About Big Adventures
the origin of Big Adventures
In November, 2001, I attended a conference for plus size women called Women Living Large.
At the conference, I presented a workshop entitled Self Care for Unlimited Big Adventures.
As an illustration, I discussed my experiences learning to SCUBA dive as a fat woman. My point was that it was possible to do something quite adventurous and very physical and I didn't need to wait until "I lose weight." And, since I started to dive, I have become much more physically active and have felt much better about myself. Diving has really changed my life. The idea of the workshop was to discuss how to undertake a new challenge, any new challenge, while ensuring both physical and emotional safety.
Some of the women who attended my workshop about SCUBA voiced a desire to combine a Hawaii trip to learn SCUBA with some size accepting fellowship. I decided to plan such a trip to Hawaii in February (2002). The reason I chose that time was that it would be just about the peak of whale season. I was in Hawaii in February, 2001 and I saw many whales both from shore and from boats, but the most amazing thing was hearing and feeling (the vibrations in your body) the whale song while under water. (It was STILL amazing in 2002, 2003, and 2004!!)
the story so far
In February of 2002, Big Adventures embarked on it's maiden voyage.
Five women ventured to Maui for a week of SCUBA indulgence! Four of the women were plus sized, and one was a slender ally. Two of the women had never dived before; but in just a few short (well... okay... loooong) days they were certified open water divers! The other three women were certified divers with a variety of experience. While the two "newbies" were learning their skills, the certified divers explored a number of different shore dives — checking out green sea turtles, reef sharks, all kinds of butterfly fish, wrasses, nudibranchs, sea stars, eels, lots of coral, and some small caves. We also did some night diving, and saw some awesome slipper lobsters, Spanish Dancers, and pleurobranchs and played with squid. We were regularly serenaded by the song of the Humpback Whales.
Once the "newbies" were certified, we took a group trip by boat to Molokini — a marine and bird preserve. On one of their first dives after certification, the new divers descended to 80 feet and saw a colony of garden eels. The next dive was a drift dive. As we glided on the current we saw turtles (of course!), a gold lace nudibranch, Spanish Dancer eggs, and a Titan Scorpion fish. Everyone had the practice of being followed and picked up by the boat — much better than swimming against the current!
The following day we took another boat trip to the island of Lanai. Mother Nature was not having her best day, and underwater visibility was poor; only about 30-40 feet. We explored lava tubes and saw some unusual fish... a viper eel, a banded angel fish, a scrambled egg nudibranch. We also swam through coral arches. The high point of the day was stopping the boat for lunch, and watching whales breech and splash all around us. The group returned just in time for a dinner of pizza before watching the sunset and enjoying a relaxing night dive.
The following day, we split up — one of the new divers went on a guided naturalist dive.
One of the experienced divers went on some guided photo dives. Two divers did shore dives together. The fifth person couldn't dive because she would be flying later in the day, so she went off for a massage and a bit of shopping.
Before this trip, these five women had been strangers. They arrived at the airport in Maui and were "wisked off" to the "Big Adventure SCUBA House;" a three bedroom condominium. They took turns sharing cooking, cleaning and laundry duty. When they weren't diving, the Big Adventurers could be found napping, soaking in the hot tub, relaxing by the pool; wandering the beach, snorkeling, and shopping. In addition to learning to SCUBA dive, they got to know each other; new friendships were formed; and a wonderful sense of community developed.
As the week wound down, five satisfied, and a bit tired women, were making plans to return home. Two women had been introduced to SCUBA diving, and were now thinking about how they might do more of it. The experienced divers added a significant number of dives to their log book, as well as accomplishing a number of "firsts": first night dive, first tropical dives, first boat dive (for one). All had improved their navigational skills and had dramatically increased their confidence in their own skill levels.
Since that first trip, the number of Big Adventurers has continued to grow. Each group develops it's own unique sense of community. The one universal experience is the strong sense of accomplishment that all Big Adventurers report at the completion of their trip.