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Originally from the city, Graham spent his childhood summers on the water, whether it was sailing, fishing or tinkering with boats (which eventually led to a career in engineering). He started diving after he went to a club open night 30 years ago. After spending lots of time diving in West Cork, he started diving abroad. Every holiday destination he chose was based on where he could next go diving. He’s seen underwater worlds in Australia, Mexico, the Canaries, Africa and Cape Verde to name a few.
Early on he focused on learning technical and deep diving. Then he got into photography and this is what keeps him diving now; there is always something new to see and photograph underwater. He could dive in the same place here every day and see something different every time. It is this variety that makes him love diving in Ireland. It is often more challenging than in warmer places, and for that is more rewarding.
As skipper of the boat Graham’s experience as a diver and instructor along with his knowledge of the dive sites are vital for safe diving. He can foresee any potential issues and is able to brief those going down on the layout and conditions.
Lin, originally from northeast China, moved to Shanghai in her mid-twenties, and after studying art, took a job as an assistant in a dive centre. Her boss there pointed out that to be a good assistant she really should to learn to dive. So she got her PADI Open Water and her Advanced Open Water. She then worked in non-diving related jobs, but never forgot the feeling of release that came from diving – from being underwater and hearing nothing but the sound of breathing and bubbles.
When she moved to Ireland and found OceanAddicts, the experience of diving was a big change for her from the warm, clear water she’d learned to dive in. She struggled at first and was scared, but under the guidance of Anne and Graham, who always put safety first, she got over her fear and progressed in her ability and her training to become a qualified instructor herself.
Now she loves teaching others, helping them to improve and move past their nervousness and she takes pride in seeing their confidence grow. For her life would be boring without diving, without learning ever more about the marine environment from Graham and Anne (who she likens to encyclopaedias) and without having the opportunity to play with seals!
The thing Anne loves most about instructing is seeing the wonder someone experiences when you take them down for the first time, seeing the tension disappear and their face light up underwater. She gets tremendous satisfaction from witnessing students, who might be nervous and find it difficult at the start, grow in confidence and competence, and reach their qualification goals.
Ever since watching nature programmes on television with her family when she was growing up, Anne had wanted to dive. At the time she learned, in the 1990s, the only way to do so without travelling was to join a dive club, so that’s what she did (and that’s where she and Graham met). Ever since that first dive she has loved being underwater; all her other hobbies gradually faded away. She sees diving as almost a life skill – it opens up so much of the world to us.
To say Anne is enthusiastic about marine life would be an understatement. Her interest is infectious and she is all too happy to share her extensive knowledge of sea critters with others. She loves seeing that same passion develop in others and seeing the effect their growing awareness has on their actions around caring for the marine environment.
