How Dive Worldwide Learnt to Dive
The Dive Worldwide Team talk about their experience taking their first breaths in the underwater world and how they've never looked back…
Mat Howell “As I turn 36 this year, I realise that I’ve been a scuba diver for exactly half of my life!
My older brother arranged a PADI open water course for my 18th birthday and I started the training in a UK pool. Sensibly, I decided to finish my course in the warmer climes of Thailand while backpacking before heading to Uni.
After many return visits to the country, I fell in love with a fellow dive master… years later we tied the knot on the island where we first met.”
Cath Bates “I learnt to dive in the warm waters of the Red Sea back in 2001 at Camel Dive Club (where I later went on to work for 11 years!)
I remember having to repeat mask clearing and weight belt removal skills and having a few issues equalising my ears, but nothing out of the ordinary. When I became an instructor I found I had incredible empathy and patience for students with these same struggles! I once went into the pool with a student an hour before the other students arrived, as I recalled that being in a group didn’t always mean the instructor could give you the one to one attention you needed to “master” a skill.
After two days in a warm classroom and pool, we put our head under the Red Sea for the first time. The orange Anthias were in their thousands, blue spotted stingrays scurried across the sand and multi-coloured parrotfish swam past like birds. All of a sudden skills became a piece of cake as we were eager to get them finished and dive amongst the beautiful marine life. I never looked back and have never had a holiday since without going diving.”
Emily Chappell “I learnt to dive in Taba, Egypt in 2008. The diving was outstanding with lots of colourful Anthias and corals all around us as we learnt.
The dive operation there was sleek, professional and conveniently located right by my hotel. I was offered boat and shore dives as part of my course which gave me a varied experience from the start.”
Joanna Charter “I learnt to dive in the UK in 2004, it was very cold and murky. I spent a lot of time on six metre platforms at UK inland sites, practising my skills until my fingers were numb and then getting out and having a lot of hot chocolate! I remember my first dive in warm water after I’d qualified (in the Red Sea) and I genuinely thought I was flying it was so clear.”
Sarah Wight “I learnt to dive at 16 in the Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu) just north of Jakarta, where I grew up. After years of snorkelling and doing other activities, my dad decided it was time to have a buddy.
I remember feeling so excited that I could get closer to the corals and marine life and to be able to stay down longer than just holding my breath was an amazing feeling, one that I wanted more of! It was a lot harder to travel around Indonesia back then, so there are still many places that I would love to dive, like the Banda Sea for example!”
Phil North “I learnt to dive in Koh Tao, Thailand. I was terrified, and without a doubt the worst in my group. But when I eventually got over my fear, I found I’d got the diving bug!”
Lewis Copper "It was on the second day of ‘fresher’s fayre’ that I signed up to the University of Portsmouth Sub Aqua Club (UPSAC). Learning to Scuba dive had never crossed my mind before but I was keen to try new things. I signed up for a fifteen minute ‘try dive’ at a local pool. This would be my first ever time diving.
After the fifteen minutes had passed I was reluctant to come to the surface. Everything had been silent and measured under the water. It was truly serene. I was quickly hooked by the sport, even if my first experience had been in a local swimming pool. I signed up for the course and a few weeks later qualified at Wraysbury Dive Centre in the UK.”
Charlie Munns “Back in 1991, during my Gap Year, I backpacked around Australia for about 4 months. Prior to going, I remember my grandmother asking if I was planning on doing anything silly, like scuba diving or bungee jumping.
I took my Open Water Course with Pro Divers in the beach town of Airline Beach on the Queensland coast. I spent the first couple of days in the classroom and in the pool, but then we sailed off the Great Barrier Reef to complete the Confined Water and Open Water dives and get a real taste of this beautiful new freedom. I knew I was hooked from the moment I first put on the mask. Despite it being 28 years ago, I remember spotting and chasing after my first wild reef shark as well as finding two wobbegong sharks, resting under a ledge.
A couple of weeks later, I was up in Cairns and immediately signed up for my Advanced Open Water whilst diving on the Nimrod II liveaboard on the outer Great Barrier Reef. The rest, as they say, is history.”
To start your own diving adventure, speak to a member of the Dive team today or explore all our learn to dive holidays.
