In the last exciting episode of Cnidariapocolypse our intrepid divers were confronting both the great cnidarian leviathan and the ‘rapture of the deep’.

…and let’s face it things were not looking good…

You may have been there yourself at some point; found yourself mid-dive with a buddy that just wasn’t quite all there (assuming they were normally there in the first place – divers can be a silly lot).

Problem solving underwater is a key element to safe and enjoyable diving and this is how Doug and I kept things together and survived the Cnidariapocolypse.

Camera pan back to our troubled divers.

I was pretty sure at this point that we were going to drift right into the spawn of Dogora but; being a courteous (or at least curious) dive buddy, Doug handed me his magnetic slate.

With all haste I wrote “Giant Jelly” and pointed. I waited now… knowing that his mental incapacitation would finally be overcome by reason and well… facts.

tick… tock… tick… tock…

I looked and him and he looked back and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and handed me back the slate.

Obviously too narced to read I drew a picture as big as I could on his slate of a jellyfish and pointed toward our impending destruction.

I waited.

If shrimp were crickets they would have been chirping.

chirp chirp… chirp chirp…

Yeah… still nothing.

Okay, I was a stress and rescue diver and I could handle this. While I was obviously concerned about our situation I could already taste the self satisfaction of repeatedly telling the “Giant Jellyfish Narcosis Story”. He’d never live it down… if we didn’t die.

I looked back up as I reached over to grab his tank valve… it was then that I was pretty sure I was living right, at least most of the time. The giant jelly no longer blocked our path to the surface. I pulled my hand back, not wanting to look too forward or panicked.

Then relief started to give way to uncertainty. The danger I knew was now the danger I couldn’t find. I did a 360 degree search and came up empty. When I was convinced that the danger had abated I checked my gauges. Plenty of air and 30′. The shore was close and it seemed that all would be well.

We did a swimming ascent into shore and surfaced without further incident.

In our next and final episode we’ll find out what the real problems were on our dive, and how calm and methodical thinking kept us from danger. Tune in next time for Cnidariapocolypse III – The Final Rapture!

SKuba Steve

‘The surface interval’s over… get out there and dive!’

© 2014 Stephen Krausse. All rights reserved.