People jet out to Majorca from all over Europe and beyond to explore its quaint towns and villages. However, if you’re looking for something more active during your stay, this Balearic Island is packed with opportunities for adventure, especially at some of its diving sites. There are around 70 different dive sites offering wreck and cavern dive … [Read more...]
Diving Sipadan Island: A Guide for Solo Travellers
Any scuba diver who has searched for top dive destinations around the world will have come across Sipadan Island. Located off the east coast of Sabah, which itself is part of Borneo, Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia. While diving Sipadan, you will often see lots of pelagic sea life such as barracuda, trevallies, reef sharks, bumphed … [Read more...]
Scuba Diving in Tenerife: Rays and Wrecks
If someone mentioned the Canary Islands, you'd be forgiven for associating them with package holidays and booze-fuelled shenanigans. It might come as a surprise, then, to learn that scuba diving in Tenerife is kind of a big deal. Boats in the channel between southwest Tenerife and La Gomera frequently spot bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales, and … [Read more...]
10 Reasons to Visit Jersey
WHY VISIT JERSEY? Jersey, along with the other Channel Islands, is one of those places most of us have heard of, but not all of us could place on a map. It floats around in our subconscious as 'another part of the British Isles', but, for a lot of Brits, it doesn't stand out as a must-see destination. This might, in part, be because of … [Read more...]
PADI Divemaster Training: Week 6 – Stress Test
All together, my PADI divemaster training took just over six weeks. This is usually the recommended minimum amount of time, but if you haven't got any pressing tasks to get on with in life, you should really consider spending longer on it. Extra time at most dive centres does not mean extra cost, so why not gain more experience and get in as much … [Read more...]
PADI Divemaster Course: Week 5 – The Liveaboard
By far one of the biggest selling points of the PADI divemaster course at Blue Marlin Komodo is the inclusion of a liveaboard trip. Liveaboards are notoriously expensive and highly sought after. Because they can moor up out in the channel, you can reach the more distant dive sites before the crowds and slot in a night dive before bed. The … [Read more...]
PADI Divemaster Training: Week 4 – Halfway Point
The halfway point is probably the most challenging part of the PADI Divemaster course. You feel like you've achieved a lot, but when you check your paperwork it seems there's still so much to do. Part of the reason for this is that things start to slow down in the middle. You're gaining a lot more experience but not necessarily meeting any … [Read more...]
PADI Divemaster Training: Week 3 – Assisting on Courses
By week 3 of the PADI Divemaster course, you're well on your way to understanding your role. You've begun to tick off various in-water skills and you should have a decent amount of experience with a lot of the local dive sites. As you progress, the idea is that you become more involved with those tasks you would be performing on a regular basis … [Read more...]
PADI Divemaster Training: Week 2 – Completing Theory
It's no secret that divemaster training is intense. There's a lot of information to take on board and your instructors know how to keep you busy! The advantage of this is that you spend your time literally immersed in all things diving. You practically live on a boat or at the dive centre and a lot of the information goes in … [Read more...]
PADI Divemaster Training: Week 1 – In at the Deep End
Week 1 of the PADI Divemaster course was a little bit overwhelming. It was not dissimilar to that feeling you get when you start a new job and wonder if you'll ever be able to take everything on board. I realised immediately that the next 8 to 10 weeks would be more intense and time consuming than expected. By the end of the week I was exhausted. … [Read more...]
