PADI Divemaster – taking the next step!

It’s hard to put into words how much I love diving, we both do. I love everything about it. Being on the boat, meeting new people & the way no two dives are the same. We haven’t been diving in two weeks because it’s been ridiculously windy and we’re both itching to get out there. It’s such a huge difference from our old life where our dive gear would come out a couple times a year for a much anticipated trip. Since we moved we’ve been on 43 dives, that’s the equivalent of four (expensive) trips in our old life.

When we leave our corporate jobs there’s no doubt in our minds that we want to work in diving. I cannot wait for the day when conference calls, meetings, office politics & ridiculous timelines are a thing of the past!

I’m looking forward to introducing people to the underwater world for the first time. I remember my first dive like it was yesterday. It was December 4th of 2011 in Roatan at a site called Mandy’s Eel Garden. I had no buoyancy skills at the time so I didn’t see a single eel but I was completely captivated the second I dropped below the surface. I spent the entire dive with my SPG in my hand, checking my air every second and looking at my current depth while sneaking peeks all around and at the surface. I knew I was hooked.

We both love to travel, love the water and loved going snorkeling whenever we had the chance. Diving was the next logical step but I’ll admit I needed a firm push from J to take the leap. I never thought of myself as a SCUBA diver. That was a dangerous sport for thrill-seekers and that wasn’t me. I couldn’t have been more wrong! It turns out recreational diving is extremely safe when the protocols are followed.

When we took the open water course we both insisted that we wouldn’t turn into “those people” who dive their faces off for an entire trip, pushing their computers to the last minute to still make flying home the next day safe. Diving would just be another activity we took part in, maybe a day or two during a trip. Well, we did turn into those people and quick! From that very first trip to Roatan all of our travel has revolved around diving. So much so that our friends that used to travel with us every year stopped. It turns out a lot of places great for divers are maybe a little boring topside.

As I look back on the past 5 years of diving, it’s changed our lives in ways I never imagined it would. We’ve met interesting people and have been to some amazing places from Honduras to Kauai to Cozumel to Saba (go dive the pinnacles!) and more. I feel at home in the water & on a boat in a way that nothing else has really done for me.

With 7 months left on our lease and enough vacation time saved up at work – it’s time to take the next step. Our goal is to go all the way through our MSDT using vacation time. The classes are somewhat expensive so if we can get paid while taking them all the better.

For the non-divers out there, Divemaster is the next step toward becoming instructors & the first professional level certification. Everything prior to the Divemaster is recreational.

The progression is: Open Water –> Advanced Open Water –> Rescue & EFR –> Divemaster –> Open Water Instructor –> MSDT (Master SCUBA Diver Trainer).

PADI Divemaster with Rainbow Reef

In a few weeks we’ll be taking the Divemaster course with Rainbow Reef. We picked Rainbow for our Divemaster class because of their impeccable reputation here in the Keys and across the diving industry. We’ve been planning our career change for a long time which is the reason we picked Rainbow to dive with back on that first Labor Day scouting trip we took. If you can, it’s always a great idea to dive with a shop before taking a course with them. Obviously for Open Water this isn’t possible but if the shop takes snorkelers tag along and check it out before you commit to a class. Divemaster is 8 days and the start of our professional ranking so it was important to us to pick a shop we mesh well with. We’ve continued diving with them since we moved and have had nothing but great experiences with them. I’m not sure what we’ll do when our lease ends but we might stay here and get some teaching experience if the opportunity exists.

Stay tuned for posts about the Divemaster class. I promised myself I’d take notes each day to share here to help anyone planning a career change.

Have a great Sunday!

Stay Warm Friends!