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| Happy PADI Discover scuba diving participants |
It’s probably one of those things Instructors get used to, as the number of students they work with increases the smaller details may tend to lose their sharpness. So it is with a Divemaster at the start of an internship, and commencing a professional career these details can be most apparent.
PADI Discover Scuba Diving is a gateway for
accessing scuba diving in the shortest possible time while remaining safe. It’s
a straightforward ½ day course which can include an open water dive, if the
student is capable and up for it.
Today I’m assisting a DSD course, which
means I get to meet the guests, ensure all the paperwork is together, sort out
their equipment and keep everything running smoothly for my instructor Joa.
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| The joy of breathing underwater! |
The key thing to remember is that typical
DSD students have never taken a breathe underwater before, they may well be a
proficient skin diver but the idea of strapping a tank to their back and diving
for longer than 30 seconds has only just become a desire for them. For me I
originally got into diving because I wanted to see things closer up, and
experience the freedom I often observed in Scuba divers while I was trapped at
the surface snorkelling.
Todays student Leo, is no exception, I
sense his excitement the minute we meet, he tells me he loves snorkelling, but
he’s never taken the next step into Scuba, but today is the day. There is a
determination I recall from my open water course, even before my confined
sessions, knowing the equipment would be on my back and I’d be breathing
underwater without having to rush back up to the surface for another breathe.
Joa takes us through the briefing, a few
pointers on process and what the in water experience will be like and Leo is
head down for his multiple choice quiz. I’m impressed the key safety standards
are still maintained, even in this slimmed down course. There is no official
accreditation at the end, but the DSD booklet includes a mini log book, a
certificate of completion and everything a budding diver needs to know about
this course and the potential future courses available.
Finally we are getting on the boat and
setting up the kit, the boot is finally on the other foot, I’m setting up a
guests’ equipment for them. Leo is ready, we are in the shallow water in-front
of the dive shop and ready to get under the water with a regulator for the
first time. I’m sure every student is different, but I’m sure they all take
that first breathe with the same amazement we all once did. Eyes widen, second
breathe, okay brain time to tune in, we’ve just turned into a fish.
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| The more you dive the more you smile :) |
The skills requirements and practicing are
just the essential safety requirements, we are in the water to do as much as
possible for them when we make it onto the dive so it’s a case of clearing
mask, recovering regulator and BCD inflation, deflation. Along with the
presentation, Leo now has all the elements he needs for the dive. The mask
clearance is always difficult, you’ve just worked out you can breathe
underwater, now you’ve got to tell your brain to breathe in through your mouth
and out through your nose. I can see the frustration in the mask clearance, you
can never be sure if the skills will be too much and the student will run out
of the water. Leo is sticking with it, tells himself to stop breathing in
through his nose, sea water doesn’t taste so good. Then we spot a little baby
puffer fish. Joa points to it, Leo looks, points himself and before he’s
realised his breathing is calm, he looks at home. We’ve cracked it.
We check with Leo he’s feeling okay, take a
short break to all get ready and jump in the flat boat for the short ride to
house reef. A brief look over the side and Leo is checking the depth with Joa.
6m, I’ve put a decent line over the side of the boat and Joa and Leo will go
down bit by bit with me following along. Plenty of equalisation, we arrive at
the bottom, Leo is absolutely loving it and we’ve only done the decent, “Just
wait till we start moving” I thought to myself.
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| This friendly sea snake can be spotted at the house reef |
The house reef has plenty to see, though
experienced divers definitely forget how little it takes to raise the breathing
rate of new divers and DSD students. As we swam around, I had a firm grip on
Leo’s tank valve to help him keep balance and buoyancy level, frankly we are
both experiencing something new. I’m working with my first DSD student,
assisting Joa, with real customers. The sense of responsibility is massive, I
know Joa has everything under control and if anything was wrong he’d be ontop
of it before I even realised. But I’m still there with Leo, experiencing his
first ever dive.
25 minutes in, Leo signals that his ears
are no longer enjoying the experience, we aim back to the decent line and do a
safety stop. Everything remains calm, and before we know it, we are on the surface,
relieving Leo of his equipment and getting him back on board.
It’s now, this very moment that brings it
all home to me, Why diving? Why Divemaster? Why IDC and teaching ? Just look at
Leo, he’s the happiest diver in the world, a matter of hours ago, he was a
snorkeler, dreaming of escaping the surface to dive underwater and experience
the freedom. He’s transformed and he’s not the only one.
We do a de-brief back in resort, his smile
is even wider now, he can’t wait to get back in the water again, the experience
has opened his eyes to so many possibilities and the sights underwater, I doubt
it will be long before his PADI open water course is booked and he is back in
the water again.
For me, it’s just the start of my
Divemaster course, I’m seeing these actual transformations for myself 1st
hand and I want more too. You read about it, in the PADI books, we are in
transformation industry, just words, but when you witness it first hand, it
truly is emotional.
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| Ryan started his diving with a DSD and is here doing his Nitrox course, its easy to get addicted to diving! |
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