About the Bunnie:

Clare Wilders (previously Goodman) currently works for the Ocean College Dive Centre in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. Having peaked in her 20 year performing career by playing "Trunkie" in the Elephant.co.uk elephant, she is has now settled in Sharm, a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, qualifying her to teach up to Divemaster and Master Scuba Diver levels, as well as being en experienced guide in the area, contact the bunnie
here:


I thought that you may wish to know a little more about the force behind the Dive Bunnie site, so here is a little run down.

So…why a career in diving?
I always had a vague interest and wonder at the ocean, together with a healthy respect for its power. I grew up watching the Jaques Cousteau programmes. I recall thinking how cool it would be to sit and have a giggle with them in their little recompression chamber! However I never really discovered the underwater world for myself until relatively recently, well… actually thinking about it, my first snorkelling encounter was about 10 years ago. This was in Antigua when a local friend took us snorkelling from the beach… oh what a blinding moment that was! When we surfaced I was astounded to discover that what had felt like 15 wonderful minutes had in fact been a whole hour!

A couple of holidays later, both spent in the Carribean and both spent snorkelling, I found myself just off the coast of Hurgada (Egypt), about to jump off a boat with a tank on my back and a reg in my mouth. It was only a try dive, however it contributed to possibly one of the most memorable days of my life. I was kind of spoilt, as the site of my first ever SCUBA dive is nicknamed "The Aquarium" and being in the Red Sea, need I say more? We did as much "diving" as possible that holiday, slightly regretting the decision not to actually take a course. However it gave me the motivation to pursue my Open Water qualification, with maybe a little more determination than someone who hadn't already had a little taste of what was down there. So a year later in January 2002, I found myself in Sharm el Sheikh with 7 fellow students, about to embark on our Padi Open Water course. Ok, I know… I chose to keep to the warm clear waters of the Red Sea to pursue my course, just call me a wuss. Bizarrely, I now work for the very same company I chanced upon back in the early days. And, during my first Christmas as a divemaster, I had the pleasure of guiding one of my previous fellow students, in fact even assisting on his scuba review!

Since gaining my qualification, I have since returned to the Red Sea many times and have been well and truly spoilt. In one of my most early dives, I had the fantastic fortune to see 5 hammerheads, followed by a couple of reef sharks. Over a thousand dives later, I can now appreciate the rarity of that moment! For a while after qualifying, I had to resort to a few holidays and the wonders of a swimming pool, keeping my skills up-to date as well as learning a few new ones… just to keep me on my toes. I did also break briefly into the realms of UK diving. First thing I noticed was the cold!!

Well, after my UK dabblings in the local puddle… sorry, quarry, I headed further afield again. Don't get me wrong, there are many wonderful things to be said for UK diving, "challenging" being one of them, and I am sure that once I hit the sea, and maybe see basking sharks in Cornwall, I will be full of enthusiasm. However, right now, I am a little more enthusiastic about a little island off the South East coast of Africa. Well… less of the little really, as it is the fourth largest island in the world. I became a member of a reef conservation project in Madacascar called Blue Ventures, which kept me busy for a couple of months. The village where we were based has experienced quite a fair amount of damage from over-fishing, combined with climate changes, and are in the throes of creating a marine conservation area along part of the South West Coast. Our job was to help instigate that, by gathering information and logging the current sea life and activity on the local reefs. We were also highly involved with the village elders and school, helping to educate them with regards to the sustainability of the fishing in their area. Whilst they simply fished for food, all went well, however now, with Western influences, they have the option to export and actually earn money, which inevitably encourages an initial fishing frenzy. Through the help of the Blue Ventures team, they are coming to realise that their reef is not a bottomeless pit, and that they need to implement some restrictions now if they are to maintain their supplies for the future.
Whilst out there, I gained my Rescue Diver qualification, as well as the confirmation of my suspicions that diving is really not something that I am going to get bored of in a hurry. Hence decision to "Go Pro" as PADI would say, and take the Divemaster course, which I booked two days after my return to reality.

I then worked as a Divemaster both in the UK (pool tune ups mainly), and back in Sharm .

Finally in May of 2005 I was able to return to Sharm and finish off what I had started. Well… in reality, get myself onto the bottom rung of a completely different ladder! The IDC was great, a really fun but healthily stressful experience, and totally rewarding. I was fortunate enough to be invited to work for the Ocean College with whom I had completed not only my Open Water, but Divemaster and Instructor courses, and since then I have remained in Sharm working for them as both a guide and instructor. I have yet to decide which of the two I prefer, but for the time-being, am just happy being in the water pretty much every day.

I now live on a cliff overlooking the sea with my husband George, a fellow instructor with the College, having had our wedding last summer that turned out to be a bit of a Sharm social event of the year. Even the local magazine "Mix" featured us on their front page that month!

Here's hoping you enjoy browsing the site, do add your thoughts to the message board, along with your tales and experiences.

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