Sailing Through the Certification at Sail Rock
July 15 – dive certification day
By now we knew the drill, so we got up right at 7am and got some pancakes and eggs to go for the breakfast, bounced along on the back of the pick up truck, and waited at the now familiar pier. The seas were forecast to be rougher today and as a result there were only 8 divers on the boat today.
The kids were with Ben, an Englishman they called ‘Sire,’ who had been working with them in the pool the day before. Sue and Tom were with a South African woman named Cass. The rest of the divers were German. We had debated not going today because of the forecast but apparently the day before had been so rough everyone had to ride back below deck. That made sense, as the boat would have been coming back when we were in the car being pelted with rain. Fortunately, the feared storm never materialized.
We arrived at Sail Rock around 9:00 and got immediately into the water. For the first dive, the kids were on their own to complete their underwater skills assessment, but we planned to dive with them for the second dive. Once underwater, the 4 foot waves were a non factor and we had another amazing dive.
The kids enjoyed themselves and dove down to almost 14 meters seeing a multitude of fish. The captain wanted to avoid the storm conditions of the previous day, so our lunch break was short and at 11 we were geared back up and heading into the water. Cass took the lead with the kids while Sir Ben grabbed a GoPro and was Mr. Cameraman.
For this dive, the 4 of us dove together and it was glorious. The sun had come out so the visibility was especially good. We circumnavigated Sail Rock and even did the chimney together. The feeling of being underwater as a family was exhilarating!! The view of the fish, the coral, and the glistening blue with our adventurous kids was heartwarming. The fact that Ben captured the moments with his underwater camera was beyond amazing.
Halfway through the dive, we came upon Boris, the kids beloved instructor from 2 days before. We had requested him for our div, but he we previously booked. The kids smiled through there regulators and gave him a big underwater hug!! Tom’s mask filled with tears of joy, which he adeptly cleared. What a treat!! We continued our dive and watched the kids complete their skills assessment (sharing a regulator during assent, clearing a half full mask, removing and locating on’s regulator and the like). The kid clearly had been paying close attention as they had no trouble completing their assignments.
Back above water there were smiles all around. The kids were rightfully proud of themselves. The feared storm never materialized and we cruised back to the Lund pier arriving just before 2pm. Sue and Tom were done, but the kids still had 2 hours of final exams and dive table assessments. Tyler rightly verified that we had 18 hours before our flight as required.
Around 5pm the kids had finally finished their certification and they were rewarded with ice cream and t-shirts. We opted not to go to the popular restaurant and instead went to the family favorite, the place we had gone on our first night. It was Saturday night and all of the beach front tables were taken, but minutes after we sat down ‘our table’ the one in the corner closest to the beach opened up. It was a fitting end to our brief but epic stay at Pirates Beach.
It was hard to imagine that only Bangkok stood between us and returning to America. When we started our journey just over a month ago, it seemed like forever bore Bangkok. But now Tibet was a distant memory, the Pandas of Chengdu a mirage, and the rain of Tiger Leaping Gorge a past life. Even the placidity of Lamai seemed distant. We had never intended for Haad Salad to be a diving destination, but fate put a Swedish run dive shop in our path and true to the Kramer family approach, we made the most of the opportunity presented to us.
While we can’t imagine becoming a ‘diving family’ the fact that we could ‘go for a dive’ is enthralling and as parents we are beaming with pride. Equally satisfying is the fact Evie and Tyler chose to do it and invested the time, while on vacation, to master the skills required to become certified. And finally, having circumnavigated the island, it was wonderful to know that we had selected one of the nicest beaches on the island.
Tomorrow we leave the tranquility of Koh Phangan for the bustle of Bangkok!