Love was quite literally in the air—underwater—when Canadian diver and underwater cinematographer Maxwel Hohn proposed to his partner, Cailin Lindsay, during a dive at one of the world’s most iconic marine sites: the Pillars of Evolution, formerly known as Darwin’s Arch, in the Galápagos Islands.
The elaborate proposal, believed to be the first of its kind at the historic dive site, took over a year of planning. With the support of the expert team at Galaxy Diver Liveaboards, Maxwel orchestrated a secret underwater moment that combined technical diving, marine wildlife, and love.
“Everything had to be perfect—the timing, the dive plan, the location of the chest,” said Maxwel. “The currents were intense, and for a moment, I thought I’d lost the chest—and the ring—with it. But then I saw a giant turtle resting beside it, like it was guarding the moment.”
Cailin, a health care worker from British Columbia, recalls thinking the dive would be a fastpaced drift. “It was the strongest current we’d had all week,” she said. “Then I spotted a massive turtle—and a chest right next to it. At first, I thought someone lost their movie prop.”
Inside the chest were laminated photos from their adventures together, and a bottle containing a love letter. As she processed what was happening, Cailin turned to see fellow divers lined up behind her holding signs reading: WILL YOU MARRY ME?
“I was crying so hard my mask flooded,” she said. “Then Maxwel showed me the ring. We held hands for the rest of the dive—I completely forgot how to dive. It was chaotic, emotional, beautiful, and totally us.”
Behind the scenes, it took an entire team of divers, photographers, and crew to pull it off under notoriously difficult conditions.
“I almost forgot to turn on my tank, I was so excited!” said Jorge Jurado, dive guide for Galaxy Diver II. “I was flying underwater, holding the signs like a kite in the wind.”
Adds Maxwel; “This could have never have happened without the work Galaxy Divers put in. They went above and beyond and turned this trip into a memory none of us will ever forget. They even cooked the two of us a special, romantic dinner that evening on the top deck of the boat while the sun set.”
“This place is amazing, and to experiences it with a group of friends, on a boat like this – and then have everyone contribute to the big question – it was a rollercoaster of feelings!” Photographers Steve Woods, Nicole Holman, and Julio Salvatori (PADI Latin America Regional Manager) all described the experience as both challenging and unforgettable.
“It was one of the most intense photographic assignments I’ve ever had—strong currents, swirling sharks, emotional chaos—but it was magical,” said Woods. “It felt like time stood still.”
The couple met by chance while vacationing in Mexico. Though both grew up in small communities on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, their paths had never crossed—until that moment.
Now engaged, Maxwel and Cailin plan to continue their life of adventure—above and below the surface.
“This was more than a proposal,” said Maxwel. “It was a celebration of everything we love: each other, the ocean, and the community that helped us bring it all together.”
Maxwel Hohn’s perspective:
Traveling and scuba diving have always been central to my life. When I met Cailin Lindsay, I knew I had found the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
We both grew up on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, in small coastal communities, yet somehow our paths never crossed. After high school, we each left the Coast—Cailin pursued a career in health care, while I built a life around diving and the ocean. Ironically, I once worked alongside her father, John Lindsay, as a seafood harvester, but he never mentioned he had a daughter!
Fate finally brought us together in Mexico while on vacation. We instantly clicked. On our first date, we went for a dive—and that’s when I knew she was the one. I didn’t want to rush into anything, but I also knew that when I proposed, it had to be unforgettable.
With a year of planning and the incredible support from Galaxy Diver Liveaboards, we set the stage for a once-in-a-lifetime underwater proposal at the world-renowned dive site, the “Pillars of Evolution,” formerly known as Darwin’s Arch.
I was nervous. Everything had to line up perfectly—timing, dive conditions, the team’s coordination. We chose the final dive of the day for the proposal, giving us time to scout the perfect spot to plant the treasure chest. While we suited up, the dive guides quietly went ahead to hide the chest and discreetly signaled its location to me.
As we descended, it felt like we dived into a wild river. The currents had picked up dramatically —it was like being in a washing machine. I came close to calling it off and postponing the plan to another dive site. But everyone on board was in on the surprise and rooting for us. I decided to push through.
I kept checking in with Cailin, signaling to make sure she was okay. She was calm and collected —a totally competent diver—but I realized it was me who was on edge. I suddenly forgot which rock the chest was behind. Panic set in. Had the current swept it away? Had I lost the ring?
And then—I saw it. There it was, and beside it, like a guardian of our moment, was a massive sea turtle. Cailin noticed the turtle and swam over for a closer look. That’s when she spotted the chest. At first, she was confused and hesitant, thinking it wasn’t meant for her. I signaled for her to open it.
Inside, she found laminated photos from our adventures over the years. That’s when it clicked. She began crying with joy—filling her scuba mask with tears until she could barely see. I swam over to comfort her as she cleared her mask. Then, I showed her the ring and pointed behind her.
Our dive group had lined up behind us, each holding a sign that read: “Will You Marry Me?” (Huge kudos to them—the signs were like sails in the current, and one diver tumbled away like a tumbleweed!)
Cailin laughed through her regulator, cried into her mask, and nodded yes.
We hugged, and our fellow divers cheered beneath the waves.
It was one of the greatest moments of my life.
Cailin Lindsay’s perspective:
On our final dive of the day, I dropped in with Maxwel and a crew of incredibly talented ocean filmmakers and photographers that we’d been diving with all week. The current was ripping – easily the strongest we’d had all week, so I figured this was going to be a fast-paced drift dive. Nothing unusual, just go with the flow.
But then Maxwel and our dive guide signalled to stop and settle on the reef to look for hammerhead sharks, which confused me because it didn’t seem like a great spot to hang out in that current. Still, I followed along. And then I saw the most massive sea turtle I’d ever seen just… chilling on the reef. I excitedly pointed it out to the group, but when I looked closer, I noticed a treasure chest next to it.
Now, this was a remote site – one of the sharkiest spots in the Galapagos, known for walls of hammerheads, Galápagos sharks, and whale sharks. But that day? Not a shark in sight. Just this big turtle next to a random chest. I was so confused. Was this a joke? A leftover from another dive group? It didn’t make any sense.
Then I turned back around… and everyone had their cameras pointed at me. Everyone was there- even the other dive group.
Maxwel signalled for me to open the chest. Inside were photos of us, a beautiful ring, and a love letter sealed in a bottle. I pulled out the letter — and the current immediately shredded it (don’t worry, he had a backup version later). At that point, I was crying into my mask, trying to keep it from flooding.
And then, out from behind the rocks, our friends appeared holding up signs: “WILL YOU
MARRY ME?”
I barely remember the rest of the dive because I was in shock. I do remember sea turtles swimming alongside me like they were escorting me through this surreal moment — it was peaceful, dreamlike, and somehow even more perfect than planned. (Maxwel had hoped for sharks, but I think the turtles knew I needed them instead.)
From that moment on, we held hands the entire dive. I completely forgot how to dive — Maxwel had to lead me around like a little lost diver in love.
During our safety stop, Maxwel handed me the chest to pose for some photos. What he didn’t tell me was that it had 10 pounds of lead inside to keep it from floating away — so I’m there, struggling not to sink while trying to smile through a leaky mask and hold a treasure chest like a normal person. 😂
It was chaotic, emotional, beautiful, and perfectly us.
Quotes from photographers:
Steve Woods (Photographer):
“Its a huge amount of pressure. Taking on the roll of photographer and making sure to capture the best images of one of your best friends engagements, whilst at the same time operating in not only one of the awe inspiring dive sites in the world, but also under some of the most challenging conditions you can face as a photographer or diver. Combining the factors of working at depth in extremely strong current with multiple species of shark schooling around you definitely made me feel apprehensive about getting the shot. However, the moment we hit the water and descended into the blue all together, everything worked seamlessly and felt so natural. It was where we were all meant to be at that point. It felt like time stood still, as we all got to take part and enjoy in Cailin’s wonderment. I never knew someone could cry that much underwater. Definitely a memory that will stay with me forever”.
Nicole Holman (Photographer):
“I came in, saw the guys assembling the signs, so I quickly swam over to help them out. I was holding the sign in one hand, and my camera in the other, while crawling my up current to get myself in close proximity of the chest, Cailin and Maxwel. I hid myself behind a rock, clamped my legs around another rock to stop myself from being swept away, and hoped for the best. I was keeping an eye on the other photographers for our signal on when to raise the signs, then launched it up as quickly as I could with one hand. What I didn’t realize was that these signs were basically a sail in the current, but I knew with hell or high water, me and my sign weren’t going anywhere.”
Julio Salvatori (PADI Regional Manager of Latin America):
“We had a plan , the plan was to get a photo. In the end I found myself holding 3 signs and one camera — what happened? I don’t really know. It all happened so fast. But in the end everyone was so committed to make it work that after a few seconds someone came to help as I tumbled down the reef”.
Jorge Jurado (Dive Guide for Galaxy Diver II):
“We originally planned to hide the chest during the lunch break, but when we got to the site, the current was insane. I remember saying, ‘Holy cow!’ We were all thinking—how is this going to work?
So I came up with a plan: Mami Chula, our amazing panga driver, would help take care of Martin underwater, and I’d be in charge of bringing the signs. My arms were so sore from fighting the current. I was so excited, I almost forgot to turn on my tank—I was just flying underwater, clutching the signs like a kite in the wind.
We ended up having to rock climb underwater just to get back to the chest’s location.
Meanwhile, the second dive group was positioned in that crazy current, waiting for us to pull it off.
I told them, ‘Watch for me near the reef. If you see me, that’s your cue—come!’ Luckily, they did. Despite the chaos, everything came together. It was wild, but so worth it.”
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