How to be “That Person” on a Dive Boat (NOT!)
Are you seeking attention and notoriety? Does the world, in fact, actually revolve around you? Do you crave the experience of having others point at you while carrying on hushed…
Are you seeking attention and notoriety? Does the world, in fact, actually revolve around you? Do you crave the experience of having others point at you while carrying on hushed…
When I was a new diver, my Scuba Instructor, Wells Martell, gave me my first dive computer. As it turned out, the first time I used it was on a…
I've been given many strange looks by snorkelers when they find out I'm a scuba diver. "What is the advantage of diving over snorkeling?" they ask, or "I can see…
There are a few things to know about scuba diving in Maui that will make your time here easier and will help you get the most out of your dives,…
I’ve been working at Maui Dreams for about a year and a half now and I’ve got to tell you, I love my job!!! How many people do you know…
A day in the life of a Scuba Instructor at Maui Dreams typically starts the previous afternoon with a check of the schedule! This can be done via phone or with a stop at the store. Will I be doing an Open Water, Advanced or Rescue class? Maybe a guided dive with certified divers, or an Introductory Dive? There could always be a Scooter Dive, or maybe an EFR (Emergency First Response) class. For classes, I could be taking out anywhere from one to four people; for guided dives, it could be as many as six. Based on that, I formulate an idea of which beach to go to. What could conditions be like? Should I pick up my tanks tonight (we cannot begin loading tanks until 7am, so sometimes if it’s going to be a busy morning in the store we can load them the night before) or wait until the morning? All of this happens before our customers walk in the door.
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There are many reasons why people dive, but I think it generally boils down to a simple fact. You dive because you enjoy it. The feeling you get in the alien sounding underwater world is frankly unlike anything else. I would say it is usually that feeling that urges, if not compels new and experienced divers alike to take another trip under the waves. For my experience, I have to add one more criteria to my enjoyment of diving; that is the pleasure of diving with my wife. When we dive together, everything seems to fit. Of course we have grown into the symbiosis that is our diving these days. It is lucky we had a great place to get started.
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I admit it, I am such a nudi geek. The greatest joys I’ve had underwater have been seeing a new slithery slug friend. I almost ALWAYS have my camera with me because (of course) if you see something cool, you have to brag with pictures on facebook!!!
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The cry rang out across Keawakapu beach in the early morning hours just before the sun crested Haleakala. Nervous sunbathers looked on as a group of scuba divers struggled in the water and quickly carried one of their fellow divers on to shore, abandoning their gear and beginning CPR on their lifeless friend. One of the divers ran to the parking lot and returned with emergency oxygen which he added to the rescue efforts. A sunbather ran over to the wetsuit-clad group and asked if she could help them by calling 911. “Didn’t you hear our cries?!” one of the divers asked, “We said to call for pizza!”
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Throughout my diving career I have learned again and again that “diving is a humbling sport”. Teaching SCUBA Instructors provides many more opportunities to prove this mantra. While teaching the recent Instructor Development Course, the dive gods smacked me again.
(more…)When I was working through my Divemaster internship I assisted my Instructor (Don) with a night dive at Five Graves here on Maui. There were several divers in the group…