Weather

Being as I came from a dull and cold England I have found the weather here to be scorching hot!
The other day out on the dive boat all of our dive computers were claiming 33°C in the shade! Super hot day. Infact for the first few weeks it just seemed to get hotter and hotter and apparently, it will keep getting hotter over the next couple of months. That’s damn hot let me tell you. We had a sudden rain blast the other day, but only for one day. There is a big storm of the Gulf of Mexico somewhere so we are in the path of some strong winds this week, and the sea is quite choppy. From my apartment its great as there is a constant cool breeze sweeping through the room. You cant notice the wind at the dive centre though and it just feels hot as normal. This week we are seeing some overcast mornings here, but the sun is soon beating the clouds away. I can see the ocean from my apartment and the sea does look quite choppy today indeed but it is not stopping anyone from diving.
After weeks of blistering sun the cool breeze is quite welcome as far as I concerned. As long as it doesn’t last too long!

Ear infection

Ive never had an ear infection before, but I have now found my self with one, infact I have never seen so many people with ear infections! Everybody has them. They say its quite natural here, after all, I have been diving everyday in warm water for a month so it is bound to happen.
It has given me a chance to stay out of the water and study and catch up on some theory.
So word to the wise, bring some things for your ears. Although you can get medication here easily enough.

PADI Dive Master

I am also a DMT. (Dive Master in Training) Actually I have around a week to go until I become Dive Master. What does Dive Master in Training mean on an internship? Well, it basically means you go back to the bottom of the social ladder! The DMT’s load all the boats, clear the docks, look after the boats, book in and out all the scuba gear, give boats briefings and are basically responsible for everything that is wrong with the dive centre! Even if you are not there on the day, it is still your fault. All niceness stops and you are now dog droppings on the bottom of the instructors shoes. Some people say its hard work and don’t like it, but I don’t think it is really, it doesn’t take that long to load a boat and its good experience for the real scuba world. After all, loading a boat with scuba gear and having a laugh with people whilst scuba diving in 33°C heat is hardly my idea of hard ship!
Knowledge wise, the most testing course so far, with lectures to attend and more exams than any other course so far. Which is understandable as once you are a Dive Master you have achieved a professional rating. Learning to tie decent rope knots, decompression theory, Role modelling its all there.
Us DMT`s are a closely tied bunch, and we stick together. We work hard and party hard…. God do we party hard… Until the final exam, which is the ancient tradition of… “The Snorkel Test”.
We have also just had a DMT fun dive. (Which was really an early graduation dive purely for DMT’s)
There was a professional film guy there who recorded the whole thing. This guy has now left the Island for the job of his (and everyone else dreams) So we were privileged to be the last DMT video ever made here. The contents of this DVD are highly secretive and can only be watched an elite few.
So if you see me in the street, whisper in my ear and maybe, just maybe….
Cheers Dan!

PADI Rescue course

I have been here a while a now and haven’t managed to post as often as I would like too. So I thought I better mention a bit about the courses them selves. I am currently a Master Scuba Diver after having completed the Rescue course. (Which was a right hoot let me tell you.)
The Rescue course was fantastic, and one of the most valuable courses in terms of knowledge you can do in my opinion. For example, I had to retrieve a non-responsive diver from the sea bed, get him to the surface, remove all his gear whilst giving rescue breaths and get him out of the boat all by myself. I though it was a revelation! And he was a big guy. A great skill to know. The final day of examinations was nothing short of a global disaster. As you can imagine, the busiest dive centre on the Island first thing in the morning is a very busy place. People loading boats, tanks everywhere. It was mayhem! People were falling over every 5minutes, tanks falling on them, people jumping in and drowning!
And we hadn’t even got on the boat yet. Once we were on open water it didn’t get much better. People drinking beer on the boat (Pretend beer) Falling in, drowning, then other people jumping in to save them. By the end of the day I was exhausted. We had saved a lot of people.
The Rescue course is a must for every diver in my opinion. The knowledge it gives you is confidence inspiring and could one save your life or some one else’s.

Cigarettes

I cant believe how many people smoke cigarettes here, Everybody smokes! The instructors, the students even some of the fish! Well maybe not the fish. As I originally quit smoking to come here it has been quite difficult to say no to the temptation. To be honest, everyday I have thought about having one, especially chilling out with a cold beer at the end of each day. However, by some miracle I have still managed not to have had a single cigarette! I don’t know how I have done it, but somehow I have! So I am very pleased with myself. I think the cigarettes here are about 40pence a packet so its understandable why everyone smokes like chimneys. I am just amazed that they are all scuba divers. Especially the instructors. So that must be nearly 2months without a cigarette, maybe this time I have finally cracked it? Fingers crossed.

Whale sharks!!

I am very grateful that I am alive. I spoke to a student the other day who had just passed her open water course. When I asked her how she felt about it she said a statement that has stuck with me. She said: "She felt privileged to be down there".
That statement has stuck with me, the main reason for this is what happened to me the other day. We were on our way back from a dive when the captain pointed out a commotion on the sea surface. I have never seen anything like it! Mackerel and flying fish and just about everything else trying to jump out of the water. They call it "the Boil" because the Water literally looks like it boiling. Then there it was, a huge fin poked through the surface. At which point every bodies hairs stood on end!
The Dive leader said told us that we were about to snorkel with a Whale Shark. He gave us the safety talk and not to touch them etc. We cued up on the back of the boat and waited for the cue... then we were in. On this occasion all I managed to see was the huge tail fin disappear into the deep, literally for a few seconds.
I got back on the boat still very excited, although envious of some of the others who had seen more.
It was quite late in the afternoon so the water was getting quite dark and it would be hard to see anything, however the boat swung round for a second shot.. On my cue I jump in. They try and put you right next to the Shark, and I mean right next to the Shark. As I jumped in I wondered if I would see anything, as soon as the bubbles cleared I have to confess that my life flashed before my eyes. There it was. Right in front me. It was huge. With its big white spots. I froze with complete fear, I have never seen anything so big up close. Judging by the other peoples gasps and screams I gather I was not the only one! One guy jumped in straight in front of its mouth! you can imagine his reaction! (Especially as he had just completed his qualifying open water dives!) A day he wont forget in a hurry.
This majestic creature just swam past us and dived into the deep blue. It was incredible. So big and beautiful. It was too dark to get any could pictures but they are being spotted every week at the moment so I am hoping to swim with one in better light! Fingers crossed!!
I will never forget that moment when those bubbles cleared and that huge body was stretched out in front of me. It was definitely a life altering moment for me.
I have to say:
I felt privileged to have witnessed it.

Diving Utila

It has been 32, 33 degrees in the shade here everyday since I have been here, so getting in the water for a dive is rather nice! Generally a short boat ride to most of the dive sites, (The longest being around 25 minutes) so it is quite nice. Reggae and various other music is blaring out on most days from the boats with somebody having a dance on the boat. It seems to be tradititon.
Although it is soooo hot, I am actually wearing a 3mm full length and it is very comfortable in the water. It varies in what people are diving in, some people are just diving in board shorts! and some people in 5mm full length!! which I find incredible! The water is generally a lovely temperature, but I have found some surprising thermoclines down there, and I have to say the odd dive has felt a "tad chilly" for a short period, but dont kidd yourself, its bloody scorching here!! 3mm max I say! My dive computer is telling me the water is 28 most days so make your own conclusions.
I have been on 2 drift dives since I have been here, which I have to say made me laugh, (The Maldives in January showed me what a drift dive was) So I would have to say that drift dives dont really exist here.
I wouldnt say that fish life is abundant here, dont get me wrong some great large Grouper, small rays, reasonable size Barracuda etc. You have to remember tho that most dive days are with students so they dont take you to the best places so they can concentrate on teaching. There are some great dives tho, some really interesting topography here, some spectacular swim throughs that make you think you are in a cave system. Visibility is generally 20-30 meters everyday although I had had a couple of dives where it is less. I think really it is quite diverse here with the passing tropical storms etc.
I wouldnt say this is the best diving in the world, far from it, but I am here to study and nothing else so that is what I tell myself. It is not fair to compare It to the Redsea for example as there is no competition. However it is early days and to be fair I have had a couple of spectacular dives so I am optimistic that the diving will improve. Of course there is one thing in the water here that has made the whole trip worth it so far, and thats is the..... Whale shark. Yes I have swam with a Whale Shark.