B EC O M I N G
A
PNW
SUB-MARINER
You’ve spent your life on Pacific Northwest waters. Now it’s time to go under them. As a scuba diver, I find it fascinating that relatively few lifelong sea salts venture below the ocean’s surface. Whether I’m nursing a wine glass at a yacht club mixer in Seattle or kicking back a Rainier tallboy at a commercial fisherman’s bar in Westport, the same phrase is likely uttered when broaching the topic of entering the brine: “No thanks! I’ve spent my life on
A
BY
NORRIS
COM E R
68 NORTHWEST YACHTING || APRIL 2019
the water, but there’s no way I’m going under.” To my sensibilities, this makes about as much sense as claiming to be a foodie but refusing to try any new cuisines. How do such avid ocean junkies resist at least dabbling in underwater recreation? How can we be content to only see a giant Pacific octopus at the aquarium, or to experience a shipwreck as a mere acoustic silhouette on a multi-