PADI DiveMaster

I am now a DiveMaster!! I finished my course at Aqua Africa yesterday, and I have to admit it was extremely challenging. Nick (a friend who also took the DM course) and I gave ourselves 3 weeks out of our work/travel schedule to do a course that most people take at least 5 weeks to do, so needless to say it was full on.
The course was a real mix of everything I’ve done in scuba diving to date but this time all the: 1) diving skills must be demonstrated perfectly, 2) theoretical knowledge of diving physics, physiology, environment, equipment, decompression theory and tables must be completely thorough, 3) first aid and CPR training updated, 4) swimming endurance up to par, and 5) a high standard of leadership and responsibility must also be demonstrated.
They also threw in some dive stress tests some mandatory and some for ‘fun’ (which I think I mentioned in my last blog).

I went through a wide range of emotions during this course that made me aware of what I wanted to do, what I was afraid of and what I was able to do. The 1st week I was full of doubt, I wasn’t sure I had the swimming endurance that PADI wanted. I had only 5 of the 12 pts on the swim tests that I needed to pass. But I decided that I would train everyday to get my swim times up. I swam across the Bay from my campsite to the dive shop (500m) each morning and evening. This helped tremendously. I realized that it wasn’t that I couldn’t do it, it was that I had not been training or swimming in months (I was up in the Dedza mountains afterall). So by the 2nd week I had gained a lot of confidence in all my skills both in and out of the water again. In the classroom I had aced my first 3 exams (of 8) and although there was so much to do I felt that I actually could tackle it. Finally in the 3rd week I just felt exhausted. I redid all my swim tests and did great. However, 2 days before I had to re-do my rescue tow I broke 2 toes in my left foot. I was so disappointed. But after we looked over my scores I realized I had enough points that I didn’t have to retake that one to gain enough overall points. Although it was intense, and by the 3rd week I was a little tired of gearing up everyday for the water and the drills, I loved it and I rose to each challenge.

It’s been great filling out my log book fill over the years. I passed my 150th dive this month and am now sitting at 160. Pretty cool.

Everybody asks me now what am I going to do with my Divemaster certification. This is the first professional level of diver and now I can legally lead dives, work at diveshops, assist instructors and teach certain courses. But that wasn’t my motivation. It was a personal challenge for me. I wanted to know if I could do it and it feels incredible that I did it. I remember the turning point for me in this course was when I doing a gear ditch and recovery drill. I had to ditch all my scuba gear (including air and mask) at 5m depth swim to a surface buoy and go back down to retrieve and replace it (and turn the air back on as well). Doing this blind and without air was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. There was one point where I was came so close to just quitting work on the tank to get the air flowing and instead just swim to the surface but I just couldn’t give in. I finished the test. I was exhilarating. I’m also proud to say that Nick and I also completed the scuba exchange while buddy breathing drill. It took a lot of practice and a couple near drownings but we did it!!

So now I can actually say that I am on vacation. I have graduated from my post grad program at Humber College, my internship of 4 months is over, and my DiveMaster course is completed as well. What to do next…
My flight leaves Lilongwe on Dec 7 (next Sunday) so I have one week left in Malawi before heading to Kenya for 2 weeks, then back home for xmas on Dec 23. My original plan was to leave Nkhata Bay on the Ilala ferry Monday night and take the slow cruise down Lake Malawi. However, I had an interesting offer last night at dinner. Gary, the owner of Mayoka Village, where I am staying, came up to me and congratulated me on finishing my course. He said that he was impressed I worked so hard at it, all the while living out of my small tent. Then he offered me a chalet to stay in for the rest of the time I was planning on staying in Nkhata Bay free of charge!! soooo…this offer was hard to refuse, so I’m not sure if I’m as eager to leave Nkhata Bay yet. If I can stay here for free then I’m, not in such a rush to head back to Lilongwe. The lake is lovely, the waters are warm, the mangos are ripe and there’s a hammock with my name on it. Maybe I’ll stay here until Wed?