How a speak to Jean-Michel Cousteau inspired me to understand to scuba dive

Today, Monday June 8, is World Oceans Day...

“If a scuba tank is filled possesses 1.25 % of skin tightening and at the surface, what effect will it have if a diver were to breathe it at 3 metres of sea water?” reads the pop-up question on my iPad.

Maths hasn't been my strong point and my brain instantly begins to panic. I review the four options - feeling grateful that it’s at least multiple choice - and hesitantly click on the third option, 3.75 %. The looks of a scarlet exclamation box near the top of the screen lets me understand that I’m wrong.

Stifling a sigh, I scroll back up through the screeds of text to re-read the intricate explanations about what happens to air under the water. It’s Friday afternoon, and the very last thing I want to be doing is studying - why am I spending my day off doing so?

To answer that question, I have to rewind to last April when I acquired the chance to spend the day on a boat in the Arabian Gulf with renowned oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau.

Cousteau’s passion for the ocean is infectious. At 82 years old, the son of Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau has spent almost all his life in the ocean, on the ocean and campaigning to safeguard the ocean. That's specifically what he was doing last year when I had the opportunity to meet him - he was in Dubai to speak to children about the bond between your ocean and all living things, ourselves included.

You’re a travel writer, and you’re missing half the earth

Jean-Michel Cousteau

As we cruised around the turquoise waters of Dubai's Palm Jumeirah, Cousteau regaled us with tales of ocean discoveries and stories about his favourite places on the planet, every one of them underwater.

“There are places on the planet where the water is very, cold - you dive in ice water and nature there isn't the same as all of those other planet. Then there are places just like the MEDITERRANEAN AND BEYOND or certain elements of the west coast or east coast of the united states, where average temperatures mean different nature and species again. And there will be the tropical places, like here in Dubai, where in fact the temperature is way up and the species that live listed below are again completely different.”

At one point, he turned to me and asked where my favourite place was to dive. Red-faced, I had to admit to a guy who was one of the initial Padi-certified scuba divers on the planet that I didn’t actually discover how to dive.

“You’re a travel writer, and you’re missing half the earth,” came his solemn response. “You really need to learn.”

And at the moment, when travel is on hold, the idea of having a whole " new world " to discover whenever we can move freely again is wildly exciting

Since that time, his words have been behind my mind.

So when travel restrictions started to be put in place to avoid the spread of Covid-19, I realised that now may be the perfect chance of me to accomplish something about my insufficient skills. I did so some research then bit the bullet and enrolled in an Open Water Padi course with Ocean Dive Centre in Abu Dhabi.

That was a month ago, and I’ve now realised that Cousteau let me off lightly. It’s actually nearer to 71 per cent of the earth’s surface that's ocean. Which signifies that more than two-thirds of our world is merely accessible to those who can venture below the top of big blue.

As a travel journalist, I think it's important to have the ability to access as wide of a variety of destinations as possible, so I’m glad that I signed up, but so far, I don’t feel much such as a diver.

I’ve yet to create foot in a pool never mind in the ocean. Instead, I’m spending my leisure time wading through the colossal amount of information that Padi-certified divers have to wrap their heads around before being allowed anywhere near a scuba tank.

But as the world celebrates World Ocean’s Day today, Tuesday June 8, I’m worked up about what lies ahead. Commemorated every year since 1992, this US occasion is celebrated with events all over the world - this season, they are targeting 3,000 events across 150 countries, the majority of which is digital for the very first time as a result of pandemic.

And at the moment, when travel is on hold, the thought of having a whole new world to discover whenever we can move freely again is wildly exciting. Maybe even more thrilling than that, is my realisation that there is an underwater world right here on my doorstep in Abu Dhabi, which is waiting to be explored.

Etc this World Ocean’s Day, I’m hunkering back off to my scuba studies in preparation for what will hopefully be a duration of underwater exploration and education, as inspired by among the ocean’s biggest ambassadors.