Best Dive Job Blog
In order to become a PADI Divemaster, all candidates must complete a series waterskills assessments made up of a 400 m freestyle swim, an 800m handsfree snorkel, a 100m tired diver tow, a 15 minute tread and an underwater equipment exchange “stress test”. Each component is given a point value based on the time or comfort level at which it is completed 1 being the lowest and 5 being the best score. In total, a Divemaster candidate must achieve 15 points between all 5 skills in order to pass the swim section of their Dive Master Course.
For the most part, the skills are easy to complete but the swims portion of the assessment strikes fear in the hearts of interns because in order to get a high score they have to be completed in a fairly quick time. Most of us complete the 400m in the Blue Season Dive Center pool but the 800m is a different story (who really wants to do 80 laps of the pool…). In order to make things more interesting, most of us complete the 800m in the open ocean.
Seraya Secrets is an intern favorite since we get to check out some cool critters while we complete the task. Being a competitive bunch, we like to do the 800m in groups and make a bit of a race out of it. Of course no race is complete without a medal ceremony. Our last trip to Seraya Secrets saw new Divemaster Intern Marcus do his home country of Sweden proud by winning the “epic battle of Seraya” and claiming his beautiful medal (handcrafted by yours truly). The proof of his glory now hangs in the equipment room inspiring the next generation of DMTs to reach for gold (or in this case, driftwood and string).
Check out my other blog post about muck diving in seraya : https://www.baliocean.com/blog/muck-diving-in-seraya/
