Gijs | SSI Dive Guide

Hi, I'm Gijs!

I'm from Vught in the Netherlands and left for Curaçao in December 2024 as part of my gap year after finishing my VWO. What started as an adventure for a few months quickly became an intensive and educational period at Porto Mari Dive Center.

I didn't come in completely inexperienced. I had already obtained my Open Water and Waves, Tides & Currents certifications at Herman Lieven, and I come from a real diving family — both my parents also once earned their divemaster. So, the sea was in my blood from an early age.

When I arrived, the dive school was in the middle of the crossover from PADI to SSI. I joined right during that transition and became the very first candidate to complete the entire process within the new SSI system. The fact that my previous courses were also taken within SSI made the timing actually perfect. Because I was not yet 18, I could officially be trained "only" up to Dive Guide — but that didn't feel like a limitation at all. I worked my way through my specialties at a rapid pace.

In a short time, I obtained my Specialty Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver and eventually my Master Diver recognition, with specialties such as Nitrox, Perfect Buoyancy, Navigation, Night & Limited Visibility, Stress & Rescue and Deep Diving and also my React Right. It was intensive, but exactly what I was looking for: learning in practice, getting responsibility, and growing every day. After returning to the Netherlands, I also completed the Science of Diving e-learning, which meant I met all the requirements for Divemaster — except for my age.

My accommodation was arranged at Annidas in Julianadorp. There I had a great place to stay with a swimming pool, in the middle of a tropical garden — not a bad place to take your first real steps as a professional.

From December 2024 to January 2025, I was part of the team for about two months. Young, eager to learn, and maybe sometimes a bit ambitious — but always motivated to make progress.

I'm now studying business economics at Tilburg University and participate in competitive rowing.

Porto Mari was not a full gap year for me, but it was an important chapter in it. A place where I discovered how far you can go if you really commit to something.