Divemaster on Koh Tao

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So I have finally left Koh Tao after two months and 12 days on this beautiful island in the Gulf of Thailand and am currently waiting for a train to take me south over the Malaysian border and on towards Kuala Lumpur.

Life continued much as it had since my last blog for most of the time, with diving and nights out the norm. I began my Divemaster course early in May after first completing my EFR (first aid), Rescue, Deep, Wreck and Nitrox courses. The Divemaster course itself contains a number of elements ranging from practical skills through to theory and stamina tests.

I managed to get the theory out of the way fairly quickly and nailed the two multiple choice exams. The stamina element consists of a 100m tired diver tow with both of you in full SCUBA gear, a 400m swim, an 800m snorkel, all against the clock, followed by a 15 minute water tread with the last two minutes keeping your hands out of the water and finally, an equipment exchange with another diver, on the sea bed, whilst sharing air from one regulator. I managed to score 20/25 on these 5 tests, when a score of 15 was sufficient.

The skills side consisted of a number of workshops on the practical side of the job, including Discover Local Diving, Discover SCUBA Diving, SCUBA Review, dive site briefings, rescue scenarios and a dive site mapping project. There was no score for these, you just needed to show a degree of competence. Each one involved a morning of theory followed by an afternoon of practical application out on the dive sites.

Finally there was the skills circuits, where 24 skills had to be completed to demonstration (instructor) standard. Each skill was marked out of 5 with no skill allowed to be less than a 3 and a total over 85 needed. Fortunately I managed to score 118 out of 120 on my skills circuit, meaning I passed.

As well as all of the above, I spent a number of days assisting the instructors with the courses they were teaching, whether it was new divers on Open Water courses, returning divers on Advanced Open Water or more advanced divers doing specialities like the deep and wreck courses. Towards the end of the course I also spent some time guiding certified divers around different dive sites to get a feel for the main part of the job as a dive master working in the dive industry.

I loved the whole experience and my diving has improved so much over the course, my buoyancy and control in the water are a million times better than when I started, hovering upside down without moving to look under rocks or in gaps without disturbing the marine life is no longer a problem. My air consumption has improved dramatically, with the big tanks I needed when I arrived a thing of the past and hour long dives becoming common place.

For all of this I have the wonderful instructors at Master Divers to thank. Their help and advice and excellent teaching were invaluable throughout and I would never have improved without their assistance. I cannot recommend the shop highly enough if you are reading this blog and contemplating a dive course on Koh Tao….there is no better dive shop to go diving with.

As well as the diving itself I have met loads of great people and made a number of new friends during my time on the island. I hope I manage to stay in touch with them and would love to be able to see them again in future, whether it is on Koh Tao or diving somewhere else in the world. The dive master trainees at the shop are a fairly close knit bunch, eating together virtually every night and going out drinking together to let off some steam after a hard day’s graft.

The end of the course brings with it the traditional snorkel test, which I deliberately timed to coincide with turning 31 a few days ago. My snorkel test was with Dan, my best friend on the island, with whom I did most of my training. Dan has been offered a job as a Divemaster at the shop and I wish him well in his new career. The snorkel test itself was a brilliant evening, with plenty of customers coming along as well as all of the staff from the shop/ It was held at the Hacienda, a really nice little bar on the main road which also has a mini golf course and a bowling alley….which hilariously has Burmese lads instead of machines at the end of the alley to stand up the pins and roll the balls back!

Dan and I were made to dress up in wigs, dresses, glasses and wet suit shorts for the challenge. Firstly we had to introduce each other, using suggestions given about each other by the staff. We then had to exchange our clothing while all the time holding and drinking from the same beer bottle while one drank and one removed or replaced clothes. Next came some random questions with a shot after every correct answer and a shot going into your bucket if it was incorrect…..meaning we actually still had to drink all 6 shots!

The snorkel test itself was tough. This involved wearing a mask (to stop you breathing) and a snorkel with a funnel taped to the top. Into the funnel was poured a bucket of various shots and mixers, the aim being to finish the whole thing before your opponent and before you need a breath. I just about managed mine before I passed out from a lack of air. Dan’s hit him pretty hard and 10 minutes later he was clearly pissed, with me not far behind!

The girls at the shop had sorted a birthday cheesecake to finish the celebrations and everyone sang happy birthday to me. It was good to spend my birthday amongst so many friends while half a world away from home. After the party finished, a few of us headed down to our usual haunt, The Fishbowl, for my final night out. More beers and shots were had and I was soon tearing up the dance floor until around 4 in the morning. Needless ro say, my last full day on the island was spent nursing the mother of all hangovers!

Today, I caught the ferry to Chumphon and had a 6 hour wait for the night train which will take me down over the border into Malaysia. It will be weird being in a big city like KL again after so long on such a quiet little island but I am looking forward to the change of scenery for a few days before I head over to the Perhentian Islands for more diving off Malaysia’s East coast.

My time in Thailand has been even better than my last trip 10 years ago and the memories I have will stay with me for life. I absolutely love this country and the people here, I can only hope it isn’t another 10 years until I am back again!!

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Comments

[Mum n Keith]

Divemaster
Glad you managed to complete the course after the dreadful start you had. So far, we have had snippets of information about the things you have done, as the Skype Line was not always very clear this end, so great to read your blog detailing the course. Brilliant you made so many good friends and whether or not you see them again is entirely in your hands!! Another detailed account of life in Thailand shows your obvious enjoyment of the whole experience.