Turtle Dancer

Every now and then you come across a diver who has something special. In Tom Wolf’s novel, when he was talking about the best pilots, he called it ‘The Right Stuff.’ In diving there’s no phrase to describe the person who is as home in the water more than they are on land. I’ve used the term Transphibian – a fish trapped in a human body – as a joke, but whatever you call them, when you are in the water with one of these exceptional divers you know it in a moment.

It shows in their kick - effortless but powerful, in their buoyancy control – trimmed like a fighter plane, and in their attitude – which exudes comfort and the joy of being immersed in the liquid universe. I’ve authored courses to help divers get to this level, but for some it comes naturally and late last year, on Cayman Brac, I had the good fortune to share a few dives with one of these naturals, Captain Joyce French, a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer from the Narcosis Scuba Center in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
As an experienced dive instructor with five underwater rescues to my credit, I try to be very cognizant of the people that around me when I am underwater as you never know when someone who might be inexperienced or exhibiting a momentary lapse of judgment may turn your day into a roiling tempest. It’s not often that you find yourself swimming with someone who puts you immediately at ease and it’s hard to explain just what energy they put out that makes me feel that way, but kick, control and attitude are all part of it.

Still, there’s more, and rather than listening to an aging mossback wreck diver try to explain some esoteric feel that he gets when he’s in the water with an exceptional diver, you instead listen to the turtles.

That’s right, listen to the turtles.

I’ve seen it many times now. When a turtle swims through a group of divers, often they take a few moments to commune with them. But the turtles don’t pick just any diver. In my experience they always seem to take notice of the most comfortable diver in the group and swim side by side for a while, as if to acknowledge and accept them. Usually that is the most experienced diver, but every now and then you come across a relative newbie who simply belongs down there. They use very little air (mostly due to perfect trim and extreme comfort) and always come up glowing like a starlet in musical from the 1940’s.
So when I was in Cayman Brac, visiting the incredibly beautiful reefs right off the shore of the Brac Reef Resort in October of 2008, I wasn’t surprised to see a wonderful adolescent turtle moving through our formation of divers and turn to swim next me for while. I mean, I expect this. After all, I developed a PADI Distinctive Specialty called Mind, Body and Spirit Scuba more than ten years ago and teach people how to meditate underwater. I actually had deluded myself into thinking I had this little fellow hypnotized and posing for my camera when he suddenly stopped dead in the water and turned his head towards Joyce and bolted over to her, picking her out of a crowd of about eight divers.

The diver? Captain Joyce Hannaseck, owner of Narcosis Scuba in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Joyce is a multispecialty dive instructor with an overwhelming joy of life and an innate ability underwater. Joyce drives a 35’ Sportcraft and is an excellent teacher at all levels, specializing in children and teenagers.

Something about her caught his fancy as he first swam side by side with her, then did a couple of spins around her body. Personally, I think he would have given her a turtley kiss if she wasn’t wearing a mask and a regulator, but I can’t be sure. And though I was a little miffed that my turtle buddy dumped me for a hot blonde, I really can’t blame him. She is a force to be reckoned with both on the land and in the sea.