DEEP
THE OCEAN IS A PLACE OF DEEP SERENITY. IT ALSO CONTAINS SHARKS — A FACT THAT BECOMES GLARINGLY APPARENT WHILE FREEDIVING IN CAPE TOWN. WORDS: HELEN WALNE
“Okay, people. Listen up. A few safety rules,” says Brocq Maxey, an American with blond surfer hair and galaxies of freckles across his nose. He’s standing in the small cabin of the boat like a preacher in a pulpit. The nine of us along for the trip are frantically kitting up: arms are being wrangled into wetsuits, masks are being spat into and weights are being heaved on. I’ve spent the last 10 minutes trying to mash my neoprene-covered feet into the pocket of my fins, corral my fingers into gloves and don the diving hood in such a way that I don’t feel as though I’m in a sensory deprivation tank. Across from me, my regular dive
buddies Keri Muller and Lisa Beasley look like aliens in their wetsuits. This is because, despite Cape Town’s waters oſten hitting a chilly 12C, we always dive suitless, preferring to feel the water rather then blocking it out. But a blue shark has just been spotted and a prerequisite for getting into its domain is that we wear wetsuits.
Adventure September 2018 33
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