Our-World Underwater Scholarship

The Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society is a non-profit, educational organisation whose mission is to promote educational activities associated with the underwater world. It has offered scholarships for over 35 years. owuscholarship.org

FROM CHILLY BRITAIN TO THE WARM MALDIVES

Arzu enjoyed her commercial diving course and

the challenge of diving in difficult conditions so much, she decided to take her first steps into the world of cold-water technical diving with Mark Powell from Dive-Tech UK.

After an introduction to decompression theory and her first dives in a twin cylinder configuration, taking her GUE Fundamentals course was an inevitable next step. Through rigourous training Richard Walker from Wreck and Cave pushed Arzu to fine-tune her dive skills and ability to maintain perfect buoyancy and trim during both simple and complex tasks underwater. Aside from the benefits of streamlining equipment and learning the art of the backwards finning technique, it was the GUE philosophy (Education. Exploration. Conservation.) that deeply resonated with her. Applying those values in the field, she subsequently headed to the Maldives to study whalesharks in the South Ari Atoll Marine Protected Area with the Maldives Whaleshark Research Programme (MWSRP). Onboard a wooden sailing boat which was coincidentally built only 30 minutes away from her family’s village in Turkey, her time in the atoll consisted of three things she loves most - scientific research in the water, sharks and diving. Following the reef edge along the atoll the MWSRP crew and volunteers collected vital data on whaleshark encounters, such as the presence of tourist vessels and the number of people in the water with each shark, photographs of the sharks’ gills, underside and topside for ID purposes, close-up shots of any injuries caused from collision with vessels, as well as environmental variables like visibility, wind speed and currents. Having dedicated her thesis to untangling the complex human shark relationships in the atoll and assessing the impact of tourism on the behaviour of whale sharks, this experience was very close to her heart. She aims to return to the MWSRP after her Scholarship year to build on her thesis research before publishing it in a scientific journal.

Inspired to further investigate the many ways humans and different shark species meet in the Maldives, Arzu then continued onwards to the island of Fuvahmulah in the South of the Maldives. Based at Pelagic Divers directed by Ahmed Inah and armed with her camera equipment she entered the new year in the presence of majestic tiger sharks. Working so closely with these beautiful predators and examining human-animal relationships through a holistic lens that takes into account both last and present, she decided it was time for an equally all-encompassing approach to diving. What better way to put this to practice than by taking on a new challenge? Freediving with the amazing team behind Deep Dive Dubai, the world’s deepest indoor and dive pool!

Trading her heavy dive equipment for the freedom provided by only a dive suit, a low-volume mask and long fins, over the next few weeks Arzu will be learning breathhold techniques from world champion freedivers and aim to dive as deep as she possibly can using only her own lungs.

So far Arzucan’s journey around the (underwater) world has been an invaluable opportunity to work with some of the dive industry’s leading individuals and learn as much as possible. The next months ahead will be filled with equally rewarding experiences and the development of skills in the water. Arzucan hopes to use the remaining months of the Scholarship to embark on a few more scientific field expeditions and start her rebreather training.

You can read more about Arzu’s diving experiences and the opportunities enabled by the OWUSS EU Rolex Scholarship on www.owusseurope.org and get to know her on www.arzucan-askin.com