Many deep-sea divers might spend their entire careers beneath the waves without discovering anything remarkable.
However, for British Columbia couple Cailin Lindsay and Maxwel Hohn, a recent diving adventure led to finding a treasure chest, a gold ring, and a lifelong commitment to each other.
This moment was the grand finale of an elaborate marriage proposal that Hohn, an Emmy-award-winning underwater filmmaker, had been meticulously planning for the last 18 months, as he shared with Global News.
“It needed to be a grand setting for such an important moment, and I wanted to surprise her completely, so I chose the Galapagos Islands,” he explained.
“I had told her I wouldn’t propose underwater, so she had no idea this was going to be that kind of trip.”
The journey to the Galapagos was not straightforward.
Lindsay and Hohn both hail from the Sunshine Coast, and although they are both passionate divers, they only met about eight years ago.
Hohn was acquainted with Lindsay’s father through the diving community, and during a serendipitous meeting, her brother mentioned her name, playing matchmaker a bit.
“Maxwel kind of said, ‘Wait, your dad never mentioned you had a daughter,’ and he took it from there,” she recalled.
The couple’s first date took place in Mexico, where they dived together among schools of jackfish and bull sharks.
“We are both adventurous by nature, and our relationship has been a grand adventure from day one, starting with our first dive date,” said Lindsay.
“When I first saw her diving and witnessed her underwater skills, I knew she was the one,” added Hohn.
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Years later, after they began collaborating on Hohn’s wildlife cinematography projects, he felt the time was right for a proposal.
This complex operation required the assistance of several friends and an Ecuadorian company named Galaxy Expeditions to secure the impressive backdrop.
“The biggest challenge was keeping it under wraps. I was coordinating with several people to set up this surprise, and they were messaging me, so I had to be really discreet with my phone around her,” he shared. “As many know, hiding things like that from your partner is quite difficult.”
At one moment, the ring accidentally slipped out of Hohn’s bag while they were unpacking on the boat — but Lindsay was completely unaware.
As the moment approached, Hohn confessed he felt so anxious that he nearly backed out of the proposal.
“But I had a group of friends who were all in on the plan. We had already hidden a treasure chest, so the ring was underwater. I had four friends holding up big signs saying, ‘Will you marry me?’ hidden behind a rock,” he laughed.
Even more stressful was when they reached the seafloor, Hohn started doubting whether he could recall the exact spot where they had buried the ring.
His friends had told him it was right alongside a large turtle.
“With wildlife, you can’t predict what will happen, as turtles tend to move around, but luckily, when we arrived, a massive turtle was guarding the chest, which felt magical,” he recounted.
“Cailin spotted the turtle immediately and went over to investigate, which led her to the chest hidden behind it.”
Lindsay admitted she was initially hesitant about opening the chest, thinking, “It’s not ours to open,” but Hohn encouraged her to go ahead.
“Maxwel insisted I open it, so I finally lifted the lid, and there were pictures of us, a message in a bottle, and the ring,” she recounted.
“From that moment, I was completely in shock … my mask filled with tears, and I had to keep clearing it during the dive.”
The couple hasn’t yet surfaced enough to start planning their wedding.
However, they are confident it will take place above water.
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