Skip to main content

Now a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver!

I can't exactly remember when my fascination towards diving began and how it did. It was probably because of watching a Bond or Mission Impossible movie in which the protagonist went scuba diving to save humanity but I am not sure.
Last year, in October, during our trip to Bali, Indonesia, I got certified as a PADI Open Water Diver. My first dive was in a swimming pool and was followed by multiple dives in the Indian Ocean. They were amazing! My passion for diving grew multi-fold after completing my certification course and a couple of months later, I did a recreational dive in a place called Murudeshwar, a temple town in Karnataka, India.
About a month ago, I got certified as an PADI Advanced Open Water (AOW) Diver in the Andaman Island of Havelock.

The AOW course was much harder than the previous one but had bare minimum theory lessons and focussed more on the practical aspects of advancing one's skills in diving. It did not comprise a written test unlike in the Open Water Certification.
The AOW course has two compulsory units (Deep Dive and Underwater Navigation) and you have to opt for three other courses. I opted to do a Night Dive, Peak Performance Bouyancy and a Wreck Dive which were all pretty interesting.
The highlight of the AOW course is that I am now allowed to dive upto 30m as opposed to 18m before.

Deep Dive

The Deep Dive was unarguably the most interesting and intense dive in which we (my instructor and the other two students) dived until 28.3m where we were hit by drastically cooler water unlike at lesser depths where the water was warm, just like when you wade into water from the shore. The underwater life at this depth is also different and we managed to spot a black banded sea-krait (an extremely poisonous snake) swimming furiously upwards to catch its breath. As expected, air consumption was much faster at this depth due to the increased pressure. The Deep Dive was an excellent experience that I throughly enjoyed.

Underwater Navigation

This unit is the other one that is compulsory for this particular certification. We were taught how to use our compass to position oursleves underwater as well as go back towards our boat. The Navigation course also included measuring distance under water based on a concept known as 'kick cycles'. Besides measuring distance and understanding how to navigate, the course also taught new divers like myself how to observe underwater life to guess which side the shore/ boat may be.

Night Dive

The Night Dive was another part of the certification that I loved but was slightly scary for reasons that I shall tell you about shortly. The sun sets extremely early as the Andamans are in the same time zone as mainland India but is far Eastwards. Due to this, we entered the water at 5:45 P.M when it was already dark. We used torchlights underwater to see the marine life fast asleep. The overhanging darkness and the spooky eeriness was itself a tad bit frightening but was accompanied by an octopus sighting that scared all of us, especially our instructor who was closest to it when it started chasing us. The sighting of decorator crabs, cuttlefish and electic clams made the experiences great, but not something that I'd do again because of the limited visibility of only what your torch shines on. I would prefer to dive during the day.

Peak Performance Bouyancy

This unit was rather uneventful as it only included perfecting bouyancy underwater. It is rather hard at first, but once you master it, it makes you extremely efficient. We dived at a site called Jeepers Creeper's where there is a Jeep underwater. We spotted Clownfish (watch the video below; you can spot two clownfish if you watch keenly) and black fin barracuda, among others.


Wreck Dive

The Wreck Dive was one that was interesting but not as I had anticipated it to be. We saw a boat that had sunk about 8-10 years back. It was in complete tatters but was very nice to see. Besides seeing fish, we spotted an Exide Battery, Fire Extinguisher and Pipes!


The overall dive experience was a lot of fun. I completed all my dives in just two days! It did get tiring on the day when I did three dives in a day  but the excitement fuelled me through.
I learnt to dive with DiveIndia, Havelock, a PADI 5 Star Center. They have a great team of instructors and also provide accomodation. Although I did not stay there, the place had a great vibe and also has dogs. My deepest condolences go out to one of the dogs who passed away a week ago.
Although I did not do an underwater photography course, I carried my GoPro with me on most dives and managed to capture some amazing moments.
The video below shows some fish coming closer and closer to the camera, not one bit intimidated by the two divers it was between.

In the close future, I hope to continue diving and also do a bit of community service underwater by cleaning the ocean. Besides that, I wish to further ehance my skills. My immediate desire is to learn diving using Nitrox.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Visiting the Kasturinagar (KA-03) RTO - a tumultuous but manageable experience to get a Learner's/ Driver's License without an agent/ driving school

Ask anyone, and I can guarantee that they will have a story (and in most cases, many stories) about their trip, or rather, numerous trips to the RTO for something as simple as getting a Learner's License (LL) or a Driver's License (DL). In this blog, I hope to make your life a tad bit easier by guiding you through the entire process, which may seem easy at first but is full of (overcome able) challenges if you know what you are doing. I turned 18 in January this year, and besides cutting a cake, I worked on my LL application online. I challenged myself to complete the entire LL to DL process by myself and without the help of an agent or a driving school, unlike what the majority do. The lengthy application process and multiple visits to the RTO, impressed upon me why most people decided to pay a little extra to get an agent to do it for them. Still, I was determined not to pay a single rupee more than the official cost. I succeeded.  Do note that this answer is concerning the K...
15 comments
Read more

The Great Omani Coastal Route

Route 15 : Muscat-Nizwa The parents, seemingly forever, had been planning a trip to Oman. Why Oman? Well, that’s a question I asked myself too. My dad, in the 90s, spent close to a decade in the UAE but barring a work trip, had never visited Oman. Fast forward to the 21 st   century, countless Oman Air flights from India to Europe later, he found himself stranded in Muscat. A ‘technical difficulty’ they said. He visited the Sultan Qaboos Mosque but didn’t get to see much more – it was only a 24-hour layover. However, the constant propaganda he was subjected to via the in-flight entertainment, and the cabin crew he made conversation with, convinced him that the country has a lot to offer. A friend from the UAE, who spoke highly of Oman, apparently also played a role.     The parents had their mind set on Oman. The stars aligned and clubbing together a bunch of bank holidays in India, they decided on visiting in April. Unfortunately, or fortunately (the jury is still out), ...
1 comment
Read more

My New Mike

I have a mike. I play with it. I got it for my birthday. Mikes are used in programmes usually. So I thought it will be fun to play with it. So I bought one. This is how my mike set looks. If you can see in the picture there is an amplifier. I had another amplfier, but that one sadly got burnt. So I thought I could never be able to use a mike again. But then my father told me that we could also use a music system's amplifier. So then I was very happy. We had a music system that did not work. But its amplifier was still working. So I gave the amplifier to an electric shop. The shop owner fixed a few parts and it is working now.
Post a Comment
Read more

My New Toy

My friend gave me a new toy. It is a cat that looks like it can flap its wings. It has a solar-panel attached to it. The solar panel converts the solar energy into electricity. Using this method it looks like it can flap its wing. Here is a small video how it is flapping its wings. If you can hear there is a noise that it makes. The sound sounds like a clock. If you keep it in the sun for 5 minutes it can make its wings fly only for 2 minutes! I am going to try to keep it for more than an hour and see how much time it can survive without the sunlight.
2 comments
Read more

'Digital India' - A Good Scheme or a Scam?

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched a popular scheme known as Digital India on 1st July, 2015, a year into his term. It was started with the intention to improve digital infrastructure, deliver government services and universal digital literacy. Mr. Modi envisioned that in the near future almost everybody in India would possess a smart phone and could use it to seek redress. His thoughts were not wrong. Almost everyone possesses a minimum of one smart phone with an Internet Connection (thank you Jio!). As usual, when the scheme was launched, everyone praised it. BJP Bhakts believed that Modi was transforming India and bringing it at par with technologically and administratively advanced countries like Singapore. However, almost three years later how is this program faring? Source While on the face of it, a common man may think that Digital India is a success, and they are not wrong. However, as most Government projects are, this one too is only superficially successf...
Post a Comment
Read more

Notes on Gautam Bhatia's Article on the Relationship Between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State policy

A few months ago in school, we learnt about the relationship between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy. The prescribed ISC textbook did not provide an adequate explanation. However, my teacher was kind enough to share an article penned by Gautam Bhatia, an eminent Constitutional lawyer, and author who is most famously known for his book, 'The Transformative Constitution'. Below, I have written a summary/ my notes of the article penned by him. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The constitution was not drafted with an intention for Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles to be related. There was a clear division between the two; Fundamental Rights were enforceable, and remedies existed to ensure the protection of those Rights. On the contrary, Directive Principles were un-enforceable and more ‘guiding’ in nature. The DPSPs were only politically relevant b...
2 comments
Read more

The concept of privilege and how I was blind to it

This is an essay that  I  wrote as part of my Ashoka University application process. The reason for uploading it is that the concept of privilege that I write about, has impacted me and moulded my political ideology. Do give it a read, it may make you reconsider your opinions too! Write about an experience from your past, which has significantly shaped you as a person and your perspective(s) on life. Elaborate upon the experience, your personal engagement with it, and the manner in which it has changed you. Provide other relevant details to help us better understand you.   (Maximum Word Limit - 450 words)   *   I am born into a family of privilege, and until I undertook courses on sociology and political science, I was blind to it. I reaped the benefits of being privileged – I am a Hindu, male whose family could afford my education and three square meals a day. I have been extensively educated in good private schools, and the opportunity to avail outs...
5 comments
Read more