10th Year Anniversary – Cheeky Dive With Grace

It was a last minute holiday booking that took us to the village of Georgioupoli on the island of Crete. With no package holiday bookings pretty much anywhere in Spain, Balearics, Canaries or Mediterranean that met budget or accommodation requirements (I don’t want a Holiday Camp hotel complex!), we travelled independently on EasyJet and having contacted the resort directly, happened upon a room at Anna’s House.

Under strict orders from The Memsahib that this was not a dive holiday, I was however able to negotiate a pair of fins, prescription mask and dive computer “just in case”! And to be fair, EasyJet’s baggage policy of a maximum 32KG per case which you can buy weight in 3KG increments, it was an easy fix.

Annas’s House is located just to the west of Georgioupoli, no more than a ten minute walk to Kalivaki Beach with its relaxed taverna and quaint beach, frequented more by the locals than tourists. To the north of the beach on day two, I spotted the ubiquitous PADI flag waving in the gentle breeze. The scene was set for a cheeky dive with Grace.

Kalivaki Beach

Grace qualified as a Junior Open Water Diver in the summer of August 2019 with Sandra of Eco Dive School in Cabo Verde. Our dive in Kalivaki will have been her first dive since she and I dived on the Santão Wreck some three years ago.

"After completing her PADI Junior Open Water course, this was the first dive where she and I can dive together as father and daughter. The Santo Antão is a shallow wreck, sitting around 12m to the seabed and is covered with puffer fish. It's the mesmerising to and fro, up and down from swell and surge; the neutral buoyancy with the puffers that can send you into a trance!"

Evelin Dive Center

That ubiquitous PADI flag belonged to the Evelin Dive Center and sitting in the taverna for lunch during the first few days, we watched as the busy dive centre conducted course after course in the Kalivaki Bay. It wasn’t long before I asked Grace if she fancied a dive and with my 10th year of diving fast approaching, we agreed we would get in the water together to celebrate my 10 years as a qualified diver.

Today was Wednesday. First stop this morning was to the dive centre on our way to the beach. We spoke to a lovely lady and explained that I was a qualified diver and Grace too, albeit I last dived two weeks earlier, Grace has not dived since pre-Covid. You know what’s coming next and yes, Grace has to do a refresher course; cost €80.00. Grace on the other hand was not enamoured, although I convinced her it was the right thing to do. But her’s the rub. I was asked if I wanted to dive with Grace as she did her refresher and answering “No, I can snorkel”, Grace reciprocated my convincing and said that she wanted me to dive with her too. Cha-Ching! I’m now enrolled on a Discover Scuba Diver course at €60.00. That’s €140.00 to get me and Grace in the water before we do a dive. #WTF #PutAnotherDollarIn

The conversation continued that after Grace has done her refresher and I my DSD, we could dive the “Elephant Cave” on Saturday. Personally I am not convinced and albeit the cave may be a cavern, we signed up for the refresher, DSD and Elephant Cave dive. Then the sales pitch, would Grace like to do her Advanced Open Water?
“No” was the reply as all Grace and I want to do is dive together. Grace does not want to take more lessons and progress as she’s on holiday. She just wants to dive with Dad. She doesn’t even want to do a refresher. It was if the lady was not listening, she just wanting to sell a course.

Projectile Vomiting

That evening we talked about the Elephant Cave and The Memsahib was not happy that Grace would go into a cave.  Even though I would be with her, it still seemed a little off putting as we would need to “follow a guide line”. Although she could enter sideways, Grace was also not filled with excitement of entering the water backwards from a RHIB. We agreed therefore we could speak to the Evelin Dive Center next morning (Thursday) on our refresher and DSD dives to cancel our Saturday dives.

We were in Tito’s Bar that evening and I didn’t feel well. Even the Ouzo was not playing ball in settling stomachs. Feeling queasy I left the two ladies and went back to the apartment where Maggie Blackamoor would have been proud. Speaking to the Big White Telephone, I am trying to figure what I may have eaten. I was up twice more that night and The Memsahib too, experiencing the same sickness.

In hindsight this was good news as I now had to cancel the refresher for Grace and the DSB for me. Asking whether Grace and I could simply rent some kit and dive as a buddy pair and do a shore dive, the centre answered my WhatsApp in that they only do guided dives. A few messages traded and with Sunday being their day off, Grace and I would dive on Monday with a guide. Exactly what we wanted. #Huzzah!

Monday Came

At 09.00am we were prompt to the dive centre as other divers arrived too. There was a DSD course, a trip to the Elephant Cave and one diver doing a refresher. But what about Grace and me? Half an hour later, we are on the refresher course! #FFS!

To be fair, it’s now all going tits up and we are not getting what we expect. It seems we have been cajoled onto someone else’s refresher which I assume, to make up the numbers. I explain that all we want to do is dive to a maximum 12m and as previously explained, my certifications far exceed a need for me to do a DSD or refresher.

The instructor tells me that it’s OK and he is going to be our guide. It’s just that this German chap needs to do a refresher. He says that Grace and I can join in the skills if we wish, or not, as we desire. The plan is some skills in the shallow water and then a 50 minute dive in the bay. And that is what we did! #Perfect!
And that’s what we did. Andreus the instructor come guide, one German chappie (who’s name began with F (we’ll call him Farole)), Grace and me. I helped Grace and Farole set up their kit, checked by Andreus. All kitted up, it is was a short walk into the brackish water where the fresh water from the nearby stream enters the sea, giving both thermocline and halocline. A cold surface, but warm bottom separated with a shimmering light.

Grace and I did our own thing, our own skills and kit checks and once Andreus and Farole were good, we swam off into deeper water. It wasn’t a deep dive, my logs showing a maximum depth of 8.8m. The slow descent was over 34 minutes along a sandy bottom with a small reef to our left. I have to say, Grace seemed in perfect trim, though I think she could do with a little weight higher up towards her shoulders in some trim pockets. This was all rental kit for her as we did not bring her wing. We returned back over the reef and into the bay. Water temperature was a delicious 27degC and I’m going to cite 20m visibility. A thoroughly enjoyable dive, clocking up some 55 minutes. Cost? The same €80.00 for Grace and €60.00 for me, which I still felt was a little expensive especially as a two dive RHIB day is €120.00.

Futures

Moving forward, I think before we go on holiday again, we need to do some skills in the UK. A pool is an obvious choice, where we can practice these skills and where Grace can answer “last week” when asked when she last dived. It would be nice to perhaps try a dive holiday together next year when she turns 15 and do some progressive dives to an Advanced Open Water diver qualification, or like me, do the five PADI Specialities. She already has Drysuit and with Nitrox as a dry course, maybe Navigation, Deep and Peak Performance Buoyancy or Wreck is all she needs? I need to do some computer work with her too, but all in all Grace seems to be a natural in the water.

As for Evelin Dive Center, we were simply not their typical customer. I’m guessing they have some contract with local hotels as there is a good 30 people a day doing DSDs and many of them children. It is a great setup there and the kit seems in good working order, though Farole did have a leaking first stage that worried him. I think our dive at €140.00 was a tad expensive for what we wanted, but Grace and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Would we go back to Evelin, I think the answer is yes. We will certainly be making a trip back to Georgioupoli.

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