Deep into the blue
05.09.11
You might be asking: “What is a deep dive?”. Well, a deep dive is generally defined as any recreational dive deeper than 18 meter. As you might remember, Open water divers are certified to dive to 18 meter limit, Advanced open water divers are certified to dive up to 30 meters, and divers with Deep diver specialty are certified to dive up to 40 meter, which is the limit of recreational diving.
I personally really like deep diving. We are so lucky in Bali, to have a lot of things to see, at the depth deeper than 18 meters. Exploring beautiful walls, diving the deeper part of our shipwreck, and of course, having more chance to see Mola-mola! Combined with calm sea condition, the sun and water clarity, deep diving is an enjoyable experience.
However, as John Lippmann (DAN S.E. Asia-Pacific) mentioned in his article “How Deep is Too Deep?”:
Deep diving demands vast amounts of knowledge, experience and discipline, as well as appropriate preparation and equipment, since deep diving is fraught with potential hazards.
Therefore it makes me happy when people are aware of this risk, and willing to have more knowledge and take Deep diver specialty. I really like the philosophy of this course, which is to focus on making smart decisions for a stress free, deep diving experience with an emphasis on safety. This means that student divers will have more knowledge about deep dive planning and organization, the basics of deep diving, hazards to avoid, deep diving support equipment, and how to interact responsibly with the aquatic life they’ll see while deep diving.
The Deep diver specialty course consists of four dives over two days. The first one, we’ll dive the shipwreck with a maximum depth of 30 meter. Hovering next to the shipwreck, you look up, and you will realize how small you are, and how massive its structure is! Lovely.
Then the second dive that day, we’ll explore the deep part of the shipwreck. The wreck is so “alive” by the corals and the fish that live on it.
The next day, we’ll dive the wall. In the beginning of the dive, its sandy slope bottom is a nice welcoming reference. Before we start to decent further, we will install an emergency air source at 5 meter, which we will use at the end of the dive. After that, we will descent further to a maximum of 40 meter. The last time I was there, a great baraccuda accompany me and my student decending slowly to the deep. Feels great, it seems like the host is welcoming us to its home. Hmm.
At 40 meter, the wall looked stunning from the depth, the sunlight penetrated the water, the water clarity was good, and there was a blue-spotted stingray swimming around. Then, slowly we will ascent along the wall, passing the big beautiful sea-fan coral, and at 5 meter we will simulate the emergency decompression stop using our tank which we installed earlier. Great dive!
After the surface interval, the second dive that day will be shallower, along the lively coral formations and various fish colonies.
With proper education and skills, you can dive deep safely and confidently. So, what do you think, do you want to explore the deep blue with me? 
