So what’s up with the Scuba Steve? Well it’s not because of my love for hiking š Truth be told I’ve been scuba diving since I was 16 years old. I got certified way back in… get ready… 1987. So if that doesn’t age me I don’t know what will. I quickly grew to love the sport or activity depending on how you view it.
Soon after my PADI Open Water Certification I wanted to gain more and more experience by adding certs to my resume. I signed up for the Advanced Open Water Course just a month after and then I planned on taking a plethora of the available Specialty Courses that were available like the Search, Navigation, Rescue Diver, and more. But being that I was still in high school at the time, I didn’t have the money to purchase those specialty courses. So I did what most divers did after their Advanced Open Water Course… I just dove!
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I dove with anyone and everyone just to gain more experience. I dove all around the Puget Sound and Washington area and loved it except the cold. I hated being so freaking cold after each dive since I was in the old two piece scuba diving wetsuit. Mind you not the farmer john two piece, but the old vintage two piece scuba suit meaning you were butt ass cold when you dove in the winter time like I did.
So fast forward throughout my life and I eventually acquired the coveted Rescue Diver, Master Scuba Diver and then the first step to being aĀ PADIĀ Pro – theĀ DivemasterĀ Certification. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the Divemaster program in the beginning as it was very challenging and really tested your scuba skills, I just had an issue with the person who was running the program at the time which I will keep to my self.
Recently I went a step further and joined a localĀ SAR – Search & RescueĀ volunteer diver team that supports the localĀ Sheriffs department. I did so because I always wanted to be a part and serve in search & rescue and even more so in the scuba diving capacity. The training is by far better than anything I’ve learned through traditional certs and your skills really get tested as well as how you handle stressful situations especially when your dealing with a body recovery.
I have often thought about climbing the certification ladder further meaning go the PADI Instructor route and beyond. Spending my retirement years in a tropical location while teaching others how to dive has always been a vision of mine. Time will tell if that vision will one day become reality š
Until next time,
Scuba Steve
