PADI Open Water Diver

I DID IT!!!! I am now a certified PADI Open Water Diver. What is this? you may be asking yourselves. PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) is the most respected and widely recognised diving certification in the world. So much so that they rate diving outlets, programmes and resorts who use and teach according to the PADI standards and method. Coral Grand Divers in Koh Tao is one such 5* certified school.

OK so after the gratuitous sales pitch, here's the deal. I've always been scared of diving and slightly scared of the water. Thinking about it, I wonder if it has anything to do with swallowing a lot of water when waves crashed on me at the beach....or even whilst learning to swim. I enjoy swimming, and I also have a deep respect for the sea and water in general...and have, for many years, thought I would probably become a death statistic if I ever went diving. I thought I was scared of diving; of the water; of the equipment. But you know what? It was ME who I was really scared of. My lack of confidence in water was mostly a feeling I would be unable to learn properly, or remember all the technical information, or forget some crucial step and kill myself. Thankfully, I am slowly proving to myself that my biggest obstacle is usually me...and that when I face up to my fears and get going on a new activity, however scary it may seem, all of a sudden, it becomes much easier...and even fun. I've come to realise how worry, my own and even other's instills insecurity and fear and basically cramps my style.

So, about 2 years ago, I went to the beach with my cousin David, who was going diving. I mentioned how "scared" I was "of diving" and he very gently got me to try out breathing out of his regulator (the thing you put in your mouth to get air from the tank. I was in the shallow bit of the shore...laying down enough to cover my face with water. Slowly and without realising, he held my hand and we began moving forward underwater, whilst breathing from the tank. From that moment on I realised how with some good teaching, practise and self confidence, it could be done. Thank you David.

So many nights have passed since then. I found myself reading up on Koh Tao, also known as Turtle Island, and one of Thailand's best quality locations to learn diving. Off I went to Koh Tao's safest and most qualified resort. I signed up and was shortly found reading my study book until all hurs of the night and breathing out of a tank underwater in a swimming pool and then in open water. The course took 4 days (very intense study and practical exercises), 4 dives in the sea, an underwater DVD filmed of our group going down under (AWESOME!!!!! Can't wait to share this one!) and a lot of concentration. But you know what? Not only did I pass the final exam with flying colours, but the exhiliration I felt being underwater has inspired me to go for the PADI Advanced Diver Certification too! I'm off on Queen Scuba, a 4 day liveaboard vessel touring the Similan Islands, which I read are ranked within the top 10 best dive sites in the world! AND.....I'll be doing an underwater photography module as part of my advanced training so look out for upcoming pictures!