Women Champions part two | Louisa Fisher & India Tyndall
This dynamic diving duo are the brains behind Reefscape Travel, a new, luxury scuba-diving company which creates bespoke trips to some of the world’s most spectacular dive destinations. With 35 years of diving experience and a degree in marine biology between them, India and Louisa have oceans of knowledge to share and a deep passion for the marine world. We ask them to share how it all began, and what it is about being underwater that floats their boat…
On taking their first breaths below the waves…
We both learnt to dive in the Maldives with our families, when Louisa was just 12 years old and India was 15. It’s safe to say we were hooked from the start! The Maldives are an amazing place to learn: you can practice all your new skills in a calm, crystal-clear turquoise lagoon, then move on to a house reef for your open water dives. Whilst sadly there had been coral bleaching events in the Maldives prior to us learning to dive, the reefs were largely in excellent health and we both saw mantas on our first diving holidays! The Maldives hold a very special place in our hearts, and we will never stop going back.
On their best dives
Louisa: I’m often asked about my favourite dive and really struggle to choose just one. Each year I seem to do a dive which pips another to the post. If I have to pick one, it would be Fakarava South Pass in the Tuamotus, a group of low-lying coralline atolls in French Polynesia which feel a million miles away from the luxury resorts and tourist crowds of better-known islands such as Bora Bora. A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, the South Pass is home to the famous grouper scene in Blue Planet II, and my dives here left me speechless. With very little current, I experienced over 200 grey reef sharks circling majestically on the incoming tide (the best time to dive the pass), along with numerous Napoleon wrasse and yellow-margin triggerfish crunching away on the reef. I was utterly transfixed. The overwhelming number of larger reef fish here indicates just how healthy this reef is.
And their worst…
India: I think there is always something to learn from a dive and something to marvel at BUT I do, suffer from the cold, so some of my dives in Malta during my divemaster in June, with thermoclines of 15 degrees, were hard to enjoy while my teeth were chattering. That said, Malta is still my favourite place to dive close to home – now I just make sure I visit in slightly warmer months!
On the next destinations on their dream dive list…
Louisa: I am actually heading to the Galapagos in November to dive Wolf and Darwin Islands on board the Galapagos Sky, a 100-foot luxury liveaboard yacht. It has been on my bucket list for a long time (and two years postponed due to the pandemic. The Solomon Islands have a firm place on my list, too. Having dived extensively in Papua New Guinea, I am told the Solomons are even better, which is hard to believe – so I’ve got to see it to believe it!
India: Arguably my favourite thing about diving is the unique places it takes me, and my diving bucket list is still huge. I have a trip to the outer islands of the Seychelles planned, which has been on my list for a long time. As a keen birder, PNG is a bit of a dream destination, and Cocos Island, far off the coast of Costa Rica would be high on the list too, to see walls of schooling hammerheads and enjoy some ripping currents. I’m also really excited about the opening of a new dive resort in southern Alor in Indonesia, as the diving in the north is some of the best I have done anywhere.
On the best place to learn to dive…
The Maldives are hard to beat due to the house reefs fringing many of our favourite islands – this means very easy access to shallow sites. The good visibility, warm waters and sheltered lagoons make this ideal for beginners, and the teeming reefs make the diving very rewarding. The Red Sea is another fantastic option, or Malta in the summer months. The key to finding the best place to dive is often more about the team and dive centre itself than the destination – which is where we come in. Safety and experience are paramount in selecting the right place to get certified, as a negative first experience with diving can be off-putting at best, and dangerous at worst!
On their must-have piece of kit…
We never travel without a rash vest – in particular our beautiful Reefscape Travel rashies! They add an extra layer between your wetsuit as well as doubling up as sun protection when snorkelling. We barely get out of the sea when we are on a trip so naturally we live in our rashies. We are also advocates for having your own mask, snorkel and fins. They are quite easy to fit into your luggage and make all the difference to your comfort when diving. From a safety point of view, we also believe it’s important to travel with your own dive computer, although we do always check the equipment of the dive centres we visit.
On how they met each other…
Louisa was running the scuba diving department of a UK tour operator when India’s CV landed in her inbox. We met not long after and even though the company were looking to hire immediately and India was wasn’t going to be available for four months, Louisa insisted on waiting as she knew India would be perfect with her passion and knowledge for diving. In a weird turn of events, our fathers knew each other through work and without realising we had met, Louisa’s father emailed India’s saying, ‘you must speak to Louisa about diving holidays’, to which India’s father replied, ‘Your daughter just hired mine!’ It was meant to be.
On why they make a great team…
From the moment we started working together in 2016, we simply clicked. It might sound obvious to say, but we both truly love diving, and working with someone who shares this passion means we make the best team. We have huge respect for one another from a professional standpoint but have formed a great friendship over the years, too. We never stop laughing even when underwater! We believe we are the best at what we do, and our vision for the business perfectly aligns. The moment we decided to embark on our Reefscape journey, the pure joy and excitement was hard to contain; we just knew it was the right thing for us and we knew it would work. Our clients’ experience is at the core of everything we do – from matching the right destination to the right client, to the unparalleled service from start to finish. With Louisa being a marine biologist and India’s background in wildlife and marine conservation, we both strongly believe in our sustainability mission and it forms an integral part of daily conversation at Reefscape HQ. That is when we are not poring over an ID book trying to identify a nudibranch we have seen!
On what it is about diving that they love so much…
While we are both absolutely obsessed with marine life, just being underwater is enough for us. The feeling that you get when you submerge yourself into the underwater world is like no other; everything other than your breathing goes silent and it almost feels meditative. It is the perfect escape from a busy life above the waves! We love how it contrasts to the buzz when you get back on the boat, with everyone excitedly swapping stories. Diving can be a hugely social sport, which is another reason why we love it so much. On our trips, we meet divers from all walks of life and from all over the world, with one passion in common. We love sharing diving stories and comparing notes!
On how we can all play our part in marine preservation…
Sometimes addressing such a mountainous task can feel quite daunting, but we believe that from an individual standpoint, making small steps is a really important part of daily life that we can all be involved in. You don’t have to be a marine biologist or conservationist to make an impact in preserving our precious marine environments. At home you can make better choices when it comes to single-use plastics or choices of detergent and cleaning products that are not harmful to marine life. On holiday, you can pack reef-safe sun cream, avoid leaving plastics behind and dive using a code of conduct to respect the reef – no touching, controlling your buoyancy and not harassing marine life. Considering what seafood and fish we eat is also important, so we can make informed decisions and ensure endangered or threatened species don’t end up on dinner plates. On a bigger scale, companies like ours have a responsibility to help divers choose the resorts which have impactful conservation initiatives in place, whether that is marine patrols, coral restoration or community education programmes. The importance of sending people to far-flung resorts is paramount for marine conservation, and whilst we recognise the negative carbon impact that long-distance flights have on the environment, many of the remote dive spots around the world cannot be conserved without money from tourism. We also feel that without people visiting the reefs for themselves, they won’t feel impassioned to protect them. We want our clients to make informed decisions when it comes to their travel and it is down to us to connect our clients with responsible partners around the world.