Diving – it’s been Goobie’s Number One ambition for ages. And he thought he’d have to wait until he was 10. But thanks to Pissouri Bay Divers, his dream came true – a whole year early!

Anyone who’s followed this blog for a while will know that Goobie loves the sea and everything that lives in it. He’s spent the whole summer snorkelling and freediving. But his BIG dream is to go diving and be fully part of Cyprus’s underwater world.

Children have to be a minimum of 10 years old to take part in a Try Dive – and the wait was killing Goobie. He’s nine. But then I heard about ‘Bubble-Maker Dives’ – try dives for 8-10 year-olds. They often take place in swimming pools or very calm sea waters. The maximum depth is two metres and the instructor holds onto them and operates all their kit as they swim underwater.

We chose Pissouri Bay Divers because of their obvious passion for diving, their friendliness and their chilled-out vibe. We wanted instructors Goobie wouldn’t feel intimidated by, who would give him confidence. Steve and Dave were absolute stars and Goobie felt at ease with them immediately.*

The day started at the Pissouri Bay Divers office. We filled out paperwork and Goobie was given his wetsuit, diving boots, mask, fins and BCD – the diving vest that the air tank is attached to. The dive cost €60 and needed a minimum of two people, so Goobie invited a friend.

Once Goobie found kit that fitted him it was packed in the car and we all drove to the location of Goobie’s first dive – Zygi beach. We know Zygi beach well. It’s great for snorkelling and the water is shallow and calm. Perfect for a Bubble-Maker dive.

When we arrived, Steve and Dave set up camp in a shaded area by the beach. It was here that they introduced Goobie to all his diving equipment, explaining its purpose and how to use it. They also took him through the various hand signals for communicating underwater.

After the briefing, Goobie climbed into his wet suit and they entered the water. Steve helped him put on his fins, mask and BCD with its heavy air tank.

Steve and Dave took him through various skills; how to clear his regulator (the mouth piece that is used to breathe oxygen from the tank) and how to inflate and deflate his BCD.

And then the moment had come for him to deflate his BCD and sink beneath the surface where he would need to breathe through his regulator. I felt my stomach clench. He’d spent so long dreaming about his first dive but would it live up to his expectations? Or would it be like my first dive 20 years ago when I’d been overcome by claustrophobia?

I put on my mask to see how he was doing.

All was fine. Dave had a firm hold of him and was swimming with him just under the surface of the water. I followed them as they headed out a little deeper.

Dave let go of Goobie so he could experience his buoyancy. The goal is to be neutrally buoyant, where you are neither sinking or popping up to the surface. You can achieve neutral buoyancy by pressing a button that inflates or deflates your BCD. But for beginners or very rusty divers (like me last year!) you can over-inflate or over-deflate, sending you up and down like a yo-yo. Achieving neutral buoyancy takes practise but eventually you learn to do it using the amount of oxygen in your lungs instead of over-relying on the BCD. That’s when you feel more in control. Needing more buoyancy practise is what stands between me diving the Zenobia.

Goobie did some sinking and floating but, as the dive progressed, he got the hang of his buoyancy and didn’t need Dave to hold onto him as much.

As he swam independently, Dave swam in front, facing him to maintain eye contact, making the ‘okay’ sign with his hand to check whether Goobie was okay. He was fine and loving it!

They regularly came up to the surface for a break and to go through some skills, like how to clear a mask if it fills with water.

They carried on with the dive, playing a game of catch with some ‘turtle poo’ (it wasn’t) on the sea bed! Goobie loved this.

And then . . . oh my . . . then, through the blue swam a turtle. And then another one. Right in front of Goobie. Slow, graceful, majestic. It was like they were welcoming Goobie into their underwater world.

Just. Magical.

My chest felt like it would burst with gratitude. Thank you for giving my little boy an experience that he will cherish forever.

Goobie’s dive lasted around 50 minutes. He came out of the water with a face full of smiles.

‘When can I go again?’ was the first thing he said.

Thanks to the wonderful Dave and Steve from Pissouri Bay Divers, Goobie’s first dive lived up to everything he’d dreamed of.

Thanks to the turtles, it went beyond what he’d dreamed of.

*I haven’t been paid to recommend Pissouri Bay Divers