Snuba for the complete newbie
the bathtub and use him as a guinea pig. “I’ve been around it my whole life,” he says.
Snuba is not a new concept – it’s based on hookah diving – but the family-run company has foolproofed the process, making it safe for even those of us who don’t swim very well. “We take a lot of the work out of scuba diving. Essentially the responsibility is taken from the guest and put on the guide,” says Kyle. “What you don’t see is the effort that has gone into training the guide to handle a guest through a range of scenarios and they’re constantly vigilant.” He says its safe even for children over eight years of age and it’s reportedly a wonderful activity for families. “It’s about bringing what’s underneath the surface of the ocean to the masses,” he adds.
Its potential to do this is what drew Nishan Silva to the sport. Nishan is the Managing Director of Alco Leisure, a subsidiary of Alco Bronze Pvt. Ltd. Alco Leisure are the sole agents for Snuba in Sri Lanka and Nishan is a bit of an adventure sport addict himself. He says he was looking for a way to encourage beginners to dive right in to the ocean, and Snuba fit the bill perfectly. By the end of the year, Snuba will be available island-wide through the company’s exclusive alliance with John Keells hotels and resorts. It is part of a more ambitious plan: “we will be introducing land and air based adventure sports later this year, completely run by Alco Leisure,” says Nishan, explaining that many of the water sports in particular are already available at venues like the Bentota Beach Hotel.
Currently, the company is in the process of setting up a group of trained Snuba guides. Kyle will train four while he’s here, one of whom will be an instructor qualified to initiate others. Nishan says he’s keeping his standard high – his minimum requirement for would- be guides is that they are dive masters. “Snuba is a fun simple activity, but you will be led by a dive master. Most of my staff have at least 15 years of experience as divers and at least 400-500 dives under their belts, many in far more dangerous conditions. In Snuba you go down to around six metres, they have experience diving up to 90 metres.” At $30 for a half an hour session, it’s also relatively affordable, says Nishan.
By teaming up with Snuba, who’ve been in this business for 25 years and working closely with Sri Lanka’s Professional institute of Diving Instructors, Nishan says they hope to uplift the standards of the whole industry on the island. He’s confident they’ll keep the competition scrabbling to catch up. Heading back, I know I’d like to Snuba again. In my bag is proof that I was brave enough to do it once – the snappy little blue certificate congratulating me on my ‘underwater achievement’ will have a place of honour in my drawer.