Jayden Wiseman – Diving Story
Jayden Wiseman’s personal account, first published in December 2021.
When I started to scuba dive, I was 15 and on holiday with my mum. I saw people scuba diving in the pool and wanted to have a go, so I did. I loved it and wanted to go into the sea, but was a little scared because it was something I had never thought of doing before. That night, my mum looked on the internet and we found an English company, so my mum called them and we met Steve the next day.
I really liked Steve straight away because he was funny and liked to joke. A really nice man. We spoke about doing some diving, but he said that before I dived, I needed to do a course for safety. He started to tell me about what I would have to do and what you did in the course. It sounded hard at first because he started talking about all the skills I would have to do and then mentioned an exam at the end. I thought, “No, I don’t want to do it,” but then he explained further and said how much fun it would be and that I would do it with him.
Steve described how the skills would be done: he would show us first and then we would try them. He also said that if we needed him to do a skill again, he would, and there would be no rush. I then started to feel a bit better and wanted to do it. On the first day, I was still a little scared, but when Steve picked us up, he was laughing and so happy that it made me happy. We went to the beach on the first day and started to learn about the equipment and how to put it together. We did this four times before we got into the water, and this made me think, “OK, I can do this now.”
He really went through every step well and made it simple for me. When walking to the water for the first time, I had a funny feeling and was so scared. Before I started to speak, Steve came to me and said it was OK and normal for people to be nervous. He made a joke and it helped me. He made me feel like I could do it. We started with me doing a swim, and then we put the equipment on. We didn’t start by going underwater, but did some skills at the surface first. This made me feel comfortable, and then we went under. Steve was very close all the time, and it made me feel safe. It also made me think I could do the skills. As he had said before, he started to do a skill and I watched first. I then had a go, and it was really easy because he did things so slowly that they were easy to follow.
I really enjoyed it, and I’m so happy Steve taught me because he was very good, even when I was scared. I really loved the course and also did two days of diving before we went home. I can’t wait to go on holiday again. If you want to try scuba, then meet Steve. He is the best.
A reply from Dive UK Hurghada
Bless you, Jayden. I remember walking down to the water and seeing your face. We had a good time, right? I loved teaching you, and now you see how easy it was! You really did so well in the course, and seeing you so happy underwater makes me very happy too. Try not to smile too much, as you will always be emptying your mask of water. Hahaha!
It’s true that most people have nerves to start with, but know that I will be very close and look after you. If you find one of the skills hard to do, just remember to watch me. I will show you the easiest way to do it, and we can have lots of goes until you get it right. We love to teach all ages and always teach in small groups, so there will be no pressure on you. Scuba diving is really fun, and we put your safety first at Dive UK Hurghada.
