This first group, many of whom are instructors, divemasters and previous naval divers, possess extensive diving experience in local seas. They will form the leader batch of instructions who will train upcoming ReefX volunteers.
UNEXPECTED BIODIVERSITY
A few scuba divers told CNA that they used to go scuba diving overseas, but when edges around the world closed during COVID-19, they uncovered a newfound appreciation for Pulau Hantu.
For award winning photographer Mok Wai Hoe, it was his first dive on Pulau Hantu.
Tasked to take photos of the dive volunteers as they worked, he or she admitted that he has been “apprehensive”, as the visibility in Singapore seas is notoriously poor.
“Poor presence is the bane associated with photography and so I has been nervous because I had been not sure what the problems were, ” he or she said.
“But the moment I joined the water, I thought: ‘It’s not so bad! ’”
Mr Mok, who has dived extensively around the world, said that the biodiversity here has been richer than he expected.