Student Qasim Taher Alsaegh is making a splash in his part-time career as the kingdom’s youngest scuba diving instructor.
The leisure activity is growing in popularity at different diving sites around the island, historically famed as a nation with a deep tradition of pearl diving.
Bahraini Alsaegh’s childhood fascination with the ocean has already rewarded him with numerous underwater adventures ... with more to come.
“In July 2017, while working in an educational centre, I was searching for something new to do in Bahrain,” explained Mr Alsaegh, 20, a civil engineering student at the University of Bahrain.
“I found out that there were scuba diving lessons, joined a beginner’s level course called ‘open water diver’ and was hooked.”
Last year, he completed a Divemaster course in Bahrain – a programme allowing instructors to acquire the necessary skills and experience required to safely lead groups of certified divers.
Mr Alsaegh giving a dive site briefing during a boat trip in Bahrain
Mr Alsaegh has already guided different divers from various backgrounds on more than 10 trips through the kingdom’s underwater theme park famed for its decommissioned Boeing 747 wreckage centrepiece.
He has also helped guide more than 35 trips at different sites, including Abulthama reef and the AlBoom wreck, as well as pearl diving experiences.
Now, he hopes to become an instructor trainer travelling to dive sites around the world.
“I’d like to live abroad crossing East Asia, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador and the Red Sea as well as diving in Mexican caves using side-mounted cylinders or rebreather devices,” he said. “Divers are limited by depth and time during the dives. That’s why I decided to take an extended range and advanced course last month in Saudi Arabia that allows me to stay longer and deeper.”
Mr Alsaegh gets certified as an Open Water Instructor in Saudi
Hypoxic
The advanced trimix diver course is the top level of training for open circuit divers wishing to dive to depths as deep as 100m, utilising hypoxic levels of oxygen (below 17 per cent).
He also took a three-week Instructor Training Course in Jeddah where he participated in pool training, lectures, evaluations and sea sessions to make sure that he can deliver the skills and knowledge safely and professionally to future divers.
He has trained divers as young as 12 and hopes to inspire more.
“The instructor’s mission is to create inspired divers who enjoy their new hobby,” said Mr Alsaegh from Isa Town.
“Once I became certified, diving was like watching The Blue Planet in high-definition 3D, only better! In fact, the desire to deliver safe, knowledgeable information, seeing the happiness on the faces of students after their first breath underwater really motivates me.
“What I love about it is the fact that the ocean covers 71 per cent of the earth’s surface and yet is one of the planet’s last undiscovered frontiers.
“I enjoy diving near marine creatures, hearing the sound of my bubbles and marine life and just swimming in peace. Plus, no cell phones!
“Moreover, on each dive trip, I meet new people sharing the same hobby.”
Mr Alsaegh’s aquatic journey originally began when he backpacked around the world on his own.
His first trip took him to Turkey where he was delivering sustainable development goals of quality education in Izmir. By the end of the camp, he packed up his equipment and took a bus to different cities and stopped by Bodrum for a full day of scuba diving.
He then travelled to Albania to explore the underwater life in Saranda which boasts various caves and hidden gems. Saranda is a coastal town situated on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea known for its deep blue waters of the Mediterranean.
He added: “I have been to Egypt, Sri Lanka, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for scuba diving. Egypt ranked second for being the best scuba diving destination in the world and has some of the best dive sites. Sri Lanka offers you a wide range of shipwreck dive sites, especially in Colombo where the possibility of seeing a whale shark is quite high.
“The most memorable day for me was when I did a 100m dive in Jeddah. Darkness, peace, cold and silence – I can’t forget the six minutes that we stayed there.”
Mr Alsaegh also encourages people to care for marine life, especially after the recent controversy over a rare zebra shark that was found swimming peacefully in Bahrain only to later be spotted up for sale at the fish market for BD20.
He said: “Marine ecology, overfishing, pollution and coral bleaching have been increasing into the unknown which in turn affects the environment as a whole. As divers, we should focus on protecting the environment in several ways and encourage others to do the same.”
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