The diving buddy lottery

That's it, he's here! The n ° 2 of Plongeur.com Magazinefor free download. All beautiful, all color, all multimedia, with real bubbles inside. On page 38, my small contribution: a humorous bill entitled Beware of the ball! 

Diving with strangers when traveling solo

But this little text could have been called The diving buddy lottery. Or The quest for the ideal buddy… Or The art of diving at the end of the world with strangers when you're a diver who travels solo... Yes, yes. It's heavy, it's real. 😂

You can tell it's a stressful experience...

Plongeur.com Magazine: download it!

Well, that's not all. I've barely had time today to skim through this new issue, packed with images, reports and moving stories...

I think I saw some stunning images of sharks and mantas. I can't wait!

A big bravo to the editorial team, who sweated blood and pixels to bring this new version to life. Impressive work.

I copy-paste, below, my prose for Plongeur.com Magazine and I'm going to dive right back in... To download it (it's free), click on the links below:

→ Plongeur.com: the n ° 2
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Beware of the ball! The quest for the ideal buddy ...

The annoying thing with divers is that they go in pairs. Yes.

When we solo trip, or in insubmersible company, it is necessary to be resigned to it: being not two to bubble, one is registered automatically in the lottery of the pairs! And me, every time I go back to Asia, my favorite diving destination, I have to start my quest for the ideal buddy again.

Always, this little fear reappears, when I put my bag at the end of the world ... Who will they give me as a pair? Will I escape the curse of the ball?

There is the beginner ball: high-speed air thrower, sand mixer and coral breaker, I have the opportunity to curse him a thousand times when he plays fish scarecrows. But the confirmed cannonball has nothing to envy: a furious kicking only want to see the "fat", who toothy measure the adorers of the "little" and loves to be the one who has the biggest ... depth on his computer !

Two pairs to flee. If possible. In diving centers as in cruise ships, the staff takes care in principle to match compatible divers of the same level. Still, it is necessary to have something to compose a consistent team among the rare solitaires entered on the board ...

One day, off Koh LantaIn Thailand, I found myself flanked by a very kind, but too zealous binomette. She did not want to let go of a palm! I tried to dig the distance, to signal to him to move a little, in vain. She kept sticking to me, to hit me, to scare the critters I wanted to flash.

Ah yes ! Small precision of importance: I have the annoying habit of taking pictures under water. So, my ideal buddy is him (or her) also a photographer, preferably. So adept of slowness. Attentive and accomplice. Passionate and enthusiastic. And, of course, he has humor.

A rare pearl ? Not so sure.

The ideal buddy exists. I met him. Several times. There are traveling pairs that I will never forget. As Sabrina, and Linda, met in Sipadan, Malaysia, three years apart. Two experienced divers, sensitive, synchronous with my own rhythm and my affinities. Wonder shared in front of the schools of barracudas, sharks and turtles ...

And To fart, a solid, funny and caring guy, who has webbed by my side in the waters of Nusa Penida, off Bali. It is a bit to him that I must have been able to admire the lunar swimming of the fabulous mola-molas, in a stream to decorate the nudibranchs. Memorable!

Finally, in case of odd number, I become the binomette of the guide of palanquée. Top. Especially if said guide is a local guy, who knows the sites like his pocket.

I want to greet here the latest ones: Aris and Witjak, two Indonesian divers who watched over my bubbles, Pulau Wehin North Sumatra, in March. But this is another story…

😎