The purpose of this article is to give you a perspective of what it’s really like living the dream, being a dive instructor and living in Paradise.

Like you, I to had what some would call a “real job” some 18 years ago! I had real clothes that I always spent money on to make sure that they were the most fashionable of the time. I drove nice cars that were mostly financed by the banks. My jobs over the years involved working in the publishing business, farm work, every aspect of the restaurant business and even a short time at a large retail outlet.

Back then internet wasn’t around but there was no shortage of newspapers and magazine articles that gave you a glimpse of various exotic locations. I too worked hard to save my money in order to visit these wonderful places when vacation time rolled around, and like yourself I always thought, wow, wouldn’t it be great to live here!

I would experience the cultures of far away countries and hidden tropical islands. I learned to dive and experience mother natures beauty in creating this extraordinary ocean playground. I encountered the turtles, various species of sharks and eels, the manta rays, Eagle rays and the Southern Stingrays. Every location was a sea of dreams painted over a moving canvas.

When holidays were over and I was stuck in my office cubical, it was the rich vibrant colors of the corals and tropical fish, the diverse terrains and the abounding sea life that would all play a major roll in my quest to live my dream.

It all seemed fantastic to me living on a tropical island, lounging by a pool sipping on refreshing cocktails, sleeping in every morning after partying into the wee hours of the night, just diving and living my dream and not a care in the world.

Wow!!!!! What a wake up call when I entered into the world of being a dive instructor living and working in paradise.

My stylish wardrobe changed immediately and now consist of a half dozen board shorts, a dozen t-shirts, half of which are company issued, no more having to choose which shoe’s I’m going to wear, it’s either bare feet or sandals. As a Dive Instructor it’s unlikely that you’ll ever have a loan for a new sports car, your new mode of transportation is now navigating the local bus system along with the chicken and goats, walking the beaches to work, riding a bicycle, scooters or motor bike. Sure some dive instructors have cars, but it’s no longer a status symbol. There are no sipping cocktails by the pool in a lounge chair; they are all reserved for the paying tourist. No time for that, we are all busy behind the scene working preparing boats, filling tanks and signing up guests in order for them to experience the dynamic diving that we have grown to love. As a dive instructor, you will work hard. It’s unlikely that you will get rich, but you will make it rich with life’s experiences.

You need to be prepared to accept the culture and values of a foreign country, the long distance travel involved in seeing family and friends. In many tropical location the food will be a new adventure in itself. Mother Nature does bring in some nasty weather from time to time. You need to be aware of the occasional tropical storm or hurricane. Be sure to check out the local health care system, and you want to make sure that your choose a destination that is safe and typically crime free.

There are companies out there that will combine your dive training with other activities such as surfing, wake boarding, kite surfing and kayaking that will give you exposure to a variety of sports. You’ll have the opportunity to meet people from all corners of the globe and make life time friends. As an instructor it’s easy to pick up a second language. So start living, unshackle yourself from your office cubical and become an instructor.

Once you choose to become a dive instructor, you have the ticket to travel. After all, it’s a Lifestyle, and when life becomes a Beach, then live it!

Contributed by: Ash McKnight
PADI Course Director
www.goprocayman.net

Popularity: 7% [?]

The spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias is not the type of sexy shark that Spielberg would make a movie about. No one has ever been terrorized by a mud shark. Fishermen sometimes get jabbed by a fin spine when they are trying to remove dogfish from their nets but other than that dogfish are more or less harmless.
Perhaps that was true until a few years ago when (according to fishermen) spiny dogfish became public enemy number one. If they are to be believed, dogfish are now the biggest natural threat to the survival of Western Atlantic fisheries.

The problem arises from a potential miscalculation on the part of researchers. Fisheries surveys conducted along the eastern seaboard of the US some years ago, indicated that although there were quite a few dogfish still at large, almost all of them were male. This led to fears that the population was heading for a crash and strict catch limits were put in place.
Again according to the fishermen, the survey was misleading and the leniency afforded to dogfish has led to a population explosion relative to other species. The dogfishes’ omnivorous appetite is now decimating the remaining fish stocks from New England to the Carolinas.
That sounds pretty bad but lets not dust off the long-lines just yet. Firstly, I’d like to see some concrete empirical evidence that all these anecdotal reports of marauding dogfish are true. Secondly even if they are, spiny dogfish are pack hunters. Swarming over the seabed like locusts is part of their natural behavior. Although I wasn’t around to witness diving in the good old days, I’ve heard some fantastic reports from British Columbian scuba divers that were active in the 1980s. Campfire tales of a wall of dogfish sweeping over the seafloor like the sandstorm scene from The Mummy. What a glorious site that must have been to be swimming along looking for Giant Pacific Octopuses on the reef and suddenly be engulfed in a tumbling maelstrom of meter long sharks.

The problems that the east coast fishermen are currently facing, speaks volumes about the sad state of our oceans in general. Where are the larger sharks that should be preying on spiny dogfish? And how did the ground fish and lobster stocks get so depleted that a school of dogfish can pose such an enormous threat?

Culling sharks to save the fish reminds me of the sophistical justification behind the controversial harp seal hunt. They’re looking at the problem backwards. If you want the fish stocks to recover, don’t kill the sharks, kill the fishermen.

Down Rambo! I don’t mean that literally. But perhaps a moratorium on depleted fish stocks would be a better way to handle the dogfish problem. How about we quit playing god and leave the oceans alone for a while to find their own balance.

Incidentally, BC is still a great place to dive with spiny dogfish. They are nowhere near as common as they used to be but a drift dive along the beautiful strawberry anemone covered walls around Quadra Island will still yield a handful of curious dogfish.

For further information contact
Abyssal Divers: http://www.abyssal.com.
Read more about spiny dogfish sharks on Elasmodiver: http://www.elasmodiver.com/spiny_dogfish.htm

Popularity: 22% [?]

One of the toughest things in any business is ensuring you are tracking what a customer wants to do and when. This is even more important in the dive business when a customer calls or emails and wants to reserve a spot for a boat trip, training session, or dive travel. How do you keep track of all this information? You’d be surprised how many are still doing this the old fashion way, with pencil and paper.

This method of customer tracking requires a big eraser if the customer needs to be moved or deleted. Not only is it hard to move customers around, but also this type of data tracking tends to foster mistakes by loosing customer information, miss-booking reservations, or worst yet not even getting the reservation on that piece of paper to begin with. And to make matters worse this information is the only source of that reservation. Loosing or damage it and you could loose business.

So what’s the answer? “Scubaocity” Over the last two years Scubaocity.com has been putting dive shop professionals and programmers together with one main goal, develop a system that was easy to use by creating a better way to track customer reservations while minimizing mistakes or loosing customer bookings. Scuabocity uses a secure online internet connection that can be accessed with any computer or Smartphone and gives the user access to track day to day business with an easy to use interface for creating, moving or coping one customer or a group of customers with the click of the mouse.

Not only does Scubaocity make it easier to track/book your customers, but it also has built in features that automatically post updated information about your business on Social Media websites that in turn helps attract new and existing customers.

Using Scubaocity’s built in RSS Feed your information can now be posted on websites such as FaceBook, Twitter, and Scubaocity itself. This custom RSS Feed keeps your customers and followers on your social sites informed about your current dives, travel, and instructional classes.

Scubaocity also creates an on-line calendar allowing customers to access your schedule which gives them online booking capabilities, ability to see current dive conditions as well as past dives, and upload pictures/comments about those trips they’ve taken with you. What better way to get customers coming back to your site day after day than having current information posted on your personal calendar? Have a special event you’d like to promote? No problem, just use Scubaocity’s built-in mass emailer to send emails blast about specials or promotions to your current customer email list.

All in all Scubaocity is not just a reservation system, but also a unique tool to help you track, book, and market your business to your customers. Why not let us show you how Scubaocity can help you attract more customers.

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Scubaocity is offering a FREE DEMO at http://www.scubaocity.com check it out today

Popularity: 5% [?]

Pura Vida guys and avid scuba jedi readers!!!
From the green, lush beauty that is Costa Rica its time to give you an update on  diving pacific style.  As November draws to a close we are on our way into dry season. Here in Costa Rica we have 2 different seasons, wet and dry and for may people they are under the illusion that during “wet”season you can’t dive…WRONG!!!

Visibility may drop in some areas, some more than others, but diving is all year round here! On the central pacific coast where we do get affected by the October rains I like to call it scavenger diving if needed. All you need to do is “get down and dirty” as there is still so much life to see.

This year we experienced some spectacular weather for October, with hardly any rains so we were diving throughout the month including plenty of sharks sightings!

All joking aside though, The best diving by far is during the dryer season from December through to June time. As the rains let up, the water gets clearer and with the colder water ( I say colder water but I’m talking around 75F!!) and currents comes bigger fish, which, is what makes diving in Costa Rica so much fun. I will never forget one of my first dives in Costa Rica when during the safety stop I was completely surrounded by Crevalle jacks so thick i couldn’t see through them.  White tip reef sharks are a regular sighting on the local reef as well as the very occasional nurse shark.
Hammerheads that we are so famous for, are unfortunately saved for the lucky few who get to visit Isla del coco on a liveaboard.  There can be nothing more exciting about your first dive than spotting a shark. On a trip a couple of days ago, I had the fun of taking three open water divers out during their training.

What initially started as apprehension turned into excitement as I pointed out  shark hanging out under a crevice…..No really?! you can see the wide eyes and smiles even through the regs. Couldn’t stop talking about that until we got back to dock. The season is only just beginning! Mantas will be upon us soon ; )

Popularity: 4% [?]

I’m back on land for one evening and leaving again tomorrow morning I’ve had a fantastic week in the southern Egyptian Red Sea with great diving and lots of sharks. Next week we’re going up north to dive wrecks like Thistlegorm, Rosalie Müller, Ulyssis, Carnatic and many more. Here comes a little description how nice it can be to work on a liveaboard.

Our first stop after the check dive at Shaab Marsa Alam was Abu el Kizan a.k.a. Daedalus. About 55 miles straight out from Marsa Alam on the way to Saudi Arabia this Reef emerges from the abyss. Shaped like an egg on a north-west, south-east axis, 450 meters across and with vertical, almost inverted walls this reef has rightly earned a reputation to be one of the best dive spots in the world. We stayed for one day and made three dives. I could have stayed there all week.

There is a lighthouse on Daedalus. It was built 1861 by the British. It’s got a staff of four that gets relieved every 45th day when the supply boat comes to stock up food, water and fuel. Visiting the lighthouse is free of charge and the view is nice from the top.

The latest addition is the new jetty that was built 1992. This construction together with the old jetty offers superb photo angles during low tide. However, most people do not come to Daedalus to admire the view from the lighthouse of play creative with the camera under the jetty. They come here to experience an encounter with one of the most mystical Red Sea inhabitants: The Scalloped Hammer Head Shark, Sphyrna Lewini that school here in vast numbers. Normally it’s female gathering together, as they do.

We moored up the boat in the shelter at the south-east side of the reef, next to this landing stage early in the morning and take the zodiac to the north side of the reef. We roll in and swim for a few minutes against the current to get to the split point. Here we hang and look at loads of Grey Reef Sharks circling just a few meters outside the reef. Out of the blue a dark shadow appears and we almost drop our regulators when a school of 10 female Scalloped Hammer Heads slowly pass by. They slow down and look at us for a moment and decide we’re ok and then continue around the bend. Magical!

Over night the boat sail to Elphinstone that. It was a bumpy ride from what I heard from the guests the following morning. I slept straight through so I missed the action. Apparently the entire boat was out of the water between the waves a few times…

Out of the ordinary, Elphinstone had nothing to offer. Elphinstone has become famous for the good chances to encounter one of the oceans big predators; the Oceanic White Tipped Shark, Charcharhinus Longimanus. Especially October and November this magnificent sharks curiously approach divers to the point you wonder who is watching who. Sometimes up to six or even more circle around the boats over the south plateau, inviting for one of the more exciting snorkel excursion imaginable. Though this time they were not to be found and after two dives we went to Abu Dabab instead.

El Akhawein is the Arabic name for these two islands which means just the same “The two Brothers”. This is one of the classic dive sites that everybody is talking about. In the middle of the ocean, from great depth two tiny islands emerges, encircled by a reef so pristine it takes your breath away. As this would not be enough the chances of shark encounter is right there at the top of the list.

We didn’t have the weather to dive Big Brother this week but that’s ok with me. I like the smaller island more. The reef is better and the chances to see sharks light-years better. However, conditions can be fierce here as well, anyone who’s got a little brother knows what they are like and this one is no exception. Wicked currents, strong wind and waves that easily drag you on top of the reef if you don’t know what you’re doing are a few things that dictate the dive plan.

It is essential to make a good current check in order to know where to start the dive. I take the zodiac out before I wake up the guests and spend a few minutes snorkelling. I look at the fish and suspended particles in the water to make out what the current is doing. There are other ways of course and easier ways, but this is the most exact way. One thing is sure though: Never trust that groups from other boats have done a current check and know what they are doing. Just because they roll in from the zodiac over there doesn’t mean that that is the right spot.

We went to the north plateau, found the split point and stayed there for a while, looking at all the sharks. Though, it’s not so much a plateau as a bump in the wall pointing north. Here we saw Thresher sharks circling the bump together with Grey Reef Sharks. Then we followed the wall with the current. A few fin kicks south we found shelter in a narrow canyon and we had front-row seats to another merry-go-round of Grey Reef Sharks.

All of a sudden a female Scalloped Hammer Head Shark comes up really close to check us out. She stayed for a few minutes and then continued her patrol along the wall. Further down south-west we bumped into a group of dog-toothed tunas chasing a school of sardines. At one moment it felt as if I was a part of the sardine school while the huge tunas were chasing around just a meter away. I could hear the tuna’s jaws banging together as they were snapping after the fleeing sardines. When we arrived to the depth of five meters to make our safety stop the current was going in the direction across the reef and straight out in the open ocean and it was so strong that my Surface Marker Buoy went 20 meters away from me before it made it to the top. I had to stay at the reef and send my divers up one buddy team at the time along my SMB line while I was fighting the current by myself. However I got my reward when a huge Napoleon Wrasse came up to and winked at me as to say “Good job mate! You can take the rest of the day off”. So I did.

All in all: A dive to remember! We did five dives like that one before we moved on north towards the night dive at Tobia Arba in Safaga. I love my job!

Anders – Samaka
Diver / Philosopher / Super Hero

Popularity: 14% [?]

Well, this is the issue: I’m 32 and after 5 years as a full time diving instructor I decided to stop my diving career and spend more time at home…. I decided to choose a “drier” life.
The reason? In many ways, you can say I was BORED of diving in the same place, in the same area, with the same people…  believe me you get scuba-bored once you do 500 dives in the same location.
That’s why yesterday was such a special day.

Location: My same old local dive site.

Dive time: 30 minutes

Depth: no more than 8 meters.

Special Encounters: None.

Visibility: Below Average

Level of Satisfaction: Extremely High.

So what made my dive so exciting? Well, a new gadget that I got in the mail in the last days. Ladies and Gentlemen, divers and Scuba Jedi readers… meet the Liquid Image Scuba Series HD320.

The idea is very basic, you go diving with a diving mask, but the diving mask instead of being just a simple mask, it incorporates a camera. So, say bye bye to taking your small diving camera in your hand and say hi to taking photos just by touching a small button on your diving mask.

Before the dive: I thought that the Liquid Image camera mask, would require a lot of “preparation”, getting o-rings ready, etc, etc, etc. Well, I was wrong, this is as easy as putting the mask on, turning it on and start taking photos. Very easy.

The Great Points about the Liquid image:

1. Easy to wear (it feels just like any other scuba mask)
2. Affordable. For less than $400 this is a great mask+camera. It is in fact cheaper than many fancy diving cameras that do..mmm nothing.
3. Very easy to use: hey you don’t need to be Einstein to use this… if you can dive you can use the Liquid Image Camera. Just look at the objective and click.

Things to improve:

It would be nice to see the camera in the  future including Flash…. although you can fit lights to the mask to enhance lighting on the subject matter you are photographing or videoing… and why not a potential Zoom (but I have no idea how this feature could actually be implemented)

The best Asset of the Liquid Image camera: The fun Factor. In a kind of way, I felt like playing Xbox underwater… It was simply fun, to look at things and click my mask. Yep. gotcha! you are now in my scuba mask…

Who should dive with the Liquid Image scuba Camera Mask?

Well, for sure this is an idea for any amateur underwater photographer like me. The mask does the job and the Photos are Good enough to make you smile. Videos are in 720P HD so good enough to watch back on your home Plasma TV. This scuba diving mask could seriously become a must-have for any diving instructor.

Your students suck in Buoyancy? – Just click your mask and show him/her the photo later on. (Or take a video to show them how they were fumbling around.)

Do you want to have a souvenir of your students without having to have your hands busy with a camera, easy: just click on your mask. Job done.

To Keep in Mind: It is important to understand the idea of this mask is to have fun. If you are planning to go next year to work in National Geographic and take photos of a missing Uboat… well, may be you will need a more professional type of camera. So don’t expect magic. No, the camera has no Zoom, the camera has no Flash… and I’m pretty sure It will not survive the depths that many Trimix divers require. But hey! Who really cares…? this is a Mask you take on  holidays, a Mask you put on to mess around with your friends while diving, a Mask that increases the fun to take photos underwater, without having invest some of the BAILOUT money .

Overall: Fun, affordable, simple, takes photos, and HD Video, does the job, feels good underwater.

So as you can see overall the quality is pretty good. (please see photos below…)

For more info about the liquid image Camera, please contact today http://www.liquidimageco.com/

Popularity: 31% [?]

Well, in fact it is my B-day today… gosh I’m 32…  that’s why I decided to write a post about my personal  5 scuba diving products I  may want to add to my “Birth Day Scuba Wish list” .  My list is not a list of  “conventional scuba diving products” like BCD’s or Regulators…  this year I wanted something different, something original, that’s why I decided to do a bit of research for the coolest scuba diving gadgets out there.

So here we go:
Gabriel’s top 5 scuba products to add to my Birthday Wish List

1. The first  product on my list is such a simple, practical and logical object to have… that I don’t really know yet, if this is a brilliant idea, (or simply-plain silly), dear readers, please meet the  “Scuba Sight ” or in another words, a Scuba Mirror, once again the idea is so simple that it amazed me that no body else came with an idea as simple as that. This is a mirror, to be able to check dive buddies, signal or investigate and spot difficult parts. I like the idea, specially because it reminds me of times where a “tiny mirror vision” could have been handy.

Would I buy it? Not really. I mean.. this is one of those types of products that you can live without and for sure, you can do a bit of DIY and build yourself one. For more info check  http://scubasight.com

2. The second scuba gadget is the new Hammerhead Crono XL dive watch by Freestyle USA. Obviously because It is my Birthday I can be 100% non objective and confess that I REALLY love the Freestyle USA range of dive watches. Believe it or not I own 4 of these watches (yes… you may say I have a scuba diving watch fetish).

Anyway, the New Hammerhead Crono is simply: Cool . And I like Cool things.  To be honest this is not the typical “tech diving Jedi type of watch”.. but it has everything you need and it looks fantastic.

There is nothing worse than seeing divers with dive watches that look like they were  taken out of Star Trek . Instead the guys of Free Style USA make watches that look great. The price tag is also very easy to afford.

That’s why this new watch is for sure a great new addition to my fetish …

3rd on my list… is the coolest underwater accessory of all times. Say hi to the Idive…  and this is what the Idive is all about

“Dive with more than just the bubbles from your regulator providing the soundtrack. iDive’s locking cam knob, robust seal, and durable polycarbonate construction will ensure your iPod stays dry while delivering high quality audio and crystal clear videos during your dive. You’ll actually look forward to long decompression stops.”

Pretty cool , don’t you think?

The first issue is that I don’t know if all types of Ipod may work with the Idive and for sure it can be pretty expensive if any potential “leak”…
The idea of going diving with some cool Jack Johnson playing around…  diving could be too much fun.

mmm maybe someone else though of this already?

4th Cool Scuba Present I have added to my list is the Liquid Image Camera Mask. The Idea is pretty simple (once again!) but this time… it is brilliant.

An scuba diving mask that can take photos. So in a few words, everything you see, you can take a photo off.  Not only the idea sounds fun, but brilliant for diving instructors or for photography lover.

I know that this type of camera is not TOP professional Underwater Photography material, but again.. it is all in the spirit of Scuba Fun, so the liquid image camera mask is for sure in my list of the gadgets to have one day. More info at  http://www.liquidimageco.com

5. Uwahu Scuba Fashion. Well, we have all seen the typical scuba t-shirts, but the guys of Uwahu are just cool dudes… .

Let’s face it, we are all sick of the same slogans “Mad for diving” or “One day we are all going to dive”… come on… we need something new in Fashion. Well, Uwahu stuff is pretty wicked. Their designs are modern, funny and good quality. I love the idea of a SMART Scuba Tshirt.  So any Uwahu T-shirt would be a nice b-day present.

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Well, that’s it… my list of 5 cool scuba present. Maybe next year I will do another list, or even better… may be I should start getting my Christmas Scuba Diving List… what do you think?

Popularity: 3% [?]

Noah built his ark before it started to rain. To wait till the water was up at his knees would have been a mistake.

I agree with Noah: It’s better to prepare for potentially dangerous situations and take necessary percussions to avoid the risks. Guiding divers means that you have to stay on top of everything. You have to make sure that every one is following the rules and practise the standards of safe diving because you’re supposed to get all guests back to shore in one piece and with a heartbeat. Especially important is this on dive sites like Brother Islands or Elphinstone. Sometimes guests imply that our rules are too austere or they debate that we should make exceptions in one way or another. I try to make our dives as safe as possible and therefore I don’t make exceptions. I tell the guests how important it is to, for example keep to our maximum depths, that it is necessary to surface under an SMB (Surface Marker Buoy) close to the reef and that they have to stay close together within the buddy teams.

This, I repeatedly stress and emphasise in every briefing and still some divers ignore the rules.

The other day I had a hard time making some of our guests keep close enough within their buddy teams and I talked to them after each dive, trying to make them understand why we have these rules and guidelines. It’s fairly easy: “In the Red Sea it’s easy to make an OK signal 10 meters away from each other. However in a potentially dangerous situation, 4 or even 3 metres can be too far away. Diving is not a forgiving sport and if you ignore the risks you might die.”

As faith would have it, I got some unexpected, as well as unwelcome, help to portrait the importance of avoiding buddy separation. During my briefing for the first dive on Elphinstone there was all of a sudden a racket going on next to our boat. Divers was popping up and shouting for help. Some divers were lying lifeless on the surface while others were performing rescue breaths. Zodiacs came up to them and brought them to one of the other big boats nearby and now there was full CPR going on with rescue breaths and heart compressions.

Finally the commotion calmed down and I could continue the briefing. We completed our dive, got back onto the boat and got in contact with Dr Whael at the decompression chamber in Marsa Alam Hyperbaric Clinic, who provided the information regarding the nature of the accident we had witnessed. When I, during the briefing for the second dive, got to the point to where I normally explain that I want the buddy teams to stay close together, I explained what had happened earlier. “You all noticed the action we had next to the boat this morning” I said. “There was a group of four girls, whereof one lost her regulator at a depth of 18 metres. She started sinking and her friends caught her on 33 metres. When she reached the surface was already dead.” I looked around at all my guests to make sure that everybody had got the message so far and continued: “Since she was unresponsive they wanted to get her to the surface as quickly as possible, so they all ascended to fast and on the way up one more lost consciousness, probably due to a lung over-expansion injury.” I finished with a simple question: “How far do you think the girl who died was from her buddy, close enough or too far away?” Everybody agreed on that she had most likely been too far away from her buddy. “So, which distance is too far away in this case?” I asked. Everybody agreed that 4 metres, maybe even 3 metres would probably be too far away. To be close enough you would probably have to be maximum 2 metres away from each other, preferably even closer. I rounded up with pointing out that when I ask of them to stay close together within the buddy teams; I do so for a reason.

We kitted up, got into the Zodiacs and travelled the short distance to the point just south of the reef where we rolled in. When we got down to a depth of 11 meters I noticed that one of the divers is sinking rapidly on his back, with a completely empty BCD. I got the attention of his buddy, signalling “look at your buddy!” and the guy looks and waves to his sinking friend to come closer! Fast as a bat out of hell I shoot after the uncontrolled sinking man and manage to catch him around 20 metres. I get the inflator out of his hand and establish neutral buoyancy. Furious I signal to the other guide to take the rest of my group away from me before I loose my temper and get my knife out. The rest of the dive I swam with the man who’s life I most likely just saved thinking about how to put this to the buddy who’s life I’m likely to end next time I see him.

Fortunately I tend to cool of quite quickly, and back on the boat I take the man aside and explain in a peaceful way that I’m on the borderline to take him of the dive-roster and only allow him to snorkel for the rest of the week. I say that if he wants to continue diving, he and the buddy (who is happily unaware of how close it was) will have to be next to me and hand in hand until I say otherwise. This was accepted.

After the action we had next to the boat and the very clear way in which I explained the importance of buddy contact in the briefing, this man still was letting his friend sink uncontrolled towards a bottom he would not have hit until at least 200 metres below him. People never cease to astonish me.

At the first dive on the Island of Little Brother, one of my divers lost his fin while rolling in from the Zodiac. The rest of the group made a negative entry, as was agreed, and swam down to regroup on the depth we had agreed on during the briefing. I had emphasized the importance of a fast descent due to the strong current. “If anyone has any problems that make the descent impossible, or even slows it down, you abort the dive instantly and swim back to the Zodiac. Do not try to rejoin the group!” had been my exact words. Maybe that was a bit vague or unclear because this diver, after bobbing around on the surface and being taken away by the current over the top of the reef, decides to try to rejoin the group on the other side. He comes sliding down the side of the reef, scraping soft corals of the sloping reef like a bulldozer and ends up in the back of my head. He looks at his pressure gage and signals that he’s got 70 bar left… We’re at a depth of 25 metres. I now have to rearrange the group and signal to the new guide-trainee to take over and lead the divers along the wall. Then I take the idiot up to the safety stop level and send my surface marker buoy up to signal to the Zodiac that it’s time for pick up. I see the reef disappearing in the distance and try to keep it in visual range but the current is so strong that my SMB is dragged below the surface. Hmmm… decisions decisions… Either we will be without surface marker or we will be flushed out to the open sea right into the reflections of the rising sun where no one would see us. The safety stop is cancelled and we ascend under the SMB. As we break the surface I glance at my computer. The dive lasted 17 minutes.

On the way back to the boat in the Zodiac I tell the diver that we’ll talk about this later. Right now I’m too angry. We get back to the boat and he starts to explain: “I got some problems with my fin…” I turn and look at him and interrupt him by putting my hand up: “I don’t want to hear any excuses from you. I know exactly what happened and I have to say that you are an extremely dangerous diver who just put not only yourself and me, but the whole group at a great risk.” He is now hushed and his eyes are not meet mine. I continue: “During the briefing I told you all what to do if you had problems descending and you did the exact opposite!

Then you descent with not even half of your air supply left and forced me to change the dive plan, leaving the rest of the group with one guide only!” To further more paint a picture of how I felt I finished my speech with: “If we would had been swept away by the current and they would have had to send a search party out for us, that would have taken at least 10 hours and in that case I would have swam away from you, because I don’t want to spend 10 hours with you.” He got the message. I banned him from diving the next dive. The dive after that I sent him in the other group telling him to prove that he should not be taken of the dive roster and put on the snorkel roster for the remaining time of the trip. According to my college he behaved very well on that dive.

Some people think that our safety rules are too strict and that I’m a pain in the arse when I never make any exceptions from them. Well… Some people were also laughing at Noah when he started to build his Ark on dry land miles away from the sea. Noah and I have that in common: We like to be prepared to prevent and avoid the risks of potentially dangerous situations. I’m surprised that some people disagree with this way of thinking when it’s actually their life we’re trying to keep safe. I find it even more surprising that people neither listen to, nor follow the safety rules even after seeing dead divers popping up next to the boat during the safety briefing as a perfect image of what might happen if they don’t. Still, on the third dive of the second day on Little Brother one diver left his buddy on 18 metres and went down on his own to 33.6 metres following a shark he wanted to film. This man was not allowed to dive more during this trip.

And now over to something more positive: “Myth Busters ‘R Us”

There are myths and there are myths. Some myths are widely recognised as long-established truths and facts because “I’ve got an uncle who met a guy who said that it’s true” badabim badaboom, it’s a truth. There are other myths that are well long-established myths because; “I’ve got an uncle who met a guy who said that it’s only a myth” badabim badaboom, it’s a myth. Hollywood is continuously providing us with building-material for both kinds. Like: If you fire a bullet into the petrol tank of a car it will explode. Or: If you’re a prostitute on Sunset boulevard you might be picked up by a millionaire with car problems who falls in love with you, and you’re sorted. Or: Dolphins are nice, friendly and intelligent creatures while sharks are mean vicious killing machines. Nothing of this is of course true, possibly with the exception that the prostitute probably would be sorted if the millionaire in fact did fall in love with her.

When it comes to Sharks and dolphins there are hundreds, if not thousands of long-established truths and facts that would be good to bust once and for all. Everybody probably heard stories about how friendly dolphins have been saving people lost at sea from sharks and that you never find sharks and dolphins next to each other. Well, I just dived with a pod of dolphins and oceanic white tipped sharks mixed in a big group so that myth is busted from now on!

Here is another one for you: Dolphins are gay sharks! Myth or Truth?

It has been an eventful week and I’ve got material for at least five status reports. Some of it positive and some of it negative, but in the end of the day all experiences gives exactly that; Experience! For me it also ads motivation to continue maintaining a high safety level on the dives I’m leading and not make any exceptions from the safety rules. Maybe some of it will appear in later issues, but I think this will have to be enough at this time.

May the force be with you…

You can run out of air… and die.
You can go to deep… and die.
You can ascend to fast… and die.
You can slouch on your couch… and die.
Get off the couch!!!

Anders – Samaka
Diver / Philosopher/Dirty Old Man

Popularity: 8% [?]

Minimum Age for Scuba Diver Certification with NAUI

I am often asked (again just today) “How old does my child need to be to dive?”.   NAUI has a minimum age requirement for open water scuba diver, it is 15 years.

NAUI does have a Junior certification for ages 12 – 14 years.  Some courses (open water) allow a conditional Junior Certification. This Junior certification can be issued to persons age 12 – 14 years.  Junior Certification carries several restrictions.

* The parent or guardian and Junior diver agree that the Junior diver will dive with a certified adult (18 years of age) diver of the parent’s or guardian selection.

* The parent or guardian and Junior diver agree that the Junior diver will limit diving depth to 60 feet or less.

* By signing the Junior certification card, the parent or guardian agrees to be responsible for the selection of the certified adult buddy and the limitation of the diving depth.

* To remove the Junior cards conditional requirements, a new card must be requested by an active-status NAUI Instructor, parent or legal guardian one the Junior attains the age required for full certification. “Junior” divers may directly request from NAUI a full certification in the event that they have reached the age of majority.¹

Teaching children is not for everyone. Just as scuba diving is not for everyone. All parties involved have to be in agreement. For me, the joy is seeing that young person safely and enjoyably scuba dive. Nothing can replace the wonder seen in a young persons eyes, when they are exploring the beauty of the undersea world.

I teach at Scuba Steve’s Aquatic Adventures (http://scubastevesadventures.com/) in Tyler, Texas.

Dean Pennington II
NAUI Instructor Trainer
16 November 2009

¹NAUI Standards and Policies Manual (Tampa, Florida: NAUI, 1996), page 2.9.

Popularity: 18% [?]

Throughout the world, divers are told again and again to return to the boat with 300-500 psi in their tanks.  Understandably, most competent divers stretch their bottom time out as long as they can.  They smile as they show their pressure gauges to the dive master upon surfacing and then compare gauges with other divers in order to see who the closest one to 301psi is.  Getting the most bottom time underwater is a fun game to play with buddies and I’m not saying that divers shouldn’t use as much of their tanks as possible.  However the question becomes, “Is this the smartest way to plan gas?”

What exactly is the goal of leaving some air in our tanks?  To help a buddy in need, to keep water out of our tanks, to inflate our BCD’s at the surface?  Many divers use the 1/3’s rule, but even this plan has numerous flaws.  So where do we start?  Is there a plan that works for deep-diving technical divers and shallow-water recreational divers alike?  What is wrong with the idea of surfacing with a safe amount of gas, like 500psi?

The answer to the 500psi problem is that being on the surface at the end of the dive with 500psi does not answer the more important question for scuba divers, which is, “When do I have to leave the bottom?  If we have an emergency and we need to share air, “How much air will I need to bring me and my buddy to the surface safely?  This is the question that should start all gas planning.

DIR education teaches the unified team to plan for the worst possible emergency before the dive starts.  We always ask the question, “What happens if at the worst possible moment, the deepest part of the dive, the furthest distance from home… my buddy runs out of air… How much gas do I need to bring both of us to the surface without any incident?”

Calculating Rock Bottom is easy enough to do in your head before the dive and it is taught in all entry level DIR courses.  How long will the ascent take, multiplied by two divers, then by the average depth and then by a consumption rate, equals Rock Bottom. Once Rock Bottom is determined, the remainder of the useable gas is then divided into a logical plan.  Maybe it is a drift dive on a Caribbean reef where we can use everything. Maybe we are diving on a shipwreck in the Great Lakes and need to get back to the mooring line, or we might be doing a penetration on this shipwreck where we will need enough gas to get out of the wreck plus enough to get to the surface.  Different dives will require different gas plans, but Rock Bottom must always be accounted for, before the gas plan is made.  DIR education teaches the unified team to plan their gas in accordance for the specific dive, so that each diver can get the most fun possible out of their diving and still be safe.

Being at depth below Rock Bottom is irresponsible and will not give us enough air to safely ascend.  The only emergency underwater is running out of gas, everything else is just an inconvenience.  Once the out of gas diver is breathing again, we move from emergency to management.  Just because someone ran out of air, does not mean that we rush to the surface, exceed safe ascent rates, skip safety/deco stops, or anything else we know about safe diving protocols.  The only option is to remain calm, think, communicate and finish the dive.

For more information about Rock Bottom or other Gas Management Options, contact me at jm@unifiedteamdiving.com

www.unifiedteamdiving.com

James Mott

Popularity: 12% [?]