this weekend was supposed to be a dive weekend. we went to the channel islands and had geared up to dive. the first dive that i went on, the FREEZING water, a flooding mask, and inability to descend was enough for me to abort the first dive. it was the first time that i had panicked in the water since i started to dive.

i got more weight and was geared up for the second dive. i was able to descend but as i was going down, my leg completely froze up. i had cramped bad and moving my leg hurt like no other. i surfaced and swam back to the boat with just my arms. it was the most excruciatingly painful swim i had ever done.

after that i was done for the day. this cold water diving with miserable visibility was not for me. i could barely see about 10 feet ahead of me when i was in the water. havnig visibility that bad was not pleasant. and so i’ve decided that i am not going to do any more non-tropical diving. it just isn’t worth it anymore!