Ghumakkad Harsh: Sea Shell Hotel and Resorts

Saturday, 8 October 2016

Scuba Diving at 65

"Is there an upper age limit for Scuba diving?"
"No, as long as you are medically fit" clarified the coordinator at www.Scubaluv.in -- the diving shop integral to our Resort at Havelock. She went on to explain that they are very strict about the medical protocol. The diver has to self certify a host of questions in a two-page format. For those not familiar, SCUBA stands for self contained underwater breathing apparatus.

Out of 26 FFA veterans and spouses (click here for what is FFA?), five decided to take a dive. These five included Debarati-- the only lady in the team. After an early morning shake up, we donned the diving suits. Smiles writ large on our faces, we carried our flippers to the diving area. From L-R: Swapan Banerjee, Debarati Banerjee, Gian Prakash(Gipy), Harsh (Ghumakkad) and Arun Dhupar.

The beach was familiar because we all had enjoyed a dip-cum-splash in high tide two days ago (click here for picture story).

But in low tide, bare rocks now surfaced, the beach looked more like moon-surface.

Our briefing-cum-training commenced in waist high water. How to wear the mask, mouth piece for breathing, sign language for under water communication-- were all explained so well by our diving instructor Dharmesh Singh from Agra. See the illustration below.

PADI is the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. It is world's largest recreational diving certification and membership.

Another diver with under-water camera appeared from nowhere and started clicking. All the diving pictures are courtesy Scubaluv.in. It was part of the diving fees for every diver. Normal fees is Rs 2500/- but Seashell Resort guests get a discount of Rs 500/-. Cool.

By now we had learnt to say "OK" in diver's sign language. See the clipart below followed by our pictures with face masks.

You would have noticed the incoming tide. Initial briefing was followed by underwater breathing while still in shallow waters. Once cleared by the diving instructor, our Buoyancy Compensator was inflated and we were ready to dive. With gradual deflation, we were guided deeper. The cameraman captured each diver. Though it wasn't best of the days for diving with overcast sky, yet we could see the marine life you can't see otherwise!

We saw coral of different shapes, sizes and hues besides variety of fish. We also saw Clown fish and sea anemone as in the picture below. Clown fish and sea anemone have a special relationship. As per Tree of Life Web (www.tolweb.org), "Symbiosis describes the special relationship between clownfish and sea anemones. They are the only fish that do not get stung by the tentacles of the sea anemone. Clownfish have a slimy mucus covering that protects them from the sea anemone. However, if this covering is wiped off of a clownfish, it will get stung and possibly be killed when it returns home to the anemone. The clownfish and the sea anemone help each other survive in the ocean. The clownfish, while being provided with food, cleans away fish and algae leftovers from the anemone. In addition, the sea anemones are given better water circulation because the clownfish fan their fins while swimming about."

Credit for this research goes to Gipy who was prompt to point it out.

Our dive continued with excitement. We experienced the wonders of underwater world! Gipy and I dived together with Dharmesh as our instructor. More pictures.

The cameraman also shot a two-minute video showing the divers (Gipy and Harsh) admiring the coral and other marine life.

Before we realised, the dive was over. Total time one hour which included briefing and training underwater. We dived upto 6.5 meters. Not very deep but good enough for beginners at 65 years of age!

If you haven't yet done scuba diving, don't wait till 65, do it sooner. You will love it. Besides Andamans, you can do scuba diving in Goa in India. Other popular diving destinations are Hawai, Fiji, Australia and SE Asian coastal nations.

Those of you who are scared of diving, Ghumakkad will take you snorkeling in the next story.

Bye till then
- Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 8th Oct 2016

Postscript: Links to all the ten stories of our visit to the Andamans in 2016 are given below. Just click to browse.

Who were the travellers? - FFA Friends forever asli

Port Blair and its attractions- Kaala Paani, Corvyn's Beach

Sailing to Havelock - weather permitting

Havelock- Never too old for splashing in the sea

Scuba Diving at 65!

Thrill of Snorkeling- Elephant Beach

Kalapathar Beach- Where you discover yourself

Radhanagar Beach- Where the Sun goes down in a blink

Ross Island- Ruins with a story and incredible sound and light show

Chidiyatapu- Where the birds find you

Thanks again.

Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 30th Dec 2016

#Portblair #andamans #islands #cellularjail #ffa #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb #havelock #elephantbeach #radhanagarbeach #rossisland #scubadiving #snorkeling

Monday, 3 October 2016

Havelock the Fun Place

"You are never too old for chocolates"-- was an old advertisement. It showed a thrilled granny having a big chocolate bite. We the young grandparents re-lived the advertisement albeit a bit modified.
"You are never too old for splashing in the sea!"

After the ferry ride from Port Blair, disembarkation and short bus haul, we reached our resort in Havelock Island. Sea Shell Hotel and Resort at Havelock Island simply charmed us. This picture story captures the ambiance, beauty of the beach and the spirited mood of all 26 of us. We did not look even a bit tired on reaching the resort. We stayed there for two nights, three days. Like the rooms the food was also excellent.
Just in case you missed browsing the previous story on Port Blair, click here.
Apart from Ghumakkad, the pictures for this story have been contributed by all naval veterans and spouses of FFA gang. What is FFA-- read here.

After a quick check-in, everybody was out to admire the greenery and sea view. Hundreds of pictures got shot. Couples posed and re-posed!

The resort has been beautifully laid out with ample open spaces. All the structures are made of locally grown wood. Even the serving counters in the dining hall are made of tree trunks. The walkway to all the rooms are nicely lit up at night. Pictures.

The bar has been aptly named 'Fluidz'. A glimpse of the bar.

The rains kept playing hide and seek with us. But it added to the charm of Havelock.

By now, the tide had come in. It was difficult to remain ashore. Time to dive in!

You can see the mangroves behind Harsh and GR in the picture below. They are part of the marine eco-system in Andamans.

As the group in the water became bigger, there was more noise, more fun. See a short 40-second video shot by Neeta on her cell phone. Don't miss the synchronised jump by the 'young oldies'!

"Time and tide wait for none" is not to convey a negative thought. But to reassure us that the tide will come again like a wave of happiness and joy. We need to enjoy the tide of our life.

While the days were spent at the beaches, snorkeling or scuba diving (more stories will follow), we played some creatively designed games in the evening. Special thanks go to Kausalya Govindan and Ramya Champion for this great effort. Few pictures of the games:

Those waiting for pictures of other well known beaches of Havelock, wait till the next post. You will see Radha Nagar Beach, Elephant Beach and Kala Pathar Beach soon.

Do share your experience of Havelock if you have been there before.

Thanks for browsing

- Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 3rd Oct 2016