“A New World Beneath the Waves : My Journey to Becoming a Certified Diver”
In early August 2024, when I had no plans for the summer, my brother Zeva (A-201-KH) told me he wanted to go east to take his Open Water Diver Course. When I heard the news, I got fired up and thought, “I can’t let him beat me—I should do it too!” So, I opened Instagram and slid into Mba Onnie’s (A-063-KF) DMs to ask for information about dive courses since she’s already a certified and experienced diver. She suggested I take the course with her instructor, which offers PADI certification. After chatting for a while, I decided to take the opportunity and asked my parents for permission. And with that, my journey into the world of diving began.
I started my e-learning course from August 13th to 25th, 2024. The course focused more on the theoretical aspects of what I would learn in the practical course. In this course, I had to complete all the subjects and pass the exam before moving on to the next stage. It was quite challenging because I set myself the goal of completing the course in English rather than Bahasa. I struggled a bit with new words and terms, but in the end, I passed.
By the way, this course took place in Bali. After finishing my e-learning course, I packed, rested for a few hours, and then headed straight to the airport. I arrived in Bali on August 26th, 2024. I immediately found a hotel in Kuta to rest a bit, rented a bike, and then rode to Kuta Beach to enjoy the view until midnight. It was fun in Kuta; I would say this place is alive 24/7. I stayed in Kuta for two days before heading to Sanur to prepare for the practical course. I thought I’m the only one taking this course, but luckily there’s one more person that joined me. He can be my dive buddy, yayy !
On Wednesday, August 28th, 2024, we had our first practical course in the pool. In this session, Pak Heru (our instructor) introduced us to the scuba diving equipment and how to use it, including the BCD (buoyancy control device), fins, mask and snorkel, cylinder, regulator, proper diving suit, and more. He also taught us basic hand signals, self-rescue and buddy rescue techniques, equalizing and mask clearing, breathing underwater, swimming underwater, buoyancy control, as well as descent and ascent. We train for about 3 hours, included lunch break. And then headed back to hotel.
Pool Session – Bali Scuba, Sanur
August 29, 2024. This is it—what I’ve been longing for: we’re going Open Water! I woke up at 6:00 AM and made my breakfast (since I stayed at a guest house with a kitchen I could use) and then waited for my instructor to pick me up at 7:40 AM. We rode over 100 km to Tulamben, Karangasem, North Bali, and arrived around 10:00 AM. In this Open Water session, we learned more skills, such as:
- Hand Signal recognition
- Plan a dive
- Equipment preparation, donning and adjustment
- Predive safety check
- Entry (shore)
- Buoyancy/weight check
- Controllled descent
- Trim check
- Partial mask flood
- Fully flooded mask clearing
- Regulator recovery/clear
- Underwater exploration
- Signal air supply
- Stay close to buddy
- Orally inflate BCD (surface)
- Alternate air source use/ascent
- Avoid contact
- Ascent
- Exit
With so many skills to learn, this session will be divided into two dives, with a total bottom time of 64 minutes. In the first dive, we will go to a depth of 9 meters, and in the second dive, we will go deeper to 12 meters.
Shore Dive – Tulamben Beach, USAT Liberty Wreck
(with Pak Heru Suriyanto and Mas Taufiq)
When we arrived at the dive site, I was amazed by how many people were diving there, mostly foreign tourists and few locals. Beach was nice, the ground covered by rocks not sand, which I liked. The breeze making it more comfy to just enjoy the beach. Unfortunately we lost the underwater documentation, we only got few pictures on the beach.
Below, I saw many types of fish and impressive coral reefs; it felt like being in the movies or documentaries I often watch. It’s hard to explain, but that’s how I felt—like I was in a completely different world. We toured around the site, circling a shipwreck and marveling at the breathtaking beauty of God’s creation. It made me realize how vast and intricate the underwater ecosystem is, something most people rarely think about.
It’s heartbreaking to think that such beauty is under threat. It’s a shame that it doesn’t cross the minds of foolish, destructive people who only care about their own interests and ignore the fact that it’s not just humans living in this world. There is also other beautiful life that deserves to be appreciated, yet its survival is endangered by human greed and carelessness. If only more people could witness this, maybe they’d be more mindful of the impact we have on our planet.
August 30th, 2024: The last day of my Open Water Diver Course. As usual, I woke up at 6:00 AM to the sound of the ocean waves, had a light breakfast, and then got picked up from the hotel at 7:40 AM. There was a quiet excitement in the air as we headed to Padang Bai Port for the final dive, this time by boat. The weather was perfect, clear skies and calm seas.
We arrived at the port around 9:00 AM and enjoyed a quick coffee while waiting for the boat to take us to the dive site. The anticipation grew with every passing minute. As I sipped my coffee, I couldn’t help but reflect on how much I had learned over the past few days and how ready I felt for this final dive. Soon, it was time to gear up and make the short journey across the water to our dive location.
Before going to the site
In this last day of our course, we entry from boat. The skills that are implemented in this session are the same overall, but the goal is to sharpen what we’ve been learning before. And also adding few more required skills like :
- Underwater Navigation
- Plan dive using slate
- DSMB deployment
- Signal turn point
- Safety stop
- Free descent without reference
Dive Compass
The session was also divided into two dives, with a total bottom of time 72 minutes. 16 meters depth on the first and 18 meters on the second dive. This time I feel more comfortable using the scuba diving equipment and more confident with the material that has been provided by Pak Heru. After arriving at the dive site, we put on our dive equipment, then received a short briefing from Mr. Heru, and we practiced how to enter the water from the boat, which is the backroll entry technique.
Backroll Entry
During this final dive session, we spent more time exploring the dive site since we had already grasped the material well, although we still needed a little fine-tuning. While swimming and observing the seabed, we suddenly encountered a massive school of mackerel, numbering in the thousands. I was absolutely stunned, as it was my first time witnessing such a large group of fish of the same species up close.
We immediately swam into the middle of the school, surrounded by shimmering silver bodies moving in perfect synchrony. It was a surreal moment, as if we had become part of their underwater dance. The sheer scale and grace of the fish left me in awe. Time seemed to slow down as we floated among them, mesmerized by the beauty and rhythm of nature in its purest form.
Of course, we didn’t miss the chance to capture this incredible experience on our GoPro, eager to relive it again and share it with others. As I watched the fish swirl around us, I couldn’t help but feel a deep connection to the ocean, as if it were welcoming us into its hidden world. It was a moment of pure wonder and one that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
The underwater charm of Bali
left : Pak Heru, in black : Mas Taufiq, in blue : Myself
We explored the dive site for as long as possible until the SPG gauge we were using showed the limit of our remaining air. Then we headed to a shallower depth, performed a 3-minute safety stop, and surfaced to end our dive. Upon reaching the surface, we took off our fins, got on the boat, and removed the rest of our gear. Then, we headed back to the harbor to shower and have lunch.
On the way to the harbor, I asked Pak Heru about his career. It turns out he has been an instructor for 25 years, starting when he was 25. He has been an instructor with two different diving organizations, PADI and SSI. That’s why he was able to teach both me, who was taking the PADI certification, and Mas Taufiq, who was taking the SSI certification. He is also involved with GUE (Global Underwater Explorers), which, as far as I know, has higher standards compared to some other diving organizations.
We talked a lot about scuba diving, and what stood out to me the most was when the two of them, who have much more life experience than I do, gave me the insight that ‘this sport is expensive. Therefore, while you are still in college, make sure to finish your studies well and get a good job, in other words, one that makes a lot of money so you can go further in the world of scuba diving’.
At the restaurant, while enjoying our meal, Mr. Heru helped us process our scuba diving licenses by filling out our dive logs. It didn’t take long, and soon our licenses were issued, we officially become certified divers. I felt incredibly happy at that moment, and my enthusiasm for completing my studies to continue my journey in scuba diving and exploring the underwater world grew even stronger.
Our meeting came to an end this time. After finishing our meal, I said goodbye and returned to the hotel to prepare for my trip back home. Thank you, Pak Heru and Mas Taufiq, for accompanying me on this diving journey. I hope we can meet again and dive together another time. Also, a big thanks to Mba Onnie, who was incredibly helpful in guiding me through the Open Water Diver Course. Hopefully, we can dive together one day Mba, along with the other ASTACALA divers!
That’s the story about my journey. I wrote it in English to sharpen my storytelling skills in English. My journey is far from over, there’s still so much I want to learn and discover in the ocean world. I hope the diving division in ASTACALA continues and can eventually have its own scuba diving equipment. See you in the Advanced Open Water Diver Course…
ASTACALA!!!
Abdul Hafizh Ayyub | A-197-KH
