First Breaths Underwater

In 2006, while travelling around the world, I visited the Great Barrier Reef out of Cairns, Australia. I was actually quite terrified of the idea of diving in the sea ... where the sharks live, and the only reason I tried it was the GBR, and it cost just $1. It was only a few breaths underwater and I was completely hooked. This photo is from my second dive, because as soon as I got out, I asked to go straight back in again!

Scuba Diving Across the South Pacific

After that first experience, I started researching where I could learn properly and decided to complete my SSI Open Water in Fiji in early 2007. I trained on a small island in the north, at a quiet resort where I was lucky to have almost one-to-one tuition. Learning to dive in warm, calm water on a tropical island was an extraordinary way to begin. Once certified, I continued diving across the South Pacific, including Rarotonga and French Polynesia. In Moorea, I found myself in the water with sharks, something that had once been a real fear. Yet, instead of fear, I felt fascination, transfixed by their behaviour and the texture of their scales (denticles).

Diving while training as a Psychologist

After travelling, I returned home and moved to Scotland to begin my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, living in the Scottish Highlands for three years. During that time, I made a trip to the Red Sea in Egypt where I did PADI Advanced Open Water. I realised that if I wanted to dive more often, it would need to be here at home. Towards the end of my training as a psychologist, I took the step into cold water properly, completing my dry suit course in Loch Long and diving out of St Abbs. It was very different from the tropics. I found myself fascinated by how the underwater colours and landscape reflected the terrain I knew from hill walking above the surface, and by the time I graduated in 2010, I knew I wanted to explore UK waters.