Just last night, my fellow freediving enthusiasts and I embarked on an adventurous movie night at FAM-Freediving Adventure Malaysia.
With slices of pizzas in hand and anticipation in the air, we settled down to watch Netflix’s captivating documentary film, ‘The Deepest Breath.’
Guys, grab your snorkel and get ready to dive right in as I share our exhilarating experience during this fun-filled movie night!
When it comes to movies, there’s something uniquely exciting about watching one that centers around a shared passion. As freedivers, we were thrilled to discover ‘The Deepest Breath’ on Netflix. This film promised to immerse us in a world competitive freediving, heartwarming relationships, and adrenaline-fueled diving moments. Naturally, our expectations were high, and boy, did it deliver!
Nope. I won’t be giving you spoilers, but all I can say is from the very first dive in the movie, we found ourselves entranced with details.The scenes were so vivid and immersive, it felt as if we were freediving right alongside the divers.
‘The Deepest Breath,’ much like freediving itself, emphasized the importance of camaraderie. It shows us a journey of a group of divers who became tight-knit underwater family. Their friendship and support shone through as they navigated challenges, faced their fears, and celebrated successes together.
As freedivers ourselves, we resonated deeply with the movie’s depiction of the thrill and tranquility found beneath the surface. The film’s exploration of the physical and mental aspects of freediving reminded us why we fell in love with this sport in the first place. We left the movie night with ignited passion, eager to plan our next adventure and dive even deeper.
‘The Deepest Breath’ brought waves of excitement and joy to our freediving movie night. From the captivating scenes to the stunning underwater visuals, the film made for an unforgettable experience. Watching it alongside our fellow freedivers added a sense of community and enthusiasm that made the night even more special.
Whether you’re a seasoned freediver or simply curious about the sport, ‘The Deepest Breath’ is an absolute must-watch. So grab your dive buddies, cuddle up with some delicious pizza, and prepare to be submerged in this underwater adventure.
Here’s one for the album. I’m so grateful that FAM organized the fun movie night for us, and hopefully, there will be much more fun nights like this to come.
If you have been following me on my social media you probably know that I’ve just recently passed my PADI Freediver course with my instructor Swen Becht. It was an incredible journey and here’s visiting my instructor and his team at their cozy nook; Freediving Adventure Malaysia- a freediving school & shop specialised in all things freediving.
I cannot speak highly enough of this specialized shop. As someone new to the freediving world, I was looking for a place that would not only offer top-notch courses but also provide high quality freediving equipments and apparela. Freediving Adventure Malaysia, or better known as FAM in the freediving circle, exceeded my expectations in every aspect.
First and foremost, their range of freediving courses is diverse and catered to various certification bodies such as PADI, AIDA, and Molchanovs. This is such a great advantage as it allows individuals to choose the certification that suits them best. The instructors at FAM are highly experienced and passionate about what they do. They truly care about their students’ progress and ensure a safe and enjoyable learning environment.
The training packages offered by FAM are outstanding. They provide a comprehensive learning experience that covers all aspects of freediving. From theory to practical sessions, the training is well-structured and progressive. Their approach caters to individuals at different skill levels, whether you’re a beginner or an advanced freediver.
What truly sets FAM apart is a one stop centre for freediving enthusiasts. Being able to find everything I needed in one place made my experience so much more convenient. The staff are knowledgeable and guided me in choosing the right gear that suits my needs instead of just focusing on making profits. This is absolutely commendable.
The equipment is of top-notch quality, which not only enhances my performance but also ensures divers’ safety during their dives.
The team at FAM is incredibly friendly, approachable, and always ready to assist you. They have created a warm and welcoming atmosphere in their shop, making you feel like part of a close-knit freediving community. They are more than happy to share their expertise, answer your questions, and provide guidance even after completing your certification.
Overall, my experience at FAM- Freediving Adventure Malaysia was exceptional. The courses are top quality, the instructors are passionate and knowledgeable, and the range of equipment and apparel is impressive. I highly recommend FAM to anyone interested in embarking on a freediving journey or wanting to further enhance their skills. You won’t be disappointed!
For more information on FAM, kindly hop to the links below:
Pulau Undan, located in Melaka, Malaysia, is a remarkable marine park known for its rich biodiversity and stunning coral gardens. However, like many other marine ecosystems around the world, it faces numerous challenges such as pollution, overfishing, and habitat destruction. To address these issues and conserve its marine life, Jabatan Perikanan Melaka has invited us, a group of individual scuba diver volunteers to remove ghost nets and promote coral propagation in the area.
Ghost nets, often lost or abandoned fishing nets, pose a significant threat to marine life. These nets continue to trap and kill marine animals, including fish, turtles, and dolphins, long after they have been discarded. Understanding the urgency to address this issue, the marine park conservation program at Pulau Undan has initiated a volunteer-led effort to remove these deadly nets from the surrounding waters.
Empty can make most noise, won’t you agree with that? Well, many people are like that. They talk a lot when it comes to conservation works, but when asked to contribute their time, efforts and energy, most of them shy away from getting their hands dirty.
I’ve seen plenty of those all talks and no action, but my teammates are not like that. They have that charismatic quiet strength in them. They’re definitely all action and not much talk and walk their talks with the CAN DO attitude.
Underwater clean up work is never an easy task. Even more so if the dive site is a low vis site. Some certain sites in Pulau Undan where most ghost net lies are exactly that-not for petty divers. Extensive dive plans are usually made to ensure the safety of the divers and it takes a lot of guts to do this kind of conservation work. The method and dive plans used for ghost net removals in limited vis sites is totally different from sites that offer crystal clear view.
If there’s somethin’ strange in the neighborhood Who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS! There’s somethin’ weird and it don’t look good Who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS! If there’s ghost net strangling corals under the sea, who you’re gonna call? GHOSTNET BUSTERS! 😂😂😂😂 Yep. My alter ego Auntie Cleaner is back in Pulau Undan at Taman Laut Melaka again this month. As usual, we were assigned to do underwater clean up again and here’s what my superhero teammates hauled up. More than 200kg worth of ghost nets! This time around I was also given the opportunity to visit and study the new fish homes and coral table over there where we learn to do some coral propagation stuff after our clean up works were done. Admittedly, my knowledge in that department is abit lacking and I’ve learned quite a few things during this volunteering trip, particularly in fish and coral identification study. I am grateful that things went smoothly this time in comparison to the previous round where it was quite nasty terms of undercurrent and visibility and we managed to complete the task given without a hitch. I like working with this bunch of buddies. They’re the best teammates ever and they always keep my moral up. They’re no nonsense type of people, and they always gets the job done quietly. Thank you everyone for diving safe and the job well done. Thank you for taking care of me throughout the entire trip and thank you Jabatan Perikanan Melaka for inviting us. Your trust in our ability is most appreciated. Pictures credit to photographer extraordinaire Abang Syam Cino . #iamssi#wearessi#ssimermaid#underwatercleanup#dofmelaka#wearessi#iamssi#realdiving#ssiambassador blueoceansprogram, #ssiblueoceans#marineecology @blueoceansprogram
Here’s a tribute video to my teammates, the volunteer divers for the Marine Park Conservation program by Jabatan Perikanan Melaka (DOF Melaka).
I claim no credit for the footage of the videos. Footage was mostly contributed by Azmir Khalid Syam Cino and Abang Rocky.
Equipped with cutting tools and specialized equipment, the Ghost Net team carefully navigate the reefs and search for any entangled nets. These nets are then cut loose and carefully brought to the surface, ensuring that no further damage is caused to the fragile coral reefs or the marine lives dwelling there. This isn’t an easy job at all, considering that Pulau Undan is famous for its low visibility and rough currents. Any lesser divers would give up abort the dive within minutes of entering these challenging sites.
Here’s what my teammates managed to bring up this time around.
More than 200kg worth of ghost nets.
Can you imagine what sort of damage that these have made and would have still been making should these still remain at depth in Pulau Undan? I’m glad we managed to remove this to prevent anymore damages in the area.
However, the conservation efforts go beyond just removing ghost nets. Recognizing the vital role that coral reefs play in maintaining the delicate balance of the marine ecosystem, our team also actively participates in coral propagation initiatives where we work alongside local experts to identify healthy coral colonies and carefully collect fragments for propagation.
I had the opportunity to visit the coral propagation table for a little while at Pulau Undan after the ghost net removal was done, and discovered that coral propagation works demanded totally different skill sets in comparison to removing ghost nets. It requires a lot of meticulous patience and fine motor skills apart from needing to be mindful of the marine creatures that might be curious about you while you’re working. This field of underwater clean up and conservation definitely requires a lot of knowledge and classroom efforts. You need to study, study, study and do more studies before you even consider doing this.
On another note, I saw lotsa coral fragments scattered around; which is not at the coral table area during inspection and I’m not sure what causes such a terrible mess. I guess this site needs more observation and extra care from us. Logically, that’s not supposed to happen, but hey…the underwater world can be unpredictable, so there is that.
That said, I’m glad that me and my buddies managed to complete the task given with ease. During this dive, we were supposed to remove dead coral fragments and quickly replace it with new ones, after which, clean ups in the surrounding area; eg: remove rubbish and ghost net pieces are resumed.
I have to say, the ‘riding the wave skills’ that I learned during mermaiding really comes in handy while doing clean up work over here at this particular site. As it’s really shallow dives, divers can be easily affected by the rolling waves.I would have felt this site particularly difficult should I have not learned this skill before.
I’ve learned a lot from this single dive and am hoping to develop more skills through this from now onwards.
Video footage materials were taken by underwater photographer extraordinaire Syam Cino and I claim no rights whatsoever to it. Video is strictly for personal documentary purposes only.
Coral propagation involves the process of growing new corals from these collected fragments and we have to attach these fragments to artificial structures called coral nurseries, providing them with a suitable environment to grow and thrive. Once these new corals reach a sufficient size, they are transplanted back into the natural reef, helping to restore and enhance the overall health and diversity of the marine park.
In all honesty, it’s not an easy job protecting the marine life at Pulau Undan. Our efforts hopefully will not only contribute to the preservation of a fragile ecosystem but also raise awareness about the negative impact of human activities on marine environments.
Here, I would like to thank all my teammates for a job well done. I hope that our volunteering efforts will make a substantial impact on the health and sustainability of our oceans. I really hope that our collective actions will one day transform Pulau Undan into a model marine park where corals are thriving, and marine species can flourish undisturbed.
Disclaimer: We were invited by DOF Melaka and we were not representing or associated with any profit/non-profit organization or any non-governmental bodies during this program. We are individual volunteers and are self-funded. We were not paid to do the conservation work, and received nothing in compensation for our efforts.
My buddies and I were invited for a conservation program by Jabatan Perikanan Melaka (DOF Melaka) last month and it is finally scuba diving day again after a month taking a break from doing any underwater clean up work due to the fasting month of Ramadan. It’s really nice to be back doing underwater clean up, I must say. This is my fifth time volunteering as an underwater cleaner at this dive site. There were other teams involved in their program, one is ghost net removal while another one is the coral propagation works. The mission for me and buddies after one month of hiatus; removing the ghost nets at Pulau Undan in Taman Laut Melaka. I wouldn’t be talking about other teams in this posting as I was not involved in their work in any way, and it wouldn’t do justice to write things that I did not experience myself. I mean, I shouldn’t take credit for the things that I did not do now, should I?
So here’s sharing the bits of things that me and my buddies did during the program; removing ghost nets.
Here’s my buddies Adam and Farid with the ghost net that we managed to cut off and bring up to the surface during our first dive.
Nasty piece of ghost net, isn’t it?
This particular piece is not easy to remove and bring up. Unlike mermaiding where everything is so chillaxing and beautiful, removing ghost nets is extremely unglamorous. Out of 5 times I’ve done ghost nets at Pulau Undan, Melaka, there were no pictures or videos of me or my buddies doing work underwater. Why? Cuz if I’m leading the team or if I’m coordinating the team, I always place a ban on cameras whenever we’re executing our missions. If you’re diving with me while doing clean up work, photography is a strict no. Divers who are photographers hate my gut, I kid you not. 😂
Why do we ban cameras? Unlike doing clean up works in an aquarium-like environment, diving in a low vis-high current environment to do clean up works is actually terrible. Even more so if we’re in ghost nets areas where we face the risks of being entangled in the nets. To date, the best vis my team got is usually just 1m max. That’s on good days. On bad days, we’re practically…well…you know, groping around to find ghost nets to bring up.
We can’t afford to be distracted even for 1 second. Just about anything can happen in 1 second in these sites that we usually work on. Pretty sad, you know. There are times I wish I could show off how wonderful all the buddies I’ve worked with and how efficiently they have done their part, but no… it’s not possible. At least not without compromising on the safety aspect of our mission. Even if we had a dedicated photographer to follow us around, the photographer too would be at risk of getting trapped in ghost nets while videoing us and stuff. So definitely a no no.
This round we only managed to bring these up during our first dive. And a few more ghost nets are not in the picture cuz by the time we managed to bring em up, we were already too exhausted to even think straight, what more thought of taking pics.
That said, it was a particularly extreme dive in comparison to our previous dives over here this round. Super high surface and underwater current. I was assuming a safety diver role during that dive and I must say it was not really fun. Thankfully my team is trained to handle situations like this well, or SAR mission would have been in order if they’re less competent divers. 🤧.
These are my dive buddies…my teammates during our conservation work at Taman Laut Melaka organized by DOF Melaka. We were part of the ghost net removal team. They’re the sort of people who quietly get the job done without asking for credits. I know some people questioned the ghost net team’s efficiency and competency in getting the job done, but they don’t know any better and I never once doubted their skills, not even for a moment. The group pic are the dudes I dive with during the program:
Cikgu Fariz Abang Syam Cino Abang Rocky Adam Lau Mohd Farid
So here I am, saying thank you for being great team players. Thank you for all your hard work. Thank you for being such great buddies. Without all of you, I wouldn’t be able to dive safely in such a challenging site and I wouldn’t be able to complete the tasks assigned to me with ease. I am grateful for my team. They’re the best I could ask for. Thank you team, for being such team players. Thank you for all your hard work. Thank you for taking care of me. And thank you for being safe.
Disclaimer: We were invited by DOF Melaka and we were not representing or associated with any profit/non-profit organization or any non-governmental bodies during this program. We are individual volunteers and are self-funded. We were not paid to do the conservation work, and received nothing in compensation for our efforts.
It’s a happy day for me, because I’ve finally earned this SSI pro t-shirt after so many months of training. This shirt is awarded to SSI dive pro candidates upon successful completion of their course.
Coincidentally the annual Malaysia International Dive Expo happens to be ongoing and so the first thing I did after receiving my t-shirt upon completion of my training was head over to the dive expo with my instructors.
The crowd was massive at MIDE 2023.Organised by AsiaEvents Exsic Sdn Bhd, MIDE is an annual event aimed at growing and strengthening the Malaysian dive community and businesses. It remains the most well attended event in Malaysia, and well-reputed for its trademark resilience and wide variety of top dive gear suppliers and international diving packages. Under ordinary circumstances, I would avoid crowded events like this. I have never gone to any dive expo since I became a certified diver, but this year I made an exception, because I’d like to join in the fun and meet people from the diving industry.
This is my instructor Suhaimi Salleh of KAIA Underwater Academy. I call him Abang Mie. I started off as an Open Water Diver with just 12 logged dives when I started taking scuba specialties with him. In a blink of an eye, I found myself already taking SSI Diver Stress and Rescue and after that, SSI Dive Guide course. This is because I really enjoyed learning with him. He’s really a nice guy. Never stingy with his knowledge and takes really good care of his students.
Twinning with my SSI Marine Ecology and SSI Dive Guide instructor. I call her Kak Syahnaz. She’s the best instructor you can ask for if you’re the manja type of student and cannot take harsh scolding. She’s a very nice teacher. She’s strict while teaching but never to the point that makes you feel like crying if you can’t do something well. She always motivate me and assures me when I was doing my SSI Dive Guide training.
Hates massive crowds but I went to MIDE regardless, this year. Because my family is there. All of these people are my martial family; my Laoshi, my bro, my Shi Jie and also my Shi Mu. They were toiling at Scuba Dobedo Divers’ booth.
I spent most of my time with them during the lockdown era learning Qigong and Taichi with them via Google Meet. I haven’t been seeing my bro Spiros Kyriazatis for a very, very long time since he went back to his home country. Miss him lots and promised him I’ll drop by in MIDE to visit him and Laoshi, and so I did.
The last time the 3 of us had a picture together was back in 2021, during my first fun dive after my open water certification at Empangan Semenyih, during our surface interval. I was only at my 11th dive and I was such a big baby and both my Laoshi and my bro had to take extra care of me. They must be really glad now that these days they don’t have to babysit me anymore whenever it comes to diving.😂
I’m really happy that we had a chance to take a picture together again this time.
My Laoshi and my bro are both dive pros from PADI. I on the other hand decided to pursue my diving career with SSI after my AOW, but no matter how high I’ve reach, or no matter how deep I’ve dive, they will always be the people I love and care about. They will always be my family.
The first person whom I personally shared my happiness with when I earned my SSI dive pro t-shirt is Tom Chan , my Qigong and Taichi Laoshi. Why? Because he is not only just my Laoshi, but he’s also like a father to me. He gave me lotsa care and love, and supported me in everything that I wanted to achieve. And Laoshi quietly taught me stuff to help me ease my journey. I have benefited alot from his knowledge and kindness. When I said I wanna go dive pro, he encouraged me. When I said I wanna be a mermaid, he helped me pick my first tail. When I told him I wanna take up freediving, he quietly taught me wellness Qigong so that it will be helpful in my breath holding. He didn’t say he was helping me, but I noticed, of course.
Like I said, I hate crowds, seriously, cuz the energy buzz is so high and it gets me feeling dizzy and disoriented, so I usually avoid going to expos where there are so many people gathering. But this year I made an exception mainly because I wanted to see him. Apart from sharing with him my good news, I also want to see him give talks. He’s one of the speakers at MIDE.
My Laoshi, Tom Chan is an in-house PADI Course Director at Scuba Dobedo Divers . He was one of the speakers in MIDE 2023. One of the reasons why I went to MIDE was to see him on stage. He gave talks on the Razor Sidemount system and why you should go sidemounting. I think Laoshi looks really sharp here. I usually see Laoshi in different settings, usually in our Qigong and Taichi class. Instead of holding a mic for a talk, he’d be using headphones while wielding Chinese weapons like sword, sabre, spear, Guandao and stick. Laoshi always wears white outfit during our practice session. He almost never wears black for our classes.
I don’t know if I will ever go tech-rec or tech in diving. I don’t know if I will ever be a sidemount diver. But if I ever decides to, I won’t pick anyone else to do sidemounting with. I’ll definitely choose to learn from Laoshi. He’s the best teacher ever. For now, I’ll just continue to be his naughty Energizer Bunny Taichi student. 😂
Maybe one day in the future, I’ll snap a picture of Laoshi on a totally different stage; say…Martial Arts tournament. Let’s keep a finger crossed on that. I’m rooting for that. Or maybe…it can be the other way around. Me on stage, performing and Laoshi can be my photographer.🤭😂😂
Apart from listening to my Laoshi’s talk, I also took the opportunity to go for dive gear shopping and of course, meet friends from the diving industry. It’s really rare to meet so many dive buddies at the same time and this is the perfect opportunity to meet and visit each other. Here’s sharing with you the people whom I’ve met and managed to catch up with during the MIDE 2023.
Yours truly with her PADI side of the family, attending a talk by Tom Chan . Yep. We’re my Laoshi’s pom pom boys and girls. Picture courtesy of the Akuana Malaysia hot dude, Ken Chang, first from the left.
On my right side is Swen Becht . He’s my PADI freediving instructor. Although I decided to pursue a scuba diving career with SSI, I decided to go with PADI for my freediving. Why? I could have chosen an SSI instructor too for my freediving, but I didn’t. Many people asked me why. Well, here’s why; this is because I choose the instructor, not the agency. My freediving instructor is an eye-candy, isn’t he? Yep. He is. No doubt he has a lot of fangirls trailing after him. But that’s not the reason why I decided to learn freediving from him. I decided to learn from him after I met him for the first time at Bandar Saujana Putra Lake. I was at the lake doing my weekly underwater clean up, and he happened to bring his students and I saw how he handled his students during class. I saw how he takes really good care of his students back then. Saw how he gave clear instructions while assuring his students during the training session and I liked how steady and soothing his energy is. It’s almost similar to my Laoshi and I thought, yes, this is the guy I wanted to learn freediving from one day. And to cut the long story short, I did ended up signing up freediving course with him.
Fast forward today, I’m confident that I’ll be learning a great deal about freediving from him. He’s a real good mentor as well. Really warm and easy to talk to and makes freediving really fun to learn. He always gives me assurance whenever I feel not confident about something. I’m definitely looking forward to our next freediving session soon.
On another note, Swen is the only instructor that I did not try to get him to try scuba diving or try mermaiding. This is because he’s also a scuba diver and he can also dive and swim with a monofin. No doubt he will make a good merman if he wants. It’ll be no fun to tease him like the rest of my teachers. 😂😂😂😂
Stay away, ladies. Swen is happily married and is a doting father to a really cute baby. You don’t stand a chance. So yea…don’t even think of trying to flirt with him.😂
Say hi to my friend, SSI Instructor Trainer around; Kevin Ling Hua Wei from. Wanna learn scuba diving? Go find him. Wanna learn freediving? Yep…he can teach you too. And yes…even if you wanna learn how to be a mermaid…or a merman, you can find him too. He can teach you those too. 🤭🤭🤭
Surrounded by hot SSI dudes. Two from the left are Vincent Lai and Ricky Koh. They’re SSI Area Managers. Their job scopes are to support SSI dive centres in administration/marketing and all the hard office stuff. Not easy stuff. It involves a lot of PR skills. Not for the faint hearted and definitely not for introverts.
Two on the right, Farid and Echa. Farid is my regular lake dive buddy and is also a dive buddy for underwater clean up volunteering works. Without him, conservation works would be really really dull.
A photo with buddies and the legends of the diving industry.
This is Nurul Zuraini. She’s one of the instructors whom I’ve had the privilege to learn from when I was an open water candidate for SDI. Well, she’s not exactly my instructor, but she’s one of the instructors that I keep bugging back then. I remember that I just finished off my confined water training and she was conducting a swimming class. Being typical Ellie, I shamelessly crashed into her swimming class in the pool with her students and begged her to teach me too. 😂
She’s also one of the people who gave me valuable advice when it comes to choosing my dive gear when I was still new in scuba diving.
It’s really nice to see her again after all these years. She once told me that one day I too will become a dive pro if I train hard enough. And true to her words…I did. 😃
Say hello to ZY Lim , Lee Kang Ee and Karen Choong . ZY needs no further introduction as you guys are probably already familiar with him by now as he’s my mer-buddy. Kang Ee is a scuba instructor+ merman while Karen is an SSI Mermaid Instructor at my mermaid school, Onshore Mermaid. I’m more used to seeing them all wet and in action at the pool, so it takes a little while for me to get used to their dry, on land looks. 😂
The lovely lady beside me is Amy Cheng . She’s a SSI Mermaid Instructor Trainer. She trains both mermaids and mermaid instructor candidates, which made her my principal at my mermaid school, Onshore Mermaid. Without her warmth and hospitality that drawn me to sign up for SSI Mermaid course last year, I wouldn’t be a certified SSI Mermaid today. Love ya, Teacher Amy. Thank you so much for keeping an eye on me at the pool and help me improve my mermaiding skills. 😘😍
This is En. Nawar. He’s the big guy in Jabatan Perikanan Melaka and is a conservation expert. Programs that he organizes usually cover the newly gazetted Taman Laut Melaka and consist of ghost net removals and coral propagation works. There are lotsa things I wanna share about ghost net removal, but I’ll leave it for the next postings for now.
Here’s my dive and gossip buddy David Tang . The last time I met him was during Grandpa Chan’s funeral. I’m so happy to be able to finally catch up with him in a non-sombre and a happy, high energy event.
On show at MIDE 2023 were the latest and greatest in scuba-diving related products and services, new lines including sailing expeditions and various watersports, but I was there more for the awesome people in the diving industry. MIDE 2023 was a great platform to catch up with inspiring and like-minded people who share the same interest and passion efficiently in a short period of time. I hope I’ll be able to do this again soon. Perhaps, in a different environment setting.
“I don’t know when I don’t know how But I know something’s starting right now Watch and you’ll see Some day I’ll be Part of your world”
Familiar with this song lyrics? I bet most of you are familiar with it. It’s part of the lyrics for the classic Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ movie’s original soundtrack. I grew up watching The Little Mermaid repeatedly. It’s one of the childhood movies that actually cultivates my love and fascination for the ocean. Growing up, my love for the ocean grows more and more. When I became a mother; I even named my son Adrian, after the beautiful Adriatic sea. In some ways, it’s because of this movie that I became a certified scuba diver, a real life mermaid, and hopefully soon, a certified freediver as well. I used to wish I could explore the sea like Ariel, and my wish did come true, to some extent.
But I’m not talking about my sea adventures and misadventures in this post. That will be in my next postings. What I’d like to share with you today is my mermaid school’s excursion to the cinema to watch the new live action version of ‘The Little Mermaid’
The movie outing was jointly organized by Onshore Mermaid and Mermaid Queen Swimming&Scuba Club at GSC Premier Hall in The Starling Mall, Petaling Jaya. Onshore Mermaid and Mermaid Queen Swimming and Scuba Club are both SSI certified mermaid centres and they offers mermaid and ecology courses of all levels to those who are interested in taking up mermaiding seriously.
So, what’s so special about this movie outing? It’s just another movie night out, right? Wrong. It’s a movie night out for us real life merfolks. Yep. We wore our pretty tails while watching Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’.
The media will have you believe that we’re just another group of crazy cosplayers or The Little Mermaid’s fanboys and fangirls who’s insane enough to watch the movies with our legs confined in a mermaid tail, but no, darling. We’re not just another typical ‘The Little Mermaid’s’ cosplaying fan. We’re real life mermaids. We swim and dive in the pools and in the ocean in our monofins and tails. We’re the real deal, darling.
As mermaids and merman, we are ocean ambassadors. Most of us mermaids and mermen works closely with organizations that are doing marine conservation works. Mermaiding is not just something we do to pass time. Some of us are serious volunteers in underwater clean up works while some others work closely with young children to cultivate awareness on how important it is to not pollute our oceans in a fun way.
Yours truly, for example is an ocean ambassador. She does regular underwater clean up and participates in plenty of ghost net removals programs, in line with SSI’s Blue Oceans initiative. SSI Blue Oceans movement supports the conservation and sustainable use of aquatic environments, including oceans, season, coasts, and waterways and their magnificent diversity of plants and animal species.
In organizing the movie night, both SSI mermaid centres hoped not only to offer a night of fun and special bonding moments for their students, but also to spread awareness on how important it is to keep our ocean safe and clean for a better and a more sustainable future.
For more information on the SSI Blue Oceans movement, head over to http://divessi.com or create a free user profile at MySSI app and get immediate access to SSI free trial programs. You may download the MySSI apps HERE.
May is a really busy month for me. I had my SSI Mermaid and also my SSI Dive Guide evaluation training throughout the entire month, and I didn’t have much time for anything else. As of writing, it’s already almost the end of May, and I only got the time to sit down to put thoughts into writing now. There are many updates and experiences that I want to share, but let’s start with this one; fun with my scuba diver buddies at Scuba Dobedo Divers’ shop grand re-opening.
It happened back on the 4th of May. And any Star Wars fans would say that it was an auspicious date- cuz it resonates with the Star Wars quote; May the force be with you( May the fourth be with you). Get it? Yes? No? Well, it’s ok. I’ll stop babbling and here’s sharing with you the fun stuff we did at the new Scuba Dobedo Divers’new shop.
Plenty of fun and educational activities were prepared for us divers.
There was an abundance of good food and plenty of fun. We participated in games and I personally learned lotsa new stuff during the event.
Participated in the Akuana race where we learned how to assemble a backplate BCD from scratch as well.
My team may have lost, but we still won back some knowledge and oh…a t-shirt in the process.
Stayed til late for their movie night and had plenty of ‘uncensored’ fun…but let’s just leave the uncensored part for later.
This is one of the crazy things we did that night. There’s many more pictures from where this comes from, but those other pics and videos are blackmail material 🙈🙈🙈🙈😂😂😂😂
The new shop is conveniently located in Akasa Cheras Commercial Centre. It’s an upgrade to the new expansion that they’re having as a PADI 5 stars IDC centre. Scuba Dobedo Divers is now currently a one-stop centre for scuba diving, freediving, swimming and also mermaid courses. So, if you’re interested in any of these, do give them a holler.
Remember I shared a posting about me and my family attending Onshore Mermaid Carnival last year? Well, here’s a follow up update after that event; after seeing so many mermaids, it inspire me to go for the full SSI Try Mermaid course with Onshore Mermaid, and the experience is nothing short of amazing. I was too timid to go for this on my own, so I dragged my husband along with me for it.
Instructor Carmen and Merman Lee Kang Ee were assigned to us for our SSI Try Mermaid session. I was really happy that Carmen was assigned as our instructor again, as we’ve met before during the event and I was really comfortable learning from her. We opted for the enhanced version with our instructor, which is a 4 hours sessions instead of a 2 hours session and I must say, it’s really satisfying.
The SSI Try Mermaid session kicked off with a quick photography session with us students wearing the tail skin (commonly known as the mermaid tail). Here’s Ms. Amy, the Mermaid Instructor Trainer briefing my husband on how to wear the tail skin and how to move while wearing it.
We were shown how to insert the monofin into the tail and how to wear wear it properly.
Here’s sharing with you some pics during the photography session.
We were taught how to pose prettily while wearing the tail.
It’s not easy to do this pose as I still couldnt get used to wearing the tail while in the water.
My husband posing while wearing the tail.
Couple shot
More couple shot
Another couple shot in the pool.
Family pic. Our son joined in the fun too. After the photography session, we then proceed to the shallow pool with max depth of 2m for some training. We were taught how to do the mermaid style swimming- the dolphin kick, swimming on the back while doing dolphin kick and side swimming. First we did it with the regular -bi fin, and then after we got used to it, we used monofin to swim. We were also shown how to enter and exit the water correctly while wearing our equipment.
Training in progress with Carmen and Kang Ee.
Although I’m a scuba diver and I have no issues with being in the water, having my legs bind together in a monofin honestly scares me a little bit. This is totally a new experience for me. I discovered that it’s quite hard to swim with the monofin on and takes quite awhile for me to get used to it, but I’m glad that I have a very patient instructor, and she makes me feels safe and well taken care of throughout the session.
I don’t know what good things I’ve done to deserve such supportive and inspiring teachers in my life. I have my Qigong and Taichi Laoshi, my Reiki Grandmaster, my scuba instructor(s), and now I have a mermaid instructor. All of them are very kind, generous and patient with me. And oh…some of them likes to feed me too.
Anyway, I was happy and motivated enough to continue with the full SSI Mermaid course, so my husband and I signed up for it and hopefully one day, I’ll be good and qualified enough to continue my mermaiding journey in the ocean, or as a professional mermaid.
So here’s embarking on another crazy adventure with my hubs in 2023 onwards. Wish us luck, folks.
That said, I’m grateful for all the experience. Embracing the good, and accepting the bad as they are.
Hoping for an abundance of love, health, wealth, happiness and success in 2023. 🙏
Ps: Wanna try mermaiding? Contact Onshore Mermaid for more info on how to get started.
I planned to go for a movie with my son today, since it’s public holiday and all that and I have nothing better to do. You know, Wakanda Forever has been showing in the cinema for awhile and I’ve been wanting to watch it. But in the end, instead of going to the cinema to watch Wakanda Forever, I opted to do something else; which is attend the SSI React Right organized by KAIA Underwater Academy.
React Right is SSI’s emergency first response course for both divers and non divers alike. It provides us with the training and knowledge we need in order to act as a first responder in a real life medical emergency.
Although I’m already a Basic Life Support Provider, it’s been awhile since I get to practice my skills, so this is a good opportunity to refresh and review my knowledge, with a real doctor as and real medical assistants, no less.
Here’s sharing with you pictures taken in class today with Dr. Syakir Halek. Learning with him is awesome, as he’s not only a doctor, but a scuba diver as well- so it’s easy to ask questions about medical emergencies that’s caused by diving accidents.
Throughout the program, participants were taught primary assessment, first aid, CPR and primary stabilization techniques. Apart from that, we were also taught how to use Automated External Defibrillator (AED)as well as oxygen administration in diving emergencies.
Dr. Syakir Halek demonstrating how to assess emergency situation before proceeding with CPR demonstration.
Participants were shown how to use Automated External Defibrillator (AED) during emergency.
We’re being taught how to deal with choking victims.
First aid portion of SSI React Right course. Here we were shown how to give first aid and treat minor injuries.
The academic session encouraged active participations, so it’s really a lot of fun.
And watching my classmates in action during practical training session definitely beats watching Wakanda Forever.
Yours truly during the CPR hands on session.
My instructor Dr. Syakir Halek evaluating my performance during the CPR practical session. This is not easy to pass, because instead of the old mannequin, they’re using state of art mannequin with build-in detector on your CPR quality. The mannequin is synced with a smart device apps that will give you the rating for your performance- on whether you did your chest compression and rescue breaths correctly or not. If you didn’t perform correctly, then you will be need to repeat the entire CPR sequence all over until you get it right.
My instructor Suhaimi Salleh demonstrating how to administer oxygen.
Unlike other first aid/ Emergency First Responder (EFR)/ Basic Life Support(BLS)courses out there where they only offers only first aid, CPR and AED training, SSI React Right course offers an added value where Oxygen Administrator training is also included.
All SSI React Right participants are required to demonstrate how to administer oxygen during medical/diving emergencies as well, so at the end of the day, you will not just be a qualified emergency first responder, but a qualified oxygen administrator as well.
Here’s a picture of my classmate being funny after demonstrating how to administer oxygen during emergency.
So did I managed to pass? Yes, thankfully, I did, despite of the high standards. Although I think there’s room for improvements on my CPR and first aid skills, but I managed to pass. Thank God for that.
One thing I like about continuing my education with SSI is that it gives me instant gratification -where I don’t have to wait for a couple of days, weeks or even months long to see my certification being issued. Waiting is not my forte. I’ve never been such a patient person, so having to wait for the fruit of my hard work is such a turnoff.
With SSI, as long as you’ve completed your courses to your instructor’s satisfaction, they will immediately certify you and you can see your certs in your MySSI apps. It feels really rewarding, and in many ways, this encouraged me to keep learning.
One for the album. Here’s all the people who made my learning experience a lot of fun.
Thank you fellow instructors and KAIA Underwater Academy for the knowledge. You guys are awesome!
SSI React Right course is open to both divers and non-divers alike as well as Divepros who are interested to be React Right instructors.
If you’d like to learn basic first aid skills, I’d say go for this one, considering it is also inclusive of Oxygen Administration training. Group and corporate training can also be arranged at special rate.
For further inquiries or to sign up for the course you may contact KAIA Underwater Academy at:
Did you know that you can dive in Melaka? Yes. There are diving spots in Melaka, Malaysia. They are Pulau Undan, Pulau Nangka and Pulau Dodol. These three islands were proposed to be gazetted as Melaka Marine Parks and they are currently in the final stages of the gazetting process. The islands are just about 2 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur. It’s a less traveled place(s) that you can consider should you want to go for some peaceful, non-congested snorkeling or diving.
The distance between these islands in Melaka are close to the mainland. So if you go in the morning, you can return in the evening and it’s only 20 minutes boat ride from the jetty.
These small islands is home for untouched coral gardens with all sorts of captivating marine creatures. These islands are the best alternative for hardcore divers of all disciplines if they are unable to dive in the East Coast due to the monsoon season. These islands are great for snorkelers too.
The local authorities only allowed access to these islands during the day with limited numbers of boat making trips over, but despite of these regulations, some areas surrounding the islands are infested with ghost nets due to fishing activities.
Ghost net is a huge eco-problem. They’re fishing nets that has been abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded in the ocean. More often than not, the ghost nets are nearly invisible in the dim light. They’re usually tangled on a rocky reef or drifting in the open sea.
If not removed, the ghost nets can cause further destruction by smothering coral reefs, devastating shorelines, and damaging boats.
Having realized the issue, Department of Fisheries Melaka (DOF) has decided to take drastic action by organising a Marine Conservation program last Saturday on 5th November 2022; where the mission is to focus on removing the ghost nets from the Malaccan waters.
A bunch of scuba divers, including yours truly and buddies came forward to play small part in the ghost net removal programs.
En. Nawar A. Karim from DOF, giving us divers a short briefing on the clean up plans before we proceed to board the boats that will take us to the islands at the Umbai Jetty.
Listening to the clean up plan of the day. Participants were split into groups for easier coordination.
On board the boat, on the way to Pulau Undan for our first dive and second dive at Pulau Nangka.
A selfie to kill time before we arrived at our dive spot.
My buddies for the conservation program; Cikgu Fariz, Abang Icam and Abang Rocky. Briefing and making dive plans.
Preparing to rock and roll
Managed to take some cute couple pic with my husband before descending and getting down to business.
Another cute pic. Yea. I like taking pictures like this before I start the dive of the day. It helps me keep up the upbeat energy.
Volunteers from other group.
Abang Mael, a participant from other group, getting ready to descend.
Happy faces before descending for our ghost net removal dives. Dark pictures as weather wasn’t quite favourable for us.
It was cloudy and slightly drizzling when we started to dive and it is one of those limited visibility dive again.
Visibility was barely 1m with strong current. Not for faint hearted divers as visibility is kinda bad and body contact were needed throughout the dives, but I absolutely love it.
It was extremely rewarding. Spotted healthy coral gardens with huge red and white sea-fan. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to spot anything as diving in the West Coast of Malaysia is well known for bad visibility but it was really an extraordinary experience, to be able to see sea-fans that are almost as huge as me. If anything, there’s a whole world of undiscovered secrets down there.
On a darker note, ghost nets strangling the corals aplenty too. It’s just as we were told during our briefings.
They’re really hard to remove and it’s so sad that we couldn’t clear everything during our dives. Weather wasn’t exactly favourable to us. Strong currents and bad visibility made it a challenge for us to gather more ghost nets to remove.
But managing to clear some is better than nothing at all, isn’t it?
I’m really sad to see these infesting our waters.
The ghost nets are one of the major contributor to the ocean plastics crisis.
Most modern nets are made of nylon or other plastic compounds that can last for centuries and they’re mostly responsible for trapping and killing a significant number of marine creatures. Ghost nets causes irreversible harm to coral reefs too—breaking corals, exposing them to disease, and even blocking the reefs from the sunlight that they need to grow. They need to be removed at all costs.
One for the album. These are the guys who made rough, limited visibility dives feels like a breeze and work dives feels like a fundive. I’d dive again with them in a heartbeat.
Thank you buddies for taking care of me throughout the entire diving trip. Hope I’ll have the opportunity to dive with all of you again in the future.
