Diving in the Basin

The Gulf of Mexico is 500 miles from Odessa, but that doesn’t stop many locals from donning their fins to get wet via scuba diving.
   Odessa College is the only place to take a certified scuba diving course in Odessa, which is required prior to officially becoming a certified diver. This semester, a small class of students takes to the pool each week to learn the skills to safely dive into an underwater world.
   “It felt weird going underwater with the tanks breathing differently,” class participant Jackie McKay said.
   She said the scuba tanks were pretty heavy to carry and wear, but doing it in class helped her get used to the weight.
   “You think you will sink to the bottom, but you float,” she said.
   Class teacher Tom Sorrells, a local real estate agent, said proper use of the equipment is important to successfully dive. The equipment works together to give proper buoyancy for divers in the water so they can maneuver easily and breathe safely. Part of safety involves never going alone in case something goes wrong.
   “You need to have buddies in the water,” he said.
   Permian sophomore Daniel Torres said he joined the class because of a family connection.
   “My dad’s been scuba diving for 10 years and always wanted to get certified. Once I get certified, I will get to see breathtaking things,” he said.
   Heather Foster said she signed up because she wants to go to South Africa to dive with great white sharks.
   “My nickname in class is ‘chum,’ ” she said. Chumming is the act of bloodying ocean water to attract sharks.
   For her, diving is about getting away from everyday worries.
   “It frees you from everyday life in a completely different world,” Foster said.
   Sorrells compared learning to dive to flight lessons and said almost everyone who takes the class completes it, with most of the few who don’t not passing due to a health issue such as ear problems. He said learning to breathe the compressed air flowing from the tanks into the breathing regulator can be a bit challenging.
   “When you first start breathing from the regulator, you instinctively want to control your breathing. It’s so much easier once you just let go and breathe normally,” he said.
   He started teaching the class in 1992 and said hundreds have gone through the certification class since that time. Students actually get to go to Balmorhea for their final test or “check-out” on Halloween.
   “The water is clearer than the swimming pool. It’s just amazing and divers come from New Mexico, even Dallas just to go there,” Sorrells said.
   Diving first became an interest for Sorrells when he saw a series of diving shows on television. He became certified in the late 1970s and started steadily diving in 1988. In addition to the certification class, he also teaches an OC course in advanced scuba that takes students to Cozumel. He said the diving destination is fairly easy to get to and inexpensive compared to other places. He dived at St. Croix, which is famous for one particular animal.
   “Tons of seahorses there, which is very rare,” Sorrells said.
   The underwater world is so different from that on land that he said it can be almost a moving experience for those who take the literal plunge.
   “You miss so much if you can’t get in the water and see things,” he said. “I have seen many people come up with wide eyes finally understanding what it’s really like.”
   The minimum age to take the OC class is 13, and Sorrells said he’s certified people up to 65 years old in the past.
   Richard Stovall of Stovall’s Scuba and Travel in Midland said his store is one of the four oldest diving stores in the country and is affiliated with the Professional Association of Diving Instructors.
   He said the 1980s was a real boom period for diving, but he now gets to work exclusively by appointment for sales and inquiries. To him, diving is a form of exploration.
   “You get to go into a world you are not made to be in,” Stovall said.

DIVE EQUIPMENT
   >> Regulator: Mouthpiece through which divers breathe from their tanks.
   >> Mask: Keeps face dry and allows you to see underwater.
   >> Fins: Allow divers to swim using only leg muscles.
   >> Dive computer: Monitors time underwater and depth.
   >> Weight belt: Offsets tendency to float to allow for gentle descents.
   >> Wetsuit: Special clothing helping the body to retain heat underwater.
   >> Tank: Unit containing compressed air for divers to use for breathing.
   Source: www.padi.com/scuba/scuba-gear/scuba-gear-descriptions-tips/default.aspx