Some of my students I remember fondly as their enthusiasm, their love of the sea and their personality made teaching them a joy. There are also some, who should have never gone underwater or even climbed off the tree – their memories are hidden by blissful ignorance. But in the few rare instances there are one or two students whose lack of talent joins forces with amazing diligence and thirst for knowledge – and they are real challenges an instructor could face.

This is the story of such an individual:

The lady (Julia) of a vacationing Austrian couple represented the intellectual side of the family, being a psychiatrist, tough weighed only one fifth of the couple’s gross load despite her dress size number 36 and not the slim kind either. The man, Hans, a former heavy lifter, must have been an impressive sight during his peak period but the glory days had long gone. Nowadays he looked more like a rising dough spilling out of the baking pan. With the help of numerous aids like a shoe horn, industrial press, wooden spoon I squeezed the man into the largest diving suit available at the diving centre and we were off into the water. As we were waddling down to the beach, Hans slapped me on the back with gusto and shared with me his earlier diving experiences:

You knows, I been scubaing before but not like this with this boiler on my back. Just you know like with the frog paws and the fishnoculars. I needed the pipe ‘cause I was just getting my head out of the water the whole time like an emu. But I didn’t have no pipe. Hahaha! – he concluded his technical summary with a deep laugh.

There were really not that many problems with Hans but poor Julia gathered some experiences during the diving course that really hit home for a shrink. Back home she specialised in the treatment of panic disorders. She was a practising psychiatrist but by her own admission, during her Hippocratic activities she relied only on the materials she had studied at university and on her patients’ accounts. This time she finally took a trip to the other side of the wall that separates doctor from patient.

There are people who are like fish in water. Julia without a doubt did not belong to these people. After getting her head under the water following a 20-minute begging session, I could tell from the panic in her eyes which by that time had grown to the size of saucers, that we would wave each other good-bye soon. I could not have been more wrong.

The first diving attempt was over quickly. She was threading out of the waist-high water jumping to heights that would put any water polo goalkeeper to shame, flapping her arms wildly and every bone in her body said that she wanted to be any place in the world given that place was dry. I think she was leaning towards the Sahara. Despite everything, she told me with still bulging eyes that she was alright, she liked the diving thing only that thingy in her mouth and the air and the bubbles – well she just had to get used to them. We took a rest for 20 minutes, gathered our courage and went under the water again. After a few seconds it occurred to her that she was under the water again and slowly emerged the usual show: water polo water threading, flapping, drowning. After two and a half hours and with purple lips I tried to tell her that there was nothing wrong if she decided that this whole thing just was not for her but my hopes were built on quick sand. Julia was more persistent than the Russian winter.

This went on for long days. And during this time myself had become a practising psychiatrist. During the breaks out of the water I tried to calm her and at the same time boost her confidence while mumbling a few words about how different people can be and about the importance for tolerance, then we continued our underwater adventure. The cherry on the cake was Hans’s helpfulness – becoming my assistant instructor. Using his excellent analytical skills he quickly recognised the root of the problems and he was quite vocal about his opinion.

A short excerpt from one of our numerous short over-the-water breaks when the couple tried to talk to me all together at once:

H: She’s always like this. She makes up things and then you know the little engine in her head starts to work. But not that correct way you know just kinda funny…
J: And then suddenly I felt there was water in my mouth and I couldn’t breathe…
H: … and then she gets all brainy abut things she don’t need to. Julia, blow out that water like a normal person don’t just be hissing here!
J: … and I’m trying to calm myself but when this breathing thing doesn’t work…
H: … ’cause you know she already has this thing in her head that everything will go bad and start panicking already…
J: … this is what I always explain to my patients that they have to take deep breaths…
H: … if she wasn’t this brainy she’d do everything good the first time just she always thinks and that’s what she shouldn’t do!

And so on. Meanwhile my diving course hit the 7th hour, the sun met a purple death over the horizon and my dinner in the kitchen quietly started to decompose.

Translated by Anita Riberdy, based on the original short story “Hétköznapi kihívások” by András Szepesházi

- or scenes from the day and life of a diving instructor

Our old new favourite. Yes… There are days when we wake up and everything goes well. And there are days when we feel, before even we get up – so much for this day. If we had to put into words what we are feeling in moments like these, we would pretty much get a dramatic, tearful, who-cares kind of a story. Except, of course, if you can have a good laugh at yourself!

Believe it or not, some people actually do this! And in such a way that we are left with tears in our eyes and unable to continue reading on. And as we are reading these sad stories, all we can think of – if only I could be there…

Whatever happens, happens, does not it?

The authour lived an orderly life in the first 30 years of his life, working in an office in front of a computer, doing his weekly shopping at weekends, and diligently swearing his way through the Moscow Square area Monday traffic with his fellow sufferers.

And on a lovely early Sunday afternoon with his fresh scuba course certificate in hand from the Adriatic Sea, something snapped in him. He tried to convince himself near Karlovac that there is nothing strange about an IT specialist becoming a diving instructor.

By the time he arrived back to Budapest, the idea had turned into a detailed plan. And exactly a year later, the suits and ties moved to the back of the closet and the author, with a packed diving bag in hand, left the country. Eyewitnesses say he was headed for South-East with a big smile on his face…

Translated by Anita Riberdy, based on the original short story “Békalábnyomok” by András Szepesházi

A long chain of reefs, about 6 km long, with a diversity of bays, wonderful canyons and labyrinth of underwater reefs. Marvelous big and undamaged corals with fantastic colors.

Heading further south to the Sudanese border is an unexplored region which has a few surprises in store for divers. This is the true deep south and this is virgin territory. The charts are fairly inaccurate and many non-marked reefs suddenly appear out of nowhere, making navigation particularly hazardous.

The first immediately noticeable fish are the huge humphead parrotfish.

Among the hard corals are a profusion of brightly coloured chromis and damselfish. Every now and then a huge expanse of hard coral is broken by clumps of red-footed anemones and the attendant clownfish. In deeper water there is the usual Red Sea life, with nothing particularly different. A noticeable exception, however, is the sea bed, where cone shells appear to be thriving.

The main dive sites are about a day’s steam away from St John’s Reef with the season virtually all year round, but the challenge lies in persuading a like-minded group to join you on a trip with so few certainties.

The presence of sharks in this region is unique with encounters of some species not usually seen in the Red Sea such as the Mako. It shows that this unexplored region still has a few surprises in store for divers.

We have enjoyed Sudan’s hospitality once again in the beginning of this year for 16 weeks. It seems as if Andromeda had just left for Sudan and this past weekend she has already sailed back to Egypt to continue her work there after a quick and well deserved maintenance job.

Sudan has proven to be once more one of the unsurpassed gems of the Red Sea for divers with its unique underwater sites, friendly atmosphere and superb climate.

During her 16 weeks in Sudan, Andromeda has sailed to the Northern dive sites 14 times and has spent 4 weeks at the Southern sites. She spent a week in the Port Sudan harbour due to the situation of the Iceland volcano eruption when a German group had had to cancel their tour because of airspace closings.

All in all, 346 divers have toured with us this season from 17 countries including the US, the UK, Slovakia, Belgium, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Holland, Spain, Finland, Portugal, France, Sweden, Russia and
Slovenia.

The most visited site was Shaab Rumi which Andromeda had visited 17 times. Thanks to the frequent presence of grey and hammerhead sharks, Shaab Rumi has provided the most exciting underwater adventure for the divers and at special requests, the boat has returned to the site seveal times during a tour.

This is the only place in the world where these amazing animals can be found in such great schools. At times hammerhead curtains have swum by us, counting up to 2-300 sharks.

All the outstanding underwater sites divers were able to see and their satisfaction with their holidays have helped to make these past 4 months in Sudan a great success. We extend our special thanks to our partners, tour operators and all those divers who have chosen us for their Sudan diving holiday this season.

Thank you for your support, the countless photos, Web links and appreciation we have received in the past weeks and months!

Next we are continuing our shark adventures in February, 2011 and we look forward to welcoming all diving instructors, diving schools, diving tour operators and individual divers who have not had the chance to join us this year or would like to make a repeat tour next year again.

Book your 2011 Sudan tours by 31.12.2010 and take advantage of our 2010 rates for 2011 as well! Contact your tour operator, tour organiser or send us an e-mail!