During the long DEMA weekend I talked with Karl Huggins who runs the Catalina hyperbaric chamber off the coast of Los Angeles. Karl is such a strong supporter of the scholarship and has been taking on scholars for almost longer than he can remember! After a quick discussion on my interest in diving and hyperbaric medicine Karl very kindly offered to host me on Catalina Island for a few days. Being the absolute legend that he is he even offered to drive me there!
Upon arriving on the island one instantly feels the laid-back atmosphere only characteristic of idyllic island retreats such as Catalina. If you’re looking for a warm weather island getaway, with sunbathing on golden beaches then don’t look towards Santa Catalina Island, but if you love nature, especially of the underwater variety then I truly believe that this island is world class. Once underwater you are confronted with towers of kelp, reaching towards the sunlight from up to 40m below the surface. The subtle colour palate of greens, blues, greys, and blacks it shattered as brilliant bright red Garabaldi inquisitively approach, huge sea-hares slowly devour kelp stipes on the ocean floor and giant bass lazily float past without so much as a look of interest. If you are lucky playful harbour seals and/or sea lions can also frequent you on your dives. The life is large, energetic, and in your face. Just how I like it and it makes for some of the best diving that I have had the fortune to experience thus far.
However, I wasn’t on the island primarily to dive, it was merely a fortunate bonus. I was really there to learn more about hyperbaric medicine from Karl. During my stay Karl ran me through the Catalina Island Hyperbaric Department’s setup. Teaching me how to undertake a full chamber run, from the initial start up to manually keeping the chamber at pressure to shutting it all down. I undertook a run with no one in the chamber first, and then took the chamber for a spin with half a dozen high school kids from up the California coast! Needless to say I was slightly nervous with the weight of keeping everyone happy and safe. The 20m dive went fine with only a few stops along the way for stubborn ears refusing to equalise properly.
During my stay on the island Karl went above and beyond in his hosting of me. Beautiful meals would be prepared and he even adjusted his diet to my new found vegetarianism. Thanks Karl! We would spend the evenings either discussing hyperbaric medicine with its current and future potentials, or watching an amazing selection of sci-fi films. Karl also took me on a day trip to the larger town of Avalon where we had a chance to see the terrestrial landscape on the way there. Interestingly the island has it’s own Bison population brought there for the Hollywood film The Vanishing American in the 1920’s. Upon the films completion the powers to be decided it would be more cost effective to leave the Bison where they were rather than remove them from the island or make them into Bison burgers. Karl also thrashed me at mini-golf, that’s reason enough for me to return!
I really want to say a last minute note that during each experience on the scholarship the host plays such a massive role in the experience. As a trip organised right at the last minute I didn’t know what to expect on Catalina Island, let me tell you that I was truly blown away by Karl’s hospitality and friendship. He made it more enjoyable than I could have ever wished for and I learned so much. I truly hope to return for more diving of both the wet and dry variety, and many more sci-fi films!
