Second week scholars’ update:
Another week has passed (or rather, flown by) and with only one week to go in Fiji we have all been busy completing the various formal requirements of the Divemaster course. We are all also completing 5 specialties being Deep Dive, Navigation, Search and Recovery, Night Diving and Peak Performance Buoyancy which each require multiple dives and some specialty book work and with only 5 diving days left (allowing for an 18 hour stand down before flying back to NZ) we have upped the tempo to get the job done.
For every dive one of us is the designated Divemaster Trainer who takes the group (including paying customers) through a detailed dive brief about the site to be dived and then that Divermaster Trainer is responsible for conducting and leading the dive. The pressure to ensure an enjoyable dive and to return to the boat has been intense and our instructors have not held back in criticising our techniques, especially when we don’t make it back to the boat – a baptism of fire!
Today we undertook two dives, one at a site called “Circus” which no one on the boat had dived before! We conducted a navigation exercise which involved navigating a reciprocal heading and a square using a compass and counting kick cycles. During the exercise Ollie and Suzy (an open water student) had their square interrupted by a reef shark crossing their path as the rest of the group followed it. The second dive this morning was at a site called “Cleavage” aptly named due to its alluring crack between two pinnacles. Craig led the group through a cave that turned into a swim through.
Our skills are being honed and our techniques improved with every dive – something which has come in handy when navigating swim-throughs and passageways. Tonight is our first night dive on the Island and we excited to be exploring the “Hoff” in the dark – Knight Rider styles!
See our photo of the gang cooling off in the Safari Lodge Jacuzzi (aka the BCD wash-out tub) after this morning’s dive. http://ow.ly/ha6WA
Dive HQ Christchurch 