the dive (Largo)

The water was a bit warmer now so you could use normal swimwear rather than needing a full wetsuit; you could still use that if you wanted all the same. So given this was the start of a learning process he figured it best to start simple and get Ula used to having the air tank on her back and breathing from it. Then they'd figure out how deep they could go later on.

So he was waiting for Ula with one of the university small ships. It was more like a fishing trawler type of vessel but adapted for local sea exploration. He was already half ready in pants and a shirt with swimwear shorts under those. The equipment was there ready for teaching Ula.

"Hello Ula" he cheerfully said as he met her on the dock where the boat was tied up. He did run a diving course as part of the archeology course as some students hadn't dived before. "We can get ready once we come aboard".

Ula W. Ravenmore

A small boat was still big enough to go diving on as once Ula was on board the captain chugged his boat out to sea and the co-ordinates Largo gave them. There was another crew member running looking after the air tanks and other diving equipment but they wouldn't be going so deep they'd need the specialist gear for deep diving.

"Ula, the boat will be sturdy as well but I should start by getting you used to the gear you'll be using" he cheerfully said he told her about the air tanks and showed her the sea knife you used to get samples and in dire situations slash away at a reef shark. A shark attack was still rare here all the same.

"I can get you ready to go first and check your tank. We'll be checking each others equipment before the dive" he added. They were a team doing this.

Ula W. Ravenmore

Hearing the question Largo told Ula what to look out for when checking your air tank and when looking after your partner. Things that would be second nature the more she learned and did this.

So with this done it was time to get ready and brave the sea water. He was just going to wear swim shorts and the sleeveless scuba jacket with flippers and as he got ready so did Ula. Once the tanks were on their backs they could go.

Ula W. Ravenmore

With the tanks checked and them ready to go Largo said cheerfully “it looks like we’re both ready to go. Dive in and get used to the idea first of all. Then we can go deeper down”. There was a time limit of 30 minutes when it came to their tanks and then they dived in.

The water was cold but warmer once they got deeper down.

Ula W. Ravenmore

It was near impossible to talk while diving but you could do a lot with hand signals and gestures. The dive got a bit deeper as he seen Ula get used to the diving process. Below them was coral reefs and natures display of colours. Deeper down was fish swimming wild and plenty to look at and see.

So he swam down to the coral first of all to check it out. Some damage was self repairing and it would still take years. The university had oceanic studies on top of archelogy and sometimes it combined. Even deeper down was a ship wreck. A more modern one.

Ula W. Ravenmore

Satisfied with what he seen on the reef he did follow Ula up to the surface to check on her progress. “How are finding it so far?” he posed once he took his mask of too. This was a new thing to Ula and it might take more than one lesson.

Ula W. Ravenmore

“We are good friends. Everybody needs those” Largo confirmed. He also had Brett in his life and you needed a guy friend too. Time as a grandpa had seemed to have developed naturally as his daughter also was figuring things out with Kyle and her son.

As they bobbed in the sea he added “when something is new is does tend to be difficult but before too long you’ll figure diving out. There’s a shipwreck deeper down here but it’s not as exciting as finding a sailing ship. We believe it was a Liberty ship sunk here during the war”.

Ula W. Ravenmore