Already more than 2 years ago I came to an agreement with Joe’s Gone Diving to organize PADI IDC’s in Bali. Because of the pandemic, it took until this July before it actually happened.
Now, the tourism in Bali is back to normal and it was actually quite busy, even if July is actually only the start of the main season.
Joe’s Gone Diving
Joe’s Gone Diving is a small but busy diving center in the heart of popular Sanur. They have been running many PADI IDC’s and Divemaster programs in the past so their facilities, although small, are perfectly suited to run pro-level courses. An air-conditioned classroom, computer stations for students to use, a great swimming pool, and a garden to relax. All in a colorful setting.
All-female PADI IDC
For July IDC we had a team of English and German-speaking ladies. It was also the first time for me to have an ‘all-female IDC’. Like always in the IDC we spent most days practicing skills in the pool in the morning and going to the classroom in the afternoon to study diving theory and to show the candidates classroom presentations. In between we enjoyed a great lunch of nasi goreng or nasi campur in the garden.
The PADI Instructor Exam also took place in Sanur but all locations were just outside walking distance. Luckily we had a taxi at our disposal all day to take us to the hotel (theory exam), swimming pool, and beach for the open water segment. It was still very early in the season so the candidates and examiners had to deal with challenging conditions; a bit of current and limited visibility.
Instructor Specialties
For the MSDT portion of the course, we joined the ongoing dive trips at Joe’s Gone Diving. We spent one day in Padang Bay and even though we were doing navigation skills, we managed to see some nice marine life like cuttlefish, moray eels, and even a leaf scorpionfish. On the second day of the MSDT program, we did some great diving in Tulamben on the Liberty wreck.
All in all a great start for Asia Scuba Instructors IDC’s in Bali. I am looking forward to the next IDC in Bali in October which will be entirely in German language!
