It’s a passion that has taken me all over the world including Malta, Thailand, Spain, Japan, Australia, the Philippines and Egypt. I’ve visited numerous countries in pursuit of my hobby and have just returned from an exhilarating two weeks of diving in Mexico.

There’s so many highlights but the variety of diving in the Philippines is exceptional.

Coron Bay is the site of many wrecks from WW2 so you're diving through history (and coming a lot closer to live ordnance than might be considered wise!) and then there's swimming next to thresher sharks off Malapascua and being surrounded by the rainbow of life teeming in the waters around Balicasag.

Jay George says diving has taught him a lot.

There are a few different aspects that appeal to me. The most obvious is that you get to see some very cool stuff that relatively few people will experience, whether that's exploring flooded mines or seeing the creatures that come out at night.

I thrive on the challenge of being a good diver, making small adjustments to technique, kit configuration and approach. Every time I learn something new it gives me the opportunity to revisit the basics and consider how they could be improved, particularly when diving in a team.

It's also so relaxing. Just hovering in the water where no-one can call you or ask to "borrow you" for 5 minutes. It's perfect mindfulness - focused solely on the task at hand without everyday worries intruding. I've tried thinking about non-diving things when underwater but I just can't do it!

There have been scary moments such as the first cave diving course that I did. I spent most of the time blindfolded underwater simulating what would happen if silt was kicked up and the visibility was lost. It takes a while to get used to not seeing and controlling the natural tendency to panic.

Whilst work is the last thing on my mind, there’s a number of parallels between my field of expertise, cybersecurity, and the diving experience with a calm head being uppermost! It's possible to take a structured approach to security and diving risks by considering how we can prepare for things going wrong and what we need to do to recover from a failure of security controls or a piece of live-preserving equipment. If I'm on a decompression dive and something breaks I can't just shoot to the surface, I've got to fix things calmly where I am. Similarly, you can't shut down an organisation when there's a security problem, you have to think how to minimise the impact while continuing to deliver what your customers have paid for.

For anyone keen to take up diving I’d suggest finding a local dive centre and taking an open water course. It's a great pastime as it really has something for everyone. My 10-year-old daughter has already started diving and it's great for us to be able to see the ocean world together.

Finally it’s important to note that diving has given me a greater appreciation for environmental conservation. It's so sad to see the amount of junk people throw into the sea and has really made me reflect on our throwaway lifestyles…and take steps to be better.

Jay George is director at cybersecurity specialist Airnow

How diving has given me a deeper appreciation of environmental conservation - Jay George