又名「魔術」

English version

    我才剛走進潛水船船艙，馬克就大叫：「魔術！」

    我回答：「早安，」馬克總是叫我「魔術」。

    半年前剛開始在這艘潛水船上工作時，得到這個綽號。那天我帶著幾個客人體驗潛水，他們有點緊張，完全不會踢蛙鞋，得拖著他們在水中游，方向完全由我掌控。

    趁著這個機會，拖著客人去探索我還沒去過的區域，然後才開始游回潛水船。游了好久都沒看到潛水船，也找不到用來綁船，沉在海底的大水泥塊。

    我有點後悔：「該不會是迷路了吧？應該一直待在潛水船附近的。」

    看到海床上的大水泥塊和延伸到水面上的繩子時，總算是鬆了一口氣。開始讓所有客人拉著繩子往上拉回海面。

    我有遲到這麼久嗎？覺得奇怪，水中都沒看到其他人，其他潛水的人應該都在差不多一樣的時間回來。

    「SHIT！」抬頭望向水面時，不禁心中吶喊，「這不是我們的船啊！」這條繩子是綁在船頭，而我們的潛水船是綁在船尾的。

    檢查自己的氣壓表，剩下的空氣不足以繼續在水中尋找我們的潛水船了。沒辦法，只好繼續讓客人拉著繩子回到水面。

    回到水面看到船身上的船名「Reef Magic」，再看到幾百公尺外我們的潛水船時，大吃一驚，怎麼會差這麼遠？

    心裡想，也許從水面游回去的話，不會讓太多人發現我迷路了。可是轉頭看看客人們，雖然他們剛才在水中都沒有踢蛙鞋，看起來都累了，更不可能從水面上游回去。不得已只好叫我們的船來接我們。每個同事都知道我迷路有多誇張了。

    回到船上後，同事說：「以後可以叫你『魔術』了。」

    看來，除非我離職換工作，不然這個綽號要跟我一輩子了。

Also Known As Magic

    "Magic!" Mark shouted as soon as I stepped in the saloon on the dive boat.

    "Good morning," I replied. Mark always called me Magic.

    I got this nickname a half years ago when I just started working on this dive boat. I was taking customers diving. It was their first-ever SCUBA diving experience and they were a little scared. They did not kick their fins at all, so I was dragging them to wherever I wanted.

    I took the chance to visit all the areas that I had not visited before, then I started swimming back to the dive boat. I could not see the boat nor the big concrete block on the seabed that the boat was moored up with after swimming for a while.

    "Am I lost?" I though, "I should've just stayed near the boat."

    Finally I saw a big concrete block with a rope linked to a boat. What a relief. I had all the customers hand on the rope and pull themselves up to the surface.

    "Am I so late?" I wondered because there were no other divers near the concrete block. Other divers were supposed to come back around the same time.

    "SHIT!" I screamed in my head, "This is not our boat!" as I looked up to the surface. The rope was linked to the front of the boat, whereas our boat was linked in the back.

    I checked my air gauge, but no enough air to keep searching for our boat underwater. No choice but had the customers back to the surface along the rope.

    "Reef Magic?" I saw the name on the hulk of the boat when I got back to the surface. "How come I went so far?" I saw our boat was a few hundred meters away.

    "Maybe not many people will know if we swim back to our boat on surface," I thought. I looked at the customers and realized they could not make it. They looked tired although they did not swim underwater. They definitely could not swim on the surface. I had to signal our boat to come to pick us up. Everyone would know that I got so lost.

    "We can call you Magic," said my coworker when I got back to our dive boat.

    Damn! I knew this name is going to stick with me for a long long time if not lifetime.

恐慌潛水員

English version

        他在海面上載沈載浮，胡亂地揮舞雙手。他吐掉呼吸用的調節器，張開嘴想吸氣，結果是喝了不少海水。我已經按壓他的潛水裝備的充氣鈕，但是不知道為什麼浮力不夠支撐他，讓他的頭部浮出水面。

        把調節器塞回他的嘴裡，但是他一直把調節器吐掉。試了幾次，他越來越驚慌，開始抓著我的手臂。很想對他大叫不要吐掉調節器，因為那是他唯一的空氣來源。可是不想冒險把自己的調節器從嘴裡拿出來。我距離他太近了，他隨時會失去理智擒抱住我。

        已經花掉太多時間，開始擔心他會嗆到水。試著讓他躺著把臉部露出水面，但是沒有成功。他抓我的手臂越來越緊。正當想不出其他辦法時，同事已經趕到，把他拖回船上。

         當這一切告一段落，我還是不停地想是哪裡做錯了。我受過水上救生員和潛水教練的訓練，應該要能自己處理這個狀況。這只不過是一般的恐慌潛水員，我已經處理過很多次了。

        回到船上後，同事找出癥結所在：裝備充氣鈕的連接管有點鬆脫。按充氣鈕只能短暫地充氣，不到一秒鐘就停止充氣了。

        除了沒有注意到裝備沒有完全充氣，我還犯了一個重大的錯誤。還有其他的方法可以讓那個潛水員浮在水面上。應該把他的配重帶拿掉，如果把數公斤重的配重帶拿掉，即使裝備沒有完全充氣，他應該也會立即浮在水面上。還可以把自己的裝備完全充氣，讓自己變成救生浮標。

        總之，我太焦慮以至於沒有想到其他的辦法，就像那個恐慌潛水員太驚慌把空氣來源吐掉一樣。以為自己已經能處理所有水中的狀況，其實，還差得遠了。 

Panic Diver

    He was waving his hands and his head was up and down at the surface. He spit out the regulator, opened his mouth, try to suck in air, but swallowed water instead. I had had pressed the inflator of his diving equipment but somehow the buoyancy was not strong enough to keep his head above the surface.

   I tried to shut the regulator back into his mouth, but he kept spitting it out. After a few tries, he was getting more panic and grabbed my arm. I wanted to shout at him for spitting out the regulator which was the only air supply he had. I did not risk to take out my regulator from my mouth. I was too close to him, and he could grapple me around the neck any second.

   I already spent too much time and worried that he was choking on water. I tried to lay him up to keep his face above the surface. I failed and he grab my arm harder and harder. When I was running out of idea, my colleague came and pull him back to the boat.

   After the drama came to an end, I still could not stop thinking of what I did wrong. I was supposed to handle this situation by myself. I was trained to be a lifeguard and a dive instructor. This was just another ordinary panic diver that I had dealt with for many times.

   My colleague figured out the root cause that made the panic diver up and down at the surface when I went back to the boat. The host connecting to the inflator was a little loose. The inflator worked for a second only when I pressed the button. Then, it stopped inflating.

   Not only I did not notice the dysfunctional inflator problem, I also made a huge mistake. There were more than one way to create buoyancy to support the panic diver. I should have taken out the  diver’s weight belt. If I had done that, the diver’s head would instantly pop out of water even his diving equipment was only partially inflated. I could also fully inflate my diving equipment so that I could have become a giant rescue buoy.

   To conclude, I was too anxious to overlook the alternatives at hand like the diver was too panic to spit out the air supply. I thought I were competent to deal all situations in water. In fact, I still have a long way to go.

體驗潛水三寶

English version

         體驗潛水的客人，對於在海底能看到什麼的要求不高。尤其是第一次參加的，只知道要去看魚和珊瑚。一般而言，至少有三件法寶可以讓這些客人開心。

        第一件法寶是海参。海底到處都是海参，但是不知道什麼，客人的目光會被這些其貌不揚的生物吸引。只要撿起這些跑不掉的海參，放在客人手上，甚至戴在頭上，就可以讓客人開心。不過，這個方法有點爭議，因為身為潛水教練，其實不應該帶頭亂摸海洋生物。

        第二件法寶是硨磲貝。 硨磲貝寬度可以超過一公尺，遠距離就可以辨識。再加上， 硨磲貝是在固定的地點不動。只要導航能力不要太差，很容易就能找到一個硨磲貝讓客人把臉貼近拍照。所以，這也是最容易的水中攝影地點。

        最後一件法寶是Nemo。這種魚以前叫做海葵魚或小丑魚。自從動畫「海底總動員（Finding Nemo）」上映之後，這種魚就改名為Nemo了。由於它的全球知名度和討喜的外表，Nemo是讓女性客人開心的最佳方法。和動畫不同的是，尋找Nemo沒有那麼困難，因為它們總是待在海葵裡，很少搬家。不過，要找到適當地點讓客人可以坐在海底近距離觀賞Nemo就不太容易。

        還有其他讓客人開心的方法，但是這些是最常見的方法。當運氣不好，找不到鯊魚或海龜給客人看的時候，至少還有壓箱底的法寶可用。

Entertainment Options In An Introductory Dive

   Introductory divers expect little to see while making bubbles underwater. Especially the first time divers have only an abstract idea about fish and coral. In general, there are at least three options for entertaining introductory divers.

   The first option is sea cucumbers. Sea cucumbers are often scattered on the seabed in a massive number, but somehow, introductory divers are attracted by these ordinary creatures. An instructor can easily picks up a sea cucumber for customers to hold on hands or even wear the sea cucumber on head. However, it could be controversial for a dive professional to tease marine life.

   The second option is giant clams. Giant clams are so large that they can be recognized from a distance. In addition, giant claims stay in a fix location. As long as an instructor is not too bad at navigation, it is easy to find a giant clam and take a photo of customers with their faces right above the giant clam. So, it is often the best choice for photos.

   The last option is Nemo. They used to be called anemone fish or clown fish. Due to the film Finding Nemo, the fish changed its name overnight in all languages. Their world-wide reputation and adorable outlooking make them the best choice for entertaining female customers. Unlike the film, finding Nemo is not too difficult because Nemo always stay with anemone and hardly ever relocate. However, it could be difficult to find the Nemo at a prefect location where customers can sit on the seabed for closely watching the small fish.

   There are more entertainment options in an introductory dive. But, the above options are the most common ones when customers are not lucky enough to encounter a reef shark or a sea turtle.

暫時逃離工作的潛水旅遊

English version

       訂位中心：「嗯..你可以在六點四十五分之前到達接送地點嗎？就在..」

       我沒等她說完：「可以，我知道在哪裡。」

       已經是六點二十分了，但是有預先準備好行李，早早就抵達接送地點。第三次參加這個旅行，已經是訓練有素的乘客了。

       到了船上，有些船員已經認得我了，不再多費唇舌指示什麼。船員伺候其他乘客時，我只是坐在一旁看著。在水下，潛水導遊在照顧其他潛水客時，我只顧著拍照片。回程，潛水團隊在甲板上收拾裝備，我在乘涼午睡。這趟旅行讓我回想起以前參加潛水旅遊的樂趣。真希望每週都可以暫時逃離工作來潛水旅遊。

    照片是大堡礁小丑魚（Barrier Reef Anemonefish），拍攝於 Agincourt 珊瑚礁群的潛點 The Gap

A Diving Getaway

   “Hmm, can you go to the pickup location by six forty five? It’s…” the reservation centre said.

   “Yes, I can,” I interrupted her, “I have been there. I know where it is.”

   It was six twenty already, but I had prepared my bag in advice and arrived at the pickup location early. I became a well trained passenger for the third time on this trip.

   On the boat, some crew recognized me and did not bother to give me instructions. I sit back while the crew was serving other passengers. Underwater, I took photos while the dive guide was taking care of other divers. On the way back, I took a nap under the shed while the dive team was packing up equipment on the deck. This trip reminded me those fun dives I used to have. I wished to have a diving getaway every week.

    The photo was a Barrier Reef Anemonefish, taken at The Gap, Agincourt Reef.

出乎意料的員工旅遊

English version

        「嗨，我是公司員工，名字是Sean。幾天前有傳真員工旅遊申請，不曉得今天船上有沒有位子。」我打電話給訂位中心時，還沒完全清醒，人還躺在床上，聲音沙啞到連自己都嚇一跳。不過，同樣的電話打過好幾次，沒清醒也能說出問題。

        訂位中心回答：「 這艘船今天訂滿了，」

        「喔，」又沒候補上，準備掛電話繼續睡覺。

        訂位中心繼續說：「不過，另一艘船還有一個位子，」

        瞬間清醒了。完全出乎意料，以為和前四週一樣又沒位子。要訂的船沒有位子居然還可以候補別的船。更重要的是，我還躺在床上，卻要在30分鐘內抵達接送地點。掛上電話後，把所有東西丟進包包，趕去接送地點。直到坐上了接送的遊覽車，還是興奮不已，一切的等待都是值得的。

        這次的照片是粉紅小丑魚

Surprising Staff Travel

    “Hi, I'm a staff member and my name is Sean. I've faxed a travel request a few days ago. Is the boat fully booked today?” I called the reservation centre. I was still in bed, not totally awaken. Yet, I could spit out the question without thinking since I had asked the same question for many times.

   “The boat is fully booked today,” the reservation centre answered.

   “Oh,” I was disappointed again. I was about to hang up the phone and get back to sleep.

   “But there is one seat available on another boat,” the reservation centre continued.

   I was totally awaken now. It was surprising because I thought I would fail again as same as the past 4 weeks. Moreover, I had to get on the pickup location within 30 minutes but I was still in bed. After hanging up the phone, I chucked everything in my bag and rushed to the pickup location. I was still thrilled when I got on the pickup coach. All the long waits were worth.

    The photo is a pink clownfish.

員工旅遊福利

English version

        「這裡是訂位中心，有什麼能為您服務？」

        「我在候補早上的員工旅遊。可以幫我查一下有沒有位子嗎？」

        「是Sean嗎？」訂位中心神速回答。

        「是的。」莫非我的名字在旅客清單中？怎麼這麼快就找到我的名字？

        「很不幸地，今天已經訂滿了。」

        不知道是不是候補太多次，訂位中心已經知道我的名字了。公司提供員工旅遊福利，只要是公司經營的旅遊行程沒訂滿，都可以用很低的價錢去玩。在這家公司工作之後，每週休假都去候補，目前為止一勝三敗。12月是這裡的旅遊旺季，希望下週能候補得到。

        圖片是凱恩斯下週的天氣預報

Staff Travel

    “This is the reservation centre. How can I help you?”

    “I am waiting for a staff travel this morning. Could you please help me check if I can take the trip?”

    “Is that Sean?” the reservation centre responded instantly.

    “Yes,” I answered. "How come he got my name so quickly? Is my name on the passenger list?" I wondered.

    “Unfortunately it is fully booked today.”

    I wondered if I had made so many travel requests that the reservation centre already knew me. The company I worked for provided employees travel benefits. I could have a trip operated by the company for a low price only if the trip was not fully booked. Since I started working for the company, I made travel requests whenever I had a break from work. So far, I successfully got only one out of 4 requests. December was the high season for tourism business here. Hopefully I would get a trip next week.

    The figure is Cairns Weather Forecast for the following week.