[INJAXN]

Has any one tried scuba diving @ malvan or @ tarkarli?
looking for a good vendor, I am planning to go there in Oct first week.

[Adi_k]

Originally Posted by INJAXN

Has any one tried scuba diving @ malvan or @ tarkarli?
looking for a good vendor, I am planning to go there in Oct first week.

Did you try suba diving at Malvan or at Tarkarli? I am planning to go there next week, any pointers would be great.

[INJAXN]

Originally Posted by Adi_k

Did you try suba diving at Malvan or at Tarkarli? I am planning to go there next week, any pointers would be great.

We did go to Malvan in first week of October but did not try the scuba. People at malvan were nice enough to inform us that there is no point in doing it in Oct and you should do it in Oct last week or later.

Still few pointers which I got from other friends:

1) Choose the first slot of the morning, water is calm at that time so better visibility.
2) Have a prior idea on what exactly you have to see under water, so easier to spot.
3) Bargain hard, more the number of people, more is the discount.

All the best and do write your experience here.

[Adi_k]

Originally Posted by INJAXN

We did go to Malvan in first week of October but did not try the scuba. People at malvan were nice enough to inform us that there is no point in doing it in Oct and you should do it in Oct last week or later.

Hopefully this would be a good time to do scuba diving. Thanks for the information

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by Adi_k

Hopefully this would be a good time to do scuba diving. Thanks for the information

There's a deal on GroupOn for Scuba Diving there you might be interested in. It's listed under the travel section.

Costs 2480 for stay and the dive. 2N/3D.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by acurafan

Rawat runs Dreamz Diving and Nethrani is his home ground.

Originally Posted by Samurai

Here is their web site. Hmm, just realized our instructor (Rawat) was the owner/founder of the center. They even conduct divemaster course.

Dreamz Diving

Now Rawat is in news for something else...

http://www.thenewsminute.com/article...ing-instructor

[acurafan]

Wow, quite a character !!

[swiftnfurious]

Reviving a thread. Am interested in doing a certification course which will help me in take this up as a hobby project etc leading to monetizing it at some point of time.

Am based out of Chennai and have 1 or 2 vendors here who does training courses. I'd love to know more about the details on to start where and what's a good certification to do which will help me take this up in future.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

I'd love to know more about the details on to start where and what's a good certification to do which will help me take this up in future.

(Till some actual, experienced divers chip in, here's my limited info.)

There are a ton of places offering certification courses these days. The most popular certification seems to be the PADI Open Water one that serves as a good entry point.

Popular spots are Pondicherry, the Andamans, Malvan, Goa. But like 'yoga teaching' centers, there are good ones and not-so-good ones, do your research and talk to divers working in the field/serious recreational divers before signing up.

The Open Water Diver certifies you to dive with a buddy up to a certain depth, it's more a recreational/hobbyist diver kind of thing. If considering this as a career, there are a few more certifications you'll need to take up- Advanced, Dive Master, Instructor, etc. All progressively longer and considerably more expensive. A friend completed a whole bunch over the past 2 years, and also worked for a couple of dive shops in the Andamans and in Thailand. From his experiences, I believe that while it's definitely gaining popularity here, it will take time to start making a decent living, especially considering the initial expense of all the qualifying courses.

From what I understand, visibility is an issue in most places, and you can't compare the diving off our West or East coasts with the amazing diving to be had in the Andamans, Lakshadweep or Thailand.

Some people will have issues equalizing. I almost blacked out a couple of times underwater. Pretty intense pain. An ENT specialist I visited after the incident told me I have very small ear canals and that is why it will always be tough for me. (Anyway, after that I never tried scuba diving again.) But lots of people are able to do it easily.

Try the basic certification and decide after that if it makes sense to pursue this as a career or to just keep enjoying it as an incredibly enriching hobby.

[raghukodali]

Cross referencing the other scuba diving thread where I updated my journey into scuba diving

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ml#post5450082 (Scuba Diving in Netrani Island, Karnataka)

[raghukodali]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Reviving a thread. Am interested in doing a certification course which will help me in take this up as a hobby project etc leading to monetizing it at some point of time.

Am based out of Chennai and have 1 or 2 vendors here who does training courses. I'd love to know more about the details on to start where and what's a good certification to do which will help me take this up in future.

I just updated the details of my certification courses here. Did about 40 dives and multiple certifications over the past 6 months.

Originally Posted by raghukodali

Cross referencing the other scuba diving thread where I updated my journey into scuba diving

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ml#post5450082 (Scuba Diving in Netrani Island, Karnataka)

[sunilrs]

Scuba diving is still a relatively new sport in India but I see interest rising among my circle with a lot of people doing try dives. Are there any novice or regular divers here on Team-BHP?

I started diving in 2015 and love the sport with a bit over 300 dives till date. I tend to go diving twice a year on average for week to ten days at a time mostly solo trips, occasionally with friends, since my better half is hydrophobic and does not even go near a swimming pool.

The good part about diving is that you always have something to talk about with strangers when on a dive trip and you are often in a place which is a bit remote and does not have too many things to do on land.

It will be good to connect with fellow diving enthusiasts on here as well and I am happy to answer any questions about diving within my knowledge.

[paras211]

I never knew a thread existed, so posting about my scary diving experience.
Last March I went diving in Capetown, 10C water temperature, I was given a really tight suit in which I could barely breathe but kept me from shivering like the rest of the group. We did two dives.
I have an open water certification and my previous dives were 4 months prior in November 2023. I was trying to see a small fish that the instructor was showing and I was about to crash into another diver below me, to avoid I inflated my BCD, I probably over did it and went straight to the top in an uncontrolled ascent, I went back in rejoined continued the dive, did another dive after and returned.
I was exhausted my shoulders were hurting and I went for a massage, I attributed it to luging diving equipment. ( later on googling , massage or any activity or exercise that improves blood flow is not recommended post a dive)
I had a flight out the next day just making my takeoff 23h post from surfacing from the dive.
While running to make it to the gate in the airport I start feeling itchy, a pang of fear hits my gut, one of the first symptoms of decompression sickness, I board the flight spent the next 15h of travel in fear. As soon as I landed I googled and found godrej hospital in Vikhroli has a decompression chamber, called but it was a Sunday the main doctor was traveling so would have to wait till Monday, no more itching but tired as one would be from a 15h travel.
I took my kid out in the evening and I got a call from the doctor he's going to reaching the hospital and I should go to the ER. So I drove to the hospital, kid was with wife and some other friends and went to the ER where they started me on O2 and did some tests.
Then the panic started they say my blood O2 in the gas test is low, so the move me to the ICU and put me on the ventilator all the time I am feeling absolutely fine the O2 on the finger thing is showing good saturation.
Now I call my dad to come to the hospital, soon I do a 2.5h decompression chamber session. Doc gives me the thumbs up, but the ICU incharge says no discharge until the next morning. Spend a horrible night , next to people with serious life threatening problems and the associated sounds. Next morning the senior doctor runs another test says probably your ER sample was a mixed sample of vein and artery blood you are fine.
The doc from the previous day insists your 02 was very low and the sample was fine.

PS -The dive wasn't great , I like colourful fishes and corals , this has unique Kelp forest but not a lot of life underwater, not very colourful either. I am going to stick to the warm waters of the tropics for now.
On the bright side we did see a whale in between two dives while on the boat.

[sunilrs]

Originally Posted by paras211

I never knew a thread existed, so posting about my scary diving experience.
Last March I went diving in Capetown, 10C water temperature, I was given a really tight suit in which I could barely breathe but kept me from shivering like the rest of the group. We did two dives.
I have an open water certification and my previous dives were 4 months prior in November 2023..

Wow thanks for sharing, 10C in a Wetsuit, you are a brave soul. It is good to know there is a decompression chamber in Vikhroli for future reference. I have never been to South Africa but plan to do the Sardine Run there sometime in the future, don't know precisely when though.