Some moments in life you wait a long time for. This one? I’ve been waiting decades.
I’ve been diving for over 15 years, and teaching as a PADI Instructor for more than 10. In that time, I’ve certified a lot of amazing people. But this past weekend, I finally got to do something I’ve dreamed of for years: certify one of my oldest and dearest friends.
Meet Kenn. I’ve known this guy since I was nine years old. (I’m 54 now — you can do the math!) We’ve shared childhood, laughter, stories, and life’s ups and downs. And now, we share scuba.
Kenn flew out from Oregon about a week and a half ago. He’d already knocked out his PADI eLearning, so we jumped right into confined water training last weekend. And since no DiveWithFrank visit is complete without a little topside fun, we also hit the Yankees vs. Orioles game — his very first baseball game — and I made sure he sampled some of Maryland’s finest food. Fueling divers is important, after all.
But the real reason he came east was this weekend: open water checkout dives at Lake Phoenix. His
first giant stride. His first breath in open water. His official entry into the tribe.
Conditions were classic Lake Phoenix. Surface temps at a cozy 76°F down to about 30 feet. Below that? Kenn got his first taste of a thermocline — that sudden chill that sneaks under your wetsuit and makes you realize, yep, this is the real deal. Visibility was, in a word, “challenging.” Saturday brought buckets of rain, but by Sunday the skies cleared and the quarry seemed to smile back at us. Almost like it was saying, “You’ve earned this sunshine, divers.”
What struck me most wasn’t just watching him demonstrate the skills — mask clears, reg recoveries, buoyancy checks. It was watching the transformation happen. At first there’s always that self-imposed tension, the sense that you’re performing for your instructor. But after the last dive, when we went for a fun dive together, I got to see that tension melt away. He wasn’t “showing proficiency” anymore. He was using his new skills to explore — to move where he wanted, to look where he wanted. That’s the moment you stop being a student and start being a diver.
And man, it’s hard to put into words how much joy that brought me. I love teaching — I really do — but teaching someone I’ve called a friend for 45 years? That’s next level. That’s the kind of memory you keep forever.
So Kenn, I’m proud of you. Proud to welcome you to the underwater tribe. Proud to say you’ve earned your fins. And most of all, proud that our next adventure is already lined up: Fiji, next year. Warm waters, soft coral, and stories we’ll tell for the rest of our lives.
Welcome to the underwater world, brother. Let’s do some diving.
— Frank