Equipment Failure
4th of June, 2023 / Maen Mellt, Wales
I fall backwards off the boat, roll an awkward 360 then surface upright. With a few paddles, I’m facing my buddy, giving the ok sign followed by a thumbs down sign. We deflate together and begin to sink, leaving a trail of air bubbles as we descend to the sea bed. I pop my ears once, twice. Land on my stomach on top of the brown ribbons of some sugar kelp. I press the black button on my chest a few times, inflating my drysuit and raising myself just enough to be floating above the ground. The sound of my breathing is amplified by the regulators, and I think once again of how divers are the underwater equivalent of astronauts. My buddy wiggles his hand in the direction we are heading and we paddle parallel to one another. I double click on my torch which illuminates the seabed. Our visibility is about four metres, which isn’t too bad for the murkiness of UK waters combined with the plankton floating around.
A kelp-covered stone dances sideways on orange legs. As we get closer it tilts up, shows us its face and pinches its claws at us in irritation. The few spider crabs I’ve seen this year have all worn jungles of green coats on their back. It’s a good look, but despite the camouflage, I’m certain I haven’t seen half as many this year. We pass some sandy patches before soaring over more rocks, and the light of my torch catches the glittering neon bodies of some cuckoo wrasse. The torch is new, and I accidentally turned it to emergency flashing mode. My buddy notices the light and turns to face me. I signal the ok sign and he mirrors me. I switch the torch off and on. At least I know it works.
Back on the boat, we peel off our masks, hoods and gloves. We have a two hour surface interval before our next dive, so we strip down as much as we can. Neon drybags are opened, revealing suncream, water bottles and snacks. Before I eat my sandwich, I get my buddy to unzip my suit and I tug my fingers at the latex neck seal. As I pull it over my head I feel a release in the material. My stomach sinks. With my head free, I look down at the split running along my neck seal and announce the end of my underwater adventures for today. My buddy is paired into a three and I sip black coffee enviously as I watch everyone prepare for their second dive.
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