down then raced ahead to the bottom. It settled on
the sand and looked up. We locked eyes as I stopped
kicking and glided to one side to avoid a head-on collision.
I came to rest ahead of it. My computer said 53'.
I rolled to one side and looked back. The seal was
sitting 6 inches away from my knees. Its eyes darted
at me, upward, to the kelp forest, at me again. I propped
up on my elbow and time seemed to slow, my movements
became glacial. On land, it would have been like lying
down next to a deer at the edge of the tall forest,
with sunbeams breaking through the leaves. The seal
showed no fear, and we kept each other company for what
seemed an eternity (my computer would later say 15 seconds.)
Then the thought came: Sorry kiddo, I got to breathe.
I gently pushed off with my hands and undulated upward.
We kept looking at each other, me somewhat sadly. Then
I gained momentum, looked up at Aaron coming down to
see what's up. I pointed down excitedly and continued
upward. The seal was still resting on the same spot
in the sand.
I broke the surface and took a breath. It was an easy
dive. No urge, no contractions. The dive reflex was
on full. As I broke the surface, memories of previous
clinic came to mind. It was only months ago that I struggled
to get to 50', struggling to clear my ears, every foot
and second a battle. And now I made repeated dives to
50' and it felt like the most natural thing in the world.
I just want to thank you and the PFD team for working
with me and giving me this: the ability to share a moment
with a wild friend of the planet in a magical setting.
I feel like an infant learning to stand up and walk
and there's a whole world ahead of me.
Peter Satitpunwaycha
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