I've been in love with diving ever since i took my open water license, which isn't very long ago, I actually started diving this year in January. I knew i'd enjoy diving even before i got my license as i've been living a life in the ocean as much as on land coming from a small town just by the east coast of Sweden where my dad got me a snorkel kit sometime in the late 80s, early 90s.
It has all gone very fast, from flapping around under the water with not much understanding of the ocean life and its secrets to soon being a dive professional guiding guests.
I always had in the back of my mind, the thought of one day becoming a dive professional, i just didn't expect it to be this soon. I was hessetant at first when i would take the step into the professional world but the main reason to do it now was the Wicked crew, the 3 week expedition and especially the diving here in Komodo. It was a too big of a chance to miss out on.
I've been here for quite some time now, ever since the end of may, yea that's a long DMT course. There are several reasons for it, one i'm sometimes lazy and requested a slow going course with a couple of days of now and then, two i ended up with an ear infection haunting me for over a month and three, Labuan Bajo isn't as bad as you think when you got good company every day. But i'm soon done and more than ready to start working as a dive guide.
I just got back from my fourth liveaboard on the Jaya marking it the 23rd trip this season, and also the last one for me before i get signed off as an Assistant Instructor.
With us were 13 new guests, Tara, Ryan, Chantal, Perrine, Mui, Victor, Michael, Gerald, Andreas, Daniele, Antoine, Jade and Natalie, some who've been guests at Wicked before and also new timers.
With the Jaya ready and all the guests onboard we headed out to do our first check dive of the day, being Sabalan Kecil. After the dive, while enjoying the view of the sunset we headed towards the north of Komodo National park and on the second day we started of with a morning dive at Karang Bintang, which is a nice ridge/wall dive just on the west side of The Passage.
The second dive of the day was at Witch's hat where some had the good luck too see eagle rays, white tip sharks and also mantas. Fusiliers where hanging around with their never ending hunters Jack Travellis.
Then it was time for some drift diving at one of my favorite spots, The Cauldron. Also here we had the good luck of seeing a manta ray just at the end of our dive just minutes before starting our saftey stop. Being new moon we had a good current, the fish bowl was fully packed and exiting the cauldron gave us a good push and some kicking .
It was also the end of Ramadan and most of our crew being muslim we had to head closer to a mosque and it brought us to Sabayor Kecil. I've done quite a few dives there but never a night dive, so i was excited. And it didn't disappoint. Just in the beginning of the dive we came up open a huge spanish dancer with a bunch of Imperator commensal shrimps taggig along on its back. Loads and loads of crostatians everywhere, squat lobsters, banded boxer shrips and painted spiny lobsters where some of many things that dive.
Day three brought us to Batu Bolong, which of course never sleeps. Sweetlips, snappers, emperors, turtles could be seen in the blue and much much more as you had a closer look at the reef and corals. Ending day three we did two dives at Karang Makassar. Falling tide brought cold water, poor visability and some one apparently claimed to have had 23C on the dive computer! Sadly on the first dive no Manta Rays where seen, but it wasn't a bad dive. We came upon 5 sleeping grey reef sharks who quickly scattered as we passed by them. Several white tip sharks and turtles where also seen. The second dive, being close to sunset ended with an encouter with a manta ray for some of the guests, and also a nurser shark.
The last day and the last dive of the first 3days/3nights was at Castle Rock. With not to much current we headed down. Ending up with several sharks, big and small napoleon wrasses, blue ribbon eel and so far for me the biggest ammount of fusiliers on the slack side litteraly making it dark as they swam over you.
And Now Erik has passed his course and is officially a Divemaster and continues to work hard and love the diving here!!!!
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