Sad Scuba in Shelly Beach (January 26, 2026)
No need to feel too sorry for us. We simply had a bad scuba diving experience in Shelly Beach, Australia. But as one bumper sticker puts it, “My Worst Day of Scuba Diving Is Still Better than My Best Day At Work.” I don’t feel that way as I am head over heels in love with my work, but the point is made. There really isn’t such a thing as a “bad” scuba dive — just sub optimal.
Today, we repeated our snorkeling experience twice more, but this time with scuba equipment. It’s true that we can’t have epic scuba dives if we don’t also have some sad ones along the way too. Not awesome, but we made the best of it.
Violet gives her rating of our scuba dives today at Shelly Beach
Finding The Many Gifts In This!
I wouldn’t be “mentally fit” if I didn’t work with Violet to turn our sad frowns upside down. So there’s truly a lot to be grateful for in this sub-optimal experience. Let’s start with what happened (and the great lessons learned from today’s experience).
It was a Shore Dive. Shore dives are clunky and generally best left to the times when you have your own equipment. Boat dives are far superior. The Gratitude lesson for us here was to deeply appreciate all the boat dives we’ve done and will continue to do.
It was EXPENSIVE. At $700 AUS, this was THE most expensive scuba dive day we’ve had our entire trip. This covered 4 dives (2 for Violet and 2 for me). We get to be grateful for all the dives we did in Thailand and the Philippines that cost $65 or less (for 1 or 2 tank boat dives instead).
It was Repetitive. Not only was it a shore dive, it was the same shore dive twice. We can turn our gratitude for all the boat dives that take us to new places after having a wonderful first dive.
It was COLD. The water temperature had dropped from just a few days ago when Violet and I snorkeled here. We turned our gratitude to all the warm and sunny spots we’ve previously dove.
Currents where HIGH. So often, we don’t even think about the waves and currents. Grateful to be reminded that the ocean is strong and powerful and that when we’re on a boat, the “drift” is part of the planned experience (when there even IS a strong current to navigate).
Seeing The Bright Side & 10% That’s Great “As Is”
And so here’s where I get to deepen my gratitude for everything that went RIGHT. It’s a gift to be able to breathe under water in ANY conditions. How cool is it that both Violet and I are advanced enough to deal with any underwater conditions that we are up against?
We saw a purple turtle!!! This turtle was what were were looking for when we were snorkeling, but couldn’t find it. On this second dive, we spent a good 5 minutes watching the turtle eat grass. Beautiful looking turtle and so incredibly chill.
We were together having an experience. The whole point of this world tour is for Violet and I to bond together as father and daughter. Sometimes we bond over the crappy times more than the epic ones like yesterday’s Blue Mountain adventure (see related post).
And the ferry ride to and from Circular Quay to Manley Beach was incredible.
And it’s Australia Day! We’re in Sydney on their day of celebration. We saw fireworks just two nights ago celebrating this day. All is wonderful!
Violet and I have an epic time on the ferry to and from Manley Beach
Bottom Line: We can’t control the circumstances of our life, but we always have the opportunity to choose how we respond — including how we feel about said circumstances.
Life is fun and beautiful when I choose to accept it for what it is, rather than trying to control it and have it be what I want. Today, to borrow my father-in-laws words, “I choose happiness, health, wisdom and wealth … and in just that order.”
