Surface Time with Stephanie

During the Surface Time today, I Skyped with the Dynamic Trio from South China Diving Club in Hong Kong. Rob Christie, Alex Grioni and Andy Niven.

All four of us shared a special memorable dive trip to Timor Leste back in 2010. All of them have returned for a second visit. It just felt right to reminisce the trip and hear their stories on their returned-visit to that country.

Just a quick caveat – these 3 have known each other for a long time, counting by decades. So when an American, an Italian and a Scot are in the same room, we will call that the Orderly Chaos Department. Feel free to pause and pour yourself a glass of vin before you continue listening to their stories.

Behind all the banters, their friendships have been forged and deepened over the years through their shared passion for scuba diving and the engagements in the club, from running the training to leading dives. And naturally, socialising with one another on their weekly Thursday club nights.

The club has been and still is a delightful place to meet other like-minded people. If you live in Hong Kong or are visiting Hong Kong and want to meet them, just go to Aberdeen Boat Club (that is the building right next to Aberdeen Marina Club) on a Thursday night. You will definitely be greeted and welcomed warmly by the club members. Go and connect with them.

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During the Surface Time today, I sat down with my friend Jonny Ma who was visiting Singapore, en route to London. We first met through Project X Team where we did all sorts of adventurous activities like rock climbing and scuba diving. Over the years, we kind of adopt one another as the “unofficial” extended family members. This is one of the occasions where we get to have this “sibling-like” chats about life in general. But first, we need to set the tone clear on one thing...

By the way, if you happen to be one of his students and find that he swears a lot, just put this down as your privilege of getting to see the fuller version of Jonny, which only shows up when he is in a comfortable and non-judgmental company. You may find him even more relatable.

Joking aside, I really love when Jonny highlighted that rock climbing and continue to doing it has been a positive and profound life experience for him. I could relate to that both in rock climbing and scuba diving, even though between the two, I would pick scuba diving first.

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During the Surface Time today, I spoke with David Joyce and Matt Reed of Evolution Dive Resort in Malapascua, Philippines. So, for all shark-loving divers, Malapascua is the place to go for sightings of thresher sharks. It is a remote island with limited resources. Tourism, especially, scuba diving plays a significant role in the livelihood of the island.

When David and Matt first established Evolution, it was never meant to be just another dive resort. Their sweat and tears have earned not only the accolade of being a 5-Star Dive Resort rightfully, but also a special mention in the National Geographic book “A Diver’s Guide to the World” by Carrie Miller and Chris Taylor. Here is “what”, “how” and “why” it is one of my favourite dive resorts in Philippines.  

Having listened to their stories, it has further validated my belief that the making of a great business is more than about making money. While making money is still a priority, it is equally important to incorporate personal values and life philosophy into the business.

In doing so, it creates circular benefits, like the butterfly effect, spreading the feel-good factor across to all the stakeholders. We as the travellers and scuba divers visit the island, which helps to improve local economy. The island residents get to enjoy better quality of life and, therefore, continue to making the effort to protect the environment. In turns, the environment and ecosystem above and beneath the surface bounce back and continue to thrive. And circle back to us, scuba divers, get to enjoy the healthy marine environment, warm connections with the residents, making more new memories. In other words, it’s karma – what goes out there will come back to you; and often in multiples.

By the way, the Craic House does take the hospitality very seriously. You must experience it yourself. 

Connect with Evolution in Malapascua

W: https://evolution.com.ph/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/evolutiondivingmalapascua/

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T: +63 917 631 2179

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Carrie Miller and Chris Taylor, the wife-husband team who have written a book called “A Diver’s Guide to the World”, published by National Geographic.  The book is out in the U.S. on 6 December 2022. Before the chat, I was given a preview to one of the chapters. Immediately, I could see that this book is written with the special and purposeful intentions. It reads more like a story book, rather than the typical guidebook. Yet I can also sense the emotions about the place and experiences embedded in between the lines. There are definitely more stories to be uncovered.

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Hello. I am Stephanie Luo. Welcome to "Surface Time : Confessions of a Diving Junkie", Series 3.

In producing this passion project, one of the motivations that have kept my enthusiasm going is the ongoing effort to express and articulate “why it is so easy to open up and make friends with other scuba divers?”.

It is a fact that our need to connect with others is fundamental to our well-being, be it with people, animals, nature and even the supernatural beings (in whatever terms that you prefer to call such as god, angels, spirit or Universe).

In Series 3, what immediately stands out as a common theme is the “power of human connection”. When we travel, we connect with people, whether it is a brief shared moment or whether it is the beginning of a long-term relationship or to deepen a relationship. When we connect, it means that we choose to trust them, with or without reservations. The amazing part is that we are all travellers from different parts of the world and yet we are all about seeking new experiences, learning new things, meeting new people and exchanging positive energy with our stories. When we walk away, we do get inspired one way or another.

The extra specialness for scuba divers is that when scuba divers connect with one another, the bond would be formed immediately. This is because there are already some shared values and understandings derived from being under the water. This is the magical moment when we set aside our mental and emotional baggage and embrace collectively and individually as human.

In each episode, we will hear about the impact that has been created with the power of human connection.

With the annual festive celebrations, Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year, all are happening in the coming 6-7 weeks, it is the special time to connect with your loved ones, whether in person or by phone, to show some love and share enjoyable moments.

Tune in to each episode and let your curiosity and imaginations wonder along.

And it will be fab to show us some love by sharing Surface Time with your friends and family. I am certain that this podcast will be a great antidote to small talks and can be a nice ice-breaker or even a great conversation for your endless social gatherings.

Thank you for listening. Enjoy the Confessions. Ciao!

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Hello, I am Stephanie Luo. Welcome to “Surface Time : Confessions of a Diving Junkie”.

I hope that the dialogues in Series 2 have given you different perspectives about “following your heart”.

For me, when I listened back to each episode, I really love the excitement and passions radiating the guests as they recount their stories. And that happy vibe can be contagious. Probably enough to make you to look at your life differently, especial if you happen to be contemplating on some issues or ideas. And it would be great, if the happy vibe has made you plug up the courage and start exploring the unchartered path in life.

By default, we tend to be programmed to want a life with stability, comfort, certainty, feeling secured etc. At the same time, we are constantly craving for new life experiences and adventures. It is an oxymoron. In that, taking risks can be dauntingly exhilarating and yet very liberating for the soul. All of these are important ingredients to our wellbeing.

Using diving as an example. Going underwater is totally unnatural for our physical body. For the most obvious reason, we cannot breathe underwater like a fish. When water gets inside our lungs, our chances of survival get reduced drastically by the second. I think the technical term for that is drowning.

So some people would decide to play safe, stay away from open water and possibly never experience what it would be like being underwater. Some of us may choose to go free diving by training to hold the breath for as long as possible. Others, like me, prefer using scuba gears to explore the underwater, especially, when I can use NITROX, that is my go-to happy gas.

In a way, we can say that the regular act of going underwater is a constant practice of testing and expanding the boundaries of our own comfort zone. There are risks involved. Real tangible risks. Yet these are manageable as long as we follow the safety protocol and control our fear, like staying calm at all time would be great.  

When we go underwater, we are simply intoxicating ourselves with the wonders of this Blue Planet. Many of us keep going back for more. You may ask "why?".

One of the reasons is that when we are underwater, we have to stay calm at all time. The calmer we are, the easier we breathe. The more awareness we have about ourselves and the surrounding. The more clarity we have in our head. And speaking from personal experience, and I am very confident that many scuba divers would agree, that every hour spent underwater is a Happy Hour! We can continue the same sensation when we are on land.

Oh by the way, we should never talk about getting outside of our own comfort zone because that is just too heavy and scary for our mind to process. Hence, we need tell our mind that we are just expanding the coverage area of our comfort zone as we experience something new. Essentially, we are tricking our mind that we are taking risks within our comfort zone.  

For non-divers, if you are still on the fence about scuba diving, why not just give it a go? You won’t know if you will become a diving junkie until you have tried it. For new divers, keep diving. The more you do it, the better you get. Dive with different people. Learn new techniques. Optimise your safe diving practices. For well-seasoned with salt and pepper experienced divers, keep sharing your passion.

We will be back before Christmas for the next Series. Until then, I will leave you to ponder a couple of questions:

If you are to recount a “wow” moment from listening to Surface Time, what was that? And why is that?

Looking at your life now, what is lighting you up? What do you want to do more to light yourself up?

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and comments on our IG account @surfacetimechats.

In the meantime, stay curious and let your heart leads you to the next adventure.

Ciao!

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During the Surface Time today, I spoke with Gary Tyson, a British Army veteran turned chronic diving junkie. He called himself a hustler in life as he experiments different ways of making photos and videos. Land and underwater. And more importantly, finding ways to fund his love for travels and gadgets. When you hear him explaining why shooting a wedding is more stressful than shooting in Iraq, you may find “being a hustler in life” is an understatement.

Gary has found scuba diving to be the best solution for him to satisfy his OCD, his passion for photography, his gift for teaching and his addiction to the ocean water. If you are planning a scuba diving trip in the Philippines, do look him up. There is no doubt that he would be utterly useless in translating Tagalog. Luckily, his gold standard diving practice and may be charm should make up for it.

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W: www.f8.photography

FB: www.facebook.com/GaryTysonphotographer

IG: @garytysonunderwater/ @garytysonphotographer

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During the Surface Time today, I managed to Skype in with Natasha Grabner. She was my first junior scuba diver student. When I certified her, she just turned 10. 5 years on, she has had accumulated enough diving experiences than many adult divers in their life time. Like her father once described her fondly: this girl has more balls than the boys in her class.

To date, my youngest guest on the show. It was clear that we could be having a marine biologist and a renown underwater documentariste in the making, assuming the role as an influencer raising awareness constructively through photography, scuba diving and her passion for ocean waters.

Follow Natasha's Journey via IG

IG: www.instagram.com/underwater_wonders_by_tasha/

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During the Surface Time today, I caught up with Gary Stokes in Discovery Bay of Hong Kong. He is a veteran crew member of Sea Shepherd until they left Asia. He then founded OceansAsia to continue with the “intelligence-based” conservation work in the region. He and his team have been investigating and exposing the bad guys who have committed wildlife crimes and seeing justice done.

He has given us some insight to how he and his team have been creating the impact, raising awareness and seeing sustainable and constructive changes to our environment. It is in a way, a thank-less job, which mission can only be achieved by integrity and commitment to do good. Ironically, we do wish him all the best that he will be out of this job sooner rather than later.

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FB: www.facebook.com/oceansasia.org

IG: www.instagram.com/oceansasia/

E: [email protected]

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During the Surface Time today, I had the joy of catching up with a dear friend, Emma Dabbadie, who has been living in Cape Town, South Africa for some time, in pursuit of her marine science research and discoveries. When we spoke, she was fresh off the scientific schooner called Tara from an expedition along the West Africa coast, as part of the Mission Microbiome, where they are uncovering the benefits of the ocean microbiome and the interactions with the climate and pollution. Hopefully, her research will lead to some magical ways of reversing the climate emergency and global warming. 

To Learn more about Fondation Tara Ocean

W: https://fondationtaraocean.org/en/home/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/fondationtaraocean/

Photo credits ©Maéva Bardy - Fondation Tara Ocean (IG:

https://www.instagram.com/maevabardy/)

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