Ehsan Niroomand has joined Planet Scuba India as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor and Assistant Manager of the upcoming Mumbai dive center this month. Originally from Pune and a swimmer all his life, Ehsan has mastered many skills over the years. He was certified as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor in Malaysia early this year. With 4 years of experience in the Dive Industry, Ehsan has dived in some of the best dive locations in the world, including Sipadan and Mabul Islands. He has more than 800 dives to his credit. His deepest dive has been 57 meters.
With a Bachelors of Arts in History and having dabbled with Hotel Management and Interior design, Scuba Diving was the only logical career choice for Ehsan ever since his father threw him in a lake when he was 6 months old. Directed by his sense of adventure and love for the ocean, he headed to the the pearly sands of the Perhentian Islands where he began his journey underwater. Ehsan has chosen to preach Scuba in India and is working on a platform that takes the intrepid few to exotic dive destinations worldwide.
His qualifications include:
- Open Water Scuba Instructor
- EFR Instructor
- Care for Children Instructor
- Enriched Air Instructor
- AWARE Coral Reef Conservation Specialty Instructor
- Project Aware Instructor
- Peak Performance Buoyancy Instructor
This appointment comes close at the heels of the appointment of Suzanne Coombs as the IDC Staff Instructor for Planet Scuba India’s Andaman Diving Academy. This bodes well for the aspiring dive enthusiasts in the country as they now have a chance to train under two of the most accomplished dive instructors in the industry.
Discover Scuba Diving @ Bangalore!
After missing out last weekend due to unforeseen circumstances, we are bringing the DSD sessions back this coming weekend. Bangalore can now continue to experience the thrill of diving underwater right here in town. The sessions start this Saturday, August 6, at the St. Josephs Indian high School pool at 10:00 AM, and bookings are now open! Check out the pretty little graphic below, and contact us for confirmation of your booking. Let’s go dive!
Upcoming Dive Trips, Meet & Greets
Well, this is certainly an exciting time here at Planet Scuba India!
Manta Ray Feeding Frenzy @ Hanifaru Bay
We have two fantastic dive trips planned in August-September this year, and the response has been overwhelming! We announced a liveaboard trip to Maldives last month, starting from August 7, and within a month, all 22 seats were booked! So vehement was the response, that we were almost forced into planning a second liveaboard to Hanifaru Bay! The second trip is starting from the 22nd of August, and goes on till the 28th. Seats are still open for this trip and you can email Mark for more details like pricing and prerequisites. He’ll be more than happy to help you out with the planning of the trip.
Incidentally, this is the last time the Maldives government is allowing liveaboards and active diving in Hanifaru Bay for fear of the delicate balance being upset. It’s the feeding season for the Manta Rays and you don’t want to miss this feature!
Pigeon island, Trincomalee
We also have a dive trip planned to Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, starting from the 30th of August. This is not a liveaboard, but rather an all expense paid 5-day dive trip to one of the most pristine dive spots in the world. Some of the world’s best wreck diving happens in these waters, and you get to be a part of this amazing experience. Again, Mark’s the guy for you to get in touch with for more information on this.
In other news, we are thrilled to play host to Mr. Hans Ullrich, the PADI regional manager South Asia, who is visiting Bangalore this week! We are planning a meet & greet party for him, to give him a chance to meet and interact with divers and dive enthusiasts in the city. It’s a BYOB thing, and you are invited! Yes, you guessed it. Email Mark for more info!
Images Courtesy: National Geographic
Planet Scuba India is India’s First ever IDC!
INDIA’S FIRST EVER INSTRUCTOR DEVELOPMENT COURSE (IDC) AND INSTRUCTOR EXAM (IE)
BECOME A PADI INSTRUCTOR AND BE A PART OF INDIAN DIVING HISTORY!
Here is the basic information that you need to know. To ask any questions, confirm your attendance, order your PADI Materials or just have a chat call, David Perry on +91 94493 51192 or email at dave@planetscubaindia.com.
When?
The IDC runs from 16 November to 27 November including a free 2-day mock IE to fine tune your examination skills. The IE is on 28-30 November.
Where?
The IDC will be held at Planet Scuba India’s new purpose-built Instructor Training facility in Port Blair, Andaman Islands. With the latest multimedia classroom, an Olympic size pool and crystal clear waters on the doorstep the facilities will be unrivalled. The IE will also be in Port Blair.
Course Director
The Course Director running the IDC will be Matt Bolton – a Platinum Course Director normally based in Thailand who is generally considered to be one of the world’s top Instructor Trainers.
How much?
This first IDC will be cheaper than most comparable IDCs in the region and so the price of the IDC will be just 50,000 Rs (1,038 $USD)! This price includes your Instructor Candidate Workbook, open and confined water Lesson Planning Slates and your PADI IDC fee – worth over 12,000 Rs (250 $USD) in total!
You will pay direct to PADI the cost of the Instructor Exam (695 $AU).
Pre-requisites
You must be a PADI Divemaster or an Instructor in good standing with another recognized organisation, have 100 logged dives and have been diving for more than 6 months since your entry-level diving course.
If you are crossing over from another certification body or are unsure about your knowledge of PADI skills or current diving theory, we will be arranging a Pre-IDC Preparation Course.
You must also become an Emergency First Response Instructor prior to the IE (unless you are a current Instructor with DAN, Red Cross or other approved organisation) and we have scheduled an EFR Instructor Course for 14-15 November immediately prior to the IDC for all those candidates who need it.
PADI Materials
In addition to the Instructor Candidate Workbook and Slates included in the price of the IDC, PADI give the following list of Required Materials that you must have at the IDC/IE:
PADI Instructor Manual (digital or paper but must be legal and up to date i.e. 2009 version)
Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty Instructor Outline
Diving Knowledge Workbook
Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving
Project AWARE Specialty Instructor Outline
AWARE – Coral Reef Conservation Specialty Instructor Outline
RDP – Table and eRDPML including associated Instructions for Use booklets
PADI Open Water Diver Manual
Open Water Diver Quizzes & Exams booklet
PADI Adventures in Diving Manual
PADI Rescue Diver Manual
Rescue Diver Final Exams booklet
PADI Divemaster Manual
Divemaster Final Exams booklet
Aquatic Cue Cards – for Open Water Diver, Adventures in Diving, Rescue Diver, Divemaster and Discover Scuba Diving
Please note that the various Manuals must be complete and up to date with the Knowledge Reviews intact.
You may have access to some or all of these materials – for anything that you don’t have simply order it through Planet Scuba India at a special wholesale price.
What should you do now?
Once you have decided to take part in the IDC, you simply contact me by email and we will arrange for you to pay a deposit of 10,000 Rs (208 $USD). We will then send you your Instructor Candidate Workbook so that you can make a start on your Independent Study – 17 Knowledge Reviews to do before the IDC starts!
David Perry will then stay in touch with you on at least a fortnightly basis to give you further information.
* Currency conversion based on current exchange rate
** please message for more information
AOWD
That would be Advanced Open Water Diver to all those who aren’t initiated. What is the major difference between a OWD and AOWD you ask? I shall give you the simple answer. You get to go deeper. Almost twice as deep. As an OWD your maximum diving depth is 18 meters. As a AOWD you get to go down to 30 meters.
The thrill of going deeper to explore the deep blue is something that can’t be explained. Well it can be explained, there are many blogs and magazines that could wax lyrical at what it means to go deep. But i would place a bet that writing how it felt and actually being there is a world of difference. Anyways here’s how our AOWD class went.
We got certified as OWD students right there on the boat. The instructor then explained the next dive would be our first as AOWD dive. We dove in and learnt about PPB (Peak Performance Buoyancy) then we went on to do Boat Diving (that basically means diving off a boat) and then we went on to a rather thrilling Night Dive. If you have swam in the open ocean at night then you are about 1/10th of the way of getting how it feels. Try swimming in the dark about 15 meters below. With a torch to light your way you are mesmerized by the life around you, jelly fish that glow and seduce you, fishes you have never seen, the trance like movement of the soft corals. Just when you thought you would be swimming in the dark, you are taken by surprise at the amount of things you can see.
The next day we did the last two dives that would qualify us as AOWD. Navigation and Deep. The former was pretty straight forward, you needed to know how to use a compass and learn how to find your way around the ocean. The Deep. What can i say. It was probably the best dive ever. When you see your depth gauge point at 30, you have a moment where you disbelieve it. Then you take it in your stride and start exploring the varied and very beautiful sights that surround you. Trust me getting the AOWD is a must for any OWD. It just opens you up to so many diving areas around Andamans and around the world.
So, what are you waiting for? join us at PSI to get your OWD. Courses are running at full steam. Get started. Get diving right at your doorstep.