21 Jul 2024
We completed our RAID openwater and advanced certification with James and Armand from LBD this week. We had an absolutely fantastic time, so much so that we ended up staying to complete another five dives. James is incredibly experienced, amazing at teaching both the theory and practical elements of safe diving, and really fun to dive with. At the end of the course, we felt confident in both the water and our skills.
We not only gained certification but also really enjoyed each of our dives, and James ensured we dived at different sites to practice different skills and varying depths. James was also great at spotting things we missed, including rays and moray eels.
We enjoyed it so much that we ended up changing our travel plans to complete the RAID Advanced 30 certification, including navigation, ship wrecks, and night dives up to 30 meters. We have seen groupers hunting, blue-spotted rays, clownfish hosting in anemones, and swam amongst shoals of fussilers and along beds of coral. A highlight was the night dive and seeing the bioluminescent plankton when we turned our torches off and waved our hands.
I would highly recommend booking with LBD and, in particular, requesting James or Armand, who was supporting another group alongside us and was also fantastic, friendly, and had great advice. Thank you for making our experience amazing.