yesterday was a classic day for me. i took the 4 kids out free diving. since the last time we went diving, i hear all the stories of them going diving on their own, catching fish, cooking it, and eating it. swimming from the beach is one thing, but going on a boat is another. i knew there will be some action and yes there was!
dive 1. it was seth’s birthday so i take him to my secret Ulua “GT” house. we check, there was one inside. he was so excited. i told him “breathe!!! breathe slowly!!!” he took a big breath, went down, saw the fish right in front of him, he hesitated, took the shot, and completely missed. as he came up, i could see the disappointment in his eyes. a disappointment in his eyes that i’ve never seen if my life before. seth was crushed! he was bummed, he was frustrated as we got back on the boat. i told him, you blew your chance and this is what free diving is all about. if it was that easy, i would be bored already. next time kid.
dive 2. i anchor my boat. we all jump into the shark infested water. 10 minutes later, i look for the kids. they were all back on my boat. i knew what happened. yes, they saw a shark and panicked. i yell to them, “get your asses back into the water because i’m not going anywhere.” one by one, they jumped back into the water.
i told them, check every hole when you dive cause you never know what’s in there. 5 min. later, seth called me “hey uncle, there is something huge in that hole, it looks like a body.” i tell him, go down and shoot it. but first, “breathe, breath slowly!!!” he goes back down, he points the gun to something in the hole. i couldn’t see what he was aiming at. he pulls the trigger. he started coming back up and puts his two hands in the air, i mean water. the kid speared an big Ulua right in the brain and killed it instantly with one shot. he was so happy! i was so happy! and everybody was so happy!
we dove more, we came home, we cleaned the fish, we ate it, we sang happy birthday, and i bet the kids slept really well.
for me, that was a great experience. to share the ocean with my family is gold. i’ve never seen seth so bummed in my life. and i never seen seth so happy in my life. to see this world grom champion surfer go from so down, then to so up made me realize something. free diving can do something that even big surfing contests and big barrels can do. it can bring out the best, and also bring out the worst. nature is unpredictable. nature is raw. nothing compares to it.
to the boys. hey, good job boys. i’m proud that you guys are diving deeper, longer, and look so much more comfortable in the water. this is the start to your waterman life and if you have the ocean, you don’t need anything else. can’t wait to dive with you again.
