The diver and the ex-racehorse

Once upon a time, there was a woman who--like many women do--discovered horses later in her life and, once hooked, jumped in with her whole being. Then, a little bit later in life, she discovered scuba diving and--as with the horse fetish--dove in with all the enthusiasm previously laser-focused on soft noses and not landing on the hard ground.

Much hard work and cool sunglasses make for pretty poses.

 Why on earth she, er, I decided we needed two such gear-intensive, expensive hobbies could be worthy of a deep and philosophical conversation... or seven. Luckily, there just isn't time to figure out what I'm making up for with all of this because there's just too much fun to be had.

A gnome in scuba gear!

However, trying to balance the two interests has not been easy and--try as I might--there doesn't seem to be a way to do both things at once. I'm also pretty sure the warranty on my gear would not cover horse-induced damage like trampling or being dragged through the sand--probably with me still in it.

Forcing my horse to wear scuba gear in the name of art?

"Hey, Calabar.. why don't you hang out on the beach and wait for me while I go play underwater for an hour? Oh, and do you mind if I weigh an extra 70 pounds with all my gear on on our way out to the beach? What was that? Carry it my own damn self through the deep sand? Oh...um, okay."

It is plausible that he would hang out on the beach and wait for me. Maybe. Carrying the gear out is a definite no. He says he is NOT a pack mule and the beach is for rolling in the deep sand and running on the hard-packed sand, not for doing something silly like going underwater. Who would want to do that, anyway? Crazy human.

"You are out of your mind, silly little neoprene-clad human."

And Lena says things that inflate--like BCDs--are for eventers, not cow ponies. Notice there are no photos of her in anything resembling scuba gear, oh no.

"Oh, no. There will be no scuba gear on this beautiful face."

So until I find a way to merge my two worlds--which would likely incur the wrath of animal rights organizations across the planet--I'll just have to dive some days and ride other days.

Life could really be a lot worse.

Two hobbies, one set of shoulders

Now if I could only teach Calabar to dive...

It occurs to me that my two hobbies--one older, one newer, both represented in the photo above--are not going to reduce the size of my shoulders. Not that I want them to, no. I have worked hard to have this set of shoulders and they serve me well in all things.

Swimming and diving in various surface and not-so-surface conditions--check. Lifting and moving jumps and jump pieces--check. Carrying 40 pounds of scuba gear on my back through a fancy resort in Hawaii--check. Lifting saddles up over my head on a regular basis and rubbing down big, brown horses who don't always like to be groomed--check.

Some people think muscles on women don't look feminine. I think I am who I am--including the set of shoulders in the picture--and I like who I am. Shoulders and all.

Another risky expensive hobby? Oh yes.

Jess and Steve underwater at Molokini, off Maui

As if horses are not risky and expensive enough, Steve and I have decided to take up scuba diving as well. No, we don't actually expect to get life insurance any time soon. 

Steve was a diver many moons ago and introduced me to snorkeling on our first trip to Maui twelve years ago. We stopped traveling to the islands shortly after acquiring horses (no regrets), but managed to put away a few pennies over the last ten years for another trip. And this one had a goal--to get both of us our PADI Open Water Dive Certifications.

We did all our book-work online and then arranged to do the dives here where the water is not freezing cold. I love Northern California, but diving in clear, blue, warm water is quite delicious.

Do I miss my horses right now? Yes. Yes I do. Am I trying to figure out a way to get my horses and my diving in the same vicinity? Oh, heck yes. Did you know you can ship horses from Oakland to Hawaii on a boat in 4-6 days? There is even a company right near us that does it. Do I think my horses would approve of this? No. No I do not. At least not that part.

But back to the diving.

Much like backpacking, only minus the food and with the addition of the dangers of running out of air, diving is so wonderfully self-contained. It's AMAZING!

Steve at Molokini

We had an interesting juxtaposition of experiences. Our first 6 dives--including the four certification dives--were all boat dives with Lahaina Divers. They are a well-oiled machine of a shop. The operations crew gets you checked in, waivers signed, gear rented and on the boat seamlessly. We had great instruction and support from the entire crew and some fantastic dives. Steve had some issues with seasickness and even that was handled with professionalism and pragmatism--never a hint of discouragement. 

Molokini (actually a crater left over from a vent off of Maui's volcano Haleakala) was incredible. We had 200 feet of visibility and it would have been so, so easy to just keep diving down the water was so clear and there was just so much to see.

I've decided that warm salt water is really the only thing I want to swim in. This means I'm out of luck for awhile, but oh well.


On Thursday, our last day on the island before we head home Friday, we tried a different shop. We wanted to do a shore dive and Lahaina a) doesn't do shore dives and b) didn't have enough equipment to rent because they were booked so they sent us to Maui Diving. This was a totally different experience. 


The owner is there in the shop and on Wednesday afternoon, booked us a shore dive to Black Rock the next morning. We showed up at 9 a.m. Thursday, geared up, climbed in Kevin's van, and headed out. This crew is a little more laid back than Lahaina Divers but no less passionate about diving.

Here's the difference between a shore drive and a boat dive. You have to hike in to a shore dive WITH YOUR GEAR on. It's kinda heavy, in case you're curious. But on the plus side, it is less likely to cause nausea and if you want to cause a stir at a fancy resort? Well. Strolling through in a wetsuit with a tank strapped to your back will do it. Hawaii has no private beaches, so any resort must provide unfettered access to the shoreline. Some of them don't like it, but in the long run, they have to provide it. I admit to a small amount of evil delight hiking back through in our gear.

It was awesome.

Hawksbill turtle at Black Rock, Maui

So was the dive. We swam around the point, encountering turtles, eels, fish and narrowly avoiding tourists jumping off rocks above us. Forty minutes of bottom time, warm water and I hear there is video coming soon. 

I would definitely dive with both shops again. Lahaina can take us out to some great places by boat and Maui Diving can get us in the water fast and easy.

The next question is how to wrap all this up in one perfect lifestyle package. First step is convincing two 1.200 pound horses that a 4-6 day boat ride is a reasonable thing to do.