How I got into diving

What First Got You Interested in Diving?

How to start......My BLOG on How I got into diving.

I’m not (quite!) old enough to remember Jacques Cousteau but I think my earliest memories of being fascinated with the underwater world came from childhood books. Willard Price novels such as South Sea Adventure used to transport me from the humdrum streets of West London into a magical world filled with turtles, sharks and rays and I can distinctly remember the illustrations that showed the scale of an Oceanic Manta Ray alongside a diver. I simply couldn’t believe that something that large was able to swim so gracefully through the water. However, the closest I got to diving in those days was snorkelling off the Dorset Coast or throwing my Action Man in the bath!!

When Did You Learn to Dive?

Yet, despite that childhood curiosity, I didn’t actually learn to dive until I had just turned 30. I had done plenty of snorkelling on holiday and had even gone as far as to invest in my own mask and fins but, for some unknown reason, I’d never fully taken the plunge. I can remember doing a try dive off a boat trip in Koh Phi Phi and, even though it was only a shallow, ten minute dive, I was gripped by the ability to stay underwater for so much longer than my skindiving attempts whilst snorkelling!

I obtained a Open Water Referral in 2004, completing all my pool dives in the UK before completing my Open Water Certification in the warmer waters of Tenggol Island in Malaysia. From that moment on, I was completely hooked.

What’s Been Your Favourite Dive?

As a Manta obsessive, diving with Manta Rays in the Maldives remains my favourite dive, but with an honourable mention to the wrecks of Grenada. For somewhere closer to home, diving with grey seals in Lundy Island (the Bristol Channel) is a fabulous experience and there is beautiful clear blue water in the marine parks off the coast of Ibiza/ Formentera which I would highly recommend for novice divers.

What Made You Continue Your Diving Education?

Having completed my Open Water Qualification, moving onto an Advanced Open Water Certification seemed like the natural next step and I obtained that back in 2005. The ability to learn new skills and to dive beyond 18m were obvious benefits of the step up to Advanced. 

As I was often conducting repetitive dives on holiday, a Nitrox Certification also had immediate benefits in extending my bottom time and is something I would definitely recommend for anyone who’s going to be conducting repetitive diving on holiday.

My diving took a back seat whilst both my children were young. Sadly, I hadn’t really appreciated how many opportunities there were to dive without needing to jump on a long-haul flight.  With two small children in tow, the opportunities for that kind of diving were few and bar between!

However, once I did start diving again, I realised how much enjoyment I got from the experience of diving itself not just from interacting with marine life. Yes, nothing can beat the rich, vibrant colours of a coral reef but that doesn’t mean diving isn’t fun wherever you jump in the water! I now find a dive centre wherever we go on holiday and enjoy the variety of diving to be experienced across the World.

Yet, despite racking up over 80 dives all over the World, I never really had much interest in further qualifications. From the brief interactions I’d had with the world of BSAC, I found it to be a little cliquey and, with weekends often dominated by children’s activities, I simply couldn’t commit to regular UK diving.

As for many of us I’m sure, the Covid lockdowns contributed to a real shift in perspective. Firstly, being stuck indoors was a stark reminder of how much we miss out on by not getting under the waves and secondly, being self-employed, it reiterated how much I needed something to take my mind off the stresses of running a business in such an uncertain environment.

The PADI Master Scuba Diver qualification seemed tailor made for me. On the one hand, it offered a nice bit of recognition for many years of diving but, more importantly, it offered the right level of challenge, requiring me to complete the PADI Rescue Course and a couple of additional specialities.

Why Bespoke Scuba?

I’d looked around at a couple of different dive centres but, for various reasons, they didn’t quite feel right for me. As a novice diver I had a very bad experience with a dive centre in Indonesia which made me very cautious about who I choose to dive with.

Right from the first moment the team at Bespoke made me feel at ease and I can say that, even as someone with a few dives under my belt, I have learnt a huge amount from Paul, Cerys and all the Bespoke Team.

Did I stop there? No...........

I am now a PADI Divemaster A Discover Scuba Diving Leader

And part of the Bespoke Scuba Dive Team!

It turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks after all!