Sharing the Passion Down Under!
Hi, my name is Karl Perry. From the first time I put a full kit of scuba equipment on and got into the pool I was hooked! There was no turning back. The day after I did the try scuba session I was down at the dive centre signing up for my open water ticket...
First there was the pool dives, then the first open water in a lake. My first lake dive had a wreck. Actually it was an old dinghy sitting on sand in about 7 metres of water. Doesn't seem like a big deal now but at the time I just lay on the bottom looking at fish through a whole in the bottom of the boat. A real Jacques Cousteau moment to me. Wicked!I will never forget my first "real" dive. Okaparu reef. I tentaively followed my more experienced buddy down the anchor line until we got to a ledge. Sitting there my buddy picked up a kinner and broke it open. I wondered what on earth he was doing ... and then the fish started to swim around. Real life ocean fish! I followed my buddy around a rocky ledge and swam down into a gully. As we travelled along the rock face looking at all the sea life I looked up to see the cliff face stretching upwards. I had a tremendous sense of freedom ... it was like I was flying! And then it dawned on me ... this was it ... this was what it is all about ... freedom! That moment was interrupted when I remembered I needed to check my gauges. The funny thing about scuba diving is you have to stay focused on what you are doing all the time (after all, air is quite important) which means you can't focus on anything else. It's pure escapism! It took me a few more dives to realize that the need to stay focused and in the present was part of the joy of it. There is no room for thinking about the hustle and bustle of every day life. Nothing is more important than making sure you still have air to breath and your buddy is safe, no one can talk to you and there is no point talking because no one can hear. Communication is restricted to a few hand signals. Ahh ... the peace and quite! After those first few dives I was well and truly hooked so it was back into the dive shop to find out what was next. To start with it was all a bit confusing. Scuba School International (SSI), Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) or National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI)? ... to name but a few choices. At the end of the day, in my view, the thing that is most important is to learn through a school. Scuba Diving is an extreme sport but with good quality training and experience it gets easier and safer, not to mention, more and more FUN! I chose SSI for no other reason than my local dive shop offered it and I figured that there might be an advantage in that the SSI Head Quaters for New Zealand is based in Tauranga where I live. Having completed the first level, the Open Water certification, the next step was to complete the Advanced Open Water. This usually involves about 24 dives and learning about four different types of diving activities. Mine where navigation, limited visibility, deep and wreck diving. These 'specialty' courses are tasters for the different things you can experience when diving. Personally, I don't think you really appreciate the amazing world of diving until you have completed your Advanced Open Water. Once you have 24 dives and the training from the specialty courses you feel far more confident, you are safer (for yourself and your buddy) and you have learnt how to relax on the surface and in the water. If you really want to experience scuba diving commit to doing your Advanced Open Water certification (which ever school you choose). Scuba Diving is not a cheap sport so if you are going to commit to your Advanced Open Water you should plan ahead. I did a deal with my local shop and set up a weekly AP that paid my training off over a period of time that I could afford. I also started putting money aside (yes that's right "saving") so that I could buy some of my own gear. It takes time to be a good diver! Depending on your budget I think you should plan it over 12 months. Me, being a bit obsessive, aimed at trying to complete my Master Diver certification in 12 months. It took me a bit longer but hey, you never know how the weather will treat you and sometimes life gets busy. After 50 logged dives, 4 specialties and completing Diver Stress and Rescue I was finally a SSI Master Diver. The Diver Stress and Rescue training, in my view, was the most important part of the Master Diver certification. Scuba diving is an extreme sport but like any extreme sport being well prepared, understanding your environment, your physical capabilities, your equipment and how people will react around you make scuba diving a fun and often exhilarating sport. Master Diver is the highest recreational level you can achieve under SSI. Once I had become a certified Master Diver my next question was ... "Whats next?". The answer was ... "teach others". I have always believed that if you want to become really proficient in anything you need to teach it. Teaching forces you to play at a higher level. Not only to you get to contribute to others and share experience but you also get to learn more and more. So the next step for me was obvious ... SSI Dive Control Specialist. If you have not worked it out by now I am a dedicated and motivated Scuba Diver. The DiveCon' certification proved to be a challenging and rewarding experience that has added a whole new dimension to my sport. I dive regularly and every time I drop below the surface I learn something new. Whether it is diving with my mates for scallops and crayfish, helping to refresh those important skills, showing people around our local dive spots or just being there as a buddy for divers on their own, there is always something to learn that improves the safety and fun of diving. DiveSchool.co.nz was born because I don't ever think I will stop learning about scuba diving and I want to share the passion I have found down under. Want to go diving? Drop me a line: kp@diveschool.co.nz Cheers, KP.  |
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