Barrier Reef Australia Blog

Working in the dive industry as an instructor, teaches you a lot about people, especially when it comes to couples on their honeymoon or a new holiday together.

Now the more you teach, the more people you meet, the more you learn, and the more similarities you find.

Experienced instructors can tell, when it comes to meeting people for the first time, who’s really nervous and who’s not.

And it’s ok to be nervous if it’s your first time scuba diving as it can be seriously scary dependent on your nature.

Even those crazy certified sky divers, people who jump out of planes from crazy heights, are nervous about their first underwater dive. Seriously! I’ve met a few that really blew my mind.

But as I’ve stated before, it’s all in your head and that’s the most difficult part about scuba diving.

Most people panic because mentally, they couldn’t keep it together. However, a good scuba diving instructor is used to this type of thing and can put your worries to ease and create an amazing first experience for you.

So ladies, here’s a secret. Most of the time, men panic first. (laughing face)

Now as I mentioned, you learn a lot about couples when instructing them on their first scuba diving adventure together.

Many times you get the husband or boyfriend talking about how his wife or girlfriend is nervous before hand.

Even in the classroom, she may say that she’s unsure about doing the dive and or then he comforts her.

The instructor might even spend a bit more time assuring her that this is safe and there’s no need to worry.

But the truth is, that once in the water or pool, practicing mask clearing and regulator recovery, the husband or the boyfriend, 95% of the time, hits the panic button first. How funny is that?

People who are nervous tend to focus more and follow the steps better than people who are hyped up about it and anxious to start..

Actually, it’s better to inform the couple of this truth, men panic more and why, before even getting in the water.

They tend to find this quite humorous and that’s a good thing when dealing nervous people.

Make them laugh, make them really laugh!

So what else can couples teach you about themselves when scuba diving?

Well, you meet those that really care about each other and then there are some who would leave their partner behind in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse!

What I mean is, some couples hold hands on their first dive together, asking each other if they’re okay using the underwater “are you ok?” hand signal, and stay by their side throughout the dive.

Then, there are those that just don’t care about their partner and it’s like the husband or wife has just hired a babysitter for his or her significant other.

I’m not joking. It’s like as if they’ve gained underwater freedom and oh here’s my wife or husband, please do look after them as I’m going over here.

Yes, they tend to swim away from their partner, who you’ve paired together, as dive buddies, which is normal in scuba diving as a group of divers are made into buddy teams. 

The buddy system, when scuba diving, is much like two rock climbers climbing together.

You’re paired with one another as you follow a dive guide and or an instructor.

You’re supposed to be there for each other in the event that a problem occurs. So when couples come diving, it’s normal to pair them together.

However, it isn’t always for the best but in most cases it works. In other cases it doesn’t and then the dive guide or the dive instructor, has to step in.

Sometimes we may even have to ask the husband, boyfriend, wife, or girlfriend to let us do our job and instruct, as their attempt to do so isn’t working and seems to only further worsen their partner’s mood.

Yes, some people believe that they can coach their partner through it but good instructors know when to step in and stop what isn’t working.

So this can be a bit awkward for the dive instructor, but it’s important for the safety (and sanity) of the student to follow the instructors guidance as we are trained professionals.

If you are on your honeymoon on the Great Barrier Reef we can recommend the perfect liveaboard Great Barrier Reef experience that will keep both of you very, very, happy and have you experiencing the most romantic dream holiday you had planned.

... and if you would like to read more about my passion for diving I have now done several blogs you will be able to find here and if you need more information about anything to do with the Great Barrier Reef you can call Barrier Reef Australia direct on 1300 231 118.

Cheers,

Robbie