After a delicious dinner, several Belikins, and the ongoing hypnotic boat ride away from the city lights, I stuck iPod buds in my ears and sang my ass off...knowing I was fully drowned out by the throbbing twin diesels down below. Facing the rear of the boat, in an alcoholic haze, I came to full grips with the term "fade to black". For what seemed like forever (several of the group came and went during this time) I was rockin' out and firmly fixated on watching the last shard of light from the city...disappear. With an overcast sky and no moon, it was quite a metamorphosis to go from the dimensional space where light existed, to the deepest black known. If all the boat lights had been off it would have been...nothing. I was so captivated I forgot completely about the unwanted effects of mass quantities of alcohol and a moving/rocking/bobbing boat. Fortunately that had nothing to do with me.
My wife on the other hand, even with the scopolamine patch we were wearing, chose to have a good time by mixing rum punch, rum and coke, and beer. She forgot the old adage, "beer before liquor, never sicker". Bad move there. When I had spent enough time jammin' on deck and saw that most everyone had left for their rooms, I (literally like a drunken sailor) pinballed off everything on deck and down the hallway to our room...at the very front of the boat. Once there I was slammed to the wall upon entering the door and flung to the bed...where I proceeded to laugh my ass off at nothing in particular.
Fun time was about to end. I opened the bathroom door and in this little closet of a room my wife was on the floor revisiting dinner and possibly lunch. Thankfully I came in at the end and was able to help her and the friendly wastebasket to the bed. That lasted less than 5 minutes before she asked me to grab the pillow and blanket and take her and them up on deck. I told her I needed the bathroom first and by the time I came out she was already gone with the blanket and pillow. Our stories somewhat differ at this point as to what happened next.
I believe I immediately wove my back up the hallway and onto the deck where she was passed out on one of the bench/table assemblies along the rail and I fell in to the other bench and dozed off myself for an hour or so.
She believes I didn't come back on deck for quite some time (the "hour" she believes was not really possible). During that time she proceeded to redecorate the side of the boat (a serious breach of maritime etiquette) and wail my name to help her...in vain as it appears.
Hey only the sea gods know what really happened. I did end up passing out on the deck bench for about an hour...as the boat powered full speed ever further from civilization. My wife did have to ask one of the deck hands to wash off the side of the boat in the morning so part of her story is true.
Breakfast the next morning was served promptly at 7 and to my wifes credit she was up and eating ready for a full day of diving. I hung out with a couple of the other non-divers as the weather was rainy and a little choppy for snorkling. Read a book on my Kindle and generally recovered from my beer-drinking the night before.
The divers had the opportunity to do 4 dives during the day and then a night dive after dinner. My wife did them all. Here are a few shots from the day.
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| Yes diving masks make you look weird! Like a bird person or my wife! |
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| Yep, it's raining but she is going to giant stride anyway! |
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| She always finds the best eels to play with |
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| Lobster in a barrel sponge...no giant claws on these guys |
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| Colorful sponges, sea stars, gobies all interacting |
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| Chow line for lunch |
More to come....
8 comments:
Safe to say I do not have a barfing on a boat story. I bet your portion of the story is true though.
Your wife took great shots!
This post makes me queasy, but it's fun. After all that, your wife dove into the water the next day? Impressive! I'm also impressed that she was courteous enough to ask the deck hands to clean the side of the boat. You got a winner there, Chuck. Then again, you know that.
xoRobyn
Alex: I think my portion was very true! She keeps improving on every trip and still says she hates her pictures...I am then the cheerleader! Thanks Alex.
Robyn: Yep, overall she spent a littel over five hours underwater the next day. Of course she was out like a light after dinner!
Can't believe she hates her pictures, they're awesome! Funny to think it was so grey and rainy above the surface, but so colourful in the undersea world. And yes, I'm also impressed that she dived five times after a night like that!
Your story caused a range of feeling in me. But, the thing that got to me the most is the fact that you (a non-diver) would be willing to use precious vacation time to take a trip that was not geared to your own interest.
That tells me that your wife is the lucky one in this paring.
Other than all the upchucking, it's sounds like a good time. I have a couple of boatbarfing stories also. None of them involve being seasick!
Nick: She has gotten better in the ratio of good shots versus deleted shots. She always focuses on what she could have done better. I think that is why she is getting better...I remember deleting 4 out of 5 shots when she started!
Rita: Such nice words. I enjoy being around her when she is doing what she loves...and she loves helping people become better divers. The great locations are just a bonus to me since I am rarely ever bored and immerse myself in the atomosphere. Thanks!
Pat: That sounds very intriguing...
I love the underwater photos! I would love to try diving someday. Unfortunately, boats and I do not get along. I throw up on boats even if I haven't had a drop of acohol.
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