The bus is loaded and there’s a buzz in the air as we depart for our destination, Mersing Jetty for the boat trip to Tioman Island.
Fast forward to 8am, Saturday morning. Had our breakfast and hopped onto our boat (Princess) at 9am. As Princess sailed to Paya Bakau, Instructors gave their dive briefings and Divers started donning their wetsuits, geared up their BCDs & Regulators. Completed the Buddy Checks and after given the ‘Green Light’ from the Boat Crew, Rescue Divers got their Mask and Fins in place, got in the water, sank beneath the waves and the real fun begins, especially doing the Rescue Scenario/Exercise 7 [Unconscious Diver on Surface] (-_-)”
Started our Sunday at 9am, headed to Pirate Reef, descended to the corals beneath. 5 minutes down, a pufferfish appeared and joined us for our dive for a good 15 minutes. In other words, we were lucky to have a “Local Dive Guide” looking out for us, ‘protecting’ us.
Went to Bahara Rocks later in the day for a crew leisure dive. Did a negative descend and went further out with corals on our left side. Saw a couple of nudibranches and from afar, Aly spotted a rare sighting in Tioman. She hit her tank with a pointer (i think), trying to get our attention. Everyone scrambled to her position. And in that moment, everyone had a ‘Joseph Schooling’ in them, especially Jared. :))
Then from afar, a giant darked blue skin with white spots fish swam towards us. A juvenile whale shark was among us. It swam away but it circled back and stayed with us for awhile before it went to a deeper depth and swam away.
Diving with whale sharks was an experience of a lifetime. To see these gentle giants up close is like looking into the eyes of dinosaurs. They seem old and wise and calm and perceptive. But nonetheless, it was a very good experience seeing them upclose.
Overall, the Rescue Course was actually fun and it gives you more aware of not only yourself, but also others around you. I absolutely recommend it for everybody who wants to improve their diveskills and learn how to prevent and manage problems and accidents. After all these are skills that all divers can benefit from in their everyday life.