or: A week of others’ diving achievements

One of the 974 things I enjoy about diving is watching people achieve their goals.

This was a big week for that so as tiring as the week has been, it was also awesome.

I met a woman who had just turned sixty the day prior and her husband. They had never dived before and figured they should try it while they still could. She was particularly nervous and even at the stage of booking, she wasn’t sure if she would go ahead or not.

In the pool, she was still nervous. 

Her husband was nervous to a lesser extent and it was him that I was taking into the ocean for the first time while the guy that trained them in the pool took his wife.

They both have the view that it’s best to try to do as many things as possible while they are still able to. As a result, they have flown planes, sailed, skydived and I can’t even remember all the other things! 

And now they have both tried diving.

The smiles on both of their faces as they surfaced radiated joy. Their mouths and cheek muscles must have hurt for days afterward!

The husband enjoyed it so much that he came for another dive and now refers to me as a drug dealer – “you’re selling an experience that can only hook people!” he says. He’s already chatting with his wife for when they will return and do their full certification. 

Second big smiles was our Divemaster Trainee finished his course. 

Being a Divemaster is the first step to becoming a dive professional. Some choose to go down this path while others like to have this level of certification for what they learn and as a challenge to themselves. Some do it for both reasons.

The guy that did it with us has it as a longer-term goal however he decided to learn now as his girlfriend was here studying so he had some spare time.

Over three weeks, he was a valuable member of the team while learning some new skills and passing all his assessments with almost perfect scores. 

The assessments involve everything from timed swims and snorkels, through to leading dives, mapping dive sites and exchanging equipment with another while underwater and sharing a regulator (this is the gadget that goes in your mouth that gives air from your tank to you). 

Then there is the written exams.

Again, he did incredibly well.

Big smiles on both sides for this effort!

Third one was a woman who just completed her 100th dive. This is fabulous in itself however, what is really awesome about this achievement is she use to be scared of water.

Can you imagine going from being scared of water, to putting your head under it, to breathing through a device, to actually going into the ocean over 100 times?

We had a little celebration for her too as she should be incredibly proud of herself and what she has achieved.

These are three instances / four people in particular that illustrate some of the positives that come from diving and why I keep doing it.

They are also a good reminder that you never know when you won’t be able to and to take the opportunity when you can to try something new and overcome fears and obstacles.

I’m so impressed with them all!

Thanks to Starship for the title to this post.