Holly Wakely | Dive Instructor | Nomad
ADI IDC Instructor Holly Wakely loves working in the water and finds any excuse to go diving. Raised around the ocean in Bermuda and growing up travelling as a diving kid with Kids Sea Camp, Holly is now passing on her passion to others!
Holly has dived world-wide, in places such as Australia to the UK and USA. Check out Holly’s top 5 recommended dive sites:
Darwin's Arch, Galapagos Islands
Mahibadhoo Rock, Maldives
Blue Corner, Palau
Uulong Channel, Palau
Bump Head Parrotfish Dive, Palau
When did you first start your storytelling journey?
I have always been a writer more than a talker. I loved to write little stories in my log book as a kid. I would quickly run out of space and grab a page of a notebook to finish, eventually this translated into storytelling on a laptop. Initially, nothing came from this, I just enjoyed writing and would occasionally let others read my stories rather than speaking them myself. My first article was published in Kids Sea Camp magazine and from that point on, I would write almost daily for various blogs, facebook pages and magazines. Many say that a picture tells a thousand words, I say a video does the same. After appearing in a few magazines and newspapers, I decided to back up my articles and stories, with videos. I took a trip to the Galapagos in 2018 and this was the first time I really took a camera underwater and filmed. Flash forward 4 years, I now Co-run a youtube channel, showcasing our ocean adventures and helping others develop their diving education and excitement.
What are the fondest memories from your upbringing that you feel impacted your life choices and lifestyle today?
Starting diving at 4 in the SASY (surface air supplied snorkelling for youth) programme allowed me to develop an incredible lifestyle from an early age. My first memories include swimming with turtles in the caymans to diving to 2 meters in the ocean, making me crave more and more time in the water. Between 4 and 15, I had covered a huge amount of the world and gone diving in almost every location, it wasn't until a trip to Saint Lucia that diving really impacted my lifestyle choices. At 15, I was sent to St Lucia to assist and watch in on a DiveMaster course, giving me an idea of what it would be like when I turned 18. I had a blast, I loved practicing skills and trying briefings, helping others put gear together and learning how to tie up boats. It was this trip that I realised I wanted to take diving much further, and even make a career out of it. After this trip I started to dive at home in Bermuda much more, I would shadow the instructors just to absorb as much information as I could. Coming full circle a few years later, I completed both my Junior Divemaster, piloting the programme for PADI, and dive master in St Lucia.
What path did you choose after leaving school?
I graduated mid pandemic in 2020, though this had absolutely no reason to stop me. I took 2 gap years for, what I like to call, ‘Scuba University’. I took the time out of school to become a Dive Master, Instructor and now Staff Instructor. I took the time to really gain experience working in different corners of the dive industry, from a classic dive shop style to hosting weeks at dive resorts with 100+ divers, accommodating for not just their diving needs but also working in customer service and hospitality during these weeks. I taught courses ranging from Open Water to Dive Master during this time and self taught myself how to edit videos for youtube, so I could showcase the adventure the whole way through. Now 2 years have passed, I will be furthering my education, studying Marine Biology and Outdoor education in Australia, while working at the local dive shop continuing my dive education.
What would you most like to change in the world/environment today?
Human impact on the environment is something that not only I would like to change, but something that needs to change. I was once asked "If you had a bathtub overflowing with water, what would you do first: start scooping out water with a bucket or turn the tap off?" The answer was obvious, I would turn the tap off. this was in relation to plastic specifically in that manufacturing plastic is one of the main issues with it. If everyone could do their part and scoop the water out, then as soon as the tap gets turned off, the bathtub starts to empty. This is what I would like to change in the world, peoples attitudes towards their impact on the environment and climate change. Its much easier said then done but supporting brands who support the environment is something I find to be extremely important and I would love, and am trying, to spread this view to others.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to follow their dreams as an ocean Storyteller?
No dream is too big. When I was a kid, being a dive instructor seemed a stretch. My dad was the best diver I knew and he was pretty much top of the food chain, right? Now I have overlapped him in number of dives and outrank him for instructing. If I could tell my younger self this was the case, never in a million years would I believe it. This is why I want to tell others no dream is too big and you can just about persevere through anything, overcome any problems and be exactly what you want to be. I would also tell ocean storytellers to just start, everyone starts somewhere, and if your story only reaches 3 people, then cool, your story reached 3 people! Eventually, this will turn from 3 to 30 to 300 and 3000.
WEBSITE: www.bluehorizondiving.co.uk
INSTAGRAM: @hollywakely
