by Maxime
When I arrived at Gili Shark, I was basically a goldfish thrown into the ocean.
No diving experience, no clue what I was doing, just the desire to learn more about a world I’d always been fascinated by but could never explore back home in Belgium (terrible weather all year and nothing underwater…). This is the short story of my little journey, from having no certification and zero dives to becoming an Advanced Open Water and Conservation Diver.
The first dive is globally like the first day in high school: everything’s new but completely unforgettable.
Before backrolling into the ocean for the very first time, there are a few steps every new diver must go through. It all begins with the pool sessions and your first dive briefing. Like everyone else, you probably won’t understand half of what’s being said (especially if English isn’t your first language), but you’ll still nod at your instructor after every eye contact, pretending you’ve got it all figured out.
Then it’s time to gear up, slipping into your wetsuit or rash guard. During the first few days, it feels like wrestling a polar bear. It’s the same struggle as trying to squeeze into your jeans after the holidays: lots of effort, very little grace, but you’ll get there eventually.
Once you’re suited up, you jump into the pool to practice some essential skills: mask removal, air sharing, buoyancy control, … and when you’ve mastered the basics, you’re finally ready to dive into the ocean for the very first time.
Suddenly all the instagram reels you’ve been watching before your trip take life in front of you. Turtles cruise by like they own the place, schools of fish shimmer around you like underwater confetti, clownfish peek from their anemone castles and your instructor is stalking you making sure you are not going up and down like a balloon.
The thing that struck me most during the first two weeks was breathing. Oh my god …
At first, you think breathing underwater will be easy — and technically, it is. Regulators are literally made for that. But as your first dive goes on and your instructor asks, “How many bars do you have left?”, you suddenly realize you’ve been inhaling like you’re auditioning to play a 90 year-old under influence Darth Vader for the next trilogy. You glance at your gauge and you see 70 bars while your buddy is still sitting comfortably at 130. That’s the moment you start questioning everything, from your own lung efficiency to your friend’s highly suspicious amphibian-like abilities (do they have gills I never noticed before?). But, little by little you will get better. My first and last dives with Gili Shark were both coral restoration dives at Hans Reef, a shallow site around 6-7 metres. On my very first dive, I hit 70 bars after just 35 minutes, but last week, on my final dive there, I lasted a full hour and surfaced with 85 bars. So don’t lose hope! Progress will come with time, and one day, without even noticing, you’ll find yourself 30 meters deep — calm, confident, and happier than ever. Turtles stop running away from you (except when you do Turtle ID dives obviously…), bubbles become familiar, and you start to see that corals are a bit like people. Some are very colourful, some are shy, some are a spiky, but together they create large underwater cities where everyone has a role (okay ChatGPT helped me for this one). Every species has it’s home and it’s routine. Sometimes you say ‘hi’ to some animals you think you recognised from a previous dive (no judgment!). That’s the moment you realise you’re no longer “the intern who couldn’t dive,” but someone who has learned and became a conservation diver.
In my 5 weeks at GSC I logged a total of 48 dives but one I will never forget is my ninth.
We dropped at Halik and ended up at Shark Point in less than 25 minutes. Josh (one of the DMT trainee) did the current check and said: “None to little current”. Of course, as soon as we dropped, we were all flying away. As it was only my ninth dive, I was struggling a bit to stay close to the substrate, but my bro Tim grabbed me by the BCD and helped me swim against the current. We finally aborded the dive after realizing we could never do the turtle ID in these conditions. I will never thank Josh enough for being so wrong on this one, BEST dive of my life.
