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I had my best scuba dive ever in Mauritius in the 90’s (mind you I learnt in Cape Town’s Atlantic waters where 14 deg C and 10m vis is considered a good dive 🙄).
Boat dive off a shoal in 22 deg C clear blue water with visibility for miles wearing nothing but a 3mm Farmer John wetsuit.
Most were tourists who ran out of oxygen pretty quickly but one of the dive masters spotted that a young bloke (I later found out was in the German Wehrmacht) and I still had plenty of juice and he took us on a little adventure that included stunning coral reefs, shoals of spectacular fish and a pod of eagle rays all at close quarters. It was magic and I’ll never forget it but I’d have to dig out my log book to reference exact location.
I’ve only ever dived Cape (of Good Hope), Mauritius and Canaries, so can’t comment on Red Sea or Asian waters, but Mauritius remains my all time best scuba dive and I hope you experience similar joy.
Do you have specially adapted lenses in your mask that enable you to take advantage of the underwater magnifying effect to enjoy an enhanced visual experience ?
I’ve watched some YouTube videos on the diving, it looks incredible! I’ve never dived / scuba dived before, I really want to try it. I have no equipment, would you suggest I get some?
Walking up Le Mourne at day break (with a guide), a visit to the Grand Bassin and a boozy stop at Chamarel run distillery.
Le Mourne looks interesting, not sure about at day break!The 7 coloured sands is on my list but not heard about Grand Bassin. This will be one jam packed 10 days!
Do you have specially adapted lenses in your mask that enable you to take advantage of the underwater magnifying effect to enjoy an enhanced visual experience ?
I’ve watched some YouTube videos on the diving, it looks incredible! I’ve never dived / scuba dived before, I really want to try it. I have no equipment, would you suggest I get some?
Ah, sorry I thought you were already qualified from the way you spoke.
Scuba diving is an amazing feeling of experiencing a world in a three dimensional plane, like flying but without an aeroplane fuselage surrounding you.
But it does carry safety risks being in an environment hostile to humans without artificial breathing apparatus and to be frank those risks will be greater for someone who is sight-challenged.
If I remember correctly you’ve done other hazardous sports like skiing, and if that’s the case then your approach to scuba diving could be similar.
I would definitely get myself qualified in a country like UK that has anti-discrimination laws that ought to have compelled someone somewhere to be licensed and insured to coach you to qualification. No trustworthy dive master anywhere in the world will take responsibility for you without proof of your diving qualification and I suspect that you might be (legally) turned away as “too risky/challenging” if you seek to become qualified in many other countries by relying on a basic hotel guest instructor who is not used to working with sight-challenged learners.
I’ve not looked into it, but I would definitely research becoming qualified in UK this summer.
Your next challenge, I suspect, will be getting valid insurance, but again if you’ve succeeded with skiing in the past, then it should be possible with scuba diving.
Once qualified, I would reach out to scuba diving operators in Mauritius beforehand and arrange with one (or more) to agree to take you on as that could be helpful information for an insurer considering your personal insurance risk premium.
Depending on the severity of your sight loss, you are likely to need an individual, willing, highly qualified and experienced individual dive master to be your dive buddy, and he/she will be relying on having other qualified and vigilant instructors on hand during any dive with you.
It will be challenging, expensive and intense for those involved, all excuses invalidly used to exclude less able-bodied hopefuls in the past no doubt so I hope that you are successful in pushing past that tricky but doable barrier. Good luck and keep us posted.
Once underwater the different light refraction through a denser medium means that (in good visibility conditions) everything appears about 33% bigger and closer than it actually is, so ideal for the sight-challenged.
Well-heeled scuba divers are also able to get diving masks with prescription lenses that cater for the optometric condition of your eyes (within limits) as wearing your usual specs isn’t possible while scuba diving, nor are contacts reliable underwater. That’s the only personal equipment I would invest in as a casual, holiday diver, all else is hireable on site.
Do you have specially adapted lenses in your mask that enable you to take advantage of the underwater magnifying effect to enjoy an enhanced visual experience ?
I’ve watched some YouTube videos on the diving, it looks incredible! I’ve never dived / scuba dived before, I really want to try it. I have no equipment, would you suggest I get some?
Ah, sorry I thought you were already qualified from the way you spoke.
Scuba diving is an amazing feeling of experiencing a world in a three dimensional plane, like flying but without an aeroplane fuselage surrounding you.
But it does carry safety risks being in an environment hostile to humans without artificial breathing apparatus and to be frank those risks will be greater for someone who is sight-challenged.
If I remember correctly you’ve done other hazardous sports like skiing, and if that’s the case then your approach to scuba diving could be similar.
I would definitely get myself qualified in a country like UK that has anti-discrimination laws that ought to have compelled someone somewhere to be licensed and insured to coach you to qualification. No trustworthy dive master anywhere in the world will take responsibility for you without proof of your diving qualification and I suspect that you might be (legally) turned away as “too risky/challenging” if you seek to become qualified in many other countries by relying on a basic hotel guest instructor who is not used to working with sight-challenged learners.
I’ve not looked into it, but I would definitely research becoming qualified in UK this summer.
Your next challenge, I suspect, will be getting valid insurance, but again if you’ve succeeded with skiing in the past, then it should be possible with scuba diving.
Once qualified, I would reach out to scuba diving operators in Mauritius beforehand and arrange with one (or more) to agree to take you on as that could be helpful information for an insurer considering your personal insurance risk premium.
Depending on the severity of your sight loss, you are likely to need an individual, willing, highly qualified and experienced individual dive master to be your dive buddy, and he/she will be relying on having other qualified and vigilant instructors on hand during any dive with you.
It will be challenging, expensive and intense for those involved, all excuses invalidly used to exclude less able-bodied hopefuls in the past no doubt so I hope that you are successful in pushing past that tricky but doable barrier. Good luck and keep us posted.
Once underwater the different light refraction through a denser medium means that (in good visibility conditions) everything appears about 33% bigger and closer than it actually is, so ideal for the sight-challenged.
Well-heeled scuba divers are also able to get diving masks with prescription lenses that cater for the optometric condition of your eyes (within limits) as wearing your usual specs isn’t possible while scuba diving, nor are contacts reliable underwater. That’s the only personal equipment I would invest in as a casual, holiday diver, all else is hireable on site.
Definitely need to look into it more, my travel insurance (benefits through work) covers all my medical conditions and non motorised sports with reasonable precautions, I think having an instructor is a reasonable precaution!
I am considering trying it out before I go, so I at least understand some of it, have found a place in Manchester that does it in a quarry. I’ve already found a few diving companies in Mauritius so will reach out to them over the next few weeks. Its not the end of the world if the answer is no, or do X Y and Z first, its just something I want to try and do whilst out there
@SSS, my OH did his dry suit course at Capernwray quarry near Lancaster. It was chilly and not very exciting but in terms of safety you know you’re not going to get swept away by a current or bitten by a shark! I think the UK sea conditions would make qualifying here a bit challenging, though people do do it. OH is really a warm water diver though, the less need for a wetsuit, the more he likes it! He’s also recently got a special lens for his mask (for his middle-aged long-sightedness), I can find out where he got it if that would be helpful?
I really think it would be very satisfying if you managed to get a good dive or two in while in Mauritius, in more ways than one, so I’d push for it if I were you.
Quarry diving poses some unique challenges if its own and I’m personally not a fan. But you’ll be fine if it’s a registered UK operation. I would just caution not to get the wrong idea about the pleasure of scuba diving from qualification sessions in a quarry which (as NLass says) will be colder, more uncomfortable and more unexciting than your typical post-qualification diving experience.
A few years ago, I got both my (then) teenage sons Open Water 1 qualified in the course of a weekend in a nice, warm indoor pool in Surrey, hired for the purpose by the particular program, but that was several years before a combination of Covid and European Energy Crisis shut down many learning locations like this.
Your qualification journey could well be more challenging- Good luck !
@SSS, my OH did his dry suit course at Capernwray quarry near Lancaster. It was chilly and not very exciting but in terms of safety you know you’re not going to get swept away by a current or bitten by a shark! I think the UK sea conditions would make qualifying here a bit challenging, though people do do it. OH is really a warm water diver though, the less need for a wetsuit, the more he likes it! He’s also recently got a special lens for his mask (for his middle-aged long-sightedness), I can find out where he got it if that would be helpful?
I’m split wether I want to do train before and commit by getting the glasses or if I go on a discovery day in Mauritius and stop there. If you are able to find out where he got it from that might make my decision a bit easier 🙂
I really think it would be very satisfying if you managed to get a good dive or two in while in Mauritius, in more ways than one, so I’d push for it if I were you.
Quarry diving poses some unique challenges if its own and I’m personally not a fan. But you’ll be fine if it’s a registered UK operation. I would just caution not to get the wrong idea about the pleasure of scuba diving from qualification sessions in a quarry which (as NLass says) will be colder, more uncomfortable and more unexciting than your typical post-qualification diving experience.
A few years ago, I got both my (then) teenage sons Open Water 1 qualified in the course of a weekend in a nice, warm indoor pool in Surrey, hired for the purpose by the particular program, but that was several years before a combination of Covid and European Energy Crisis shut down many learning locations like this.
Your qualification journey could well be more challenging- Good luck !
I never say no to a challenge! Interestingly, when I was research diving operations in Mauritius they were more interested if you could hear fully, I guess for verbal instructions etc.? I think a qualification would allow me to have more options about dive sites, its a tricky decision as I don’t know 100% if I’ll enjoy it
https://www.boltonareadivers.co.uk/ might be able to help you. OH has recently started taking his kit there to be serviced as well, I think the place nearer to us must have closed down.
A resort course might be better to see how you like it, but obviously that might cause issues with them being able to supply a suitable mask. A lot of people these days complete their theory in the UK then do the practical stuff somewhere warm. OH qualified in Kenya about 25 years ago but does most of his diving in GCM these days.
https://www.boltonareadivers.co.uk/ might be able to help you. OH has recently started taking his kit there to be serviced as well, I think the place nearer to us must have closed down.
A resort course might be better to see how you like it, but obviously that might cause issues with them being able to supply a suitable mask. A lot of people these days complete their theory in the UK then do the practical stuff somewhere warm. OH qualified in Kenya about 25 years ago but does most of his diving in GCM these days.
Thank you for the advice and link 🙂
I never say no to a challenge, it’s a tricky decision as I don’t know 100% if I’ll enjoy it.
Try to arrange some basic snorkelling taster sessions and just enjoy the serenity of the mammalian dive reflex. (We all started life suspended in liquid in utero.)
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