The family is here! For spring break everyone decided to come down to Cozumel and pay me a visit! And enjoy a beautiful island vacation. With everyone here for the week, it was chaos, but I put my divemaster certification to good use and took everyone diving! Mom and Connor are already certified divers, but for Dad, Patrick and Amanda I took them on discover scuba dives. Which meant it was their first experience under the water. It was very exciting for everyone, and stressful for me because I had to make sure everyone was safe and comfortable and equipped to have the best experience possible. Time to gear up! I ran around looking like chicken with its head cut off for about an hour, trying to collect all the gear everyone would need for their dive.

I found a wetsuit that fits dad. Amazing

Trying on fins

All suited up!

And then I had to teach everyone a few things about scuba diving. I can’t just drop them in the water. We needed to review important safety information and talk about how to use the equipment. Connor thought he could just start the presentation himself.

Hold on a second…that’s not the right person

He figured he was qualified to give the briefing and recounted a very gory tale of two unfortunate divers. Not exactly correct, and I had to intervene before I lost my audience to laughter.

There we go, that’s the right person.

I briefed everyone on proper techniques and equipment handling, It’s not the most exciting thing to sit through, but necessary. And with that out of the way it was finally time to get suited up and start diving. I did my father’s DSD separately, so I could focus on fewer people at a time. Once we got in the water I needed to teach him a few essential skills for diving and being comfortable in the water.

The first skill: just breathe!

We worked for a few minutes in the shallow water getting used to breathing underwater and doing things like clearing our mask. An essential skill for diving. Dad did great, and he knocked out all our skills with no problems, and then he did his first dive. It was just a short tour around the local reef. I stayed by his side the entire time.

He’s scuba diving!

After dad it was Patrick and Amanda’s turn. Rinse and repeat.

Helping everyone out.

Amanda and Patrick are ready to go.

But first a safety check

Just like with dad, we went over a few skills in shallow water. I demonstated each of the skills first and then they got to try them out.

Demonstrating the proper technique to take the regulator out of your mouth

All eyes are on me!

Patrick and Amanda also worked through the skills quickly, after a little practice and repetition, so off to the deep end we go.

Patrick is off!

Keeping my eye on these two

They make it look easy. It is easy!

Amanda and Patrick did great in the water, and they had a ton of fun. We got to see an eagle ray, and pufferfish and sting ray. They both looked great in the water, even though it was their first time, they made diving look simple, which it is! Once you get the hang of it. There was a decent current kicking up, so it was another short dive, but everyone made it made back happy and alive. I get to be a DM for another day. Whoo!

They did it!

A successful DSD!

It was a ton of fun having everyone in the water and getting to share what I love with my family. Amanda and Patrick had so much fun that we did another dive with them at the end of the week for round two! It’s only a matter of when they get their open water certifications, they look great underwater. Mom and Connor came along for the dives as video-ographers and moral support. They enjoyed getting re-aquainted with diving although mom did get stuck in some current and Will had to come and rescue her.

But that wasn’t the end for Connor and mom, we went diving a couple more times throughout the week, and they loved it! Once they got their buoyancy figured out. The first boat dive was a little rough. Both of them stuggled with their buoyancy throughout the dive, and used their air very quickly. So after a refresh session with me one afternoon they were looking much more comfortable. It just takes practice!

Ready for our dive!

Throughout the week we visited different sites around the marine park. The highlights were the big lobster and eagle rays, and turtles! They got lucky. I’ve seen more eagle rays this week with my family then my whole time here thus far. It’s been incredible.

A beautiful turtle

Connor goofing off. Who can blame him when the water is this much fun? I do the same!

Connor zooming in for a photo

Twins!

And my mom! Looking pretty good under the waves.

They both made massive improvements from the start of the week to the end. They were hovering like pros by the end. All in all I got to spend a ton of time in and under the water with my family this week. From snorkeling to discovery dives to hover practice and drift diving, the Sudermans have dove into the underwater world with both feet (pun intended), with plans to return. We love the sea!

Thanks for reading, until next time!

-Natalie