This Blog Will Find You The Best Divemaster Training…

If you’re wondering what a Divemaster is, or what it takes to make the most out of your training… wonder no more.

I had unquestionably the most challenging, rewarding, invigorating and life expanding experience possible when doing my Divemaster course. Truthfully I would challenge anyone who wished to prove they made more out of their experience than I… And here’s why.

Invariably the requirements to become a Divemaster are the same under any course structure, be it PADI, SSI, SDI, RAID or any of the professional bodies you chose to progress with; I’ll be referring solely to the PADI Divemaster Training course in this article. However, what you can take from it, in what ways you can best use the opportunity and time you have and how you select the best place to suit your ambitions for the course is a variable and broad spectrum.

This is where you should take into account a whole bunch of different considerations. We did a lot of research and from it came one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.

So, I’m going to offer you an insight into my experience and a couple of tips when considering your Divemaster Training course, from why to do it, when and where to do it to who to do it with, whether you should pay for it and how to get more out of it than your co-Divemaster Trainees. Then you too might be best able to plan your Divemaster training; to understand what is required to simply qualify and most importantly what changes it into a life changing an utterly incredible experience, and let’s see if you agree with me by the end.

Firstly, why does anyone do their Divemaster training?

Officially speaking, becoming a Divemaster is the first professional qualification you can gain in the industry, many people do it to open up opportunities for employment in foreign countries and as a means of work and travel. However, the training aspects of becoming a Divemaster begin with yourself and end with the customers. You have to know how to look after yourself before others; by which you should know your gear back to front, inside out and be able to make routine manoeuvres (like deploying your SMB) with your eyes shut.

Individually speaking ,people become Divemasters for a variety of personal reasons and this is why my own perspective will differ from everyone else’s in one way or another. However, I think on a general scope most do it to gain more confidence and simply because they love diving. So, much like with any hobby, you always look to advance your skills and get to the next level, or to shift into a niche platform; like tech diving or underwater photography for example. It is simply the next step on the ladder.

Study days don’t look like they used to in school.

What does a Divemaster status allow you to do?

Well, qualifying as a PADI Divemaster allows you to guide up to four qualified divers around dive sites, up to two Discover Scuba Divers on their second dive, you can go through the ReActive programme with guests and it signifies that you have been trained and tested in the importance of safety processes, fitness and knowledge to be competent enough to do so. All of these make you far more employable to dive companies looking to hire extra hands!

How do you make the most out of the course?

How long do you have?

That’s an important question, it doesn’t impact how much you can get from it but it does impact how hard you might have to work to get it. If you have little diving experience before starting your divemaster’s, say perhaps just the 40 logged dives required to begin it, you may want to consider giving yourself longer than four weeks. If you’ve been diving recently and you have a lot of experience, perhaps the leap will not feel quite so monumental and within the four weeks you can progress swiftly enough to still get your maximum potential out of it.

Some people quit their jobs and travel halfway across the world to start their professional career. Others take an extended vacation and simply want to increase their dive skills whilst having an extended diving holiday! Yes, that is one key thing to consider when booking your Divemaster Training Course – how much value can you get out of your investment, what is it you really want to learn and where would you really like to go diving?

Do you want to know how an expensive resort runs and the standards they hold for customer service or, do you want to know what it feels like to hook on in the strong current as mantas fly over your head and sharks cruise by? But then again, perhaps you want something local to avoid travel costs and allow you to participate at weekends.

It’s a good tip to remember that you will be paying for a course that is to enhance your dive skills, so a place where they offer an unlimited amount of diving with the course is preferable (usually this is conditional depending on space on the trip; but with really good programs you’ll find they will make space for you on trips a few times a week at least). Considering the amount of diving you’re doing, you should chose somewhere that would inspire and challenge you, perhaps somewhere you’d like to work if that’s your goal. This is the perfect time for networking with prospective new employers.

The dive industry’s social calendar rivals that of Beyonce.

Do you even want to pay for your Divemaster Training Course?

There are plenty of internships out there, this means the dive shop will offer you free training in exchange for your employment afterwards, essentially then working for free to pay it off. My advice would be, that if you can afford to pay for it or, if you can wait to save up and pay for it a bit later on – do that.

As with most things in life, if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is and there’s no such thing as a “free” internship. Not only will you end up paying it off for longer than it would take to earn the money to pay it upfront, I would also be presumptuous enough to say that, if you’re not paying to be taught you stand less of a chance getting proper training and guidance from someone specific. This renders you as a source of free labour rather than a customer, where they will simply let you ‘learn on the job’ rather than having a mentor guide you. If you pay, you have the ability to question the standards you’ve paid for or ask why you haven’t had sufficient attention or time in the water. Makes sense!

So, if you’re going to pay for it and it should include a substantial amount of diving, it also makes sense to be selective of where you want to go and which company you choose to apply to. Here is where I think my experience may have easily trumped many others and how you can make the right decisions to make the most out of your Divemaster’s and your money and more importantly, your time that you’re intending to spend doing it.

Will your DMT include a free liveaboard trip?

Firstly, take up the challenge.

If you want to learn, find a location where you can learn the most. I chose Komodo. Why? Komodo means currents, currents mean fantastic marine life and challenging conditions. It means you’re kept on your toes and in my case – plunged into environments (crazy currents) I’d never felt in my life, never mind managed other divers in. You might be more interested in macro, so you might look for the most diverse macro specific dive site locations. There’s any number of ways you can intensify your course by making your initial choice the right one and deciding from on the outset that you’re going to learn more than just how to draw a dive map and brief a dive site.

Batu Bolong in Komodo National Park can be dived in a few different ways depending on the whether the tide is rising, falling or slack

But there’s some insane currents that pass around it, so when guiding here it’s always a new challenge!

Who do you want to learn from?

I was assigned to a mentor and I was his solo Divemaster trainee for the duration of my five months training. That meant, much like he was Yoda, I asked him everything and anything I could think of; stupid questions, questions I’d asked twenty times already and I made plenty of mistakes in the comfort of knowing they’d be recognised and resolved, with a confidence in my potential. I was pushed, notably a lot harder than some and, in the moments where I wasn’t sure, I learnt the most. I was always given a debrief on situations, circumstances, my actions and advice on any improvements and praise for just about anything.

Can you get this sort of personalised training, support and genuine investment when you are in a group of twenty, or maybe just eight Divemaster trainees? I think it’s worth considering how many other trainees they intend on taking on and how they allocate you a mentor. It’s worth nothing that there were four mentors in Blue Marlin at the time I was there, each had a ‘Luke Skywalker’ to pass down their Yoda skills to, yet each counselled and offered advice to me too, not to mention they all challenged my skills with equal fervour and supported my development.

You get to meet new people everyday who are endlessly interested in what you’re doing and excited to learn about our underwater world!

The rest is up to you!

Like most things in life, the energy you put into something determines the outcome of it.

I spent a year saving up to get myself out to Komodo, I invested in my own equipment and when I arrived I threw myself into it; full effort, full energy, with a sheer determination to get as much as I could out of the experience. I did that by not only pushing myself out of my comfort zone to learn more but by being surrounded by professionals who wanted to offer me their time, passion and knowledge and to challenge me to my limits.

I’m lucky to say that by the end they were friends who had believed in me when I was unsure and cheered me on when I was just about exhausted, guided me after steep learning curves in challenging situations, shared some of my most treasured diving moments, ambitious personal challenges and some of the proudest moments I have had in my twenties! From coffee in the mornings to sunset beers and late shifts, diving with them three times a day for up to fourteen days in a row, l couldn’t have chosen a better company or a better team of mentors. Part of it is luck, but most of it is planning and making sure that you personally make the most of it.

So best of luck to you if you’re considering doing the Divemaster Training Course. It’s a once in a lifetime experience, full of comradery, challenge and if we’re honest.. Beer. Push yourself if your mentor wont and don’t forget to take a rest when it’s absolutely necessary, nobody wants a wiped out Divemaster on the boat. But mostly, have fun! It should be a blast and like me, you should make memories and friends for life.

Thanks so much to the Blue Marlin for the amazing facilities and incredible Divemaster program, to the Blue Marlin Divemaster Mentor team of 2018 for everything they did for me. And of course to my instructor and personal Yoda who saw me through from walking in as an Open Water Diver with just 17 logged dives to qualifying as Jedi status with 200 dives and more knowledge than I knew what to do with… Until I started my IDC that is.

(Disclaimer, don’t expect all mentors to sneakily train you to Instructor standard on the sly.)

What Really Happens on a Scuba Diving Rescue Course

Who do you trust with your life? Who would rescue you? I mean, truly. Because if you’re taking on an activity like scuba diving, it involves a significant amount of risk for a recreational activity each time you decide to take part; regardless of your certification or experience. So with changing circumstances and perhaps changing buddies and certainly changing environments and conditions – it’s important to feel secure, to feel like the risk is mediated by your expertise, awareness and processes that you personally take to mitigate any of the controllable hazards taking place.

How can you best do this? By becoming a Rescue Diver. Simple.

A four to five day course where you’ll of have an intense array of circumstances present to you and you’ll be informed, demonstrated and supported in learning how to prevent and manage them all.

The intensity increases as you go through the course, so don’t panic, there’s nothing that you can’t handle by the final ‘hell dive’. Oh yes, the final dive of the course is called the hell dive.. and it’s where you put all your instincts, training and underwater ninja skills in to action. But we can come back to that – don’t freak out just yet.

Day One

If you already have an EFR (Emergency First Response) certificate, that’s going to reduce the time you’ve got out of the water, if not you’ll need to go through the training which crosses over into diving scenarios and how EFR is applicable within emergency situations in and out of the water, like with DCS (decompression sickness) and other likely forms of injury. After completing the EFR training you’ll begin to go through basic scenarios in confined water, like a training pool. This allows the instructor and assistant to demonstrate to you the most common and dangerous scenarios you might come across in open water and scuba diving scenarios, but on a very basic level at this stage. Everything is fully explained, demonstrated and then you have the opportunity to practice the communication, approach and execution of your rescue technique.

Days two and three…

…will see you in open water, where you will be presented with the same scenarios in a more real life environment, but again, this will be only a touch more realistic to allow you to build ‘muscle memory’ for the situations and confidence in your approach. The thing is, it tends to be irrelevant when you’re told to relax or enjoy the dive – I spent every moment wondering if someone was distracting me to turn my tank off. But this wasn’t the case, and generally this dive should be the one where you know what is going to happen and it shouldn’t be overly dramatic. But they might decide that the visibility is just too good for a search and recovery and zinc up your mask like mine… Can’t. See. Anything.

The third and fourth day… All bets are off.

This is the day that aims to build your confidence in your abilities by putting them to the test with much more realistic acting by your instructor and assistant, and will aim to catch you off guard. Regardless of knowing this at the start of the day, everything still happened when I least expected it – straight after a search and recovery I found myself with an unconscious diver at the surface, who I had to tow to the boat, haul onto the deck and provide theoretical CPR, until thankfully they sprung back to life before EMS was needed. Another time, whilst a fellow DMT completed his 400m swim in open water, I was told to make a life float and swim to him with it, little did I know he was in on this scenario. So, as I gently motion the float towards him, his eyes turn wide and unseeing, no longer a friend but a panicked swimmer, he jumps over the float and right on my head! I have no time to process this as I gasp for air back at the surface, only for a moment before I’m plunged with two hands on my head back into the ocean – cheers mate!

Then I had the pleasure of rescuing him as unconscious diver and dragging him on to a real life desert island for CPR! As you can see, total success!

Another classic bluff was being told that I’d been tested so much and done so well in my few days that we were just going to do an unconscious diver scenario on my last dive – well, don’t believe that for a second, what a naïve diver and student I was, let me enlighten you.

On the hell dive…

…I’m told I’m guiding the dive with not one but three divers, all of whom were capable instructors and divemasters. Cool, no problem, I just need to keep reef left and check their air occasionally. Five minutes in and I turn to see an array of mischief occurring; grasping at anemones, trying to catch fish with a hook they’ve found, lost fins, run away ascents whilst getting tangled in their SMB. Of course, as I’m assisting these terrible divers, my air runs dry – someone’s turned it off whilst I was trying to help them!

Not so long later, in a galaxy not far away, one’s now decided to be unconscious and incredibly heavy on the ocean floor, whilst another has stolen all my weights and swum off… what on earth! Cursing through my regulator I dash around, up and down, desperately wondering what in earth is going on. After an unbreathing, unconscious diver scenario sees me shouting ‘Bob Marley, Bob Marley, prepare the tea and biscuits!’ offering rescue breaths as I tow to the boat and haul myself on, before managing to get a man twice my size on there with a good heave-ho! Exhausted! Make sure you have a good breakfast and coffee before you begin your day on a rescue course.

Mania, but what an epic dive that was, and no one died! I couldn’t have come up feeling more confident than I did. Strangely you end up feeling weirdly grateful to have been tested so thoroughly – it removes so much doubt about what you could or could not handle in an underwater emergency and builds your confidence as a diver ten times over.

Why should you do your Rescue course?

For me, this course was the most impactive, the most useful but also the most fun course I’ve completed since starting on my scuba diving journey. Allowing me to overcome fears of being unable to cope with situations, confidence in my gear and my own understanding of what can both prevent and help manage an emergency situation. I have since assisted two rescue courses over my Divemaster training, and the students who passed agreed with the sentiment wholeheartedly, ‘what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger’, and have no doubt, they will try to kill you… Honestly, it’s a fantastic course.

Thanks to Blue Marlin Komodo for an yet another epic experience!

Welcome aboard Jaya Liveaboard: Komodo Dragons & Diving!

Finding our way around our new home for the next four days, we check out the top deck, sun deck and on passing by the kitchen and a quick hello to some of the most important people onboard – the captain and the chef, we carry on down the corridor to our twin cabin. It’s neat with a little pop roof for fresh air, air con for cold air and a fan to move it all around, two little bunks with fresh linen and towels, a little sideboard and two bedside lamps – perfect, we’re home! As we all know, homes have rules to keep us safe, so after a boat and safety briefing we get the run down for the day – we’re off to see some komodos!

Komodo is the Bahsa word for ‘dragon’ and one of the islands, aside from Komdo island, that they can be found in the National Park is Rinca. We’ve been here before and being that it is now the middle of the day, we know better than to do the trail walk again. We’re sticking it out in the shade by the rangers’ hut, because this is where the dragons like to hang out in abundance and this time we’ve managed to keep a guide for ourselves.

Now, these dragons look like lazy creatures and perhaps they’ve been spoilt too much by the tourism; more specifically the kitchen they frequent so often whilst lazing in the sun. But their reputation proceeds them as being huge, dribbling, ambush predators who bite and then stalk their prey until the venom and bacteria slowly kills them – which is why you will see buffalo in the park too. Yet, on looking at them laying there, hardly bothering to blink an eye, one can be tempted into believing that these beasts have been lured into a slumber by the treats and tappings of the tour guides’ sticks.

Our guide watches us, my phone is on video mode and Aaron has his camera on its tripod at the ready. Not much is going on, occasionally a head moves ever so slightly, but even the small bird that dots around them picking up crumbs is aware that these old dragons don’t move for less than a free treat these days.

Our tour guide looks towards us, heads to the office door outside which these komodos are laying, summons someone and seconds later something slaps into the dirt in front of us and everything is moving. Big loose, leathery legs and swollen stomachs lead long slow tails as they launch themselves, surprisingly swiftly, but heavily towards this morsel -they know it’s good whatever it is.

Now, arguably a little startled, I reposition myself swiftly behind Aaron, who’s keeping his cool and filming the best bits of the active dragons. We know this isn’t quite the National Geographic footage we all desire, but it sure beats the hell out of spotting the odd komodo lazing in the dirt trying to warm up, whilst walking in the blazing sun through the park for forty minutes, so, for this type of experience we’ll take chilling out by the kitchen with the dragons any day.

Back on the boat we have a couple of dives to get under our belt before the day is done. Two dips into Siaba Besar it is. Also known as turtle town, this is a dive site that never fails to produce at least one turtle. Usually it offers us a range of green sea turtles being cleaned, sleeping in the coral and two of which are fondly called grandma and grandpa; because they are huge and undoubtedly the eldest of the bunch that frequents the area.

Diving Siaba in the later hour of the day shows us a totally new side to a dive site we’ve done so many times before. Usually buzzing with divers and go pros going wild for the turtles, yet now it seems sedate and relaxed, the light is warm and soft and the fish seem unphased by our presence, relaxed in the late afternoon light. The best bit? Not one other dive group in sight.

Find out more about what the Jaya liveaboard is like here and watch this space for the next post where the main events from our three days of diving in Komodo National Park are revealed in beautiful images and witty comment by yours truly,

Team WD.x

Whilst onboard the Jaya, we were commissioned to created a promotional video for the Scuba Republic, Jaya liveaboard experience, so you can enjoy the best bits right now if you fancy:

Visit the Scuba Republic website to find out more and book on for your Jaya experience here.

If you’re interested in working with Wander Deeper for content and media creation, get in touch with us at wewanderdeeper@gmail.com or message us directly through our social media channels: @wanderdeeper

The Jaya Liveaboard, Komodo National Park

One of the first ships to offer a liveaboard trip in Komodo, Jaya has a wonderfully rich history with the waters on which it sails, and an equally tried and tested method to how it operates. Built fourteen years ago, originally Jaya sailed the waters of South East Asia. Her design, a Phinisi sailing schooner, a traditional method of sailing that has served the Bugis people of South Sulawesi for centuries, she remains to be a strong and renowned vessel in the local waters. Venturing from Raja Ampat on an epic fourteen day liveaboard for the Komodo high season, Jaya then resumes her core role as a liveaboard in Raja for the following seven months. So if you’re looking to book on, make sure you check your dates.

Jaya has a decent sized gear area on deck, with enough space to store your fins and equipment out of the way. It’s kept safely and transported from the ship to the tender on your back, so there’s no worry of it being bashed or damaged. There’s three separate fresh water rinse tanks, one for your camera gear or special equipment, another for your masks, computers and reels and a third with small rinse buckets to freshen yourself up after a dive.

The ship’s cabins cater for up to fourteen guests in total and though not overly spacious, the twin and triple cabins offer all the space you require for two or three people. Cabins include a window ventilation, fans and crucially, air conditioning. It smells and feels clean and the flooring in the walkway is slip proof to stop any dangerous slips. Similarly, the three shower rooms, though not highly modern are perfectly spacious for the requirement and they feel clean.

There’s no big rules on the boat, aside from not knowingly wasting fresh water and keeping the dry area seats dry to benefit you and your shipmates; a reasonable request and something you will find on any boat. The fact is, when on the ocean people don’t want to be wet and water that is drinkable is precious.

For relaxing, socialising and eating there’s the upper deck, with tables and benches – just watch out for the one low beam, despite being padded, we guarantee it’ll still catch you out once or twice on a trip. If you’re lucky it might just knock sense in though, which you’ll need for the card games, we couldn’t help but find ourselves drawn towards the deck when the crew started shuffling!

As the light starts to soften, head to the sun deck for the perfect spot for settling down to a stunning dusky view of the islands. When a night dive isn’t on the agenda, sip a cold beer whilst you watch the swooping sea eagles, it’s the perfect way to relax for the evening , as the stars come out and dinner is served.

The Jaya liveaboard offers scuba diving trips into Komodo National Park for four or seven nights, and expedition trips at the end of season, for fourteen days venturing between Raja Ampat and Komodo, twice yearly.

It’s hard to consider Jaya as a budget liveaboard. OK, it’s not sleek and modern or overly spacious, but it’s got everything you’ll need, including an authentic character, a wonderful chef and exceptional hosts. The staff on board are keen to entertain, feed and inform you. This ticks a lot of boxes because budget should never relate to the level of service, only the facilities.

The schedule runs on time and amends are only in respect of currents. Briefings are engaging and clear whilst the dive guides themselves ensure you’re enjoying the best of what the site has to offer, they’re certainly familiar with the park and their enthusiasm doesn’t wain for a moment. It’s a great team on a beautiful boat and, when the sails go up to catch the wind at the end of the trip, it’s a magnificent one.

Find out more about what we got up to on our four days and three nights here…

Whilst onboard, we were commissioned to created a promotional video for the Scuba Republic, Jaya liveaboard experience:

Visit the Scuba Republic website to find out more and book on for your Jaya experience here.

The Ultimate Guide to Your First Scuba Diving Liveaboard…

We went on three liveaboards in three months and wow, do we have some top tips for you if you’re considering your first liveaboard experience!

If you are new to the world of liveaboard diving, be prepared to never want to dive any other way again. If you thought diving was addictive, liveaboard diving will have you upgrading your experience from here on out.

We write these posts for the scuba diving beginners to the pros in the industry, so skip ahead by clicking the links if you want to get past the basics, but we’re covering the following:

What is a scuba diving liveaboard experience?

Why it is worth taking a liveaboard trip over doing multiple day trips

What to expect from a liveaboard trip

How to plan for a liveaboard trip

Who you should speak to book the trip

What you can bring and how you can prepare to make the most of the experience

Links to our individual liveaboard trip blogs, so you can see how we got on over three different experiences in one location.

What is a liveaboard experience?

Typically, if you enjoying scuba diving, your holidays are frequently based in diving destinations – because what else would you want to do with your time off? Looking for the right dive shop, ensuring there’s availability to get to the sites you’ve read all about, researching the local facilities, restaurants and bars in-depth and booking the room with the view, all come as part of this planning.

A scuba diving liveaboard experience includes all of the above. Having set sail from shore you then live on the ship floating (hopefully) on the ocean. Diving from morning till night, playing cards at sunset, sitting under the stars with a drink and rising with the sun. In layman’s terms: dive, eat, sleep, repeat.

Liveaboards host a number of guests, which could range from just you to up to around twenty others; not forgetting the crew of course. They set sail for four to seven days, in some areas you can do expeditions for up to fourteen or more days.

Why is it worth it and what should you expect?

Nothing quite beats the feeling of getting up from a dive, removing your gear and settling down with a good book in a hammock whilst an array of wonderful food is laid out for your pleasure. After food, you settle down to a small cat nap in the shade to get you back on track and after a couple of hours of surface interval you’re feeling refreshed and ready to dive again! This happens four times during the day on a liveaboard trip.

If you think four dives a day sounds too much, think again – being surrounded by the big blue ocean and fresh air there’s little more you’ll need to get your happy bubbles blowing.

Longer surface intervals make for longer bottom times, so relax and release that nitrogen, feel fresher and if you’re looking to do multiple deep dives you’ve given yourself the potential for a longer NDL than on a day trip.

Did we mention all the food? Diving uses up a lot of energy and it seems that it’s a keen hobby of the chefs on board these trips to keep you full to the brim! Like Hobbits you’ll have a first and second breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner, drinks and treats are in full supply too.

The company can’t be bad, you’re surrounded by co-divers who have also found themselves on the same diving liveaboard – there’s a few talking points to get the conversation flowing, perhaps you both read this blog – add that to a pack of cards and you’ve got divers paradise.

The diving. Well, come on – this seems too obvious to put first. In truth, all of the above affect this element, there’s no need to hang around in a dive shop in the morning, no potentially awkward commute to the sites with different people daily, no limitation on the dive sites due to changes in circumstance and the surface interval spent in between dives on a liveaboard swiftly feels like settling down at home.

Not to mention, your home comes with a room with a view, well – of course this does depend on where you go in the world, but it’s guaranteed not to be another building block! Lounging around on the ship you’ll have that sweet horizon in your site all day, especially beautiful in the dawn, dusk and dead of night. Birds swooping past, stars at night and splashes from the ocean activity will have you feeling utterly peaceful.

When you should book your trip

Of course, booking in advance ensures the trip isn’t going to be spoiled by getting the small cabin or the trip booking out. If you have the luxury of flexibility with your dates when you arrive you can find some last minute deals, this isn’t usually the case in high season but if you arrive near the end of the season there could be a potential for a decent discount – but it could be a risky game to play, especially if you’re feeling particular about the type of experience you’re after.

Many liveaboard operations don’t have offices, which would mean booking online is the only option, these companies will often arrange a meeting point for the departure in a location close to the harbour. There are also plenty of online liveaboard booking sites which offer competitive and secure booking. Be sure to check reviews of the company you’re going with, the authenticity of the site you’re using, the transparency of costs and ease of organisation before clicking that final payment button.

What you can bring and how you can prepare to make the most of the experience

What about this being your entrance to the advanced diving world? You could take your advanced course on the trip, or perhaps you haven’t dived in a little while and might consider doing your refresher course in advance, getting your gear serviced and insurance updated – there’s always ways you can be more prepared to allow for maximum enjoyment on the trip and reduce any potential stress or difficulties.

Don’t forget to bring your your divers qualification certificate or card, insurance details and log book. Any equipment – remember that new masks need a little wearing in (toothpaste, burning or serious anti-fog) for the first few uses, but that they’re the most likely thing to not fit or cause you aggravation when renting them, so investing in one is a great idea if you’re looking to start gathering your own gear.

Your own scuba gear that hasn’t been used recently, within the last couple of months should be tested – you can bring it to your local dive school and rent a tank to test it in the pool. Any scuba gar that hasn’t been used for an extended period of time, even if it was new when you used it last, should really be serviced to double check it’s all fully functioning.

We went on three liveaboards in three months and wow, do we have some top tips for you if you’re looking for your next and best liveaboard destination… Bear in mind that, like everything, there are levels of luxury you can pay for on these experiences and even among the luxury and budget liveaboards there are some that are better than others – don’t buy into the label straight away, check the reviews first!

Check out our individual reviews in each here:

Jaya, Scuba Republic

Ikan Biru, Blue Marlin

Wicked Diving, Wicked Adventures

Check out the promo-video we made for Wicked Adventures during our trip:

PADI Advanced Open Water Course – Everything you need…

An introduction…

It seems logical to me that you would want to expand your skills once you enter the world of diving from your initial experience of perhaps a Discover Scuba Dive or your Open Water certification, that is of course because I loved completing my Open Water course and without much persuasion decided I wanted to qualify to become a Divemaster and live my life as a mermaid (a lifelong goal since the age of 5). Not only did my open water course prove to me that life truly is better down where it’s wetter, along with the vibrant corals and fish, the feeling of scuba diving also fulfilled my dreams of flying weightlessly and so there wasn’t any resistance to my new found hobby; only that I had to wait over a year to get back in the water whilst I saved for the dream. It helps of course, that Aaron is a divemaster and was most definitely a dolphin in his past life, I mean, merman, mermaaan himself and so with a shared goal we managed to save our way through a year in London and make our way out to Indonesia all the way to Labuan Bajo in Flores and right into the Komodo National Park; well, we didn’t wait over fourteen months to go somewhere less than spectacular and for anything less than the ultimate experience for us both.

For those who haven’t heard about the diving in Komodo National Park – hello! Where have you been? Joking (I was clueless too – I had only just picked up the hobby, I knew nothing!) But Aaron knew, because being a diver he’s well aware it’s world renowned for its diverse and flourishing marine life from megafauna to macro, multiple and unique dive sites and challenging currents – cue the current junkies from all corners of the globe!

So here I am, situated in the perfect place to advance my scuba diving skills, and as it happens I’m planning on going the whole way through to PADI Dive Professional status, as a Divemaster. But, first thing’s first, scuba diving beyond 18 metres here I come!

What are the benefits of doing the PADI Advanced Open Water Course?

If you’re considering doing your Advance after Open Water it’s a great idea for many reasons, but mostly because it enables you to dive deeper, on successful completion of an Advanced PADI Diving course you are certified to dive depths of 30 metres, having successfully demonstrated five new skillsets.

What does this mean for your diving?

It means greater depths, greater opportunities and great variety of dive sites and a more confident and fine tuned dive style (we would hope) with an extension to your understanding of both your skills and the marine world. The five skill sets are made up by three predetermined skills and two of your choice, or of the dive schools choice. They may be predetermined by the dive school because certain specialities require certain environments – for example, you can’t choose wreck dive if there’s no wreck, or you can’t complete the course, similarly if you want to do a drift speciality and there are no places to drift dive, it doesn’t make sense to offer it. So you may need to take the advice of the dive shop you choose an the make the most of the available environment.

For diving in Komodo National Park it’s a Drift Dive Speciality and Fish ID Speciality for me, along with Peak Performance Buoyancy Speciality Dive, Navigation Speciality Dive and a Deep Dive (to a maximum depth of 30m). With an Advanced course it’s all about reading before hand and following up your knowledge both in the water, displaying it with various skills and finalising it by completing knowledge reviews afterwards.

I did two days of diving and I had a brilliant experience. Expanding your skill sets and understanding the environment by immersing yourself into it is a prime way to increase your confidence, skills and, in turn, enjoyment when scuba diving. It is also the first step to becoming a professional diver, moving from the basic survival techniques taught in the Open Water Course, to becoming a fine tuned scuba diver, understanding the environment and your role within it more as an Advanced PADI Recreational Diver.

A basic break down of the specialities I completed are as follows:

Drift Diving:

This is a technique used to ride a current and explore areas from point A to point B, not returning to the drop-off point. Drift diving isn’t completely passive as may imagine – you used the currents general direction to dictate your dive but you can also cut across it in a zig-zag pattern as not to go too fast and to see more of the dive site. You also need to be able to kick out of the drift to exit your dive. There are many dive sites that use the tides here in Komodo to their advantage for drift diving.

Fish Identification:

Identifying the species local to the area makes diving more fun, it allows you to experience the dive more fully by understanding the habitats, interactions and roles they play as part of the ecosystem… because they do all live in perfect harmony with their environment, many with symbiotic relationships. It’s beautiful to see and fascinating to find out about the more unusual species, the more hidden critters and you’ll soon find the small things as fascinating as the big stuff.

Peak Performance Buoyancy:

The first of the three obligatory skills, this has a great practical application – because when you have your buoyancy on point everything else is just blissful and that is what diving is about, being weightless, being perfectly, neutrally balanced and in control of your movements. Fine tuning your buoyancy means less movement, which means less air consumption which, my friends, results in a longer dive with no accidental damage to yourself, coral or anything else!

Navigation:

As an Open Water certified Diver you’re allowed to take a buddy and plan your dives unassisted, unguided and so it makes sense that you should have some additional navigational skills. This builds upon the basics learned in the Open Water course and reconfigures you with your compass skills by presenting an situation in open water, in which you will need to navigate a reciprocal bearing and a square, both times returning back to your starting spot. Generally a good skill to have if you plan to head out diving without a guide.

Deep Dive:

This will bring you to your deepest depth thus far in your diving experience – how exciting! Allowing you to see the change in colours, mostly the depletion of the red tones at depth, perhaps the start of narcosis from 23m, noticeable with a small maths test using fingers to count to a number so you can see how your mental processing may slow. It also allows you to notice the change in air consumption at depth, you may find you have a shorter dive than usual!

Plenty of time to complete other specialities along the way if you aren’t able to cover the ones you’d ideally like to do on your course, but this is a great step towards becoming a better diver and it’ great fun too! The course usually runs over two days or four dives but it can vary wherever you go.

Happy bubbles!

WD.x

Diving into Komodo National Park

What do you do differently when the day you’ve been waiting for, for over six months is imminent? Prepare your clothes the night before, get to bed early and make sure you’ve set an overzealous amount of alarms (considering you’ll be awake even before the stupidly early one out of sheer excitement). #DiveGeeks maybe, but #LivingOurBestLife definitely.

Today is the day we get to go out into the Komodo National Park and dive! We’re up and feeling spritely and the weather is wonderful, like two spring chickens we’re out with no sign of an alarm. Bags packed and looking smart like it’s our first day of school we head to the dive shop. It’s a chilled atmosphere, everyone is waiting or having a little breakfast and enjoying the view out the back of the Blue Marlin Dive restaurant.

We are heading out to two dive sites today and though the weather is beautiful we are well aware that currents are notoriously strong and unpredictable in Komodo, and it seems today we have to avoid entering the actual Komodo National Park for this exact reason. Luckily for us, there are more than a few dive sites to choose from still and we are soon kitting up for our first dive. The water is like glass, it’s stunning and the first decent is magical.

With only us two and our fantastic guide, Rebecca we need not stress, with a flourishing world around us; abundant fish life and soft and hard corals. The macro life is just as apparent as the schooling fish that make their way around us, unphased by our bubbles and big tanks clogging up their daily commute – maybe it’s their first day at school too.

We are swimming through a colourful oasis, it’s vibrant even at 12m down and as I stare for a while at the smallest anemone fish I have ever seen, I see Aaron several metres behind me captivated by something I have clearly missed. But with the current guiding us, the energy to go and find out exactly what it is seems like a waste so I continue on – later I find out he was being mesmerised but a cuttlefish as it struck a pose for him.

When I say current, it’s a comfortable drift and with the reef guiding us on our way we come across a small octopus perched atop a rock with a larger octopus clinging on to it whilst hiding underneath – naughty little thing – he clearly was up for having a look at his reflection in the big camera dome! Nudibranchs everywhere and some seriously big trigger fish looking to defend their territory! Now you don’t want to ask those guys for a photo, they’re not called trigger for nothing; bitey little angry fish they are!

Can you spot the third octopus we met? He’s hiding in the photo…

The day out on the boat, Hugo – a small wooden dive boat with an incredible team onboard – has been incredible and exactly what we needed to wash the travel fatigue and dust from our souls.

We can hardly believe that these sites are not even part of the National Park, we’ve yet to experience the main event and we are so ready for it! What a joy to see such a thriving ecosystem.

Thanks to Blue Marlin Dive for an epic introduction to what is bound to be an adventure of a lifetime for us in the next few months! You can visit their website via this link for details about their scuba diving day trips, liveaboard trips and of course their courses. We’ll be posting plenty more information about the scuba diving development journey from Open Water to Divemaster with them on here – watch this space.

WD.x

Diving in Tulamben, Bali: USAT Liberty Wreck & Coral…

(First thing’s first… If you’re feeling lazy there’s a video at the bottom.)

Today we’ve woken up to real a wreck, well, The USAT Liberty wreck that is. It’s a beautiful 30 degrees and breezy outside and we’re off to see if we can’t find a few more shipmates… Though the water is a moderate 29 degrees I opt for a wetsuit today, but as I feel the sweat running down my cheek as we suit up at the shore I’m starting to wonder if it was necessary. The tide is in this morning so we have no problem entering the water over the rocky shore and we’re making our merry way down to the seabed, it’s great vis today – the sun is still low and the wreck is bought back to life by the bright corals and busy bustle of marine life that surrounds them. Heading through the same route as yesterday, we’ve made it further this time; more relaxed our air is spent less quickly and we come to see a whole new aspect to this dive. Bubbles float upwards tickling my face as they roll over and emerge at the surface above. We’ve reached the deeper end of the wreck and whilst I stay at 18m there are plenty of divers exploring the greater depths and nooks in the sunken vessel. With so many bubbles rolling up and along the side of the ship through the corals and shoals of little fish, I’d suspect this place must be where the local marine life come for a little pamper. Scuba-diver-powered jacuzzi anyone?

Spa days aside, the star of this dive has to be a pygmy sea horse, hanging out on a fan coral and arguably it would have been impossible to spot were it not for Komang and his knowledge of the site, plus he bought his torch along and – Bingo! There it is, no bigger than my little fingernail and so perfectly camouflaged that if I blink I find myself searching for it again, but there it is just bobbing around its home and wondering who turned on the flood lights. Making our way back to the dive shop and we’ve decided today is a three dive sort of day; it’s our last day for diving in Tulamben so we’re up for making the most of it!

New dive spot at the ready, we’re headed to the Coral Garden for a stroll through the park. Busily tending to their beds is an abundance of fish varieties, whilst we spot lionfish of various species and sizes across the site. The Garden is brimming with fertility and life and it’s a wonder to see. As we pass through the garden around the concrete temples, spirit houses and Buddha effigies that have been placed there to support new coral growth, we find what was once previously ordained in gold leaf and rich throws are now beautifully dressed with feathered sea stars. Nudibranch eggs wrap poles in beautiful pink veils of adornment; delicately dressed, this underwater temple’s worship now comes from its new residents of the underwater variety.

We spotted a few of the more celebrity status residents as we passed through the neighbourhood, a mantis shrimp was spotted scuttling hurriedly from rock club to rock club (party animal that one) whilst a juvenile lionfish was seen skipping school behind the boulders.. We’re not judging, but we’re sure we saw a puff of smoke emanating from the area; Oh little Lionfish is that seagrass we smell?

The coral garden phased into an anemone forest filled with clown fish, the soft anemones swayed in the tide in such a mesmerising manner that we found ourselves sat here for quite some time. Personally I’d never seen more than one small anemone by itself let alone over a hundred large ones sitting so closely together, it felt somewhat like the scene from Bedknobs and Broomsticks where they enter the jazz bar; why weren’t these clown fish holding cocktails from their softly lit seating areas and swaying to the brass trio? The nudibranchs were everywhere on this dive site too, sitting on and under rocks they seemed to be hastily moving themselves around unlike I’ve ever seen, tiny ones, big globules of neon patterned ones – can you ever tire of seeing their vivid colours and patterns – they’re certainly more exciting than the slugs on land.

Back on shore and two dives in, we’re in need of a little boost so stop to enjoy some local food for lunch, we’ve eaten at our resort every time since we arrived and for good reason – it’s cheap and delicious and we know from experience that when you have a good thing, enjoy it – plus the convenience of just popping downstairs from your room after a long day’s diving never goes a miss.

The third dive takes us to the wall, the location we visited yesterday and it’s safe to say we enjoyed it as much this time as the last. On returning to shore we agreed that we could happily dive those sites a multitude of times and not get bored, especially The USAT Liberty.

With a long day of diving done and our log books stamped we spent the evening looking at photos, writing this blog and enjoying a wonderful meal with a very cold Bintang each, before shortly after passing out on the bed – we certainly made the most of our time diving in Tulamben and look forward to hopefully visiting here once again.

WD.x

Wandering Deeper in Bali: Diving the USAT Liberty

It’s a nervous, adrenaline filled excitement as we head out for our first dive in over a year, having travelled out of the main Bali tourist spots to the small fishing village of Tulamben, a two hour journey by car from the airport.

Arriving at 2.30 in the morning leaves a lot to the imagination, as the darkness in the remote area of Tulamben is thick and heavy. It’s broken only by a few local lights and the dazzling night sky, though the vague outlines of mountain valleys and the winding roads up and down to our destination promised it was going to be breath-taking in the sunshine. Staying at Bali Reef Divers Resort, we were thrilled to find our clean, beautifully furnished double room equipped with a fridge full of cold drinks and aircon tempering the muggy heat outside. A quick shower and we set the alarm for the following morning to make the most of our four day stay here.

Day one has arrived and well, it looks very different in the morning. The double balcony windows flood sunlight and flickering shadows of palm trees on to the balcony and the sounds of mopeds speeding along the single main road, along with the chatter from business-as-usual in dive shop below fills the room as soon as the doors are opened. We head down to introduce ourselves to our hosts, explore the local area and to meet our dive guide, Komang. A little exploration, a purchase of some water and Bintangs for the fridge and a freshly cooked breakfast in the restaurant and we’re ready to grab our gear and get into the ocean!

Our three tanks are sent balanced on a moped down to the shore as we follow on foot; BCDs and regs on our back, fins, mask and camera in hand. Across the little through road we make our way down to a coal black coast line, it’s a drastic contrast against the clear blue of the water and vibrant greens of the trees that frame it. Our tanks are here waiting for us so, time to kit up, buddy check and take ourselves somewhat haphazardly to the water – oh open water, how we’ve missed you! With the gentle tide pulling us to and fro as we awkwardly secure fins and masks, we take no time in signalling the ‘OK’ to our descent to the peaceful depths beneath the waves.

Arriving at the wall of The Wall dive site it’s a wonder, it’s a flourishing abundance of life in vertical, as jam-packed as any city high rise, but arguably the residents are far friendlier. We’re moving at a gentle pace, getting our dive mojo back, the enjoyment of the sensation would’ve been enough for us at this point but with an abundance of locals waiting to say hello, we are in for a real treat. Komang must know each of them by name with the precision in which he points them out to us. He shows us a tiny Whip Coral Shrimp, far smaller than your little fingernail and perfectly camouflaged, it moves almost invisibly along the coral. It’s just minutes later and we’re looking at a mantis shrimp, brightly coloured and certainly not shy, it scurries across the seabed and underneath us to hang for a little while in plain sight.

The Wall of coral and it’s inhabitants reaches a depth of 45m but we aren’t going that deep today, staying within Cassie’s Open Water qualification to 18m is proving to be exciting enough; a leaf scorpion fish and another incredibly large scorpion fish sit quietly as if digesting a rather generous lunch. A yellow margin trigger fish works tirelessly to get his share, creating clouds of dust and sand up into the water as he searches. Looking closer there are nudibranchs in abundance, two common mollusca slid along one atop the other and a few others we’re not confident to ID just yet caught our eye, hopefully when we head out tomorrow we can get a better idea. It’s been an enchanting dive and whilst hanging out for our safety stop we spot a trio of lion fish either side of a rock, looks like there’s trouble in the Pride, Simba. Moments later we’ve been joined by schooling oxeye scad; what a way to end our first dive of the trip and start our next journey together in the water.

It’s a quick return back to base and we’re both buzzing from the dive, a quick hour break and we’re agreed to meet for dive two at the famous USAT Liberty. We rehydrate, review our spots from the first dive and we’re back in the water. The USAT Liberty is a world renowned wreck dive and the reason we decided to first come to Tulamben, so as our Aussie friends would say, we’re frothin’! Another shore entry, the wreck is suitable to snorkel and free dive if you’ve got the confidence and skills to do so. We wanted to really see it from a depth so, once more we find ourselves teetering down the ever slightly more drastic descent to the water’s edge and the tide has picked up its pace slightly since last we met! Here we go, again it’s unsurprisingly not quite the demure entry we’re striving for, but we find ourselves peaceful below surface in no time and a short fin kick away a huge shape looms in the distance, all aboard the USAT Liberty!

The dive is another simple route but the landscape of the wreck is mesmerising and intriguing, for me the first question has to be, “I wonder where the bar is?” ..Your question would now be, do US army transport ships have a bar? ..Do any army ships have a bar? I’m clearly thinking of the Titanic, never mind me. 50 years down here, covered in a wide array of corals the structure still remains very visible and this vessel now seems to be harbouring Davey Jones and his sea scoundrel crew. We watch as a large hawksbill turtle sits among the brig, plundering the sea grass whilst the dastardly Napoleon Wrasse is clearly captain of the ship – this a one huge fish and he’s relaxing in what could be have been the Captain’s quarters once upon a time. He’s a dark character though and gives us the slip within moments. As we find ourselves diving through the corridors and past the various broken parts of the wreck, the site feels like a playground. We gently move through the holes and up through the gaps, past stairways and the helm, our bubbles roll up along the sides of the hull and fill air holes meters below the surface whilst the portholes, framed with coral shine amongst the dark underside of the wreck.

Disembarking at the shore from the USAT Liberty is, well, a challenge, we’re fighting the current and the rocks underfoot, (please note, diving boots come in incredibly handy on both shore entries) with the help of Komang, I struggle my way up with Aaron’s camera in hand, please Captain Napoleon-Wrasse don’t let me fall! Aaron’s still swishing around in the waves trying to kick off his fins without getting concussion and eventually we’re both out! What a day. *Insert two incredibly happy smiling faces and two extra cold Bintangs here*

WD.x

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Scuba Diving

So, you’re interested in scuba diving? Fantastic, we couldn’t recommend it more! Take it from two divers with very different amounts of experience. One of us is a certified divemaster and underwater photographer with close to 1000 dives under their (weight) belt and years of experience (how else do you think we have such wonderful underwater photography?). Whilst, the other achieved their open water certification in 2016 and has logged just over twenty dives. We’ve got the complete lowdown on diving, including what it’s like to get your open water scuba certification and the opportunities scuba diving can present!

First things, first – it doesn’t really matter if you can or can’t swim, what matters is, do you want to be under the sea!?

Scuba diving is for everyone and anyone that is fit enough to lift a tank and intuitive enough to remember to breathe. Let’s be honest, most of us have been successfully completing the latter requirement rather well since birth. The extent to which you progress with your diving skills is up to you, but during an open water course, you’ll learn all the basic diving techniques, etiquette, communication, safety and survival skills. You’ll do this under the supervision of an expert dive instructor, who will instruct and support your development from the classroom to the pool and finally to your initial descent into the open water.

Scuba diving opens you up to the world beneath the waves – the communities of fish, corals, crustaceans, mammals, nudibranchs, cephalopods, zooplankton to name but a few. As they thrive in all their beautiful patterns, colours, shapes, sizes and all move, hunt, survive and interact differently within their habitats. Then there’s the experience of diving, the peaceful harmony in which you float weightlessly amidst a busy ocean or intrepidly through caves and wrecks. Caught in moments where you can become so immersed that you forget yourself, allowing yourself to be utterly entranced by a moment of complete awe and childlike curiosity.

So, what are the steps to taking your first giant stride into the ocean?

Well, for those who aren’t sure if they are going to enjoy the scuba diving experience there’s a Discover Scuba Dive option. This forgoes the training and in turn the qualification as a scuba diver, but offers you an initial experience with full supervision and guidance for one or perhaps two dives. This option gives you the basic guidance on how to use your scuba diving gear and allows you to experience the sensation of diving.
The next step if you enjoy this, or perhaps you’re already confident you’ll enjoy it and want to invest that money and energy straight into getting your qualification, is to take your Open Water Course. There are many recreational scuba diving agencies with which you can complete your first initial diving courses. However, we have both competed ours with PADI, which is recognised worldwide and is one of the largest accrediting authorities. Completing the open water course with PADI means you’ll be able to dive in locations across the world with a buddy up to 18 meters. SSI is another highly recognised agency and is a popular choice due to its electronic-based learning system, which can make the course materials a little cheaper. There are many other options too, depending on where you are in the world, that essentially offer the same thing. The important thing is to go with a recognised agency that follows the strict safety standards, with the end goal of enabling you to go diving anywhere in the world!

What should you expect on your Open Water Diving Course?

Your initial perspective of the diving world is very much dependant on where in the world you complete your course. Half of Wander Deeper completed theirs in Thailand and the other in Western Australia, both rather incredible places to begin – no wonder we’re hooked! But you can complete your Open Water Course in so many places right here in the UK, one of our very best friends started her course in the UK but completed her qualifying dives in Malta.

First you have to get the theory down, so there will be initial teaching in the classroom and pool sessions, this is where you’ll crunch the numbers, get to grips with depths and descents and get your head around the principals of diving and safety – this isn’t as head scratching as it sounds, it’s enjoyable and involves a few good acronyms you’ll enjoy and in the pool you’ll get to grips with your kit and practice your skills, such as understanding the purpose of all elements of your dive kit and how to assemble them, kit up and complete pre-dive safety checks (remember: Bruce Willis Ruins All Films – that puts you one acronym ahead of the rest already!). In the pool sessions, you’ll be able to get used to the sensation of breathing underwater for the first time! You’ll practice controlling your buoyancy, clearing your mask, emergency scenarios, and basic rescue tows.

Your qualifying open water dives will be in actual open water, relaying back everything you’ve learnt in and out of the pool in practical application with full supervision and hopefully, success! It may all seem rather daunting but it’s not anywhere near as unnatural as it sounds. If the sound of it excites you then no doubt you’ll be like a fish to water! We recommend the open water course to anybody that has an interest in nature and the underwater world, anybody that loves snorkelling and anyone with a sense of adventure the is up for a challenge! It is one of the most rewarding, enjoyable and memorable few days you will ever have. The best thing about it all? At the end of the course you’ll be free to go diving anywhere in the world up to a maximum depth of 18 metres! And it doesn’t end there, the Open Water Course opens up a world of potential and opportunities for those that want to expand further into the world of diving. It has certainly changed our lives for the better!

If you’re not convinced enough to go take the plunge? Well, there’s always a Discover Scuba Dive option for those who aren’t 100% comfortable or confident about the idea of scuba diving, but beware – you may end up a scuba addict!

WD.x

Useful links:

PADI website: https://www.padi.com

SSI Website: https://www.divessi.com/en/home/

All images and content are our own, please contact us if you’d like to know more!