You Don’t Know Mystery

Until you’ve been under the sea . . .

A very nice piece on Alexandra Cousteau, Jacques Cousteau’s granddaughter, in the NYT this morning. Having dived quite a bit–including Ms. Cousteau’s favorite spot, Bonaire, (mine is the Great Barrier Reef off Lizard Island)–and watched I don’t know how many of her grandfather’s specials, I understand exactly what she’s talking about. Like every other kid, I wanted to be a marine biologist for the longest time, and I still think about it every now and again. The undersea world is like no other. You don’t know mystery until you’ve stood on the sand fifty feet down, at night, and moved your hand through the water and watched the blackness sparkle with the fiery, green twinkles of bioluminescent creatures. Or skimmed over a reef of snowy-white staghorn coral and felt something tug your fin–and turned around to find a three-hundred potato cod who wants to play. Or watched the sand suddenly levitate beneath you as a manta lifts off five feet away. Or watched a shark sneaking up on your dive leader . . .

There’s diving here in Wisconsin, but it’s all in water that is very cold and very dark. Mostly, you’re looking at wrecks. Wrecks are okay but not my fav. The best wreck dive I ever did was in Bonaire: Theo’s Wreck, about a hundred feet down and adjacent to the continental shelf, which is completely worth the trip down. The shelf is, well, a cliff and the sea goes from light blue to inky black. You have to stay on the guide rope and well away because the currents will grab you and then you’re a goner.

National Geographic’s latest issue is all about water and our thirsty planet and well worth your time.

Me . . . I’m off to scrounge up my dive gear.