Living Life to the fullest

Another busy week here at Mermaid Diving. This has been a very “real” Divemaster week for me. I’ve been a part of every dive and I have been assisting, briefing, leading and helping out where it was needed. And I love it! First time leading all by my self was a bit frightening, but I powered through and learned so much from it!

We have been exploring two new dive sites this week. First we went to Playa San Juan and then El Poris, I was leading both and it’s amazing how focused you can get when you just need to trust your compass and visual references to get back to the exit point.

Last Sunday we had an amazing night dive at Radazul! I love night dives, their so exciting and mysterious. And it was Lewis’s first night dive as well, and he did very good! Monday we headed off to Abades to dive with the vibrant fish life. The visibility was PERFECT and we got great pictures of the second reef. Next day it was time for mapping Tabaiba for my Divemaster. So much to think of when mapping, but Tabaiba is always fun whatever you do!

Alan and Steve is back in America and we really miss our awesome Americans. So at right now and until Monday it’s only me as an Intern.

I simply love life here and want to stay forever…

Finally a Divemaster but sad its my last week

Last week! It feels a little bit strange. The rib boat is up from the water repairs  

Monday: Tinman and I go to Radazul with Kevin who is doing his last open water. He´s doing good and it´s a nice dive we saw a little octopus.

Tuesday: Day off It´s windy but I decide to go to El Medano and up mountan roja. I get sandblasted when I pass the big beach Tejina, but I make it.

Wednesday: I go and leave tanks in Las Galletas we have a new place where we fill the tanks but it´s just a hundred meter from the other one. After that it´s scrubbing the boat taking away the shells and alges . Hard work, interesting though to see the work there, but scrubbing…

Thursday: I do the rest of the stamina skills for the dive master course. Tinman and I go down to the marina. 800m snorkelling, it´s pain! No fun at all. I give it all. Please don´t let the score be a two. I don´t want to swim this again, but it turns out I swam fast, the score is a 4!

Then the tow swim, I am pumped! I tow Tinman in a record speed. The boats starts to move from the waves I create (not really) and get the score 5!

Then it´s floating in 15 minutes, well what can I say? That´s nothing in the superman state I am in now…

We end early cause this evening we will do a night dive, first for me. Tinman, Marta and I meet up at the dive centre when the sun feels a little bit sleepy. We take the Jumpy to Abades. Martha going to do her night dive as a part of her advance course. I´m leading I have a hard time to see the compass. Even though it glows in the dark, and I´m telling you that not a good thing. Am I getting old? Glasses? Crouch? Coffin? Marta do it fine and me to until the end when, yes the compass… Well we make it back Tinmans compass works better…Diving in the dark good experience, but we didn´t see that much (yes, we had torches). Not that impressed, I expected more. But I learned during this 8 weeks that diving at the same dive site can vary a lot from time to time, so I guess I have to give it one more shot in the future.

Friday: Mikey a former intern and instructor is kind enough to come by and do the kit exchange with me Tinman supervising. It´s one of the things you have to do for the divemaster exame. The cold pool… You have to change mask and fins also I wasn´t prepared for that. It went well, you just have to be calm.

Tinman and I go to the hotel pool and try to lure some new customer to the Mermaid. I´m in the water this time and there are some people trying. Couple of crazy Hungarians, not crazy but very happy to have vacation…

Saturday: Day of take it easy

Sunday: Last day. I´m doing the skills in the pool that is scored and required for the divemaster exam. Hardest part for me is the talking skills, but it all went well!!!!
What did we do after wards, scrubbing the boat? I don´t remember it´s all a blur a relief to have made it!

What I remember is that we went for a beer at Big Als after the day was finished.

Thank you Tinman Vince and off course Melissa for the teaching! Jeff, Ned, Percy, Ludo, Mike and all the rest who have helped.

And so a new Divemaster has come to the world…

Blinky

Yes the boat still there! But it was too expensive (35000€ if you’re interested) for me. Not all stories can have a happy end, after all this is not Hollywood…
 

 

A great week with my brother

This week my brother came out to stay with me for a week as he wanted to do a PADI Open Water course. On Monday we went in the pool for a session and he did really well for the first time. After that I had the day off and went to Los Cristianos with him for the rest of the day.

On Tuesday we did the second and last pool session which also went really well, and in the afternoon in did some admin while my brother completed his book.

Wednesday was time to go to the open water, so we headed off to Abades. The weather and water was looking good, but unfortunately when we tried to descend, my brother couldn’t equalize. Unfortunately we decided to call it off. It was sad as I was really looking forward to diving with my brother, but I couldn’t do anything to help.

Thursday was also a day off so I could spend some time with my brother, and also to pack to go back to England for the weekend for a family reunion.

Finally Friday, we came in to shop briefly before taking a taxi to the airport and leaving Tenerife for a couple of days.

Mermaid Diving, a fun filled week, and Anns returned.

 

A lovely week meeting lots of new divers, we started the week with Discover Scuba Diving for Steven, Anishka and Abi, they all did really well in the pool, all of them completing the skills easily, Tinman was helped out by Flounder.  Then off they headed to Abades for their very first open water dive.  They had a great time, and saw lots of aquatic life.
 
In the afternoon the team headed out to El Puertito, they were joined by Mark, Ryan, Tony, Amy, Artur and Paul, the group completed a dive with the turtles and had a wonderful time looking at the turtles swimming around them.

We also had the pleasure to Meet Johannes, who completed his PADI Scuba Diver course.  Johannes did really well in the pool and Tinman was able to whiz through all of his skills, Flounder assisted and then they all headed out to Abades to complete their Open Water Dives.  Johannes really enjoyed being in the water and did really well on all the skill sections.

Tony and Amy joined us again and the group headed off to Abades, on the dives at Abades they saw A ray, the snake cucumbers as well as some amazing cuttlefish.  Everyone had a great morning. Unfortunately this was the last dives Tony and Amy were able to complete but we hope to see them back here soon.

Finally Ann is back, Ann is a very regular customer nad also my best friend so it was great to have her back here with us, she joined Kulno, Flounder and Tinman at Tabaiba, they had two amazing Dives, and saw several large Barracuda circling the wreck.

A great team night out on Saturday night at Achaman Salsa club left us all desperate for our day off on saturday

Bring on the IDC and IE

These next two weeks were my IDC, so I am putting them both together. I started my IDC on the Wednesday and already knew it was going to be good fun. There were eleven of us doing the course, and I was sure I would never forget them.

We started off with orientation and the schedule of the next two weeks and we all found out what skills we would be doing, and what presentations we would have to do. After we listened to a few lectures the first day was over.

The next day we did some exams and more lectures, the exams were quite easy, but they needed to check our knowledge, and then the lectures were on the presentations and how to teach, etc.
After those two days, everything became a blur of what happened on which day as we were having so much fun and learning so much that there was no need to mentally record what was going on and when it was going on.

I can tell you this, the IDC was some of the best days of my life, and the amount I learned in the classroom and in the ocean doing skills, and just by talking to the other candidates. I would tell anyone wanting to make diving a career to come to Tenerife to do the IDC.

However when the IDC ended, we had two days off and then the IE started, the final exam.
For my day’s off, I decided to go diving instead of staying cooped up in my apartment or in the dive centre, so I chilled out for two days.

Then the IE started, and it was still a lot of fun, all celebrating each pass, talking about the next exam or skill, it was a lot less stressful than I imagined it would be.

And then came the final day, the moment of truth, the moment we new if we would get drunk the next day or get really drunk the next day. But the good news just kept on coming for everyone.
So again I would tell anyone to come here to do the IDC and the IE because it will be one of the best times you will ever have.

Blinky a Divemaster at long last and welcome to new intern Flounder

A great start to the week as Blinky completed his Divemaster Skill circuit which was the final step to him becoming a PADI Divemaster !!  Blinkys skills were really good and it was great to see him finish his Internship.  Cakes and Wine at the end of the day for a fond farewell.

We have also welcomed Ryan, aka flounder to the team, Flounder is an Open Water diver although he hasnt dived for some time, so first thing he headed down to the pool to complete a PADI Scuba review, his skills were fine and he was looking back to getting back into the water.

Off he headed with Tinaman who completed two Discover Scuba Divers, Georgia and Adrian.    They both did really well in the pool and were really excited about their dives to Abades.  Flounder enjoyed being back in the water and they all had a good morning.


Tinman and Flounder then headed off to the hotel pool to offer some free try dives, they had a nice busy afternoon with flounder learning the ropes.

Flounder has had a busy week with his EFR Course and studying to start the PADI Advanced Open Water Course.  After watchingthe EFR DVD we started the practical course which as usual was lots of fun, then the exam.  Flounder did really well.

 
Another pool session for Flounder to practice some more skills it was great to see some improvements, and with a few more sessions he will be doing great.

Another good week here at Mermaid Diving

Mermaid Melissa

First Week at Mermaid Diving

I can’t believe my first week at Mermaid Divers is already over!

I’ve started the week with getting settled in. Learning where everything is and goes after a day of diving. I have like 6 new keys to figure out! Mermaid divers have a nice little shop in Golf del Sur and all I met so far is so caring and fun to be around! Thumbs up to Melissa!

Tuesday I took my EFR course. Both weird and fun to do all the scenarios with Randall, who is one of the instructors. 

The day after, we went for a couple of dives at Abades. Steve and Alan (Divemaster Interns as well) were leading the dive one by one and they did such a good job! I am very excited to learn how to map a dive and lead it!

Thursday it was time for my Confined water skills in the Marina as a part of the PADI Rescue Diver course.  Alan volunteered to be a tired, panicked and unresponsive diver. So much fun! “Diver, diver! Can you hear me? Inflate your BCD! Drop your weights!”  I’m just saying, Hollywood next…

Friday was Melissa’s birthday and we had so much fun going out! I felt so good having Saturday off. Went home after a late Friday night and had a good sleep before working on my tan at the beach in Los Cristianos. 

Bye, bye pale Norwegian skin!

7 more awesome weeks to come!