“I was redirected to Reef Haven from a local dive shop and it ended up being a blessing in disguise. Finding a female-owned dive shop was exactly what I needed, especially as a woman in a male-dominated dive industry. I was thrilled to be amongst other women and on the first day of meeting everyone, I instantly felt welcomed and part of a community.” – Laura Currier
From Open Water to Divemaster: Laura’s Quest to Achieve her Ultimate Goal!
Becoming a divemaster has been a goal for Laura since first discovered diving. She has always been fascinated by the underwater world and made the decision to get certified. After completing the open water course, Laura became instantly addicted and her instructor recognized their potential to pursue becoming a dive master and potentially an instructor one day.
Despite having only dived for two years, Laura was ready to pursue becoming a dive master, but her plans were delayed due to the outbreak of Covid-19. Once restrictions were lifted, she began researching potential dive destinations and ultimately settled on Puerto Galera in the Philippines, specifically due to its close proximity to Verde Island.
She then began searching for the perfect dive shop, taking into consideration the impact of Covid-19 and the timing of their visit during the low season. She was excited to start her divemaster training with her instructor Rose, who was well-known around the area and an OG of Puerto.
Throughout her divemaster journey, Rose shared a lot of her knowledge and experience with Laura. On her first day, she helped support a DSD course and quickly jumped into the responsibilities that come with being a dive master. The next day, Laura went on her first dive in the area with a guide at Ernie’s Point. As soon as she dropped in, she knew that Puerto was the right decision for her.
Laura was fascinated by all the huge, healthy corals around her and discovering macro diving in the area. Ernie’s Point is one of her favorite dive spots in the area and holds a very significant memory in her dive master journey, it’s where she fell in love with Puerto Galera. The guide Basil was the first guide she met and he shared a lot with her.
According to Laura, the dive master journey at Reef Haven was made richer with the guidance of different guides like Basil, Jeremy, Billy, Warren, Tax, and Marlon. She always kept her ears open to learn from their experiences and take feedback. She also learned a lot from the boat captains and crew. They were open and flexible in allowing her to help out on the boat and integrating her into their flow.
Her training began with learning the ins and outs of the dive shop and studying. Trish helped Laura a lot with understanding all about the dive shop and she was lucky to have her as a mentor. Trish took her time and was patient in helping her and taking on tasks. Laura appreciated learning how to refill tanks within her skill set.
After a week or two, Laura got into a groove, despite the physical toll of lifting tanks and constantly feeling like she was on the move. She also found it beneficial to go through the training with another dive master student and work as a team. Studying proved to be challenging but important.
“My Dive Master journey at Reef Haven was challenging but rewarding. I struggled with the physics part of scuba diving but my instructor Rose helped me understand it better. The training revealed my weaknesses and I had to face them.” Said, Laura.
Despite getting frustrated, Laura kept going and focused on her love of diving. She started to practice guiding and became nervous about safety and finding interesting things. Rose and Julienne, the owner, supported her and gave her advice and feedback.
She learned to organize her thoughts and set up for dives. She enjoyed briefings and guiding friends and new divers. A highlight was visiting Verde Island. She also discovered Puerto’s underwater world and fell in love with macro life. She felt accomplished at the end of her journey and is excited to start guiding and come back to Reef Haven.
Reef Haven Diving School is thrilled to congratulate Laura Currier on her recent accomplishment of completing her Dive Master instruction with us. This is a significant achievement in the world of scuba diving, and we are proud to have been a part of her journey. We express our gratitude and recognition towards Reefhaven staffs for their hard work and dedication in helping Laura achieve mastery in scuba diving.
