Local 11-year-old receives scuba diving qualification
She is most looking forward to the possible Mozambique trip they have planned for the end of the year.
Kirkley College learner Carol-Ann Taylor (11) recently qualified in scuba diving, achieving her open water one, which means she can dive in any open water up to a depth of 18m.
“I am very excited about this as I can now adventure to a new world,” said Taylor.
Taylor dives for the Prestige Dive School, based in Boksburg, and having just completed her course, can’t wait to start getting out there to dive.
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She is most looking forward to the possible Mozambique trip they have planned for the end of the year.
“I love to dive!” Carol-Ann said.
“I enjoy diving because it is fun and I get to do it with my friends and family. I am very excited to see all the different fish and sea life.
“Knowing that there was a whole other world that I haven’t seen yet makes it so exciting. I want to be able to see as much as I can throughout my life.”
Carol-Ann’s training sessions consisted of lectures, which covers all the theory and pool dives and also dives in Bass Lake situated in Henley on Klip.
The sessions consisted of all the skills needed to ensure a safe and enjoyable dive:
• How to kit up: which entails connecting the regulator and BC (buoyancy compensator jacket) to the cylinder and checking the regulator (breathing device) and SPG (air pressure) are all working.
• Reg retrieval: how to find your regulator under the water should it get kicked out your mouth.
• Clearing your mask of water and being able to remove the mask and put it back on without issue.
• Removal of BC and putting it back on underwater, and same with a weight belt.
• Maintaining your buoyancy ensuring you do not scrape against anything while diving and thereby not damaging the sea life
• The three T’s of diving, no touching, no tasting and no taking.
• Controlled decent giving you time to equalise and avoid ear and sinus pain.
• Ascent with safety stops, as well as emergency ascent.
• Buddy breathing should you or your buddy (partner) ever have an issue underwater.
• The various hand signals to communicate underwater.
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To gain her qualification, Carol-Ann needed to attend all training sessions.
“I had to work through an online course and answer the short quiz at the end of each section, do four dives in open water and write a test,” she said.
“I would say if you want to dive you should follow your dreams because the ocean is a beautiful place.”
Lily Coetzee, Carol-Ann’s dive instructor, said she is extremely proud of her perseverance.
“Where the physical side of skills became difficult, she was determined to succeed. Carol-Ann is very thorough, always ensuring she understood the requirements in executing the skills needed,” Lily said.
Shaun Taylor, Carol-Ann’s father, said he is also extremely proud of her.
“She has been wanting to do scuba diving for a while now and at first I thought she was a little young but has proved me wrong at every stage, even getting 100 per cent for her final test,” he said.
