The Spirit of Freedom

The Spirit of Freedom van picks us up at our hotel promptly at 11:05 A.M. It is a short drive to the Cairns dock where we board the Spirit of Freedom dive boat. The boat is lovely; 122 feet long, beautifully maintained and accommodates up to 24 passengers in 11 cabins. We have a brief orientation and meet the 11 crew members onboard; all with specific duties to make our three night dive experience pleasant and rewarding. We meet our fellow passengers, half of whom are Japanese and speak little English. Also among the passengers is one family with two teen age girls, age 17 and 19. John immediately introduces himself to the girls and although they are somewhat shy, I have no doubt that John will win them over by the end of the trip. John and I are in separate state rooms, each of us sharing a quad room. I bunk with 2 of the Japanese woman, the third Japanese woman apparently unable to make the cruise. John shares a room with three other men; one Canadian, one Japanese and one from the Netherlands.

A gourmet buffet lunch is served as we motor north towards our first dive site. Lunch is an array of cold salads, a huge platter of plump shrimp and a hot chicken curry with rice. All is delicious, but I refrain from overeating since the ocean is a bit rough and I know that I have two dives ahead. I have committed to taking my advanced dive certification on this trip. It has been nearly two years since I earned my PADI certification and I have not had the opportunity to dive since. My rational is that by taking the advanced certification, I will get personal attention and feel more secure during the dives. Lozza is my instructor and after lunch we go over the dive manual, discuss the upcoming dives and she assigns me reading and homework. Lozza is a pretty and dynamic woman in her mid 30's and I like her immediately. Over the next several days, she will patiently instruct, encourage and push me through the certification process. Thank you Lozza!

By 3:30 P.M. we arrive at our first dive site and "Mossy" heads the orientation on the dive deck. I surmise that he is in his mid 30's; witty, personable and commanding. We are each assigned a bench station where we will store our gear and behind which our tanks and B.C.D.’s are secured. John and I are renting most of our equipment and it is on this first test dive that our equipment is assigned, wet suits fitted, weight belts adjusted, etc. Once everyones equipment is assigned and sorted, we suit up for our first dive. The equipment is cumbersome, the tank extremely heavy and I am very anxious. I maneuver carefully down the rear steps of the boat, put my regulator into my mouth, hold my mask in place and take the dreaded long step off the back of boat. All goes relatives well; air flows through my BCD as promised and my mask doesn't fog or leak, but submerging is problematic and I have difficultly deflating my BCD and getting below the surface. Mossy is both John's and my dive buddy and once I am below the surface, I relax and I swim happily along side of Mossy, secure it the thought that should something go awry, he will be able to assist me. John is completely comfortable in this wonderland of lush coral and brilliant fish. There will be a second dive at this same spot at 6:00 P.M. John tells me that he doesn't want to be my dive buddy and I agree whole heartedly. I want him to be buddies with an experienced diver and not be dependent on me for his safety. John goes on the 6:00 P.M. dive and I take a hot shower and read over my dive manuel. It is nearly dark when he surfaces and I am waiting anxiously on deck when John finishes his second dive.

As soon as everyone is onboard; and there is a strict protocol to insure that no one is left behind in "open water," the boat pulls up anchor and begins motoring north. We will motor all night and the majority of our dives will be at the edge of the ribbon reef, off shore of Lizard Island. The seas are a little rocky and several of the guests are looking green. The two girls have disappeared below and we learn that the older girl is very sea sick. Mossy passes around sea sick tablets, encouraging those still standing to take them. John and I are not usually prone to sea sickness, but we split a precautionary two tablet dose and enjoy our dinner. Thick and tender steaks, mashed potatoes and salad are on the menu. I am a little disappointed that only a third of the passengers are well enough to eat dinner tonight. John would have enjoyed playing card games with the girls, but many of the passengers are sick in their cabins or filling the bio degradable paper bags with vomit and chumming the fish at the back of the boat.