Mark did all the organising and I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived... at what was a lovely 5* hotel, called Miramar in Fujairah. The Dive Centre was adjoined to the hotel, so we didn’t have far to go each day, where we meandered between the sea and the pool between dives.
Friday morning we headed to the dive centre, getting our gear and getting set up for our first dive for our Advanced Course... which we were told would be a wreck dive. Once kitted up, we made our way across the already blisteringly hot sand (even although it was still early) to the very welcoming, yet warm sea. Judging the surf (now bearing in mind we are wearing/carrying all our gear... tanks, weight belts, masks, fins, you name it), we made it out safely past the waves breaking on shore, followed by a swim to the boat. Once on the boat...already exhausted...we headed off to the first dive site Inchape II. A little nervous, as always, about diving in general not to mention the fact that it was our first wreck dive and we were using Nitrox for the first time, I’m pleased to say all went well, aside from some buoyancy issues I had, but then I had yet to actually master that skill. Once we had finished the dive and all had returned to the boat, we headed to a new spot...where some snorkelled whilst killing the obligatory time before being able to complete our next dive (as we weren’t heading back to shore). Feeling a bit sea sick from the bobbing boat, I opted to just float in the water until we were all ready to go again for the second dive of the day. For us it was the Peak Performance Dive (at Martini Rock) and I am pleased to say that I got there in the end...neutrally buoyant! Accomplishment!
Once we were all back on board the boat again we headed back to shore, where all the other divers were getting off and finishing up for the day. Mark and I however still had a 3rd dive to do...the Navigation dive for our advance course, so we were only heading back to shore for a brief period of time, but because we were changing to a smaller boat, it meant we had to take all our gear with us too. In the water all was fine, swimming our way back to shore... getting up and out of the surf was another story though. When my feet were able to touch the ground and I had judged what I thought was the timing of the shoreline waves I made a run for it...but clearly my judgement was a little off (or perhaps being weighed down with all the gear, slowed me down more than I had anticipated) and soon enough a wave came out of nowhere knocking me off my feet gear and all, for what had to be the biggest dump in history. I can only imagine the sight it must have been! Being knocked off my feet was all very well; even funny at the time...it was the getting back up part again before the next wave that became a little bit of a problem. I was absolutely knackered trying to fight being swept back with the undercurrent...and no matter how hard I tried, I just could not seem to muster up enough energy to get myself, gear and all, back to my feet...and so another wave came! What a site!! Thankfully the captain and a happy helper came to my aid...but talk about embarrassing! I then had to make my way across the sand which was even more blisteringly hot now a couple of hours later than when we set out before! Eina!
Not much time to rest before the next dive, which would be the Navigation dive of the course... we were heading back out all a little too soon. The next dive however was to be a fairly short one and thankfully the entering and exiting the sea (all geared up again) went a little more smoothly than before!!
Dives for the day complete we headed back to the hotel and jumped straight into the very welcoming chilled pool...where we pretty much spent the rest of the day! Dinner that evening we decided to try out the fine dining Asian restaurant, which was absolutely divine! The service was fantastic and the selection of food from the taster menu was delicious and far better than the buffet we had had the night before. After the day’s adventures, lights out came rather early that evening.
The next day we had 2 more dives to complete for our advanced course and we started the day off with another Wreck dive, this time however it would count as our Deep Dive for the Advanced Course as the wreck was at 30 metres. We were the second divers on the wreck of the day, which meant we pretty much had it all to ourselves to explore which was great. The resident Moray Eels, Fred and Wilma, as they have been so named, made for some great photos, as they are probably the biggest moray’s we have ever seen! Nature was far more established on this wreck than the first wreck we had dived, mainly because it has been there longer and the number of schools of fish was amazing!
Back at the surface we headed for shore and to once again judge the surf for exit...another victory for me, as I made it out with a little more dignity this time. That was until I hit that ridiculously hot sand and had there not been so many people around, I probably would have run screaming all the way across it...seriously it was that hot (and it was not just the inner diva within me trying to get out). I managed to contain myself (only just), vowing that booties would be the next must have diving accessory.
Then just when I thought I was going to completely melt, it was time to head back out for a final dive of the day and the weekend...with us well on the way to becoming fully fledged Advanced Divers and Enriched Air certified. This time there were a lot more divers joining us on the boat for the dive at ‘3 Rocks’...and once at the bottom one of the first things I spotted was a turtle, which always makes the dive. Shaking my rattle wildly so as to catch Mark’s attention, he finally heard and made his way over to take some photos. Back at shore after yet another exit victory against the surf it was time for our last chilled pool swim and some lunch before setting off back home to Dubai.
What a fantastic weekend and I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed the diving this time. I was definitely a lot less anxious than I have been in the past and in the end I actually felt quite comfortable down at the bottom of the ocean! Another great sense of accomplishment! :)
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