Living Seas strives to be the Premier Dive Educational Centre in the world, providing the highest standard of dive education to those who are passionate and serious about diving. We are committed to delivering the highest standard of recreational / technical dive education to anyone who shares our passion, and through our values, raise the standard of diving so that diving becomes more safe, responsible and fun.
The local diving season is about to start soon, and here's our lineup of trips planned so far for the first half of 2010. I know some of you have been waiting to dive for a while now, here's your chance to get away for the weekend once again. This schedule is also up on our website, so please go have a look there if you have a chance.
Aur and Tioman Trips
Mar 5th to 7th to Aur
Mar 12th to 14th to Aur
Mar 19th to 21th to Tioman
Mar 26th to 28th to Tioman
Apr 9th to 11th to Tioman
Apr 16th to 18th to Aur
Apr 23rd to 25th to Aur
May 7th to 9th to Aur
May 14th to 16th to Aur
May 21st to 13th to Aur
Jun 4th to 6th to Tioman
Jun 11th to 13th to Tioman
Jun 18th to 20th to Tioman
Jun 25th to 28th to Aur
We have limited spaces for each trip due to space at the respective resorts, so please let me know as soon as you can if you would like to go for a trip and I can put aside some space for you.
Fundamentals Courses for 2010
March 24th to 28th
April 28th to May 2nd
June 2nd to 6th
June 16th to 20th
July 7th to 11th
July 21st to 25th
August 25th to 29th
September 22nd to 26th
October 6th to 10th
November 10th to 14th
All Fundamentals courses are four full days each and run from Wednesday evening to Sunday evening and can be held at either Tioman or Cocotinos in Manado, let me know your preference if you are interested in a class and I can send you more details on the course.
As usual, drop me an email if you're interested in any of the above trips or courses.
On another note, I know that these emails are increasing in frequency as the season opening approaches, and if you feel that you don't want to be informed of our upcoming trips and activities, please send me an email and I'll be happy to take your email off this list, and you won't get any more updates from me.
Here are the details for the long awaited Layang Layang trip. We've had to move the booking to June instead of May because of an overbooking, but these dates are firm with the resort now.
As usual, please let me know as soon as you can if you'll be interested in this trip, and I'll need to collect a 50% deposit in order to confirm the booking with the resort. I'll need confirmations by the end of next week if possible. Please express your interest as well, even if you can't confirm, because spaces are very limited for this trip.
7th to 13th June - 7D6N Layang Layang Leisure Dive Package S$1,749 Per Diver (based on Twin Sharing) for Singaporeans and Singapore PR only US$1,580 Per Diver (based on Twin Sharing) for non-Singaporeans
Package includes
1 night accommodation at Imperial Boutec Hotel Waterfront.
Return air transfer KK Airport - Layang Layang Island Resort - KK Airport.
5 nights accommodation at Layang Layang Island Resort (LLIR).
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with light refreshments at LLIR.
2 boat dives on arrival day at LLIR, 3 boat dives on subsequent days and 1 boat dive on day before departure from LLIR.
Weights, weight belt and tanks.
Any prevailing government and service tax.
Package excludes
Land transfer fees between KK Airport and Imperial Boutec Hotel Waterfront.
Trip Itinerary
Day 1 (7 June 2010)
Arrive in Kota Kinabalu Airport and take taxi to Imperial Boutec Hotel (MYR 35)
Check-In. Free & Easy - Things to do include exploring Manukan Island, shopping at Filipino Market and Sinsuran Complex, and visit to Monsopiad Cultural Village.
Day 2 (8 June 2010)
0400hrs Check out from Hotel and take cab to KK Airport (50% surcharge)
0500hrs Meet representative at airport
0630hrs Flight to LLIR
0750hrs Arrival at LLIR Resort Orientation
2 boat dives with full board overnight stay
Day 3 - 5 (9 - 11 June 2010)
3 boat dives with full board overnight stay
Day 6 (12 June 2010)
0700hrs Light Breakfast
1 boat dive with full board overnight stay
Day 7 (13 June 2010)
0700hrs Light Breakfast
0800hrs Flight to Kota Kinabalu
0920hrs Arrival at Kota Kinabalu
1455hrs Depart from Kota Kinabalu to Singapore (Flight by Air Asia)
1710hrs Arrive in Singapore
Proposed Flight (from Singapore) Direct Flight from Singapore to KK via Air Asia
Depart Singapore (SIN) Kota Kinabalu (BKI) AK6274 Changi Airport KK Airport Economy Depart 1735 hrs Arrive 1950 hrs
Return Kota Kinabalu (BKI) Singapore (SIN) AK6273 KK Airport Changi Airport Economy Depart 1455 hrs Arrive 1710 hrs
I know a lot of you have been asking about our Sipadan trips this year. Sorry about taking so long, but I've just heard back from the resorts and here are the details that I have for both of our trips this year.
Our first trip to Sipadan will be over the Good Friday holidays in April from the 1st to the 6th of April. The second trip is over Vesak Day and is from the 27th of May to the 1st of June.
Due to the fact that both these trips are over public holidays, I'm having a bit of trouble in securing spaces at the resort. I've managed to reserve 10 spaces for both trips but the resort is asking for full payment in order to confirm the spaces for us. Because of this, I'm afraid that I'll need confirmations and payments as soon as possible in order to get a space on these trips.
If you feel you can commit to either of these trips, please let me know as soon as you can, and I'll send over an invoice to you. Once payment is made, your space will be confirmed. However, I understand that these trips are still a few months away, and it may be difficult to foresee what may happen in these few months. Due to this, I promise that I'll refund any payments made for these trips if you really cannot make the trip later on, provided there is someone else available to take your space.
Please let me know if you have any other questions, and I'll be happy to help answer them.
On another note, I know many of you are also interested in going to Layang Layang, and I'm still ironing out details with them. I hope to have them ready for you soon, along with details on our Manado and Bali trips as well.
Travel Itinerary for 1st to 6th April Trip and for the 27th May to 1st June Trip
Itinerary Day 1 1430hrs Arrive at Tawau Airport via AK6153. Land transfer from airport to Semporna Jetty. 1600hrs Boat transfer from Semporna to Sipadan Resort. 1700hrs Arrive Sipadan Resort. Check in and briefing.
Day 2 to 4 - 3 boat dives per day at Sipadan Island, Mabul Island or Kapalai Island (also Si Amil and Mantabuan Island for Mabul Borneo Divers).
Day 5 - Up to 2 boat dives if schedule permits. - Check out from Sipadan Resort. 1330hrs Boat transfer to Semporna Jetty. 1430hrs Land transfer to Tawau Hotel.
Day 6 - Check out from Tawau Hotel. 0855hrs Depart for Singapore via AK6152.
6D5N Sipadan Water Village Package – S$1,390 Per Diver, S$1,090 Per Non-Diver (based on Twin Sharing)
Package Includes:
2-way Land Transfer (Tawau Airport - Semporna Jetty - Tawau Airport). Takes about 75 min per direction.
2-way Sea Transfers (Semporna Jetty - Sipadan Water Village - Semporna Jetty). Takes about 60 min per direction.
4 Night Accommodation at Sipadan Water Village.
Buffet Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with light refreshments.
Up to 3 guided boat dives daily except on arrival and departure day.
Unlimited dives at Mabul House Reef only with own buddy.
Weights, weight belt and tanks.
1 Night Accommodation at Tawau Hotel on day before departure.
Excludes: - Sipadan Marine Park Fee of MYR40/day. - Airfare from Singapore to Tawau.
I've been working hard and confirming the details for the Thresher Shark Research & Conservation Project. Here's a brochure providing more detail into what's on the itinerary and more background information on the project and what to possibly expect on this trip.
The dates are confirmed from the 21st of February to the 28th of February, with a lecture the night before by the visiting marine scientist Dr Simon Oliver. The price for the trip is S$800, and this covers accommodation, diving and food.
A few of you have asked about whether this is a special trip that is only open to GUE divers, and whether there is a minimum certification requirement. On both of these accounts, the answer is a resounding no. We would want most of you to participate on this trip, not only to help with the research, but I personally look at it as a chance to learn more about what really goes on during these research expeditions. I'm really interested in how research is done, and learning this would add a new and richer dimension to the diving that we do.
If you look at the itinerary, you'll see that there's a pool session, where we'll be evaluated on in-water skills, and also I guess assigned our various tasks, depending on skill level. Even if you feel that your skills aren't up to snuff, I'm sure we can work something out during the training sessions. I'll be on hand to aid anyone with skill issues, and this might be a good chance to really test those skills out on a proper in-water task.
A number of divers have already expressed interest, but I'll be calling for final confirmations by the end of this week, and full payment needs to be collected by the end of the month. Flight details will also be given out to the divers who have confirmed along with more details on the trip.
I really hope you'll decide to join us on this trip, and hopefully we can learn something and perhaps implement something here in our local or Malaysian waters. If you feel that you're confirmed for this trip, then please drop me an email to let me know and I'll put you on the list.
Pre-Season Opening Activities
As most of you may know, the local season will be starting pretty soon, and here at Living Seas, we're gearing up for it by hosting a number of activities designed to get you back into the water.
First up is our once a year trip to Hantu. Most of the Living Seas crew will be going with the MV Quest on the afternoon of Sunday the 24th of January. We're planning to do a rescue refresher for our crew to ensure that their skills are honed and ready before the season starts. However, everybody is welcome to come and experience Hantu and perhaps enjoy the show that the LS crew will be putting on. This trip is priced at $79 per person, with 2 dives planned for the afternoon.
Our second pre-season activity is a deep pool session from 1pm to 6pm on Saturday the 6th of February. We'll be using the NTU swimming pool this year, which is a 4m deep diving pool. I'll be conducting a twin tank workshop on that day. We've also brought in the brand new Halcyon Infinity system, the first set to arrive in Singapore. So if you're interested to learn about twins, or try out the Infinity system, please let me know if you'd like to come. If you're interested in neither, then take this opportunity to get back in the water to practice those kicks or try out new gear. We're pricing this pool session at $35 per single tank, with a $1 entry fee to be paid at the pool.
I'll need interested parties to let me know about both the Hantu trip and the deep pool session by the end of this week so I can arrange the logistics for both.
Season Opening
I currently don't have any confirmed details on when the season will be opening, due to the unpredictability of the weather. However, I've gotten reassurances from both Tioman and Aur that by the first week of March, trips will be up and running. Those of you who really need an open water fix can sign up for our first weekend out. Be aware that these trips may be pushed back if the weather isn't good enough to run the trip.
Upcoming 2010 Trips
For those people who didn't manage to get my first email, here's a recap of our upcoming trips this year. I'll be sending out more updates on prices when I have them.
February 21 (Sun) - 28 (Sun) : Science Trip to Malapascua March 25 (Thu) - 28 (Sun) : Tech Trip to 7 Skies and Aur Tanker April 1 (Thu) - 6 (Tue) : Sipadan (Good Friday) April 27 (Tue) - May 2 (Sun) : Layang Layang (Labour Day) May 26 (Wed) - May 31 (Mon) : Sipadan (Vesak Day) May 27 (Thu) - Jun 1 (Tue) : Donsol (Vesak Day) June 23 (Wed) - 27 (Sun) : Anilao August 4 (Wed) - 9 (Mon) : Tech/Rec Trip to Manado (National Day) September 8 (Wed) - 13 (Mon) : Bali (Hari Raya Puasa) October 19 (Tue) - 24 (Sun) : Living Seas GUE Tech Trip November 12 (Fri) - 16 (Tue) : Raja Ampat (Hari Raya Haji) December 17 (Fri) - 22 (Wed) : Maldives
First up, I know it's been a long time since I've emailed some of you. This email may or may not be welcome, but I do intend to send out updates a little more regularly via email. If you don't wish to hear from me in the future, just reply and let me know and I'll take you off this list.
I have recently received some comments about the lack of up to date information on our website, sorry, my bad, been too busy with the diving to keep that updated, I promise to do better in the coming year ahead. In the meantime, I thought I'd send out this email to let you know what's on the plate next year for Living Seas. I've figured that this would be a more convenient format for disseminating information to you, I hope you agree as well.
Thresher Sharks! A couple of highlights about what's coming up for us next year. We've recently tied up with The Thresher Shark Research & Conservation Project (http://www.threshersharkproject.org/TSRCP/Home.html) in Malapascua to help with their research expeditions. Our first trip there will happen in February and we're looking for like minded divers who would like to contribute to this week-long research project. Hopefully this will be the first of many trips there, and a long and fruitful collaboration between Living Seas, GUE and TSRCP. I've attached the invitation letter that they've sent me here,
Email me for details about this project, and we can hopefully do some good with the diving that we do!
Equipment Servicing Living Seas will be opening up an in-house servicing workshop soon, so you can send your regulators to us for servicing too. In the near future, we'll also be offering some newly designed courses for people who wish to know more about their diving equipment and in-the-field repairs and diagnosis of common equipment issues. After all, you don't want to lose out on a diving holiday if your equipment fails on you the first day you get there!
GUE Fundamentals Courses I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I've decided to open up a Fundies class in Tioman every month when the season is open next year. I'll be working out the dates for these courses, and will be publishing them on the GUE website and our Living Seas Course Calendar. Those of you interested to develop your diving skills further, please let me know and join in on a course schedule that works for you. Remember, this isn't just for Tech divers, but has benefits for divers regardless of training and experience.
Trips for 2010 January 6 (Wed) - 10 (Sun) : Anilao February 21 (Sun) - 28 (Sun) : Science Trip to Malapascua March 25 (Thu) - 28 (Sun) : Tech Trip to Repulse/Altair April 1 (Thu) - 6 (Tue) : Sipadan (Good Friday) April 27 (Tue) - May 2 (Sun) : Layang Layang (Labour Day) May 27 (Thu) - Jun 1 (Tue) : Donsol (Vesak Day) June 23 (Wed) - 27 (Sun) : Anilao August 4 (Wed) - 9 (Mon) : Tech/Rec Trip to Manado (National Day) September 8 (Wed) - 13 (Mon) : Bali (Hari Raya Puasa) October 19 (Tue) - 24 (Sun) : Living Seas GUE Tech Trip November 12 (Fri) - 16 (Tue) : Raja Ampat (Hari Raya Haji) December 17 (Fri) - 22 (Wed) : Maldives
That's all for now, I hope to hear from you soon regarding any diving activity that you might be interested in.
My diving journey started way back in 1994 when I was a student in Australia, but unfortunately, I never completed my Open Water module due to a bout of flu. After years of procrastination and other commitments, I decided in 2006 that I wanted to finally complete what I had started more than a decade ago before I get any older. Being a history buff, I had always dreamed of diving the WW2 wrecks of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse. Both ships were part of Force Z, which was sent up the coast of Malaysia to counter the Japanese invasion threat. Being able to see the wrecks of these two iconic ships, would be dream come true for me. Most divers start off wanting to see the fishes and corals, but I had made my mind up to go tech.
My Open Water dive was a complete disaster: my buddy disappeared the moment he hit the water, but I had problems descending because I was unable to equalise my ears. With the help of the descend line, I pulled my way down while trying to force my ears to equalise. The result was a blood filled mask because of sinus injuries, and barotrauma which resulted in impaired hearing for the following week. During my first leisure dive a few months later, I was paired up with an “instabuddy”, someone that you meet the first time on the trip and forced to dive together because both of us have no buddy. The moment he hit the water, he had disappeared to go about his own ways. It then occurred to me that this was contrary to everything I had learnt during Open Water! What if something had happened to me during the dive? The buddy system is meant to ensure that in the event of an emergency, buddies help each other out to ensure a happy conclusion to the situation. Is this the reality of diving? I aired my concerns on an American dive forum and was pointed in the direction of Global Underwater Explorers (GUE), and the local dive centre that taught it, Living Seas. However, I was filled with hesitation because of the less than friendly response that some of the divers had towards questions about GUE. It seemed to me like an exclusive club that is bent on keeping out those who want to join and are willing to abide by the rules. I continued looking around for answers to my questions, but it still came back to GUE. Everyone pointed me back in the direction of Gideon Liew, and I was impressed that even in the United States, Gid was very much respected as a GUE instructor. So I dropped Living Seas an e-mail, and Leon answered my e-mail, and invited down to their old office at Riverwalk for a chat.
Leon is definitely nothing like the militants I had encountered on the various dive forums. He is a Tech 2 diver, and an instructor himself, an accomplished diver too. He had a quiet patient demeanour to him, and patiently explained to me the philosophy of GUE. I was sold after chatting with him, but I balked at the cost of Fundamentals, which is the first step towards Technical Diver 1. The total cost of the course plus trip, was twice the amount that I had paid for my Open Water course. But after talking to more people, I decided to take the plunge.
A year after I received my Open Water card, I started my Fundamentals course with the feared and revered (both at the same time) Gideon Liew. My first impression of Gid is that considering his reputation, he’s an awfully humble and patient man. I’ve seen many lesser instructors with egos far larger and far less patience. I’m a diver who demands perfection from what I do, knowing that I need to be at my best for the demands of technical diving, and so there were many occasions when I had beaten myself up because of perceived shortcomings on my part. The thing I remembered most about Gid was him coming over to me as I was walking back to the shore at Tioman, and asking me how I thought I did. I expressed my disappointment at my perceived failure with certain tasks, and Gid just said, “Oh, you’ll be surprised. Let’s have a look at your video analysis later”. When the dreaded moment of my analysis came up, I was surprised that I did do alright after all, and Gid just turned to me and said to me encouragingly, “See, what did I tell you?”. During my last training dive, I had expressed my concern about being able to do a task without losing my buoyancy, and Gid just patiently assured me and told me to do my best. So the moment came, and when I pulled it off, I was ecstatic and Gid shook my hand vigorously, and amazed me with his ability to speak through his regulator by saying “Well done, well done”.
That Fundamentals course, was the best course that I had ever taken in my entire diving career, period. Not only did I walk away a better diver, but I also walked away with a tremendous amount of respect for Gid, in his role as an instructor, mentor, and a diver. I have since continued diving with Living Seas, whose many returning satisfied customers, are like a little happy family. Every trip was a learning journey with Gid’s protégé, Leon, who has since become a Fundamentals instructor too. He has taught me and guided me in my preparation for my Technical Diver 1 course, which I will be undertaking next year.
I am lucky in that my partner, Kathy, is now also a member of the Living Seas family, and also a convert to the GUE way of diving, and she will be taking her Fundamentals course with Leon. We had many discussions about why we enjoy diving with Living Seas, so here’s my take.
Why Living Seas? Why GUE? I’ll be honest with you: Living Seas, is not cheap, and the word “cheap”, can mean so many things. They are not “cheap”, in that their courses are expensive, but as Kathy said after observing a returning Living Seas student during her dives, Living Seas churn out students who are far better trained than most. It’s not just about their skills, but it’s also about their mindset towards safe diving with preserves the environment. It is not that their courses are expensive, rather, it’s excellent value. Living Seas is not “cheap”, in that they do not send divers out in equipment that have not been serviced in years, such as jammed inflator buttons, or torn wetsuits that you have to zip up with the attached raffia string. The excellent crew of Living Seas walk the talk of GUE, which is excellence in diving.
Many detractors scoff at GUE, that it teaches nothing that the other agencies are already teaching. And I agree. But the question that begs answering is, are the teachings being practiced? I have dived with numerous instabuddy who are GUE trained, and I never have a problem with their equipment, dive planning, or them disappearing on me in the water. That’s because of our GUE training, and our standard equipment configuration means we can bail each other quickly and easily out without struggling with an unfamiliar setup.
GUE’s course are not cheap, but then again, I’ve already talked about “cheap”. Let me ask you this: how much money would you place on your safety, your life? In Jarrod Jablonsky’s (President of GUE) “Fundamentals of Better Diving”, he wrote that training time for dive courses are now shortened so much that students are not taught the essential skills, and are not given enough time to practice. And because there are now so many dive centres, students will sign up with the dive centre which cost the least. But with razor thin margins, the dive centre is unable to maintain its equipment, it can’t pay its dive professionals, and in order to survive based on unrealistic margins, instructors are pushed to exhaustion because they have to teach far too many classes in too short a short time. Corners are cut, and something has to give. Are you willing to accept that it might be your life? How much are you willing to give for an excellent dive education?
Granted, the GUE way of diving is not for everyone. But if you like the idea of diving safely as a team, I would seriously recommend joining Living Seas for a trip, and have a talk with Leon or any of their excellent crew.
We've just gotten back from our annual Tech Trip to the Wrecks of the South China Sea.
Good visibility, but unfortunately we were not blessed with any big fish sightings, and the wind was blowing from the typhoons in the North (I think).
Despite that, we had a good few days diving the Repulse and the 7 Skies, and even did a dive on the bow of the 7 Skies, definitely worth exploring more!
Thanks to all the divers who attended, and hopefully we'll have a better trip next year!
Did my fundies last month with Leon Boey and 3 friends, at Pulau Tioman, Malaysia.
My course report is a bit late... but better late than never!
We did our course over 3 and a half days. there were 4 of us, and all were shooting for a tech pass.
A little bit about my own diving history first. I first got my open water card about 16 years ago. did a couple of trips. And that was that. didnt blow a bubble again till around 6 years ago when i went on a LOB. As it had been many many years since my last dive, i went for a requalification with padi.
That was about it. Didnt really do any more trips till last year when i hooked up with some friends. Some of them were gue/ dir and after a couple of trips with them i was sold. It was also nice to have a regular bunch of people to dive with, so i made the decision to get back into this sport a bit more seriously. So this year i embarked on upgrading my open water with a bsac sports diver card and an advanced nitrox card.
However, all of this was also in a way, preparatory training for fundies. i got the equipment, got it set up, and dived it in a few trips this year. as i was aiming for a tech pass, i also went for a twin tank workshop run by a local GUE rep. After that i did a couple of trips and dove twins. more of that later.
So, the sum total of my experience before fundies i think was in the region of about 50-60 dives. about 30 of those dives were this year and last year and about 20 dives were done with twins.
Anyway, i think there are enough reports floating around for people to know more or less what happens on the course. so i will skip the hour by hour account and get straight to my impressions.
First, its packed. I mean, you read all the reports about early starts and finishing at midnight. and its true! there was no time to sit back and relax during the 3 and a half days. either we were in the classroom, or in the water, or in the restaurant eating, or collapsed in bed. It was always a case of "go grab a bite come back in 20 mins", or "go for a toilet break, come back in 15 mins" kind of thing. There is really a huge amount to go through. And also our course was compounded as we had 4, so that is one extra person for video reviews etc, which all adds up.
The days started around 7, and we really did finish around midnight. i remember falling asleep on the desk on the penultimate night..
It therefore goes without saying, that it is tiring. whilst the course requirements say 5 dives, these are not just 5 x 1 hour dive. You hit the water, and you stay there for a good long time. half an hour to forty mins on the bottom, up again on the surface for 15-20 mins debrief, and back down again kind of thing.
So, tip no. 1. Get fit. Strength, cardio, its all good, Im not saying you couldnt wing it if you arent in a good state of fitness, but really, the fitter and more stamina you have, the better.
What did I learn.
Well, although this was my first GUE course, I wouldnt say I was a stranger to GUE/ DIR. Prior to the course, I think I had read just about everything there was to read about it. Watched just about every video there was about it, including skills and drills. I had dived with GUE trained divers and observed them, and picked up bits and pieces along the way. Prior to the course, you get all the course materials and of course I also went through these.
But, I still learnt. On the theory side, things like the gas management planning shortcuts were new to me. On the practical side, better techniques for a variety of things. e.g. for clipping on/ off. How to finally tie knots. I learnt a new way to descend from the surface! I had always just been vertical in the water and released the air, but we were taught to lie back and release as this helped evacuate air faster and it was true. I learnt a new faster way of deploying my SMB. my equipment got fine tuned in terms of fitting. and of course, i learnt how to improve my trim, propulsion kicks etc. especially the back kick, which was abysmal prior to the course.
The Standards.
Well, lets just say, there are the GUE published standards for a tech pass (deviation in depth 1m, trim angle 20 degrees of whatever etc) and there are the standards that our instructor expected. To say that they are much higher than that, would be a gross understatement.
One particular example comes to mind. It was our last dive and we were doing drills. Basically, the 4 of us would be expected to get in position around a rock, and maintain position. so there i am doing my drill. and in the course of doing so, i remember rising a few inches from my start position.. Straightaway, i would get the thumbs down to descend. This was the last day. I was completely exhausted. And i remember some choice thoughts passing through my mind along the lines of WTF its only a few goddamn inches wtf is his effing problem, WTF am i doing this crap for, GUE can go stuff itself kind of thing.
(hope you dont read this leon!)
But it was like that through the course. even if you pulled off something that you thought was competent, there was always room for improvement.
I got my tech pass. And the thing is, I don't know if I would have got it if I had not just met GUE standards, or the higher standards Leon expected. And no doubt, some people might say, its not fair to impose standards beyond what the syllabus requires.
But here is the thing, notwithstanding those random thoughts, I think its a great thing. I know that may seem a bit weird, but this is how I explained it to Leon when he gave me my result and asked for my feedback. I said, you know, getting this tech pass, wasnt easy. And ordinarily, one should feel a sense of achievement or accomplishment in getting it. But, I didn't. On the contrary, because of the standards that he had set, I felt truly humbled. And notwithstanding the tech pass, it dawned on me how far I still have to go, to reach HIS standard. And that is a good thing. Because otherwise, one may be tempted to be complacent. But because of what he instilled, I know I still have a very very long way to go, and a lot more training and practice ,more practice, and even more practice to do to try and attain those standards.
So, lesson no 2, it doesnt end with fundies. Even if you arent going tech or cave. Fundies, is just the start.
Just as a sidenote, the diving is tiring. I was always the, enjoyable recreational type diver. But the diving you have to do on fundies, is different. If you have not done fundies before, to get an idea, next time you dive, pick a rock, and maintain position on it. and i mean maintain position. Forward backward, sideways, up down. Not allowed. ordinarily, 10-15mins into it, you are probably going to feel a little tired. Now imagine doing that for a couple of hours. Because that is what you do. Yes you do propulsion drills, emergency ascents drills, no mask swims and stuff. But one of the enduring memory I will have of fundies, is holding station on that stupid godforsaken lump of coral, for what seemed to hours at a time. Of course, at all times you are expected to not just hold station, but do it in perfect trim. And it is tiring because your muscles, are not attenuated to having to backkick for long stretches. And because you havent found your "sweet spot" your fins move a lot more than they should etc. I picked up a sore ankle on the first day, and it really plagued me for the ensuing days. I just wasnt used to using my ankles so much, for such long periods. And jetfins are not the lightest fins around.
So lesson no 3 the easier you find it to hold trim, get your back kick etc sorted out etc the better it will be for you.
This brings me on to the topic of pre fundies preparation. Now, i have read all the threads about this. And I know generally there are two camps. There is the, dont bother, you will learn the wrong thing, leave it to fundies camp and there is the, no harm in practice will help you with fundies camp.
This is my own view. If you are aiming for a tech pass, or want to ensure you pass first time, then there is certainly benefit to be gained from practice and some training beforehand. Of that, I have absolutely no doubt. Dont get me wrong. You do not need it to pass. Two of the other people on the course, were relatively new to DIR, and had not going for prep training like me and they also passed. But compared to me, they had a lot more diving under their belt. So to me, it helped me, and I believe a few things I found easier, than they did because I had some prep beforehand. I am very sure, if i had not donned twins for example before this course, no way in hell would I have had the stability in place to pull off a pass. As that alone took a few dives to get in place.
The only caveat I would put is, make sure you learn the right things, to practice and not the wrong things. So either learn from experienced, GUE trained divers, or go for a fundies prep workshop or equivalent.
Other thoughts.
Lesson No 4, do it with friends. Yes, no doubt, many people have gone through this with perfect strangers. But this is a tough course. Having some good friends on the course, people you know and were comfortable with, was very very reassuring and helped get me through, when the going was particularly tough. It was nice to have people to banter with for some light hearted moments. My friend did his swim test at a different time from the rest of us. I still swam out and did it again with him to encourage him. And he would have done the same for me. Its small things like that, that made this course much more palatable than it could have been. (halfway through the swim, i realised we were swimming through schools of small jellyfish. and all i had was swiming trunks on. thankfully they were of the non-stinging type, otherwise our friendship would likely ahve been over there and then!)
One other important reason. Whilst we were assessed on individual skills, you are also of course, assessed in your ability to co-operate and work as a team. There were times, when people fell short and this pulled the team down. We all screwed up. I have launched DSMBs quite a few times. Never had any problems before. But, in one memorable series of emergency OOG ascent practices, I was the bagman and succeeded in wrapping myself and nearly some of the team in my line... not once. but twice. This pulled down our performance as a whole. And others also made other mistakes. And of course, all of this gets pointed out either in the water debriefs, or the video debriefs.
Being friends helped, because we didnt let it get to us, and worked through the problems. But if you diving with strangers, it could lead to tension and friction.
Just something to add about the team thing. Yes you read about it, yes its a core tenet of GUE. But until you go for fundies, you never really grasp, how critical it is. and how immensely rewarding it is, when things do click. on one OOG drill, even though it wasnt perfect, it came together. the bag was up within a minute, we were on the ascent on the clock etc. and with the minimum of fuss and communcation, because we knew what we had to do, and what our jobs were. as leon said, several times during the course, most of the time in our everyday recreational diving, you might not really appreciate what it means to have a team. but in the worst of times, and that is what we train for, it can make the difference between life and death.
i also finally realised, why GUE is so hot about trim and positioning etc. for the longest time, at least until i took the course, i just thought that it made us more efficient in the water as there was less drag. (a small part of me i guess also thought, i think its just cos it looks good). but i now realise, its a lot more than that.
without good trim, you cannot execute a decent back kick. without a decent back kick, you cannot properly hold formation. and without holding formation, things can go tits up, faster than you can possibly imagine. this, i realised, on one of those dives where, just from someone being a little out of position, things slowly snowballed and ended in a right royal mess, with the team half separated, and me with an uncontrolled ascent for the last 3 m wrapped up in my own DSMB line. and this also brought home the other message. you are only as good, as the weakest member in your team. you can have god like skills, but if you dive with someone who doesnt, then the team suffers. and again, you will never know, but when the crap hits the fan, and you need everyone to pull their weight, and someone doesnt, things can go very badly wrong. i now truly understand, the importance of all the training, and the emphasis on a unified team.
All said and done, and no doubt this has been said before but to me, this was the best diving course I have ever done. It was tough,but immensely rewarding and I learnt a huge amount and it has set me on the path to being a much better, safer diver, which is the goal that I set myself.
I cannot finish this report, without commending Leon who was a fantastic instructor. Thoroughly professional, endlessly patient (2 surgeons, a lawyer and a civil servant can be quite trying at times with questions). In the water, his skills were on another dimension entirely.
It showed how high the bar was, and made me want to get there someday. Just as tiring as it was for us, so it must have been equally exhausting for him , but he never once showed it. He was firm in his expectations, but always in a constructive , encouraging manner. Even though this was one of his first fundies courses, you couldnt have told. It really says a lot, for GUE's instructor standards.
There are legends who walked the face of the earth,
you were one of those aquatically, for whom you were worth.
Hovering amidst the oceans so blue & so deep,
experience, compassion and endless fun you instilled in each trip.
Of the sea's critters, pelagics & wrecks to explore,
you entertained us with your stories galore.
May the legacy of your adventures be continued to be told,
about the SMB of 6-feet and fin markings so bold.
A dream that you left behind will not be forgotten our friend,
as it shall live on, across blue seas and soft sand.
Scripted here is your name, we tribute to you above
bless us dear brother with safe dives and much love.
We've just returned from our liveaboard trip to put up a memorial for Thomas. We found a beautiful, peaceful location for the memorial, surrounded by fish, bumphead parrotfishes and turtles to lay Thomas to rest. May he forever dive his favourite dive site.
Here are some videos of the process in bringing the memorial down to rest.
Big thanks to Wen for making the memorial and for the beautiful poem engraved he wrote for the memorial. To Terence and Alvin for the heavy lifting, Eugenia, Kenneth, James and Pam for the videos and photos.
Thanks also to the Yong family for attending and allowing us to do this for Thomas, could not have happened without their blessing.
Thanks to all who attended and helped with making the trip happen, and thanks to Friendly Waters for assisting with the travel and accommodations.
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