Utila – Week 2, Day 2: The DMT Journey Begins!
UTILA
Week 2
Day 2: The DMT Journey Begins!
November 21, 2022
I viewed the tropical, stormy weather as a bad omen for my first day as a divemaster trainee (DMT). My mentor would be Fleur – yet another French Canadian who’d been working on the island as an instructor for about five years. She had a reputation for being the strictest instructor, and, given my subpar skills, I can’t say I wasn’t nervous.
First off, she explained what the curriculum involved. A curriculum… Yup, I was on holiday and yet somehow ended up in another training programme with a full-blown curriculum. And man, what a curriculum. It involves an endless list of skills and workshops, knowledge reviews, and about a thousand other things that are required by PADI – plus a whole bunch more expected by Underwater Vision. On top of that, the minimum number of dives to start the programme is 40. I only had 18 at that point – something I could bypass by doing a bunch of fun dives in whatever free time I’d have left.
I had no idea I’d signed up for this much work – I was way in over my head. I had paid an exorbitant amount of money to be doing this without thinking things through, Not to mention, I’d only have around three weeks to finish all of it – simply insane! As I was visibly spiralling, Fleur reassured me that hundreds of others before me had managed, and that with enough determination, I would too.
Fake It Till You Make It
After the brief pep talk, Fleur showed me around the equipment shed and explained what my role as a DMT would be.
I’d have to be at the shed by 6:15 AM whenever I was diving – be it for fun dives, workshops, or assisting with a course – and help load the gas cylinders onto the boat and prep the clients’ scuba gear before heading out to sea. Then, as a responsible DMT, I’d be expected to supervise the divers during the dive, make sure they’re doing okay, not going too far or too deep, and help out if any problems popped up.
With only a few dives to my name, I’d basically be doing the job of a pro while still being very much an amateur. I nearly crapped my pants, worrying I wouldn’t be good enough for the role. That said, Fleur did a great job at calming me down again, explaining that the practical skills sessions would prepare me for this. Apparently, it’s a steep learning curve – but you get good, fast.
To ensure this, DMTs rotate between different mentors and undergo frequent evaluations to see how they’re getting along with their training. To close off, she told me that as daunting as this might all seem, this would turn me into a diving professional – and, she promised – I’d have the time of my life in the process!
One Last Chill Before the Chaos
Half-convinced, I decided to spend the rest of the day just relaxing before all hell would break loose the following morning.
It started off with a much-needed beauty session with one of my favourite Londoners – Michela , a fashionista currently touring around Central America. Throughout the few months I had been travelling, I realised I was letting myself go. My eyebrows were unruly, facial hair gnarly, hair overgrown, nails too long. We dedicated most of our afternoon to worshipping our temple – making sure we looked as presentable as a model on a runway.
Then we joined the rest of the gang, played Scabby Queen until Tim, after countless losses, nearly lost his self-confidence. We wrapped up the evening the usual way – dancing on the pier to African beats with Adah DJing, watching the sunset with a few beers, dinner at Mama Rosa’s, and then crashing early.
Stay wild,
Marius
Post-Scriptum
Eljah (the most annoying guy on the island – and possibly on the face of the planet) convinced me to play volleyball for the first time in eons. I didn’t suck as much as I thought I would, and with that, I could finally say I experienced volleyball at Underwater Vision and was officially off the hook for any further sporting events.