My First Pinnacle by Christopher Robinson

Things get a little more extreme during an advanced dive Ahhh scuba. The relaxation, the bubbles, the cerulean hues and warm water...NOT! It’s 7 in the morning and I feel like I’m being beaten like a flag in a gale as I clutch the anchor line and fight a ripping current off the backside of Santa Cruz Island. At this moment, diving is the most extreme sport I’ve ever done.

I've been told I’m an adrenaline junkie although I prefer to think of it as more of a moderate adrenaline user, myself. I’m a rock climber, back-country snowboarder and skier, and a surfer. So when I got into scuba diving a friend actually asked me if I’d be able to handle the relaxation. Dropping down to that Santa Cruz Island pinnacle at 93 feet below the surface, kicking hard and working my way to a spot that’s sheltered from the current with a slight twinge of nitrogen narcosis in my head, I’m thinking that I probably won’t get too bored with this much relaxation.

This is my first real pinnacle dive. I’ve done beaches, temperate and tropical reefs and a couple of wrecks, but never a pinnacle that’s jutting up from a deep bottom like the peak of some underwater mountain. As I learned as soon as I got in the water, currents can get nasty here and there aren’t any visual references during the drop down the line. It’s an altogether new experience. Crossing 85 feet I’m working hard and feeling a little winded. Maybe it has something to do with the monstrous SLR rig I’m toting on top of all my scuba gear. Maybe I’m not in as good shape as I thought. Whatever the reason, that little twinge of narcosis is getting more pronounced.

Narcosis can hit in different ways. For a lot of people the effect is likened to gulping a big tequila shot on an empty stomach. Lucky me, my narcosis is coming through more like a bad acid trip of irrational anxiety and paranoia. Yippee!

I’m holding onto the pinnacle and for the first time since I got certified, I actually look up toward the surface and think about how fast I can get there. The adrenaline rush takes me to the edge of narcosis-induced panic.

Rewind to 2-months before my Santa Cruz Island adventure. Instead of 90+ feet down in California’s green 57-degree water I’m placidly hovering at 32 feet in the azure blue tropical waters just off Papeete, Tahiti. It’s like being at an aquarium with all manner of brilliantly-colored fish swimming by and a reef of hard corals to explore. I’m so relaxed that I’m literally feeling like I could fall asleep. Warm water, nothing but the sounds of bubbles and the clicking of the reef...this is paradise. And not only paradise, but it’s so relaxing that if there wasn’t so much to see, I could almost fall asleep.

Fast forward back to Santa Cruz Island. Ohhhh...this is why I took all of those classes! I can hear the my deep dive instructor’s voice in the back of my head telling me to ascend a little to clear my head. “Don’t forget that in a heavy current your best bet is not to fight it, but to get to a spot where you can hold on and it isn’t going as hard.” This is about the most advanced dive I’ve done to date and I’m LOVING it. Getting out of the narcosis zone my head clears and I can start to explore the pinnacle. Is it tranquil? Not at all! But this is real life in the ocean. The wildlife lounging around makes this spot a photographer’s dream! So instead of narcosis-induced panic, I go into underwater artist mode.

My group is deep so we don’t have a lot of bottom time. Between nitrogen loading and the amount of air in our tanks, we’re heading back for the surface less than 20 minutes after the initial descent. Holding onto the anchor line again, the vicious current has me holding on and doing my flag imitation again. At the safety stop our group is packed tightly together on thee anchor line, arms wrapped around it, all watching our computers and waiting for the go ahead to make the final ascent.

When I came up onto the boat, all I could say was “this was the best dive of my life!” One of my buddies turned with a wry smile and shot back “that’s what you always say.” It’s true...that is what I always say. And I’m always right.