Divided Focus

Underwater, it’s vital to remember what’s really important

- By Eric Douglas

Tina and Josh had been diving together for a long time, since before they were married, 10 years earlier.

They had both dabbled with underwater photography, but Tina recently had picked it up again as her new passion when Josh gave her an underwater camera for their anniversary. They immediately planned a dive trip.

THE DIVERS

Tina was 37 and petite. She stayed active and was fit, with no known medical conditions. Josh was 40, a big man, over 6 feet tall and burly. He had a sedentary job and didn’t make as much time for exercise as Tina did.

They were both experienced divers, making three or four trips to the Ocean a year. They also made occasional trips to a local lake to go diving.

THE DIVES

Conditions were good when Tina and Josh arrived at the dive boat early in the morning. The water was warm and so was the air. There was a light wind and no current to speak of. It was going to be a beautiful day above and below the water.

On their first dive, the boat captain chose a reef in 80 feet of seawater. They made a typical dive for the two of them. Josh tended to use his air supply more quickly than Tina, and he was the limiting factor on the dive. They surfaced after 25 minutes.