Main photo: Claire Selman with Lindsey Fell of Twin Peaks Dive Centre
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.
Claire with Petter Cittern of Clifton SAC
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.
the fateful day arrived when Claire told me that she wanted to learn to dive!
So, with all the pool lessons signed off and a theory test passed with flying 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.
Article ‘When your partner learns to dive’ by Yo-Han Cha first published in SCUBA magazine, Issue 151 December 2024.