Learning to Scuba Dive (Part 3)

This is Part Three of the three articles I wrote each night after returning home during the process of learning to dive during 2012. Click here for Part One and Part Two here. Everybody says you should learn to scuba dive, but nobody else actually writes about the process - what you have to do, what you learn and how you get tested. Read on to find out about the day I qualified!

Learning to scuba dive is one of the best things I ever did. You see turtles, reef fish, sharks and rays almost every time

I can’t believe how quickly the final day of my PADI course came around! But then again, they do say time flies when you’re having fun. Day Three began today with me practically skipping down the road with excitement on my way to Into Scuba Dive School in Hulhumale in the Maldives. 

I brought with me some tea and biscuits for my Instructor Thomas Badstubner and his awesome team of staff to help to re-stock their kitchen after getting through so many during the classroom theory lessons! I left the theory part behind yesterday when I began my confined water dives. Today I was ready for two open water dives. The first dive was to involve practising a few more skills and the second was set aside just to purely enjoy the reef at one of the best dive sites in the area, Banana Reef.

Heading to Banana Reef 

We set off from the dive school just after lunch on the boat, heading for dive site number one, Small Maa Giri. A ‘giri’ is a kind of submerged island which hasn’t risen above the water level yet. This is the site which I also previously visited on Thursday as part of my training. 

Every day I’ve been feeling more and more confident thanks to the encouragement from my Instructor, Thomas. He’s been a truly awesome teacher, and hit just the balance of getting the important messages across without making it heavy going, plus he threw in some jokes for good measure which made everything even more enjoyable. Yes, he's a funny German.

This is me, looking pretty chill on a dive by this stage! (Dive buddy is trying to show me something)

I couldn’t wait to get started so we jumped into the water. We had a look around at some of the coral and reef fish before getting stuck into practising some more underwater skills. The exercises included repeating some things which I did before such as taking my mask off, replacing it and blowing air out through my nose to force all of the water back out of the mask again. We also did some navigation skills. Thomas had showed me while we were on the boat how to use the compass and now that we were underwater he asked me to follow the compass and swim in a northerly direction for a certain distance while he followed close to me, then we turned and I navigated back again due south.

Turtle power

After this we explored Small Maa Giri some more, and came across a green turtle and a hawksbill turtle. Thomas also pointed out a scorpion fish to me which was extremely well camouflaged against the rocks. I guess that the more you dive the easier it gets to spot the wildlife! We slowly made our way to the surface to practice some more skills which included repeating the exercise of taking my weight belt off and putting it back on again, and also taking off my BCD (buoyancy control device) and then sitting on the cylinder and bobbing on the waves while I strapped it back on again.

We then headed directly to the second dive of the day, Banana Reef. The dive site is famous (not only in the Maldives but also overseas) for being particularly abundant with fish (and that’s saying a lot in the Maldives, where the underwater world is crammed with aquatic life!). It’s also noted for the beautiful hard and soft corals, overhangs and caves which all in all make it a really interesting site to explore. You may be wondering why it’s called Banana Reef, it’s because it’s shaped like a banana.  

Well, Banana Reef certainly didn’t disappoint us. There were magnificent table corals stretching away into the distance and as we went deeper there were all kinds of exciting overhangs, crevices and caves to look at, covered in coral and hiding all kinds of surprises including a particularly big puffer fish which was a beautiful bright yellow colour instead of the dull brown they more commonly are. 

We found Dory

Finding Dory 

We also saw a beautiful blue tang fish (if you don’t know what this is, think of Dory in Finding Nemo). Thomas said that this type of fish is very common in Australia but pretty rare in the Maldives. The corals were predominantly red and pink, in all kinds of beautiful shapes. I felt relaxed as we swam along taking in the scenery, but also exhilarated at the same time. This was why I wanted to learn to dive – the underwater world is truly amazing!

I'm now a certified Open Water scuba diver!

It was almost the end of my final dive – well, my final dive on my PADI course but certainly not my final dive ever! Thomas shook my hand to congratulate me and unfurled a banner for me to hold saying “Well done, you are now a PADI Open Water diver!” and I had my photo taken. What an experience. Three days of learning and fun have zoomed by. I’ve completed my PADI Open Water course and am now a certified diver!

If you’ve ever thought about learning to dive, you must do it or you’ll always regret not trying. Apart from being heaps of fun you get a newfound confidence and a real sense if achievement from it. I've been on over 100 dives since then and become a PADI Advanced Scuba Diver...Next step, Rescue Diver! 

Learning to Scuba Dive (Part 2)

This is Part Two of the three articles I wrote each night after returning home during the process of learning to dive during 2012. Click here for Part One and here for Part Three. Everybody says you should learn to scuba dive, but nobody else actually writes about the process - what you have to do, what you learn and how you get tested. Read on to find out!

It was an 8am start for Day Two of my PADI Open Water Course in the Maldives – time to leave the textbooks behind and finally get into the water! I arrived at the dive centre in Hulhumale for a briefing from my diving instructor, Thomas Badstubner, and then we slung our equipment into the back of a truck and hopped in. The truck drove us to a sheltered beach near the Ferry Terminal, because the tide was too low on the other side of the island. It was here that we put the theory into practice.

We waddled into the sea laden with our equipment, I’d forgotten just how heavy it all feels until you get into the water! Then we started things very slowly, standing chest-deep in the warm water to start with. It was a hazy day but the water was still turquoise blue and pretty clear. Thomas wanted to see how comfortable I was breathing underwater with the regulator. Satisfied that I was relaxed enough, we then went on to run through some of the techniques I had watched yesterday in the PADI video.

The shape of water

This is the amazing house reef I've dived at Baros (house reef is the reef connected to the resort island). Photo: Baros

I’ve been on two dives before in my life. Both of them were official PADI Discover Scuba courses, one was in the French Riviera the other was at Bandos Island Resort here in the Maldives. I’ve snorkelled a lot in the Maldives and in various other beautiful locations around the world, so basically you could say that I’m confident in the water. Thomas said that gives me and anyone with similar experience to me a good grounding for starting diving, although if you’ve never dived or snorkeled before he can take you at your own pace and make sure you’re completely confident (and competent) in the water.   

So, today we started by doing exercises in very shallow water which included things like taking my regulator out of my mouth and letting go of it, then stretching my right arm behind me to swoop it up again and replacing it in my mouth. We also ran through the hand signals for being out of air and then I took the regulator out of my mouth and reached over to use Thomas’ alternate air source, he did the same with me.

The ouchy bit

This is how you clear your mask of water when underwater

The part which Thomas said I was going to hate him for making me do (filling up my mask with water while underwater, taking it off completely and then putting it on again and clearing it) was actually alright. If it’s OK to go a bit girly for a moment I’d like to say this: Ladies, if you’ve ever got mascara in your eye you’ll know exactly what eye pain is, and I’m happy to say that seawater is absolutely nothing compared to mascara-in-eye-agony. So don’t worry about it. Things look a bit blurry, your eyes are a bit stingy, but it’s nothing too horrendous. You also need to take your mask off underwater for a few others tests including breathing underwater for a minute while not wearing a mask.

As well as this, I practised taking the weights, scuba unit and fins off and putting it back on again while in water too deep to stand in, amongst other things. With Thomas satisfied that I’d checked all the boxes and was comfortable enough in the confined water dive, we headed back for lunch. In the afternoon it was time to hop on a boat to Small Maa Giri – an excellent dive spot for rays but also according to Thomas, one of the most perfect natural underwater classrooms he’s ever seen. I had a one-on-one session with Thomas while some fun PADI-qualified American pilots who had signed up with Into Scuba for an afternoon diving trip had some fun checking out the area with the dive masters and other staff.

Maa Giri reef is amazing, check out these oriental sweetlips with a friendly batfish! Photo: ProDivers Maldives

The site consists of a sandy area just three or four metres below the surface which gently slopes away into a channel. The shallower sandy area was ideal for going through some more of the techniques I need to know, including making a simulation of a controlled emergency swimming ascent for nine metres while continuously exhaling and making an “ahhh” sound. We then had a chance to float down the slope to take a look around us and see some pretty reef fish at a depth of about 12 metres before our 46 minutes was up.

I had some minor problems with my mask. It seems that I was doing it the proper way but the shape must have been wrong for my face because no matter how hard I blew through my nose to push the water out, a small well of water stayed on either side of my face. I must have a weird-shaped face. Or a kid-size face. Or both. 

Thomas swapped my mask for his, but I still had the same problem. However, I stayed calm as I knew that nothing bad was going to happen even if I felt like my nose was full of salty water all the time. Thomas later reassured me that you can’t make a mask for everybody’s face shape, so I’ll probably bring my own snorkel mask for the final day of my PADI course.

We saw bottlenose dolphins en route! They're very common in the Maldives and love chasing boat wakes

We all hopped back onto the boat and headed off directly for Back Faru, a very pretty reef close to Sheraton Full Moon Maldives and Hulhumale. On the way we were treated to a spectacular appearance from a large pod of dolphins leaping out of the water. The boat changed its course and slowly followed the dolphins. They seemed to take a fancy to us because they came within just a couple of metres of the boat, surfing the waves made from the prow. Everyone on board cheered and peered over the side, wishing our arms were just another metre longer so we could touch them! We couldn’t have asked for a more uplifting experience (or excellent photo opportunity) before our final dive of the day. A storm was on the horizon so we had to crack on…

 There was a strong current and so our last dive today was also a drift dive. Luckily there were no more drills for the rest of the day, just fun! “You have to remember to make it fun because that’s why people want to learn to dive”, said Thomas. And we weren’t disappointed. Right at the start of the 12 metre dive, we saw a white tip reef shark and then as we floated along in the current we saw some fantastic creatures amongst the beautiful table corals. There were two large hawksbill turtles and at least five large green turtles, none of which seemed in any particular hurry to get away from us. In fact, one of them let me get within a metre of him, he barely seemed to notice that I was captivated by the sight!

We saw a white tip reef shark too. They look a little more 'sharky' than black tips, but don't get them confused with oceanic white tips, these ones are pretty small!

As well as this, there were honeycomb moray eels and giant black moray eels peering out of holes in the reef, a large pufferfish, pretty anemone fish and many other brightly coloured reef fish.

Just under an hour later we emerged smiling from the incredible experience of seeing so much marine life to discover half a rainbow hanging in the sky and some dramatic-looking storm clouds. It was a beautiful end to an amazing day. I floated on the surface for a few moments with a smile on my face. Yes, diving sure is fun!

Well, I now have one more day left of my PADI Open Water Course. I have the day off tomorrow but the day after that we’ll be running through some more techniques and enjoying the incredible underwater world, after which time I’ll hopefully be a certified diver! Read all about my final day of learning to dive in the Maldive here!

Learning to Scuba Dive (Part 1)

This is Part One of the three articles I first wrote each night after returning home during the process of learning to dive. It took just under three days to get my PADI Open Water diving certificate, which is the first diving licence you can get. (Yes, I got my diving licence before I got my driving licence - #priorities!). The PADI Open Water certificate teaches you diving skills and theory; you also learn about the equipment and the science that keeps you alive while you dive. The bonus is the OW allows you to dive to depths of 18m, which you can't do on a 'fun dive' day excursion (as it limits you to only 12m deep).

Here, I'll explain to you what the process of learning to dive is really like!

Pic: Thomas Nilsson

I realised that although there are a million articles and blogs on why diving is so great and why you should learn to dive, there was almost nothing on the internet about what the actual process is like: What happens when you learn to dive? How much classroom time and how much diving time is involved in getting your PADI Open Water certificate? And what is learning to dive like? I learned to dive in the Maldives but this applies to learning in almost any place. I hope I can answer some of your questions and shed some light on the process below...

Have you ever thought about diving in the Maldives? Professionals rate it as one of the best places in the world to dive due to the beautiful clear water and mind-boggling array of aquatic life. But if you’ve never learned to dive before, what sort of experience can you expect? Well, I’m not a certified diver either but today I took my first steps towards becoming a PADI Open Water Diver. Over the next few days I’ll be updating you with all the info on the process and basically giving you the lowdown on the day-to-day experience of taking a PADI Open Water Course in the Maldives.

Signing up with PADI 

I’ve signed up for a PADI Open Water course with a well-reputed PADI dive school based in Hulhumale, Maldives (now relocated to Maafushi), which is around 5 minutes by speedboat from Male’. I popped in to sign a medical questionnaire which basically checks I’m not hiding any serious conditions or at least that I have nothing for the instructors to worry about. You don’t have to be super fit but being in general good health is helpful and being a non-smoker is definitely an advantage. With that out of the way, I’m ready to start learning to dive!

Day One

This is what a typical classroom at a dive centre looks like. Photo: Dolphindiversathens

Diving doesn’t happen in the classroom, but it certainly started there for me today. I arrived at Into Scuba at 8.30am (I’ll admit a little bit bleary-eyed) and was welcomed by my German Instructor friend, Thomas Badstubner with a big cup of tea in a Munchees biscuits mug with ‘Bite me’ written on it. I’m not thinking about sharks. Why did I just think about sharks? 

Learning to dive begins with books, not boats

Don't worry about sharks

But no, joking apart, sharks aren’t really anything to worry about in the Maldives. There hasn’t been a single shark attack recorded since the late 1970s, people say it’s due to the huge quantities of yummy fish around here which taste a lot nicer than people. Also you mostly see reef sharks here which aren’t a problem. I’ve been snorkelling here every week for two and a half years so I’m pretty happy with that explanation.

If you're still worried, I'll let reggae shark explain further why you shouldn't worry about sharks, below, maybe in a slightly NSFW way...

Moving on from tea and toothy things, Thomas then told me that I was going to get all of the theory out of the way in one day so that I could get out of the classroom and start diving as soon as possible. Sounded good to me, assuming that I passed! Thomas went on to say that 10 year olds pass the same tests, so he was pretty confident that I would be able to. (Maybe after a cup of tea).

Keep your eyes on the prize: This is Banana Reef, North Male' Atoll, Maldives. Photo: Wikipedia

So, I was issued with three shiny new books, “PADI Open Water Diver Manual”, “How to Use and Choose Dive Computers” and my “Dive Logbook”, and was told that I’d be watching a series of chapters from a PADI video then we’d have a test between each chapter. There were five chapters and after each chapter Thomas would chat with me about theory, sometimes using a whiteboard to explain, then I did the tests.

The science bit

The PADI videos were….well, I have to admit, a bit cheesy (lots of high fives) but they were clear and easy to understand, so they definitely got the point across. They gave me the grounding that I wanted and needed, basically the science behind diving and what all the bits of equipment are called! 

Let’s go into more detail: buoyancy, pressure, dive equipment and how it works, the Buddy System, how being underwater affects your body, hand signals and communication, safety, underwater environments and aquatic life (nearly all injuries from aquatic life result from the animal/plant trying to protect itself). The things that stick the most in my mind? “The most important rule is to keep breathing!” and “You’re far more likely to suffer from an unpleasant encounter with an unaggressive organism [than an animal] such as puncture wounds from sea urchins, a sting from a jellyfish and their relatives or cuts and scrapes from barnacles or coral.”

Mas'huni roshi is a yummy Maldivian meal

Lunch break

With a few chapters out of the way, it was already time for lunch. Thomas and I strolled around the corner for a fish curry with roshi (local bread) in a café. It was good to get out of the classroom to reflect on the morning. I had enjoyed learning about what happens to your body when you dive, and all of the bits of equipment now had proper names in my head. This made me feel much more confident about what I’m going to be doing tomorrow. Thomas said that I seemed to be doing OK so we were going to zoom through the rest of the chapters today. So it was back to class!

Over the next few hours we continued in the same pattern of watching videos, Thomas explaining a few things and me taking tests. They were mostly multiple choice and “fill in the missing word” type questions. We got into the nitty-gritty of Dive Planning and problem management, including how to deal with your own problems as well as your dive buddy’s and basic first aid. This included (in detail) possible hazards relating to breathing air at depth, how to prevent problems from arising and what to do if you do have problems.

This is not my hairy arm. But this is what a standard-issue dive computer looks like. A big clunky watch. (Pricier ones look cooler, but this is the type that dive centres usually dish out)

Finally, we covered dive tables, dive computers and the “How to Use and Choose Dive Computers” book. “Whaaaaat?” You may be asking yourself. Dive computers are basically a fancy watch/calculator which tell you things like how deep you are, how long you’ve been underwater for and your no decompression limit (the maximum allowable no-stop time at a given depth). They certainly seem to help to make life easier, and are also useful because they can calculate how long you can stay underwater for before reaching your no decompression limit if you’re doing one of several dives (repetitive dives), because it changes. 

With all of the theory out of the way, it was time for the exam! Now the word “exam” scared me a bit but I was relieved to see that it was nothing like a university essay, or even GCSEs come to think of it! I think Thomas must have seen the look on my face because he reminded me again, “It’s OK, ten year old kids do this!” I was relieved to see that it was another multiple choice/fill in the blanks page of about 40 questions this time and thankfully, yes I passed!

Standard diving gear for tropical waters (Wikicommons)

I passed the first hurdle!

We finished the day with a little bit of preparation for tomorrow. I finally got my hands on my diving equipment, which I shall henceforth no longer refer to as “the bits”, as I now know that I assembled my oxygen cylinder with the regulator first stage, linked up the low pressure inflator and threaded it through the buoyancy control device and tested the pressure with the submersible pressure gauge, followed by inflating the buoyancy control device and checking the primary regulator second stage and the alternate air source second stage. And if that all sounded like mumbo-jumbo to you, I’m pretty confident that after an enlightening and anything-but-boring day in the classroom it’ll suddenly make sense to you too!

The next step!

Tomorrow…I’m leaving the classroom behind me and will finally be getting into the water! I can’t wait. I hope you enjoyed reading this and that it gave you an insight into learning to dive. I’m of for a “sensible” early night, and will be posting an update on tomorrow’s adventures tomorrow! Click here for Part Two and here for Part Three. 

For more information on diving in the Maldives check out www.maafushidive.com.

Unexplored Maldives...The best spots!

It's been such a busy year! Here's one of my recent articles about some of the less well-known spots to visit in the Maldives, hope you enjoy it! This includes a magnificent shipwreck, an enchanted lake, a WWII military base, a mini Garden of Eden and a breath-taking island of black and white pebbles. (That's right, not every beach in the Maldives is made up of pure white coral sand - OK, 99% of them are, but that's what makes this one so special!)

From the archives: Interview with world champion freediver Sara Campbell

Today I read a superb article by journalist James Nestor about what happens to your body when you dive into the sea. James described very eloquently the physical and psychological effects of triggering the Master Switch of Life (mammalian dive reflex). As someone who tries to spend as much time as possible either on or in the water it was of particular interest; spending much of the year in the Maldives I have daily access to some of the best diving in the world. 

I'm currently an Advanced Open Water Diver and without a doubt will continue to work my way through the PADI system, although I'm not about to ditch travel journalism for a new career as a Diving Instructor! However, free-diving is something pretty different. As James explains in his article, when you dive without compressed air your body's natural instinct kicks in with an incredible ability we've had lurking inside ourselves as part of our physical constitution for millions of years. This allows professional free-divers to dive to depths of 300 feet.

Last year I was lucky enough to be able to interview women's world champion free-diver Sara Campbell about her career. She was in the Maldives to take part in LUX* resort's Underwater Festival; a showcase of diving, free-diving and underwater photography.

This is the interview, published in Fah Thai magazine (Ink Media) also with a scan of the original version below.

Meet Sara Campbell, a record-breaking world champion in the extreme sport of freediving.

Imagine holding your breath for
three minutes. Now imagine doing that at
an ocean depth of 104m. Record-breaking
world freediving champion Sara Campbell
did just that two years ago, earning instant
international acclaim. In April, Campbell
will detail the techniques behind the feat at
the spectacular Underwater Festival at LUX*
Maldives, where she’ll share the spotlight with
the makers of the acclaimed BBC documentary
series The Blue Planet. We spoke to her ahead
of this maritime extravaganza...

Why are you taking part in this festival?
I was excited by the opportunity to develop
a programme for budding underwater
cameramen that includes relaxation, breathing
and breath control. And of course, the fact that
it’s in the Maldives was a bonus – a part of me
still thinks those images of turquoise waters
must be Photoshopped!

How critical is marine conservation in Asia?
It’s a tragedy that such little care and
consideration is given to the health and
sustainability of our oceans. They’re treated as
playgrounds and dumping grounds. Unless we
stop our destructive behaviour there’ll be no
beauty left in our oceans in a very short time.

The Maldives hangs in the balance, doesn’t it?
There’s a lot of conservation work going in
the Maldives and this is partly because of its
enviable position as a place with a rich and
diverse ecosystem. From turtles and corals
to whale sharks and mantas, there’s a lot
going on and this is positive for the islands.
Ecotourism is growing, but there’s also the
ethical question surrounding bringing tourists
into these areas.

So how are you planning to spend your free time
in the Maldives?
I’d love to dive with mantas and whale sharks.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we get
lucky during the festival!

Is freediving something anyone can try?
Yes, freediving is for everyone. If you can
breathe and have a reasonable ability to swim,
you can dive. It helps if people are naturally
calm in the water, but there really are no
prerequisites to getting under the water.

How did you first get under the water?
I started freediving when one of my yoga
students needed a buddy to “safety her”. I fell
in love with the peace and with the happiness I
got from diving. It’s the perfect combination of
meditation and physical challenge.

And you became a record-breaker...
I set all three deep world records in under
48 hours in 2007 and it was a very surreal
experience. It came as a complete surprise to
everyone, and I was no less in shock. I was a
bit overwhelmed by the attention and didn’t
really feel comfortable with it. I had just
been doing what I loved to do, so was a bit
bewildered by all the fuss.

Have you ever panicked in the deep?
Not really. I felt a bit stressed on a dive to
around 55m once, and when I tried to figure
out why, I realised it was simply my mind
playing tricks on me. I also realised that this
happens to us all the time in life, and from that
moment on I vowed never to allow that to
happen to me in the water again.

Finally, Sara, what motivates you?
My motivation is the pleasure I gain from
diving and teaching. I don’t have any goals at
the moment, just to keep on sharing what I
love. What comes after that? Who knows?
The Underwater Festival runs from 15-21
April. www.luxmaldivesresort.com