DMT's Week 4

I can’t believe the month is almost over. Time has flown by so quickly. This last week, the team has been busy practicing refreshers and fun dive briefings. Scuba Junkie offers refreshers to divers who have not been diving in a couple of months as way to increase confidence in their diving skills, like clearing a mask, and in their diving ability, like buoyancy control. A refresher involves several parts. First, the DMTs work on finessing their “equipment explanation”, which means being able to describe the function of each piece of scuba gear, and discussing how to set-up and break down the equipment. Second, they need to talk about the skills that will be practiced under water. Ideally, a thorough briefing involves confirming the underwater sign of the skill, a clear explanation of how to do the skill, and why we do the skill. Third, they will need to be comfortable demonstrating skills underwater, watching divers perform the skills, and correcting any mistakes. By this point, the DMTs should feel comfortable navigating Awas and the House Reef. So for the fun dive practice, the team is learning how to analyze the conditions, such as current strength and tide levels, before going on a dive. Next, they practice delivering a thorough yet succinct dive brief, which should tell divers from start to finish of a dive what the dive will entail, our expectations of them as divers, and the cool marine life they might encounter. Lastly, we go for a DIVE and practice logbooks! The goal is for each DMT to successfully navigate around the dive site of his/her choosing.

On the 28th, we completed the equipment exchange, which is one of my favorite parts of the course. Here, the DMTs work in pairs to exchange their fins, mask, and BCDs with their buddy all while buddy breathing. Buddy breathing is where two people share one second stage regulator between themselves. Super challenging but extremely fun! In the evening, we had one last “skill” to complete - the snorkel test, which is basically a rite of passage for newly minted professional divers! Below is a picture of our new divemasters (WOHOO!). I and the whole team at Scuba Junkie are so proud of all of their hard work! Welcome to the club! If you have any questions about making the transition to living the dream on an island and diving every day, please do not hesitate to contact us. We would love to see you here!