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Kevin Kirk
It was perfect, tropical environment; which included very hot weather, palm trees, and the distinct smell of salt spray being carried in the wind. This was my wife and I’s second trip to Brazil since being married two years prior. We had decided to take a break from her family back in the city of Sao Paulo and travel to the beach. However, true to our form, it couldn’t be just any beach. We traveled six hours to the other side of Rio de Janrio landing us on an exotic, out of the way peninsula called Buzios. As I stood on the patio of our hotel, I wondered to myself, “is this it? Have I reached my goals?” Prior to meeting my wife, my life was very turbulent. I had made several mistakes upon graduating from high school. When I decided that I needed to grow up, I was constantly dealing with challenges. My growing up started with my enlistment in the United States Air Force after flunking out of college. After my service, it was back to college to earn my Bachelor’s degree, then going even further and obtaining my Master’s degree. I had worked very hard to make up for mistakes in the past, always looking forward for the next challenge. I was always setting goals, then striving to meet those goals. I mentioned to my wife that things can’t get much better than this. But I wondered, “What would I do without any challenges?” I wouldn’t know how to just settle without any goals, without any challenges to look forward to. I told my wife that even though it seems we had reached our goals, I wouldn’t be able to just settle with my job, I needed something to be challenging, something that I have to keep working towards. That night at dinner, my wife came across a pamphlet advertising scuba diving. I had always wanted to try this, but never really had the time. The next day we called the shop and asked about diving. We scheduled a resort course for the next day. I really didn’t know what to expect. I was raised on the water as a kid, my parents always took us boating at Rough River and we usually spent a month in the summer with my grandparents in Florida at their beach home. I did have a small amount of apprehension, not from the fear of water, but from the fear of the unknown. We were first shuttled from the hotel to a pool that had gear set up along the sides. The instructor showing us how to use this equipment didn’t speak English. My wife had to translate. We made it through the introductions, description of the gear, and the awkward motions of putting gear on for the first time. I remember thinking, “I have to breathe through that?” As I descended under the water my breaths were very deep, probably pulling 200 PSI with each breath. I looked through the foggy mask at my wife, her brown eyes were exceptionally large at this point, but at least she was staying under and breathing. We surfaced, and I asked my wife what she thought, and her reply was, “I think this is going to be awesome!” We descended back down, and completed some buoyancy exercises. My breathing became slightly more normal, and my comfort level started improving. Next stop, the ocean! We helped throw the gear onto the van that had picked us up earlier at the hotel and took off heading towards the ocean. My stomach was churning with anticipation of what we might possibly see. We loaded everything onto a boat and off into the bay we went. We arrived at a small island just out past the bay. The water was crystal clear with a very blue tint. As I looked over the boat, I could actually see the reef lying 20 to 30 feet below. I looked at my wife and said, “You’re right, this is going to be awesome!” After a short struggle of dawning my gear and listening to the dive briefing in Portuguese translated by my wife into English, I was standing on the edge of a platform ready to take the step that would change my life forever. Words cannot describe the exhilaration I felt as I descended down the descent line. It was the most surreal experience I have ever had. We saw turtles, puffer fish (which actually puffed up), and tropical fish of all sorts. When we surfaced, I knew this was my new goal, my new challenge in life. My wife and I couldn’t stop talking about the dive. We stayed up late making plans to wait on having children (which we had been planning) so we could get certified to dive. We talked about how this was something we could do together and that we both could enjoy. Our life direction had been changed, and we were happy to follow the new direction. God must have been listening to our conversation in Brazil about challenges. When we returned back to the United States, we learned that my wife was pregnant. God blessed us with two challenges that arrived nine months and twenty-nine days apart. God had placed a slight detour in our plans and we could not have been happier. Diving would have to be put on hold but not forgotten. After a two and half year break, my wife and I finally got the opportunity to travel to St. Croix for a much needed vacation. We new exactly why we were going and what we were going to do. We earned our Open Water Certification while we were there our diving career was born. Just as in Brazil, we had rediscovered our love for diving. However, we wanted more. I wanted more challenges, more diving! Once we returned from St. Croix, we found out there was a local dive shop. My wife commented, “A dive shop here in Owensboro? That’s too cool!” We contacted Blue Meridian Dive Center, scheduled our Advanced Open Water class and loaded up on gear. My wife and I have earned several specialties and taken many trips since diving in Brazil for the first time. We have done many different types of diving including cave, wreck, drift, deep, and reef in many different locations. Most recently, my wife received her Master Scuba Diver rating, and I received both my Master Scuba Diver and Divemaster rating. I have found my new challenge in life. I love diving for the simple fact that it never stops being a challenge. There are so many specialties to earn, the education and learning experiences seem to continue endlessly. Being a PADI Divemaster possesses new challenges, and chances to help others experience the sport that I love so dearly! Every dive that I have completed (over 100 and still going) had its own unique experience. Even dives at the same location never look exactly the same. I have set new goals for myself including technical and cave dive training for the near future. My wife has set the goal of becoming a PADI Divemaster next year. We both hope to continue diving for many years to come, and to pass our love of diving on to our children so they can always have a challenge to face.
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