Diving Group 3 – Maish, Yoosuf, Rai and Izman (Former students)                   

It was on the morning of February 9^th when a group of four former students from Billabong High met in Male´ and then went to Hulhumale with Ms. Eda and me. This trip represented Rai´s third dive, Izman´s second, the very first dive in Yoosuf´s and Maish´s life and the first time four former students were taken at once.

We arrived some minutes after 8 am at Hulhumale and went through the usual process of watching the introductory video, filling the forms and choosing the suitable diving equipment for each one of them. This time, however, there was an unexpected delay as the boat that would take us to MaaGiri didn´t bring a ladder for us to get back onto it after diving, so a different one had to be requested.

Maish Maseeh, Yoosuf Zimaam, Rai Hassan and Izman Suhail

Into Scuba follows national and international regulations

Watching the introductory video

Checking the fins, BCDs, oxygen tanks, etc.

Waiting for the pickup truck

Into Scuba Diving Centre

Some more explanations

All four of them looking like Ghostbusters

Once we arrived to MaaGiri, Rai, Izman and I compared how the place looked at that time without any wind to the previous trip when it was windy. The difference in the swelling of the water was remarkable.

It didn´t take long before we were all in the water and it seemed that this time we would also start with the shallow water exercises straight away, however Izman and Yoosuf were taking a while longer to reach the bottom. After a few tries and trips to the surface, I found out that Izman was getting a bad toothache whenever he would try to go down and also that Yoosuf was having a rough time equalizing. The divemasters tried to help them while I stayed with Rai and Maish but after a while we realized that it was not the best moment for them to go diving.

Before it was decided that Yoosuf and Izman would be snorkeling instead of diving, I went through some exercises with Maish and Rai. On our previous trip, I had shown Rai how to remove his mask, put it back on and remove the water from it while being underwater. The moment he saw me doing that, he signaled to me asking if he could give it a try. Considering that back then it was just his second dive I said not this time, but later on I promised that he would have the chance to do that on his third dive so, now it was his turn to go through it. Rai indeed took off his mask, opened his eyes underwater and managed to stay like that for a while, after which he also managed to put his mask on and remove the water from it. It is important to note that doing this requires a certain amount of practice since people sometimes pull a bit of water through the nose which causes a very uncomfortable feeling.

After Rai´s success, Maish also practiced adding some water into his mask and removing it by blowing air through his nose while looking up. We then went to the deeper part for the dive.

For the rest of the dive (all of which lasted 54 minutes), Izman and Yoosuf were following our bubbles while we were 12 meters below and, although this time we saw more of MaaGiri´s reef, there weren´t as many attractions as the previous weekend. We still managed to see an eel, a lion fish, an anemone with some clownfish around it and many other fishes. The great thing about this country is that a normal dive in the Maldives equals to an amazing dive in most other countries in the world.

An underwater picture taken by Maish

Maish and Rai

Maish and Izman

Izman and Yoosuf

All of us diving along the reef

Maish

Rai

A shy lion fish

A group of Moorish Idol fish

At the end of the trip

Diving Group 2 – Rai and Izman (Former students)                          

The day before February 1^st was complicated because of two reasons; the first one was that there were several cancellations among the group of former students that was originally intending to dive on February 1^st. The second reason was because January 31^st was such a windy day that Into Scuba Diving Centre had to cancel their diving trips.

After finding through the internet that the wind speed on Friday morning was going to be at an acceptable level, and confirming that on my way to our meeting point, Rai Hassan (who didn´t hesitate in taking one of the spots available due to the cancellations), Izman Suhail and I met at Hulhumale terminal to begin what would become, up until today, the very best dive of the diving club.

When we arrived at Into Scuba, things were ready so that the former students could start filling the forms and watch the introductory video. Once they completed a brief test about the basic diving rules and guidelines, played with the center´s cats for a while and had their BCDs, fins and weights ready, we all went to the boat that would take us to MaaGiri.

Rai and Izman filling the forms

Watching the introductory video

Into Scuba cat is impressed

During the boat trip to the diving point, some more explanations were given to the former students on how to check their levels of oxygen, the exercises that were going to be conducted and the rest of the equipment. By the time we arrived at MaaGiri, everyone was ready and we all jumped into the water for the shallow water exercises.

Izman and Rai managed to do the skills so well that it took only around 10 to 15 minutes before all six of us (two former students, an Open Water student, the diving Instructor, an assistant of the diving instructor and I) started heading to the deeper area.

Rai and Izman paying attention

Rai enjoying the shallow water exercises

Haisham Ali giving some instructions

Heading towards deeper water

Once we reached a depth of 12 meters, we started diving along the reef. The visibility was very good and it didn´t take long before we saw an eel and a trigger fish fighting for some food. Surprisingly, the fish didn´t seem scared at all and would attack the eel whenever it would approach.

Just as we were watching the fight, we also noticed a honeycomb eel and a smaller eel around the area. Some minutes later we saw an anemone and a family of clownfish living in it. Clownfish living in anemones (such as those from the movie Finding Nemo) are quite common; this is because clownfish are immune to their poison and they, therefore, use the anemone to protect themselves from other predators.

Going to deeper water

Rai and the reef in the background

Rai and the reef in the background

Izman and Rai looking at fish

The eel trying to eat from the food of the trigger fish

A honeycomb eel

Some clownfish and the anemone

Some clownfish and the anemone

The best part of the dive was when I heard dive Instructor Haisham Ali calling us while he was making the diving sign for turtle. All of us went straight to his location and we indeed saw a shy turtle that, unfortunately, had part of its shell damaged. The turtle swam around for a while, and then decided to rest under a rock as if asking for no more pictures to be taken of it.

The total time of our dive was 55 minutes and, although it was wavy, we had great visibility. While we were heading back to Hulhumale on the boat, I asked Izman if he was nervous or felt unsafe at any moment during the dive, to which he replied “Right before jumping into the water I was thinking about all the possible ways in which I could die, but the moment I was in the water, it was all so pretty that I forgot about that. Besides, I always felt quite safe.” It must have been true, as he has already joined us on a second dive, hopefully he will join us on a third dive and he is already saving money for the Open Water course.

The turtle

Rai and the turtle under the rock

MaaGiri

Izman and Rai

The end of the dive

Diving Group 1 - Rafhaan, Rai and Sajuan (Former students)                   

On January 24^th, 2013, the first group of former students from Billabong High went to Jumeirah resort to take the Discover Scuba Diving course. 

Rafhaan Shah, Rai Hassan, Sajuan Mushrif, Sajuan´s father, Ms. Eda and I, met early on Friday morning and departed from Male´. After a quick speed boat trip, we arrived to the island and immediately headed towards the diving center.

Rafhaan Shah, Sajuan Mushrif and Rai Hassan

The former students and a parent

At the diving center, we were received by PADI Instructor Ali Sham who gave the former students some forms to be filled and checked the sizes of fins and BCDs as well as the number of weights that everyone would be using later on that day.

Once the doctor checked the medical condition of each one of the former students and gave his approval for them to go diving, Ali Sham began his explanation to familiarize them with the different parts of the diving equipment and gave general instructions on how the dive was going to be conducted.

Rafhaan, Rai and Sajuan then proceeded to put on their BCDs, masks and tanks and we all headed towards the lagoon for the shallow water exercises.

Listening to the instructions

Ready to go

On our way to the lagoon 

Shallow water exercises

Once we were underwater and while some shallow water exercises were conducted, Ali Sham spent some time with Sajuan who had never snorkeled before and was practicing how to equalize. On the meantime, Rafhaan signaled to me that his mask was foggy so I recommended him to add a little bit of water inside the mask to clean it, however the water filled around 1/3 of his mask so he then signaled that he wanted to get rid of that too. I explained to him that he had to look up and lift his mask while blowing air out through his nose, a maneuver which he surprisingly managed to master on his very first try during his very first dive and with a non-verbal explanation.

The dive, which lasted 41 minutes and had a maximum depth of 6.1 meters, gave us the opportunity to see different kinds of fish, some coral, an eel and even an octopus. Although the visibility wasn´t very good, the students managed to see some very impressive wildlife, had an experience that few others have ever had and are now aware of the amazing things that can be seen underwater. 

Rai, Sajuan and Rafhaan

Rai, Sajuan and Rafhaan

Rafhaan and Rai

Rafhaan close to where the octopus was

All three of them and the dive instructor

The Beginning of Billabong´s Diving Club                                  

At Billabong High we are aware that, although 97% of the Maldives is covered underwater, a huge percentage of its population doesn´t know how to swim and have never gone snorkeling or experienced a diving excursion. We therefore believe that it is important to promote these activities as not only will they allow Maldivians to discover more about their own country, but could also become an exciting professional career for many of them.

This country, as one of the top holiday destinations because of its impressive natural underwater sights, offers a huge variety of locations where our students can enjoy the life-changing experience of diving. By giving the students at BHIS the opportunity to observe those natural wonders, we promote the formation of responsible citizens that will understand, care and protect the fragile environment of the Maldives and of our world.

Because we are convinced that it can become an important part of a young person´s education, after going through a lot of planning and a strict revision process to ensure that all the necessary safety measurements are met, on January 22^th, 2013, the principal of Billabong High International School approved the creation of a diving club that will have the following objective:

“For the secondary students from BHIS to have the opportunity, through one of the best diving schools in the Maldives, to have a unique experience and learn about diving.”

To do this, Billabong High has chosen Into Scuba Diving Centre in Hulhumale´ as the main location where the students will be taking an introductory course to scuba diving known as “Discover Scuba Diving”. Mr. Odon Sanchez, a PADI certified Rescue Diver, will supervise the students through the process which consists of the following activities:

• Presentation of a video that displays the safety regulations and important information about scuba diving.
• Explanation, by a certified Divemaster, of the different diving equipment, exercises to be conducted in shallow water and additional information.
• Shallow water exercises, where the students will get familiar with the diving equipment at a safe depth (usually around 2 to 3 meters) and will practice some of the exercises discussed previously.
• The dive, which will be performed at a maximum depth of 12 meters, is the final and probably most exciting part of the whole course. Dives tend to take around 40 to 50 minutes (although they normally feel like 10 to 20 minutes) and allow the student to observe different kinds of animals in their natural habitat such as eels, sharks, manta rays, turtles, octopuses, many different kinds of fish and dolphins.

Once the students have completed the introductory course, they will be given a certificate of completion and a diving log where they will be able to register the information about the dive, as well as that of future dives.

Also, since most of the times the students end the course looking forward to their next diving trip, they will be presented with the possibility of going on a second or even third dive as well as with the option of taking the Open Water course which would certify him/her as a recreational diver.

The diving club is a personal project that started in 2012 but which would not have been possible without the support of the principal of Billabong High Mr. Dinesh Bakshi, the chairman of Islanders Education Mr. Abdul Rasheed, the staff of Into Scuba Diving Centre (particularly that of PADI Instructors Haisham Ali and Asim Mohamed) and, last but not least, the many enthusiastic parents who have encouraged their sons, daughters and us to always do some more in the name of education.

Diving close to the Maldives Victory ship wreck, right next to Hulhule island

Picture of an eagle ray taken at Biyadhoo

School of convict surgeon fish in Biyadhoo

Manta ray in Villingili

Some blue surgeon fish in Embudu

A clown fish and its anemone in Banana reef (between Hulhumale and Club Faru)

A turtle swimming around Banana reef (between Hulhumale and Club Faru)