AARON’S UNDERWATER AMBITIONS CONTINUE!
Back in October 2023, we published an article about Year 10 student Aaron Deakin’s quest to gain a series of scuba diving qualifications, with the eventual goal of becoming a ‘Divemaster’ and a fully qualified instructor.
His quest continues!
We recently received an update from an amazing trip he and his family made to the Dominican Republic to dive offshore in the famously clear waters of the Caribbean.
Aaron’s focus was to gain advanced diving experience by taking part in the Scuba Schools International (SSI) Advanced Adventurer Diving program, which involved making five dives with an instructor. Each dive focuses on a particular set of advanced diving skills. Aaron’s five dives were: Diving Navigation, Deep Diving, Perfect Buoyancy, Wreck Diving and Boat Diving.
Aaron performed brilliantly, passing each dive with flying colours!
Nikki, Aaron’s mum, takes up the story:
“Aaron then decided he wasn’t quite finished and booked onto some more days without us. He travelled himself (with his Venezuelan dive buddy) an hour and a half by bus to catch a boat to Catalina Island- some of the best diving in the world, nicknamed ‘The Aquarium Wall.‘ Aaron returned with stories of the huge sting rays he had seen, along with moray eels, lion fish and coral formations streaming with wildlife.
“On his final dive his regulator failed some meters down. His breathing apparatus started taking in a large amount of sea water – he had to put all his training into action. Adapting and composing himself he had his secondary regulator neatly packed into his jacket and could switch – he continued to dive for another hour.
“However scary it can be when things go wrong it’s a reminder that breathing under water is a privilege and not to take the ocean for granted. Appropriate training is a must and divers must never stop learning – these things happen and being qualified and experienced maximises the chance of you and your buddy staying safe.”
Thanks to Aaron and his family for providing us with updates. We look forward to hearing what’s next for Aaron and his ambitions underwater!