It has taken me quite a while to write this article as I ponder over how to narrate this adventure of mine. Being a novice in this adventure sport, I am certainly not in a position to write anything technical on the subject. If at all, I seek to learn from the numerous knowledgeable and expert divers that I’ve met, including many at this Club. Thus, I reasoned it might be more engaging and intriguing if I were to share purely from my own journey experience as a novice scuba diver.
A Dream long overdue
I’m always in awe of scuba divers and the fascinating underwater paradise they can see. To me, divers’ graceful underwater swimming is just like poetry in motion. I harbour dreams of doing that one day. However, career pursuits and other interests pushed scuba diving down the priority list in my life, especially in my younger years. The lack of friends who share the same interests, and it not being a sport that you can just pick up and go didn’t help and made it less important then. As the saying goes, time and tide wait for no one, and before long, age had caught up and retirement was already at the doorstep.
In my retired years, scuba diving looks like just a dream too far. But fate had its own ideas. While on an extended family trip to Pulau Redang in March 2024, curiosity led me to Laguna Resort’s dive center. Making further enquiries on what was needed, I was convinced then that I could still tick off scuba diving from my bucket list. I made a promise to come back.
In July 2024, I signed up for a 4-day, 3-night scuba diving lesson at Laguna Resort Dive Centre with an Open Water Diver certification in mind. It was a family trip too, as my wife and children tagged along for a holiday at the resort.
While excited with the new experience that I was about to embark on, anxiety persisted too as I pondered over the challenges that awaited me.
Day 1 (18/7/2024), Thursday – Meeting Jack, my Instructor
On my arrival at the dive centre, I was introduced to Jack, a friendly, medium-built diving instructor in his early thirties.
The fun began when Jack enquired about my age. I could sense his apprehensiveness and awkwardness when he learnt that I am already 62. It looked like I would be his oldest pupil. I had to reassure him that I am an active sportsman despite my age, with a penchant for hiking, mountain trekking, golfing, and cycling. My mobile phone’s profile photo at the Everest Base Camp must have done the trick as he seemed more e persuaded and confident after seeing it.
Jack shared that ultimately each knows his own body best, and we should be honest and share upfront any underlying conditions or medical history. I couldn’t agree more, as the nature of this adventure sport does not allow any compromise.
After the documentation, Jack briefed me on the theoretical part of scuba diving, what to expect, the various gear, safety procedures, and the all-important hand signals. A total of five dives over the next two days would be followed by a written exam. For my homework, he shared the links and guidebook on scuba diving. Quite a lot to digest for the day, but Jack advised me to take it easy, watch the videos, and sleep early for the adventure tomorrow.
Day 2 (19/7/2024), Friday– My first experience with Scuba Diving
I woke up to a sunny morning, eager to embark on the new adventure of my life, but at the same time couldn’t help feeling anxious. At the dive centre, I dressed out in the dive suit Jack had chosen. I told Jack apologetically that I had only read two chapters of the guidebook and had not viewed much of the videos either. Jack was understanding, comforting, and advised to just relax and enjoy the day.
At the beach, Jack briefed on the gear set-up procedure, which includes, among other things, setting up and putting on the buoyancy control device (BCD) vest, affixing the first stage or hub of the regulator, connecting the low-pressure inflator, buckling up the weight belt, and strapping the cylinder tank to the BCD. Before long, with Jack’s assistance, I soon found myself standing in the sand, experiencing the full weight of the gears now firmly strapped onto my body. We then did a pre-dive buddy check on each other’s equipment, which, as Jack shared, is an important routine for safety reasons, before each and every dive.
Once that was done, with the fins in one hand, we then walked slowly into the open sea. At waist deep and struggling to keep balance against the gentle breaking waves, I somehow managed to put the fins on, one at a time.
Once ready, Jack signalled to go underwater. Below the surface, Jack proceeded to demonstrate the various techniques and applications of the theory that he had taught since yesterday, including underwater breathing technique, clearing and defogging mask, and handling of the dive regulator. Jack demonstrated the techniques underwater, and I was to repeat after him. All these techniques will also form part of the series of skill tests needed for the open water diver certification. Over the next two days, as the training progressed, Jack would evaluate and tick off the skill tests, one by one, as I accomplished them.
While I had learnt tips for equalising the pressure on my ears, my first attempt at breathing underwater through the mouth were less successful. I had done snorkelling before, but I soon found out that scuba diving and breathing deep underwater with the mask on was an entirely different experience. For one, we could not just resurface like in snorkelling when we are deep underwater. But here lies the problem of my adventure. To Jack’s exasperation, time and again, I would surface from the water whenever water seeped into the mask and panic set in. I struggled to master the technique of breathing through the mouth instead of the nose when underwater.
We finished the first shore diving session before noon with not much progress as I struggled with the breathing and mask-clearing challenges. It was frustrating, to say the least. Jack was patient but seemed worried about the slow progress I was making.
Our afternoon session was in the resort’s swimming pool. While I made better progress in the confined water environment and could stay much longer underwater breathing/exhaling through the mouth, every once in a while, I would still panic whenever water seeped into the mask and I couldn’t clear it in time. The natural reaction was always to surface immediately. This is, of course, was not acceptable, and Jack was compelled to be honest: unless I cleared these challenges, he would not be able to certify or take me out for deep sea diving, as the ability to breathe through the mouth and clearing the mask are fundamental requirements for scuba diving.
A Bridge Too Far?
It was a tough first day and miserable, to say the least. Frustrated, I began to think that perhaps scuba diving was a bridge too far and I should just stick to my current passions of mountain climbing, hiking, golf and cycling. Yet, a part of me remained determined to succeed.
That evening, as I strolled down the windy beach with my family, I practiced breathing through my mouth. Back at the resort, I reflected on the day’s experience and immersed myself in revisions, studying the guidebook and videos for insights. I was determined to find a solution.
Day 3 (20/7/2024), Saturday – Going into Open Sea, Shore Diving
I woke up this day with renewed determination and optimism, choosing to focus on the positives. Jack was there waiting for me when I arrived at the dive center at 8.30 am. This morning, we would do shore open water diving again. Just like yesterday, we went through the gear set-up procedure again and the predive buddy check.
Before heading out to the shore, Jack briefed that our mission for the day would cover areas such as how to create buoyancy, hovering, mask clearing, inflate and deflate BCD, remove-replace-clear mask, breathing without mask, taking off regulator underwater and clearing it to resume breathing.
We spent the early part of the dive repeating through the previous day’s learnings. Surprisingly, mouth breathing seems more natural and easier this morning. As the morning progressed, somehow, I had managed to master the mask clearing including defogging. I learned to hold the top of the mask, blow through the nose and tilt my face upward to push the water out from the bottom of my mask. The repeated success of seeing the water being blown out did a lot to boost my confidence and take away the panic of seeing water trickling in or flooding my mask. Suddenly the world brightened up and I began seeing myself making speedier progress.
I soon learnt how to control my buoyancy through deflating and inflating the BCD via frequent small amounts of air, learnt how to ascend slowly and look up as I ascend, how to arm sweep and recover the regulator, and staying close to my buddy when underwater. I was happy that I could better manage the discomfort in my ears through early and more frequent equalization as I descend. Finally, I learned how to float on the surface, the technique of weight removal, replacement at the surface, and emergency weight drop.
During shore diving, we performed skill tests on the white sandy sea floor, 6 meters deep, kneeling silently as Jack demonstrated using hand signals. He showed me how to perform certain skills and would then signal for me to replicate them. I particularly recalled the mask and regulator take-off tests. Though I signalled my readiness each time, I could always feel the anxiety and tension in my body. Without much of a choice but just a determination to perform the tasks, I would just push ahead and do it. Through my mask, it was a quiet yet rewarding moment knowing I had overcome my nerves to meet the challenges upon seeing Jack mark my progress on his checklist.
We spent about 40 minutes underwater for my first dive and subsequently another 36 minutes for my second dive in the afternoon, both shore open water diving. I was making very good progress on the second day and I was elated. Finally, the pieces were all falling into place. Jack seemed pleased with the surprisingly quick turnaround that I was making on my scuba diving adventure. He believed I was now ready for the next day’s deep-water dive.
Day 4 (21/7/2024), Sunday – Going into Open Sea, Deep Water Entry
Finally, the day of reckoning came, the day we would go out into the open sea, far from shore, and do a deep dive up to a maximum of 18 meters. I was excited. I handed over my Insta 360 video camera to Jack’s assistant, ready to capture my deepsea adventure moments. We would be doing two dives. The boatman first took us to Lima Bay, where Jack and his assistant taught me how to backward roll from the water. Once on the surface of the water, I had to endure a few anxious moments as I steadied myself and caught my breath, before signalling I was ready to descend. The interesting part is that once underwater, my body and mind automatically felt a sense of calmness and the anxiety seemed to dissipate. Perhaps it was the serenity of the aquatic environment. We went down to about 16 meters as I followed Jack to swim around the reef and corals. Jack’s assistant was in the water too, holding and capturing some of the moments with my Insta 360 video camera. It was wonderful to see the coral, colourful fishes, and the beautiful coral as we swam past. I learned how to be neutrally buoyant, breathe slowly and deeply, and swim with slow long deep kicks with arms folded.
Suddenly I found myself being part of the poetry in motion. I realized I was enjoying the dives. A constant reminder to have a calm mindset seems to help a lot. It is indeed a humbling and wonderful experience.
We spent about 30 minutes at Lima Bay before another 36-minute dive at Kerangga Island which concluded all my diving adventures.
In the afternoon, after completing my written test, I was finally certified as an Open Water Diver with PADI, the professional association of diving instructors. It was a good and amazing feeling. Jack seemed equally proud and happy to share in my success, featuring me as a role model on his Instagram page. This is equally Jack’s story of how he helps others to achieve their dreams. I thanked him for mine.
Conclusion
As I boarded the ferry and left Pulau Redang for the trip back home, there was a sense of fulfilment that another lifelong dream had been achieved. It is certainly a trip to savour. Having been to Everest Base Camp and trekked up Mount Kilimanjaro, it was pure fascination and delight to discover the beautiful underwater sea world. Whilst the serenity and beauty fascinate, yet the might of the ocean humbles you. Figuratively speaking, we are just a drop in the ocean.
In this adventure sport, there is still so much to learn, to level up the skill, and to discover more. So, would I scuba dive again? Certainly would, but let me catch my breath through my mouth first.
