Different Water, Same Diver
When I was diving in Fiji earlier this year, a few lighthearted comments were made about what I was wearing and my gear setup. I was wearing tech shorts and a backplate and wing in warm, tropical water while the majority of folks where in jacket BCDs. Nobody meant anything by it. It was friendly teasing, the kind that happens between divers from different backgrounds. But it made me think about how diving style follows personality. Some divers adapt to every environment by changing everything about how they dive. I tend to stay myself. Different water, same diver.
That has less to do with gear and more to do with mindset. The habits that make me comfortable in cold, limited visibility Midwest quarries are the same ones that make me comfortable on a reef in Fiji or Hawaii. I like to plan. I like to have backups. I check my gear twice, even when it has never failed me. Those things are not caution as much as familiarity. They are what let me focus on the dive instead of thinking about what might go wrong.
Every diver builds their own comfort system. For some it is lightness and freedom, for others it is redundancy and structure. What matters is not the style, but the honesty behind it. Diving has a way of showing you who you are. You can look like a minimalist and still be anxious, or carry extra gear and feel perfectly relaxed. The key is knowing which version of diving brings you calm. Once you find that, it travels with you anywhere.
There is something grounding about being the same diver in every environment. It gives the trip continuity. Warm water, clear water, or cold water, I still run the same checks and think the same way. I still clip off hoses, verify gas, and test my lights. I do it not because I need to, but because it centers me. The rhythm of those actions feels like a pre-dive meditation.
By the time you read this, I will be diving off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii with Gabe at Kaimana Divers. The water will be warmer than Chicago, the gear lighter, and the conditions friendlier, but me the diver will be the same. The calm will not come from the temperature or the visibility. It will come from habit and awareness. That is the point of all the practice, all the reflection, and all the small details that seem unnecessary until they are needed.
Every environment tests something different. Cold water tests endurance. Warm water tests control. Travel tests organization. Group diving tests patience. Through all of it, you learn that capability is portable. If you have learned how to stay balanced, aware, and deliberate, you can take that anywhere.
Different water does not change who you are.
Mahalo
