‘I could never do that,’ he thought, deeply aware that there was a dark corner of his being that he did not even want to face. The fear of being trapped underwater lurked right on the surface of his conscious personality. ‘At least my diving course has nothing like that,’ he mused, his course being a basic ‘Open Water’ diving course.
Even though he wanted to drive the fears out and his rational mind told him to stop thinking about diving he found himself drawn to such information. It was as though he felt he had to face it, if only to prove to himself that he was not a coward. He also had to admit that the stories held a dreadful fascination.
In the City Library he found an old book titled ‘Ordeal by Water’, a World War 2 biography by Peter Keeble on Marine Salvage in the Red Sea and Mediterranean. It was full of interesting and grim facts about the dangers of diving back in those days of primitive equipment and limited knowledge. The very idea of crawling around inside a wreck in the dark, groping with his hands to locate dead bodies, repair damage and render booby traps safe was enough to make Andrew shudder. It certainly increased enormously his admiration for his grandfather.
‘How did he do it?’ he wondered.
Another concern to Andrew was his friend Graham Kirk. Graham was in 9B. The previous year the two had been quite good friends and Graham had joined the Navy Cadets as soon as he turned 13. What made Andrew think of that was hearing Peter Bronsky say to Graham, “Happy Birthday!”
On learning that it was Graham’s 14th birthday Andrew asked casually, “Are you having a party this year Graham?”
The response was a shake of the head and a look of such misery that Andrew thought for a moment that Graham was going to burst into tears. As the party the year before had been a big event that got him even more worried. Andrew remembered how Graham had a burning ambition to be a naval officer but had discovered that his eyes were not good enough. Graham had dropped out of Navy Cadets. The shattering of his dreams had sent Graham into a suicidal depression. Andrew had thought he was over that but now, looking at him, he wondered and worried. Unsure how to help, he left him to the company of his new friends: Peter, Stephen and Roger.
The bright spot in Andrew’s life was Muriel. She was not allowed to go to the movies (‘Too young for dates’ her parents insisted) but he was able to talk to her on the telephone every evening. These phone calls got longer and longer until, on Thursday night, his father put his foot down and told him to cut it short and to keep the chats to fifteen minutes ‘So other people can use the phone’.
They did not meet until Saturday afternoon. Usually the Navy Cadets met every Friday evening but that week the parade was a half day for sailing. As usual Andrew rode his bike to cadets with Carmen and Blake. All wore their ‘short white’ uniform but carried backpacks with ‘pirate rig’ (old clothes) for wearing while sailing. All the way Andrew found his heart all a-flutter with anxiety and anticipation, hoping that Muriel would still like him.
She did. Her genuine smile of welcome and bright, cheerful conversation immediately convinced him of that. Andrew’s spirits soared. ‘She is so pretty!’ he thought. From then on he used all his efforts to be nice to her and to try to impress her. The only dampener was when she asked if he was looking forward to their diving trip the next day.
Even just thinking about it made Andrew’s heart turn over with a lurch. ‘It will mean flooding my face mask again,’ he thought. The dive after that was even more daunting. That would involve completely removing the mask under water, then replacing and clearing it. Just thinking about it made Andrew feel sick in the stomach but he managed to make himself sound calm and enthusiastic.
To help take is mind off diving he concentrated his thoughts on sailing. Immediately after parade and roll call the cadets split into four person boat crews and set to work rigging their ‘Corsairs’. These worked best with a crew of three but there were more cadets than boats so the extra crew member was added to each. Andrew’s boat was captained by his ‘Divisional’ leader, Cadet Midshipman Bob Armstrong, a big, burly lad who Andrew really admired. The other members of the crew were Andrew, Muriel and Percy Parsons.
Having just spent two months of sailing almost every second day during the sailing competition with the army cadets (Read ‘Mudskipper Cup’) Andrew could have rigged the boat blindfolded. Thus theirs was the first boat on the water, followed closely by Carmen’s, crewed by an all-girl crew which included Shona, Jennifer and Tina Babcock. As soon as the safety boat was in the water and radios tested sails were hauled taut and the sailing practice commenced.
The afternoon was merely a simple training activity to familiarise recruits and Seamen with steering so for Andrew it was just a pleasant outing. He sat in the centre of the boat and held the jib sheet while Muriel took the tiller. That gave him plenty of time to think and look around. As the sailboat slipped quickly down the Inlet past the main city wharves he was vividly reminded of the photos in the old album. The taste of salt spray and the smell of the sea, mixed with a waft of diesel fumes from a passing launch, instantly brought to his mind the image of the tug Wallaman Falls.
‘This is where that photo of her turning at speed was taken,’ he decided, looking across the Inlet to the line of mountains that sheltered the port on the eastern side. That made him think of diving but he firmly resolved to not think about it and again concentrated on sailing.
In this he was only party successful, mainly because their course led them close along the eastern shore of the harbour. This took them past the beach at Giangurra and then across the end of the headlands at Bosuns Bay. Muriel wanted to go right into the small bay so that she could wave to her grandparents but Midshipman Armstrong vetoed this.
“The tide is on the ebb,” he pointed out, “And there are too many rocks for my liking.”
“This is where we went SCUBA diving last weekend,” Muriel explained, “And that is my Gran’s.”
That just brought back memories of being scared underwater, and of causing embarrassment to Muriel’s Grandparents. ‘That photo certainly caused Old Mr Murchison to have a bad turn,’ Andrew mused. Once again he tried to change the thoughts in his mind by thinking about Muriel. At every opportunity, when it would not appear he was doing so, he studied her and hoped. That helped but so did the requirement for some tricky tacking to avoid a shoal of semi-submerged rocks off the next point.
Andrew then refocussed his thoughts on admiring Muriel, noting her clear, tanned skin, firm jaw, bright eyes and short brown hair being whipped around her ears by the wind. ‘She is really pretty,’ he thought. ‘I mustn’t upset or annoy her.’ He began to consider how he could move their friendship forward.
The voyage took them right out to False Cape. Andrew had been past there before when sailing and stared up with new interest at the old World War 2 coast defence gun positions in the scrub. His reading gave him a new appreciation of their place. ‘I must visit them for a closer look,’ he thought, his gaze travelling up the long ridge studded with trees and bushes and noting several man-made structures as it did.
Only when they were level with the end of the cape and encountering the larger waves sweeping in from beyond Cape Grafton did they turn back. As they did Muriel pointed out to sea. “I can see Green Island,” she cried.
Andrew shielded his eyes and looked. As the sailboat rose on the crest of the next wave he clearly saw the flat, grey-green shape that marked the coral island. It was a sight he had often seen before, but this time it caused his stomach to turn over again.
Muriel made it worse by saying to Cadet Midshipman Armstrong, “We are going diving there tomorrow. It will be great fun, don’t you think Andrew?”
Andrew could only nod and grin, then despise himself for being a weakling and a coward. He was ashamed of being scared of going underwater, and also depressed at not having the moral courage to tell the truth. ‘Only three more SCUBA dives,’ he consoled himself. ‘Then I will never have to do it again.’ Knowing that the water off Green Isla
nd was usually crystal clear and not all that deep helped him to calm his growing anxiety.
His apprehension grew as the afternoon and evening wore on. It even overshadowed the pleasure at being with Muriel and of knowing he would be with her most of the following day. It made him tense and snappy and she twice frowned at him, causing him to silently curse himself for being a weakling and a fool.
That night he had another nightmare. This one began well enough; with him sailing on the deck of a large yacht. Somehow the yacht shrank to a Corsair, then to a tiny, single-sail ‘Sabot’. By then the vessel had sailed rapidly out of a harbour past mangroves and into deeper water where the waves became increasingly large. Then the Sabot became a sailboard and Andrew was drenched by spray and cold. By then he was scared and trying to turn back to the shore, which now looked to be a dismayingly long way off. In the same frustrating way the sailboard slipped under and he found himself in the water. As a strong current swept him on out to sea and into larger and larger waves he began to panic. Somehow he found himself under water and looking frantically in all directions for a huge shark that had materialized.
He woke up feeling tired and anxious, a sick feeling in his stomach. As he lay there he considered saying he was sick as an excuse not to go diving but when Carmen came to the door of his bedroom, all cheerful and raring to go, he could not summon the courage to lie. Instead he smiled back and dragged himself out of bed, dreading the day.
By 9:00 am he and Carmen were on a large ‘Quickcat’ ferry heading out from the Cairns wharves. With them were Sub Lt Sheldon, PO Walker, Muriel, Blake, Shona and Luke Karaku, a Torres Strait Islander. Both Andrew and Carmen had been to Green Island several times before over the years, as had Muriel, but neither Blake nor Shona had been. Andrew tried to take his mind off the coming ordeal by focusing on nautical things like how the big, powered catamaran handled the waves and by talking to Muriel. Even so he became increasingly tense as the flat outline of the island appeared over the horizon, then seemed to slide inexorably closer.
Muriel stood at the front rail laughing and relishing the occasional showers of spray. Her eyes danced with the joy of living and she cried happily, “It’s a perfect day!”
It was. It was North Queensland winter at its best- real ‘Tourist weather’. The sun shone. The sea sparkled. The wind was just cool enough to make Andrew wish he had a pullover on. The dozens of tourists all wore casual ‘tropical’ clothes, as did the friends. Among the tourists were many very attractive female ‘backpackers’. Some of these wore very skimpy bikinis or short, revealing clothing that got Andrew both interested and then ashamed.
For a while the waves were quite large but Andrew was a good sailor and merely enjoyed them. He was also interested to watch a large bulk carrier making its way north along the ‘inshore route’ inside the Barrier Reef. By the time it had ‘sunk’ to hull-down in the distance the launch was nearly at Green Island. As the launch nosed in through an opening in the reef Andrew stared hard at the shallow water on either side. As always he was astounded at how clear the water was. The transition from the deep blue water in the channel to the pale green, almost clear water over the coral sand he found amazing.
At 10:00 the Quickcat edged in to tie up at the long concrete finger pier that jutted out for 500 metres from the island. Green Island itself was just a low, flat sandy cay; covered with trees and buildings. A narrow strip of white sandy beach showed between the trees and the water. The group disembarked with the other passengers and then walked in along the pier. As they did Andrew kept looking over the side at the brown patches of coral that showed clearly on the sandy bottom.
‘It looks nice and clear,’ he told himself, trying to build up his confidence.
At the end of the jetty they were met by a man who had their equipment. This was being hired for the day and there was a half hour of trying things on for fit. Having endured a pair of fins that did not fit properly during the pool training Andrew made sure he had ones that did. It had been astonishing to him quickly the rubbing had developed into quite sharp agony!
The first swim was to be with a snorkel instead of SCUBA. That suited Andrew. He had been snorkelling before and could cope with that, as long as they stayed in shallow water near the shore. Even so he was so anxious he barely had time to appreciate Muriel’s female form as she pulled her wet suit on over her bathers. Then they were walking down the beach, fins in hand. As they waded in beside the end of the pier Andrew could not stop himself from continually looking out towards the encircling dark blue water, his mind trying to suppress thoughts of sharks and other creatures.
‘At least it isn’t the ‘Stinger Season’,’ he thought. During the period from October to May each year deadly jellyfish sometimes infested the coastal waters, making swimming in the sea a hazardous activity.
The water still felt cold- at least to a person acclimatized to the tropics. Andrew was glad to lower himself in out of the wind. After spitting in his facemask and then rinsing it he adjusted it for a good fit. Then, with an answering smile to Muriel, he slid forward in the water. Side by side they swam out into deeper water. The bottom shelved very gradually so that even a hundred metres from the beach it was still only about 5 metres deep. There was very little marine life and the few outcrops of coral were unimpressive. Andrew saw a few tiny grey fish, then a larger one, then a few tiny blue and black striped ones before finally spotting a really pretty coral sunfish. For a few seconds he admired its bright yellow stripes before the movement of another snorkeller sent it flitting away among the coral rocks.
The proximity of dozens of other snorkellers was both a comfort and a source of irritation to Andrew. Apart from their own group the tourist launches had brought many others, including several large groups of Japanese. Because of his fear of sharks Andrew kept glancing out towards the deeper water and also tried to make sure that other swimmers were between him and the open ocean. He deliberately lingered in the shallower water until Muriel swam on. Then he felt compelled to follow.
The actual snorkelling he enjoyed. To try to prove to himself that he wasn’t really scared he deliberately made himself dive down to the bottom and then practice snorting his snorkel clear when he returned to the surface. The only part of that he did not enjoy was the rattling, sucking sound of the water drops which remained in the tube after he had blown most of the water out.
They snorkelled for half an hour, swimming out almost to the end of the pier and then back in again. As they swam slowly back on the other side of the pier Andrew felt his nervousness increase. The next dive was upon him!
CHAPTER 6
TESTED
Even as the group waded into the shallows and then walked up the beach Andrew was tested. Muriel chattered on happily about how enjoyable the snorkelling had been. Beyond her was Shona, who partially unzipped the front of her wet suit. This exposed her cleavage and Andrew had to make himself look away so that he would not stare. The wet suit was squashing Shona’s boobs up so that they bulged quite noticeably.
‘I don’t want Muriel to think I am like that,’ he thought. But he found he could not stop himself glancing frequently towards Shona and that got him annoyed at his own weakness.
Setting up their SCUBA equipment helped him take his mind off that. The gear was laid out on a tarpaulin under a tree at the top of the beach. Andrew swung on his weight belt and did it up, then secured his air tank to his BCD and checked the pressure, very aware that the instructors were watching. Next he hoisted Muriel’s tank and BCD up and held it while she did up her straps. He then checked they were secure. She did the same for him and they then stood facing each other and tested their air sources.
Carmen then insisted they have some photos taken. She got Andrew to take one of her and then she took one of him. That gave Andrew the idea of getting a photo of Muriel and he suggested Carmen take photos of the others as well. Carmen gave him a knowing look but nodded and asked if anyone else wanted a photo. Both Blake and Shona readily agreed
and asked for both individual shots and one of them together. By then Andrew was worrying that Muriel might say no. To his relief she finally said yes and then posed shyly while Carmen took the snap.
As soon as Carmen had put her camera back in her bag Sub Lt Sheldon led them down the beach and into the water. He had a polystyrene float about 1m X 2m with lines attached and a blue and white diver’s flag on it. This was towed out by him as the group waded in. Once it was deep enough they sat or crouched and pulled on fins, then spat in face masks and rinsed them.
As Andrew adjusted the fit of his face mask he was aware that he was gulping air from anxiety and he tried to calm himself. ‘It is only for a minute,’ he told himself, trying to push the face mask test to the back of his mind.
Sub Lt Sheldon explained the sequence of tests and the navigation for the dive. PO Walker set off towing the raft while he did this. The dive was simple enough; first a 50m surface swim using the compass; then a free descent to no more than 9 metres; and lastly the mask flood and clear. After surfacing they would be tested at removing equipment in the water.
“We will have a bit of a swim around under water before we do the test,” Sub Lt Sheldon said. “The whole dive will be for about half an hour. OK, snorkels in and start finning!”
There was nothing for it but to do as he said. There was no way Andrew was game enough to admit he was scared! He fitted his snorkel and slid forward beside Muriel. For the next ten minutes he concentrated on swimming along using the underwater compass. The whole group swam out for about 200 metres, this time going well clear of the pier and other groups. By the time they reached the point where the float had been anchored Andrew was both puffed and very anxious. The bottom looked a long way down. Worse still they were now out on the fringe of the reef and the deep water looked to be only another fifty or 100 metres.
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