Don’t trust the wrong light…

Every night dive briefing contains the same sentence.

"It's just the same dive site... but at night."

Technically correct.

In the same way your house is the same after somebody turns all the lights off.

The coral is still there.

The sand is still there.

The boat is (hopefully) still above you.

Everything else becomes negotiable.

Your Buddy Becomes a Government Requirement

Day dive: somewhere nearby.

Night dive: visible at all times.

Not out of affection.

Out of practicality.

Your Torch Is Now a Personality Trait

It stops being equipment surprisingly quickly.

Everything inside the beam is important.

Everything outside it can wait until tomorrow.

Shrimp Become celebrities

Day dive:

"Nice turtle."

Night dive:

"COME HERE IMMEDIATELY."

It's a shrimp.

Everyone comes anyway.

You Follow the Wrong Buddy

You're certain that's your guide.

It isn't.

You've now met Richard.

Confused, Richard has accepted you…

TORCH TECHNIQUE IS LIFE

Some sweep slowly across the reef.

Others conduct air traffic.

One person will shine it directly into your mask.

Several times.

The Reef Has NEW STAFF

The butterflyfish have clocked off.

The octopus has started work.

The crabs are out.

The morays are finally interested in socialising.

Same reef.

Different shift.

Everything Has Eyes

You shine your torch into a hole.

Something shines back.

Sometimes it's a shrimp.

Sometimes it's a crab.

Often it's a reminder that you are not the homeowner.

The Torch-Off Moment

Eventually, the guide asks everyone to switch their torches off.

The reef disappears.

For three seconds, everyone becomes rather interested in having a torch again.

Somebody turns theirs back on.

Usually, they claim they were checking something.

Usually, that person was you.

THE EXTRA SAFETY STOP

Just a small circle of lights beneath the boat.

Nobody is chasing turtles.

Nobody is photographing anything.

Everyone is suddenly very good at staying close together.

By the time you climb back aboard, you’ve technically dived the same site you could have done that afternoon.

Same reef.

Same coral.

Same entry point.

The briefing wasn’t wrong.

It was just withholding information.