If your other half is a diving addict like Yo-Han Cha and you want to see more of him , there ’ s only one option ...
Claire ’ s first dive , post qualification
Claire Selman with Lindsey Fell of Twin Peaks Dive Centre
Claire with Peter Cittern of Clifton SAC
YO-HANCHA
When your partner learns to dive
If your other half is a diving addict like Yo-Han Cha and you want to see more of him , there ’ s only one option ...
When my girlfriend Claire Selman and I first started going out , one of the first questions my friends would ask about her was “ does she dive ?”, to which , the answer was “ no ”. As she got to know me better and realised how much diving I do , she understood why that question was so frequent .
I ’ ve never been one to ‘ make ’ someone dive , so if Claire wanted to become a scuba diver , it would always be her decision . She had done a try dive before we met and enjoyed it , so there was always hope that she would get round to it one day , and that if she enjoyed looking at the bottom of a pool she would probably enjoy the sea so much more .
Then the fateful day arrived when Claire told me that she wanted to learn to dive ! I had planned to go to the Azores with some friends from the University of Manchester
Sub Aqua Club and I asked if she wanted to complete her Ocean Diver there . After two more try dives , she said yes !
I managed to arrange with Gary and Lindsey Fell of Twin Peaks Dive Centre ( a BSAC centre ) for Claire to do her open water training in the Azores as long as she completed her pool and theory training beforehand . This was covered by Pete Cittern and Stephen Lamyman from Clifton Sub Aqua Club , who over the course of the summer completed Claire ’ s training with a few weeks to spare . Before anyone asks , I ’ m not an instructor . My role was mainly as a Sherpa carrying kit back and forth from the car . So , with all the pool lessons signed off and a theory test passed with flying
“ Before anyone asks , I ’ m not an instructor ”
colours , Claire arrived on Pico Island in the Azores , where I entrusted her to the very capable hands of Lindsey . We were in the Azores for a week , and while the rest of us went diving guided by Gary , Lindsey took Claire through her open water skills .
Claire ( who will hopefully be okay with me saying this ) isn ’ t a natural water baby , and so didn ’ t start her training with as much confidence as I had back when I learned to dive . As we had a week in the Azores , however , there wasn ’ t any need to rush through her training . So , over the course of the next three days , she gradually worked her way through her open water skills until the only one remaining task was the mask removal .
On the morning of the fourth day of her training , I may have promised her any meal of her choice in Lisbon on our way back home . That apparently focused her resolve and she completed , not one , but four mask removals to complete her Ocean Diver ! I ’ m very excited to say that we went diving together on the last day .
I ’ m very proud of Claire for completing her Ocean Diver . It ’ s much harder to accomplish something when it ’ s out of your comfort zone – and scuba diving is very much outside of hers . But the main thing is that she enjoyed it and I now need to see if I can entice her into UK waters . �
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