Cold Water, Dark Caves, and Lots of Data: The Two Ocean Notes 2025 Review

I started Two Ocean Notes in June 2025. After a majestic trip to the Maldives, I felt an urge to document my journey and the steep learning curve of scuba diving.

Some might say blogging is “so early 2000s” and that AI is currently crowding the internet with synthetic voices. However, I’ve found that modern tools (including LLMs) actually help lower the barrier to organizing my thoughts. I’m happy to share my learnings in a structured way, even if only for my own benefit.

I’ll be honest: I often wonder if my voice gets drowned out. I’m not the “prettiest” influencer, I’m not a pro photographer, and I’m not a dive professional. I’m still too shy to tell people about this blog when I meet them in real life! But every time I get a comment or a message saying a post helped someone, I know the effort is worth it.

>> Read more: recap my starting point “Why Two Oceans? My Journey into Diving, Travel, and This Blog“

Digital Footprint: 2025 vs. 2026

2025 Reflections

• The Blog: Published 22 articles. My ”Cold, Miserable, but Lively: Cold Water Diving in the Pacific Northwest” and “Essential Packing for Divers: Stay Calm! My Wetsuit, Single-Tank Edition” were the most popular (even if my overall view counts are “miserable” for now!).
• Instagram: Shared 87 posts and grew a small but mighty community of 253 followers.
• The “Vibe”: Instagram has become my “digital dive club.” I love seeing local condition reports and being slightly jealous of everyone’s amazing visibility and creature finds!

2026 Outlook

• Quality over Quantity: I’ll keep writing, but the frequency might slow down as I focus more on enjoying the dives and practicing the skills. I may branch out into general travel, though let’s be real: most of my trips are just made to dive.
• Streamlining: I’m stopping the cross-posting to my personal accounts and leaving Medium behind. If you want the “raw” dive content, you know where to find me!

View this post on Instagram

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The Logbook: 100+ Dives Later

2025 By the Numbers

• Total Dives: 105, plus about 30 hours of technical training.
• The Milestone: Completing Deco diving (ART/Helitrox) and Full Cave were the significant milestones. The planning and execution are much more complex, but the new territories they open up are worth the sweat.
• The Breakdown:
  • 50% Local (Puget Sound / Hood Canal)
  • 30% Tropical (Maldives & Tubbataha Liveaboards)
  • 20% Technical (Cave diving in Tulum)
  • This means 70% of the dives are in drysuit!
• Improved SAC rate: My average SAC rate dropped from 17.2 L/min to 13.6 L/min. I’m becoming a calmer, more competent diver, and the data proves it.

>> Read more: about SAC rate in my blog post “Complete Guide to Calculating Your SAC Rate (Calculators!)“

• The Gear “Investment”: We went big this year: new drysuits, X-Deep sidemount sets, Venture heated vests, and complete camera set-ups for GoPro and TG7. We spent 3x more than last year. My new O’three drysuit changed the game for cold-water diving. It’s sized bigger for more layers, though “made-to-measure” isn’t always a slam dunk (the arms are a bit short, and the socks are ginormous!).

I think we are done with buying scuba gears!
(Spoiler: I’m probably lying.)

By Pan

2026 Goals

• God’s Pocket Resort, Port Hardy, British Columbia: My first trip with a local dive shop! I can’t wait to experience the pinnacle of PNW diving.
• Cave Diving in Tulum: Planning to head back for the Sidemount Cave crossover. We’ve debated this for a while, but the final pushes comes from the fact that the Crystal Caves of Abaco (Bahamas) only allow sidemount. I still think starting in backmount was the right choice for me, and I’ll explain why in a future post!
• Local Exploration: I want to hit the current-sensitive or further away sites like Titlow, Sunrise Beach, and Keystone Jetty. And more boat dives!

>> Read more: “Diving in God’s Pocket” on DIVE Magazine

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Lessons from the Deep

The Challenges: This year taught me about diving philosophy. Dealing with groups in the Maldives who had the complete opposite approach to diving was tough (read about that drama here). But it helped me focus my own path and gave me the spark to start this blog.

The “Why”: Why do I keep jumping into 50°F water? Because I want to be better. I want to see the creatures, explore the caves, and reach the wrecks I’m currently training for.

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The Next Descent

As I look back on 101 dives, a lower SAC rate, and a much lighter bank account, I realize that 2025 was about finding a community that shares my obsession with oceans with curious marine life and dark caves filled with “cookies” (cave navigation markers).

If you’ve read a post, saved a guide, or commented on a reel—THANK YOU. You’ve made this “too late” blogger feel someone is still listening.

Where are you heading for your first splash of 2026? Let me know in the comments—maybe I’ll see you around!

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Editorial disclaimer

Please be aware that scuba diving is an inherently risky activity, even with certification and experience. The content on this blog reflects my personal opinions and experiences and should not be considered instructional. Always prioritize safety, seek guidance and certification from qualified diving professionals, and carefully consider the risks involved in any dives.