Underwater classroom> Exploring the ocean’s treasures starts for couple at a scuba-diving class

Lyn-Dee Olekson and Bill Anderson are not the type of people who are satisfied with sitting along the shoreline.

The couple, who met a few months after joining the Canadian Air Force about nine years ago, have developed a taste for adventure. They have done rock climbing and white-water rafting, and recently found a new sport to whet their appetites.

Olekson, 32, originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Anderson, 31, from Comox, British Columbia, currently are immersed in scuba-diving lessons. Stationed in Bangor, the couple plan to marry in April, and their desire to make their honeymoon as memorable as possible led them to the water sport.

“When you go through the books, you see all the places and all these tons of packages, hotels, and partying and everything,” Olekson says. “I just want to go and do something different.”

After wading through all the travel brochures, the couple decided that following their trip down the aisle, they wanted to take the plunge in the Caribbean, literally.

“This is more of a kind of nature place to go to,” Anderson says, referring to the Turks & Caicos Islands, where the couple is planning to spend their two-week honeymoon. “I’ve been swimming with giant sea turtles before, and that’s really cool, and this place has got a place where they nest. I guess there’s a dolphin that hangs out in one place that everybody swims with, so there’s some neat variety of things to do.”

Olekson adds that because of the unspoiled reefs and coral walls that the Turks & Caicos area has to offer, it is considered one of the top 10 scuba-diving spots in the world.

Before Olekson and Anderson can slip on some flippers, don air tanks and enjoy the underwater world of the Caribbean, however, they first need to learn the skills and safety procedures involved in scuba diving. That is exactly what they are doing through a class offered by Maine Divers, a local scuba-diving store in Bangor.

On a recent Tuesday night, the class of eight novice scuba divers, including Olekson and Anderson, meets at the Bangor YWCA pool. Dressed like true frogmen, the students leap into the pool and are led through their drills, practicing such techniques as proper breathing with the air tanks, using flippers and clearing their masks of water.

The class instructor is Paul Montgomery of Hampden, who has been scuba diving for about 10 years.

“Pretty much anybody who is in reasonable health and is reasonably comfortable in the water is eligible to learn to dive,” Montgomery says. “We’ve had them as young as 12; we’ve had them as old as 62.”

A former Millinocket firefighter, Montgomery says he became interested in scuba diving while sitting in front of the TV and watching “Sea Hunt” as a child. Although Lloyd Bridges faced weekly dangers on the 1950s series, Montgomery says that scuba diving is much safer than many people realize.

“The recreational sport of diving is very, very safe, as long as the established safe practices are followed,” he says.

Despite a few fogged-up masks and the occasional coughs caused by swallowing the less-than-tasty chlorinated water, the students seem to sail fairly smoothly through their drills.

Olekson, however, admits that at first she was nervous about getting in the pool, but the butterflies soon disappeared.

“I was (nervous), and then when I got in the water I wasn’t. It’s funny how it ends up being so natural,” she says. “You really wish you were in open water so you would be seeing something instead of the bottom of a pool.”

Much of the 30-hour course offered by Maine Divers is devoted to teaching safety precautions, says Montgomery. He adds that many of the students are initially surprised at how much emphasis is placed on this aspect of the class, and they don’t expect quizzes, tests and homework on the material.

“I didn’t think there was going to be so much in-depth academics. I didn’t expect that,” Olekson agrees. “Now that we’ve been to a couple (of classes), I can see why you need to keep reviewing what you’ve learned, because it is important. I mean, safety is No. 1.”

In addition to the academic portion of the course, a lot of focus is placed on getting students to develop their scuba-diving skills both in a pool and in lakes or along the coast, says Montgomery. Because the teacher-to-student ratio of the classes is small, the instructors are able to give a lot of personalized attention while the classes are in the water, he says.

The attention obviously is appreciated, as the drenched faces of the students light up in their scuba masks after hearing a “good job” or receiving a handshake from their instructor.

“I’m really impressed with the teaching method, because it’s really well set up. It makes you want to become an instructor,” Anderson says. “There’s a real sense of accomplishment when you finish some of the drills.”

Upon completion of the course, the students receive their open-water certification. Because of a recent change of plans, however, Olekson and Anderson may not be able to join their fellow classmates in becoming certified in Maine. The couple, who have been stationed in Maine for about three years, recently received orders to move to North Bay, Ontario, in April.

Because Maine waters will not likely be warm enough for the couple to complete the certification part of their class, they expect to certify elsewhere at a later date. The sudden move is also postponing the honeymoon plans of Cpl. Olekson and Capt. Anderson.

“The time that we’re moving was the exact time that we had planned to be on the honeymoon, so we’re lucky the wedding didn’t get canceled,” Anderson says.

Despite unexpected obstacles, Olekson and Anderson do plan to have their open-water certification and their honeymoon fun in the sun by next February.

Anderson points out, however, that his fiancee might do a little delaying of her own after watching television a few weeks ago.

“The worse thing that happened was they had shark week on the Discovery Channel. I shouldn’t have let Lyn-Dee watch that,” Anderson says. “She swore after shark week she was going to buy a spear gun.”