Self-Reliant SCUBA Diver Achievement Unlocked

I earned a little digital card with “Master SCUBA Diver” in the title after completing a Self-Reliant SCUBA Diver course. It has been a full month at the time of writing, which involved hardcore training at a SCUBA Diving Career Development Center in Mauritius. Despite long days with exponential responsibilities, the certifications have been racking up! The thought is still sinking in that I’m now qualified as a Night Diver, Wreck Diver, Self-Reliant Diver, Enriched Air Diver, Deep Diver, Rescue Diver, Dive Master, and now Master SCUBA Diver. The Wreck and Self-Reliant SCUBA diver experiences deserve some detailing.

A wreck can be a ship, a plane, or little Timmy’s bicycle. Assessing a wreck for hazards and penetration points, is step one. Step two is knowing how to use and correctly tie a strong and colourful line, to make a safe penetration and visually mark your exit strategy. Said line is also used to communicate with your dive buddy with different tugs. There is lots of sensible torch action required as you navigate through a wreck, and lots of care taken to not stir up silt.

Self-Reliant SCUBA Diver Course

The Self-Reliant SCUBA Diver training was a whole different kettle of fish. It begins with wearing a bunch of ‘redundant’ gear – two dive computers, two DSMB’s (Delayed Surface Marker Buoys), two masks, a cutting device/dive knife, and an extra cylinder (called a Bailout or Pony), strapped onto your general chest area. You feel like a military marine wearing all of that!

They then put a mask over your face that is blacked out. You can’t see squat and get instructed to fumble about to both find and identify your own gear before securely strapping it onto yourself. Then the same exercise takes place in the pool. You are stripped to near naked, and required to gear-up underwater once you find your various components. You lose points if you attach gear that does not belong to you.

Then you’re in the ocean. No black-out masks, but the stealthy instructor will yank and toss your favourite one off at any given moment. The relevant skill is to attach and clear your redundant dive mask before finding, attaching, and clearing your primary. He then might turn off your air supply at any given moment while you’re busy admiring a Mantis Shrimp on the prowl.

The obvious skill is to quickly switch to your emergency air supply without freaking out. OR, the stealthy bastard loosens your cylinder strap. The protocol then is to remove your entire SCUBA kit underwater, re-attach your pressurised life support, and kit up. He also snatched my line and reel, entangled me with it, and observed as you freed yourself. It was all super awesome.

I ended that day with a real sense of accomplishment. I took a 15-minute walk to the local shop called Winners, with a smile and the sun upon my face. The friendliest cashier in the southern hemisphere tilled me. I had stocked up on a few things and loaded up my little backpack, with my delicate eggs and a single bogroll under my arm. Then came the downpour in true tropical island fashion.

I think my bogroll is ruined…

Next: SCUBA Instructor Examination in Mauritius

Previously: The Goby and the Shrimp: Underwater Naturalist Specialty