Seeing Through Water

As we look for anchorage at the end of every day, it is my job to position myself at the bow of the boat (this is where Kate Winslet stands with her eyes closed and arms outstretched with Leonardo di Caprio behind her in the movie Titanic) and watch out for shallows we might hit. Although we diligently consult the nautical charts and plot which areas we should avoid, I still need to visually watch out for reefs or coral heads when approaching shallow waters for anchorage while Raul is manning the helm at the back of the boat. It is a task I dread because it is not easy and the implications are enormous. If I don’t do my job well, the boat will hit bottom. At these moments, the burden of responsibility of keeping our boat safe is on me, the boat we bought with our life (and future) savings. This would be relatively easy though on bright sunny days with clear waters and a good pair of polarized shades.


I bought the shades I am using now from a Mango sale- because it was ridiculously discounted, fashionable and I know I will look good in them in pictures. I did not have “seeing through water” as a pre-prequisite for my purchase. The truth is, I stopped buying expensive quality shades many years ago because I either break them (they don’t survive spectacular catapaults while windsurfing and hobie-sailing) or unintentionally donate them to the sea. So I’ve taken to buying cheap imitations which I can break and lose anytime without feeling bad.

This is a choice I now regret. As I perch myself on the bow at the end of every day, with my heart in my throat, my husband expects me to be able to see through water and shout out if we should continue straight, left, right or back up. But it is far from easy and often times I wonder if, indeed, feasible, as we usually do this at the end of the day when light is fading and you can’t see corals until you’re just about to hit them, or we are facing the sun and the glare makes it impossible to see anything, or you are approaching a drop off where it can rise from 80 feet depth to 20 feet in seconds. It is a tense moment for me while I curse myself for not having good shades.

So what do I do? I pretend- I stand there with my back straight, eyebrows furrowed, fully concentrated on the water ahead, truthfully more for show than anything, if only to show Raul that I am doing my job when in reality all I see is blue water or the reflection of the sun on the water.

I will buy the best polarized shades when I get back to Manila. I don’t care what the price is.