Today I attained the highest recreational level diver rating available from PADI, the Master Scuba Diver rating.
To receive the Master Scuba Diver rating you must be an Advanced Open Water Diver and Rescue Diver, have attained at least 5 PADI Specialties, and logged a minimum of 50 verifiable dives, all of which I completed tonight with my first ever night dives.
Diving at night is a whole different experience than diving in the daytime, especially for someone that is claustrophobic like I am. It was a challenge, but one that I was able to meet. I will begin working on my Night Diver Specialty soon as well as some other specialties.
I am also starting the Dive Master Candidate course to become a PADI Dive Master.This is the first step in moving from recreational diving over into professional diving, which is my next logical choice since I have now attained the highest level in the recreational side of diving.
I was so proud when I completed my MSD… congratulations!! (http://in-over-my-head.com/2011/07/12/master-andrew-harris-2)
Thank you very much. Since I just started diving at the end of January it was a shock when my instructor told me that I qualified for the Master Scuba Diver rating just over 2 months later.
I in no way feel like a “Master”, but I will admit that I have come a long way in such a short amount of time, especially considering my claustrophobia and other fears.