Some journeys begin with a detailed plan. Omanta’s began with a school activity, a first descent and a turtle at North Bay, Fahal Island.
Nasser Al-Khanjari started diving in 2004. What looked like one new extracurricular experience quickly became a lasting connection to the ocean. That first dive did more than introduce him to scuba equipment and underwater breathing. It showed him a world he wanted to keep exploring.
The first dive that changed everything
North Bay offered the kind of welcome a new diver never forgets. As Nasser descended, a turtle moved through the water nearby. The encounter was quiet and brief, yet it gave the dive a sense of possibility: there would always be another reef, another animal and another question beneath the surface.
Over the following years, Nasser dived with centres around Muscat and built experience in Oman’s varied coastal conditions. The familiar sites were rewarding, but curiosity kept pulling him farther. He wanted the freedom to look beyond the standard route and understand more of the coastline.
A boat and the freedom to explore
In 2010, Nasser bought Omanta’s first boat, Khanjar Al Bahar. With friends and fellow divers, he began exploring more of the Ad Dimaniyat Islands, from the eastern side of the archipelago toward Sira in the west.
These trips were not about collecting locations on a map. They were about learning how current, weather, season and marine life shape every site. Remote areas revealed unexpected encounters, including places where guitar sharks gathered. Each trip added another piece to a growing understanding of Oman’s underwater landscape.
When exploration becomes education
As the journeys continued, Omanta grew around the same curiosity. Nasser began teaching new divers and sharing the confidence that comes from calm preparation, good technique and experience in the water.
Students became certified divers. Some became regular dive partners, close friends and members of the wider Omanta community. Technical diving and cave exploration expanded the team’s horizons, but the purpose remained simple: explore carefully, keep learning and help other people discover the ocean responsibly.
The next chapter
Ocean Frontier is part of that continuing journey. It creates a place to record the people, encounters, practical lessons and expeditions that have shaped Omanta. It also gives new divers a window into the community before they take their own first giant stride.
More than twenty years after that first turtle encounter, the sense of discovery remains. There are still unfamiliar reefs, future expeditions and stories waiting beneath Oman’s waters.
Want to become part of the next chapter? Tell the Omanta team about your experience and the kind of diving you would like to explore.
Adapted for the Omanta Blog from “The Journey of Omanta Scuba,” Ocean Frontier, September 2026, Issue 01.