Course Director Roger M. Smith and Internship Director Bob James will be at Booth 606 at Dive 2011 at the NEC Birmingham, showing off Aquanauts renowned PADI scuba diving internships, as well as technical and recreational diving opportunities in Pattaya, Thailand.

The show is a great place for those considering enrolling in an Aquanauts Complete or Aquanauts Value instructor, divemaster, Master Scuba Diver Trainer, IDC Staff Instructor or non-professional internship to learn more about the program.

James will be hosting a free, in-depth, 30-minute seminar on the internships both Saturday and Sunday at around noon.

In addition,, special discounts will be available for new students who sign up at the show.

The Aquanauts booth will also be a meeting spot for many former interns who can also offer prospective interns unique insights into becoming a PADI professional.

Dive 2011 runs 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 22 and 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 23. Tickets can be purchased online through the Dive 2011 website or at the door.

Aquanauts' May 2011 IDC/IE Class: From left (back) OWSI Cory Harner, IDCS Jason Orage, OWSI Juergen Wessel; (front) Colin Whittall, Course Director Roger M. Smith and William Watson

A 47-year-old builder, a 26-year-old cook, a German executive and a big, tall Texan seem like unlikely team members, but the four Aquanauts students from around the world became the latest PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors at Pattaya’s May 2011 Instructor Exam.

Interns Colin Whittall and William Watson of England and American Cory Harner joined long-time Aquanauts part-time student Juergen Wessel in reaching the PADI instructor level. IDC Staff Instructor Jason Orage and Course Director Roger Smith directed their training during the week-long Instructor Development Course.

Watson had come to Aquanauts last year having never been certified and spent 7 months training to become an OWSI. Whittall took four months, skipping April’s test to be ensure he passed with flying colors. Wessel long ago thought about taking an internship, but work got in the way. So he chipped away at it over time. And Harner jumped in with two big feet, committing to not only OWSI, but Master Scuba Diver Trainer and IDC Staff Instructor as well.

Aquanaut’s 4-for-4 made it a month shy of four complete years with a perfect, 100% pass rate on the PADI Instructor Exam, making the 5-Star Career Development Center’s pass rate the best in Thailand.

Aquanauts' April 2011 IDC/IE Class: From left: IDC Staff Instructor Jason Orage, Course Director Roger Smith, new OWSI Amy Walton, IDC Staff Instructor Katie Moore and new OWSI Philip Kach.

He became an instructor with Aquanauts three years ago. She learned to dive with us. And in April 2011, Jason Orage and Amy Walton took further steps in PADI dive careers: He as IDC Staff Instructor, she as an Open Water Scuba Instructor.

Walton – along with Philip Kach of Switzerland – became the latest Aquanauts interns to reach the OWSI level. Their success on the PADI Instructor Exam in Pattaya also marked 46 straight months in which Aquanauts has been perfect on the I.E., the best pass rate of any instructor training facility in Thailand.

Master Scuba Diver Katie Moore also earned her IDC Staff certification.

Orage and Walton’s return was a happy one for all of us at Aquanauts. Orage was a standout candidate on the April 2008 Instructor Development Course and I.E., sailing through the exam with near-perfect scores. He stayed on and did his Master Scuba Diver Trainer, then jetted off to Africa where he worked as an instructor, taking Walton up to the Divemaster level along the way.

When it came time to become an instructor, however, Walton looked back to Thailand. Her parents stopped by the Aquanauts booth at the Dive 2010 show in Birmingham, England – where they said she might go elsewhere in the Kingdom – but after hearing about the improvements to the facilities and program Aquanauts has made in the past couple of years, she signed on to come back.

Walton has since gone on to Master Scuba Diver Trainer and is now looking forward to becoming an IDC Staff Instructor like her boyfriend, who staffed her IDC.

Kach also came to Aquanauts with the assist of a former Aquanauts intern. Fellow Swiss countryman Stefan Thomi, who became an OWSI in May 2009 and IDC Staff Instructor here in September of that year, gave Kach to thumbs up to come to Pattaya. Seven months later, the former mechanic was soaking up the Thai sunshine.

Aquanauts' latest instructors: From left, Gordon Rimmer, Katie Moore and Corey Szy. In back, Course Director Roger M. Smith and Master Instructor Gary Tytler.

A lab technician, project coordinator and food and beverage worker started new lives as scuba diving instructors when they became the latest Aquanauts Dive Centre interns to pass the PADI Instructor Exam.

Katie Moore, 25; Gordon Rimmer, 29; and Corey Szy, 34, sailed easily through the three-day test which, they found, was actually easier than the Aquanauts Instructor Development Course that preceded it. It’s that level of effort that has lead to Aquanauts have the only perfect, 100 percent pass rate on the PADI Instructor Exam for the past 45 months.

For Rimmer and Szy, the experience was even more memorable as both celebrated their birthdays during the IDC!

Moore and Rimmer, both of the U.K., will continue on with Aquanauts. Both will do the Master Scuba Diver Trainer course and Moore will go on to become an IDC Staff Instructor.

For Canadian Szy, his Aquanauts internship caps a whirlwind tour of Southeast Asia. He’s now off to his next big adventure.

Aquanauts' December 2011 IDC class. From left, OWSI Kieran Bevan, IDC Staff Instructor Ewan Greenwood, Course Director Roger M. Smith and OWSI Patrick Martin. (Click to enlarge)

Patrick Martin will always remember his 28^th birthday. It was the year he, along with friend and fellow Aquanauts intern Kieran Bevan, became PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors.

Martin, who turned 28 on Dec. 17, and Bevan, 19, helped Aquanauts finish its third consecutive year with a perfect pass rate on the PADI Instructor Exam. Nearly acing all their written exams and flying easily through the water-based tests, the two brought Aquanauts’ 100 percent track record to 42 straight months, the best in Thailand.

A former slot machine technician, Martin used his three months in Thailand to not only discover a new career in recreational scuba diving, but jump into the world of technical diving, completing the PADI Tec 50 program. After a short break, the American plans to return to Aquanauts to continue his pursuit of becoming a tech diving instructor.

Bevan, a student from the United Kingdom, used his three months to set a path for his new life. He, too, sampled technical diving, taking the Tec 40 course, but also signing up for the DAN Dive Medic Enhanced Learning Pack, which gives him the full suite of Divers Alert Network accreditations, including oxygen first aid instructor.

Next week he’ll continue on, taking four specialty instructor courses before home for a few months and returning to Pattaya next year to become a full Master Scuba Diver Trainer.

The December 2010 Instructor Development Course – staffed by Course Director Roger M. Smith and Master Instructor Gary Tytler — also saw MSDT Ewan Greenwood, who became a PADI Instructor with Aquanauts in October, reach the prestigious IDC Staff Instructor level.

Congratulations to Patrick, Kieran and Ewan! Check out photos from their PADI Instructor Exam below.

With a new year – and, for many, a new start in life – just a month away, Aquanauts Dive Career Development Centre this week launched a year-end sale on its Aquanauts Complete scuba diving internships, slashed the prices of its Aquanauts Value programs and introduced a new suite of six free diving courses.

The “Complete Year-End Sale” sees prices of the Aquanauts Complete PADI Instructor internship drop by up to $700 and the Aquanauts Complete PADI Divemaster internship by up to $500. The non-professional Aquanauts Complete PADI Master Scuba Diver traineeship also got price cuts of up to $300.

The sale coincides with changes made to all Aquanauts professional training programs that include the introduction of new gear into standard scuba diving equipment packages, a permanent price cut of as much as $1,000 on Aquanauts’ budget-oriented Value instructor and divemaster internships, the debut of new Aquanauts Value Master Scuba Diver Trainer and Value IDC Staff Instructor programs and, last but certainly not least, the introduction of an all-new suite of free bonus scuba diving courses called the PADI Pro Skills 6 Pack.

“With the world economy still in the doldrums and exchange rates working against Thailand, Aquanauts is constantly trying to lower the prices of its life-changing scuba diving career programs,” said Aquanauts Internships Director Bob James. “Many people choose January to start new jobs, schools and career-change programs. Our year-end sale will allow those looking to change their lives to do so at the lowest price available for dive internships with PADI courses, materials, dive equipment and accommodations of this quality.

“Our sale makes our Aquanauts Complete instructor program as much as $1,578 less expensive than competing programs that, in fact, offer less equipment and fewer courses,” James continued. “The prices are possible thanks to price reductions in PADI materials, Suunto computers and Scubapro regulators. Unlike other centers, we didn’t simply bank the savings we’ve been granted; we’ve passed them on to our customers.”

Aquanauts Complete Year-End Sale

Sale prices on the Aquanauts Complete instructor, divemaster and Master Scuba Diver internships are already reflected online and are effective through Dec. 31 But, to summarize, the savings are as follows:

• Aquanauts Compete Instructor internship
  • $700 for uncertified divers
  • $500 for Open Water- and Advanced Open Water-certified divers
  • $300 for Rescue-level divers
  • $200 for Divemasters
• Aquanauts Complete Divemaster internship
  • $500 for uncertified divers
  • $300 for Open Water and Advanced Open Water divers
  • $200 for Rescue Divers
• Master Scuba Diver non-professional traineeship
  • $300 for new, Open Water and Advanced Open Water divers
  • $200 for Rescue divers

To qualify for the sale prices, enroll with a minimum 50 percent deposit by Dec. 31.

Aquanauts Value Internship and Equipment Changes

The budget-oriented Aquanauts Value internships – a baseline version of the Aquanauts Complete program that offers the essential courses, books and equipment aspiring PADI pros need – received price cuts of up to $1,000, depending on starting certification level.

In addition, the Value program got its first-ever “free bonus” incentive. For Value internship enrollees who pay the full balance of their package no later than 30 days before arriving in Thailand, they’ll receive the Emergency First Response Instructor course – a $265 value – free!

The Value and Complete internships also saw some changes in their respective equipment packages.

Dropping the Mares full-foot Volo Race fins, Aquanauts reintroduced a full-foot fin – the new Scubapro Jet Sport – and boots into the Aquanauts Complete program gear package. For the Aquanauts Value scuba equipment set, Aquanauts added the Suunto SK-6 wrist compass and Seac Sub Fuga full-foot fins. Both name-brand pieces of gear offer high quality at a price that makes Aquanauts Value an even better internship value.

New Free Bonus Courses Offer

Finally, after nearly a year, Aquanauts dropped its “Eco-Diver 2010 Training Pack” suite of free bonus incentive for Aquanauts Complete internships and debuted the new “PADI Pros Skills 6 Pack” set of courses.

Offered free to all Aquanauts Compete enrollees who pay their full balance at least 30 days before arriving in Thailand, the suite’s courses run the gamut from those specifically recommended for the new 2010-2011 Divemaster course – first previewed here and explained in detail here – to dive medic courses to those enhancing environmental skills, some of the most important to have in today’s scuba diving jobs market.

Heading up the 6 Pack, are the PADI Deep Diver and PADI Search & Recovery Diver courses. By completing these two PADI Specialties, you can skip the new Divemaster course’s required Deep and Search & Recovery Practical Application Skills.

Other courses include:

• PADI National Geographic Diver
• Peak Performance Buoyancy
• Underwater Navigator
• Emergency Oxygen Provider

You can read all about the new PADI Pros Skills 6 Pack and specifics on the included courses here.

Book now to take advantage of the new lower prices or contact us via e-mail or free telephone line with any questions.

Aquanauts Course Director Roger M. Smith mans the Dive 2010 booth shortly before the exhibition's opening Oct. 30.

Divers from around the United Kingdom looking to change their lives and become PADI scuba diving instructors flocked to Aquanauts Dive Centre’s booth at country’s largest dive show of the year Oct. 30-31.

More than a half-dozen attendees of the Dive 2010 exhibition at the NEC Birmingham took began their journey to become PADI Pros starting next month and through to next summer.

With the U.K. recession still pummeling the job market, Aquanauts saw an unprecedented amount of interest in Aquanauts Complete and Aquanauts Value internships, with more than 40 people attending Saturday’s 30-minute overview presentation about the Aquanauts program.

Another 20 attended the Sunday seminar, about twice the normal amount, with two deciding to make the leap and come to Thailand as soon as January. Overall, at least six new friends the Aquanauts team met in the Midlands plan to become new Aquanauts interns over the coming months.

This year marked the fifth annual Dive 20xx show Aquanauts has attended and, as happens every year, it was an opportunity to meet up with former interns now back, usually just temporarily, back in the U.K.

You can read the full show report on the main Aquanauts website.

Long-expected changes to the PADI Divemaster course are finally upon us with PADI toughening prerequisites, increasing in-water training by 50 percent and placing practical dive-leadership skills ahead of physics and physiology.

The new, revised 2010 PADI Divemaster Course, to be announced at the DEMA Show 2010 in Las Vegas Nov. 17-19, coincides with the debut of the PADI Divemaster Online eLearning program.

While a new paper PADI Divemaster manual and DVD will also be introduced, the agency is pushing DM candidates to enroll in Divemaster eLearning, which will replace all but one of the classroom presentations, as well as use the already available Dive Theory Online eLearning course.

According to a “first look” post on PADI Americas’ Instructor News blog, “the new program includes the most-requested changes from PADI members, emphasizing the dive-guide role of a Divemaster, deepening candidate experience and skill background, and incorporating real-world, practical training for the programs DMs are authorized to conduct.”

The changes are broken down into three areas: prerequisites, skills development and knowledge development.

Slightly Tougher Prerequisites

PADI Divemaster training still does not require that a candidate be a Master Scuba Diver, but it does double the number of dives needed to start training to 40, from the current 20.

And, while they are not required, PADI is now “recommending” that DM candidates also have taken the PADI Deep Diver and PADI Search & Recovery Diver specialty courses.

More-Practical Skills Training

The biggest changes come in the water, where PADI has increased by 50 percent the amount of workshop and practical application training.

For starters, there are now five new Divemaster-Conducted Program workshops; one for each course DMs are authorized to conduct. They include the current mapping project, dive-site setup and management, dive briefing and scenarios covering deep diving and search and recovery.

PADI notes that if a DM candidate holds certification cards for the Deep Diver and Search and Recovery Diver, the two scenarios can be dropped, at the instructor’s discretion.

As for dive skills, four new skin diving skills have been added. The Skills Evaluation Slate will be changed accordingly.

eLearning Comes to Divemaster

More in-water training comes at with the trade-off of less classroom time. As it has done Open Water Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver and Rescue Diver, PADI is now emphasizing students should get all their academics, theory and exams out of the way online.

Now all classroom presentations are shown via Internet video. Dive theory – which has also gotten a makeover – is also largely available online already. PADI – which takes half of all eLearnng fees itself — has high hopes that DM candidates will fork out $200 for the Divemaster Online course and then pay another $100 for Dive Theory Online.

As part of the PADI Divemaster Course revisions, dive theory knowledge requirement is now an “intermediate step” between what’s required for the PADI Rescue Diver certification and that for Assistant Instructor or Open Water Scuba Instructor. Signing up for Dive Theory Online allows students to “try out” about half of the dive theory exam questions before they take the PADI Divemaster Exam for real.

Those expecting to take the DM exam at home with the help of friends, books and the Internet will be sorely disappointed, however. Unlike with other PADI eLearning courses, the Divemaster Exam cannot be taken online. Students will take the revised Divemster exam in the classroom, under the supervision of an instructor.

The new 2010 PADI Divemaster exam emphasizes the supervisory and leadership aspects of being a DM. PADI says the test also is written in less-technical language to “more accurately assess candidate comprehension of the knowledge development topics.”

What Hasn’t Changed?

The DM course overhaul – rumored, discussed and expected for nearly two years – is the biggest change, perhaps ever, to the PADI Divemaster training program. But not everything has changed.

For starters, you still only need 60 dives total to be certified.

As noted, the mapping project remains untouched and the Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving will not be revised. One note: The Diving Knowledge Workbook will no longer be required.

Revised PADI Divemaster Materials

What has changed? A lot, especially with the materials.

The biggest change will be with PADI Divemaster Manual itself, which will increase from 200 to 300 pages. PADI says it “includes new course information and functions as an additional study tool for the DM exam. Each chapter now includes a case study based on real scenarios that illustrate sound judgment and other leadership skills.”

The Divemaster DVD also gets an upgrade, with “demonstration quality” videos of 20 skills on the skills circuit, as well as new skin diving skills. New footage is also included on both the consumer and “Pro” editions of the Divemaster DVD.

Other revised or all new materials include:

• Divemaster Slates
• Instructor Cue Cards (New)
• Prescriptive Lessons Guides – New and integrated with standard lesson guides.
• A Divemaster eLearning Crewpak (New)

When Does It Start?

PADI is allowing dive centers worldwide to continue to teach the current (now “old”) Divemaster Course and use old materials until July 2011. Aquanauts will begin teaching the new course as soon as materials are available. Because PADI materials are rolled out in North America and the U.K. first, it’s currently unknown when PADI Asia-Pacific and its Thailand distributor will have them.

The best advice is to subscribe via RSS to the website, become our Facebook fan or follow us on Twitter. As soon as its available, we’ll announce it.

Former Aquanauts intern and now PADI Course Director Tom West. (Click to enlarge.)

An Aquanauts intern who trained to become a PADI instructor in 2006-2007 helped raise for than $6,000 for PADI”s Project AWARE conservation program when the Indonesia dive center where he now serves as Course Director joined five other shops in a football tournament and charity auction.

Tom West of Blue Season Bali — one of two Aquanauts interns who’ve so far risen to the Course Director level — and Bali Crystal Divers, Puri Wirata Dive Resort, Divemasters, Bali Hai Diving Adventures and Atlantis International all swapped their diving fins for football boots in the first ever 5 A-Side Soccer Tournament for Project AWARE Foundation.  Each dive centre submitted a team and, based on a point system, progressed through to each round of the competition.

The centers also donated over $3,000 worth of prizes which were auctioned off at an evening event at Stiff Chilli.  About $1,000 worth of prizes was donated by Vimal Lekhraj from DiveMasters.

Then intern Tom West shakes PADI Instructor Examiner Rob Scammell's hand after posting a 99.5% perfect score on the January 2007 Instructor Exam. (Click to enlarge.)

The finale, according to Underwater Asia, came with the auctioning of PADI Course Directors, including West, whose rise to the pinnacle of the PADI world was predicted by Aquanauts before he even took his Instructor Exam in January 2007, scoring the highest marks ever or since recorded by an Aquanauts intern on the I.E.

Tom West from Blue Season Bali ran the Auction show and got the crowd spending big especially when it came to auctioning off some of the PADI Course Directors. Course Directors ‘sold’ themselves as personal slaves for half a day to the lucky bidder.  Slave tasks included cooking, cleaning, tank refills – you name they had to do it (within reason!)

“The bidding for the PADI Course Directors Slave Auction got really competitive.  One Course Director went for 6.4 million IDR!”, said Tony Andrews, PADI Regional Manger.

Congratulations to Tom and all the Project AWARE benefactors over in Bali. Mr. West has made us all at Aquanauts very proud.

It didn’t quite work out that way.

He’d done the PADI Instructor Development Course and Instructor Exam. He’d gotten certified to teach five PADI specialties and earned more than 25 certifications. But when he saw the standard of the Aquanauts instructors and courses, he backed down. While we were ready to work with him to bring up his teaching skills, he decided to drop the IDC Staff course and simply teach, assist and dive for his two months here.

As you’ll read below, he has no regrets, saying Aquanauts is “second to none” and that he would recommend us to anyone.

Kaleb’s back in Canada now and his parents have finished their training here and moved on to the Caribbean. But wherever they end up, Aquanauts wishes all the Lewises the best of luck.

Didn’t Do the Course, but Lucky to Be There

by Kaleb Lewis

Through my travels as a dive instructor, I have visited many dive shops and had the pleasure of meeting many different divers and dive instructors. But none of them have been quite like this one.

Many dive shops you will visit in your dive travels as a professional or even just as a recreational diver seem all the same. They greet you as you walk in, take your money and kick you back out the door with some dive gear and a guide who seems more interested in what he’s doing that night then if your dive gear is working properly or how good a dive you have. If you’re lucky you may see another 5-10 divers the entire time you’re there.

At Aquanauts it’s different.  As you walk up to the shop first thing, even before the front door of the shop is unlocked, you are met by not just a few, but a crowd of divers. Many of these divers arrive at the shop with the hopes of more than just a few days of diving.

I was privileged enough to join Aquanauts for two months while in Thailand, and though I did not take any courses while with them I was lucky enough to spend those two months diving as an instructor and being able to see the inner workings of their operation.

I can fairly say that Aquanauts is a shop to its own. In my travels I have never come across another quiet like it.

A lot of the divers that come to Aquanauts spend up to and beyond seven months with the Aquanauts team. Some start with no or very few certifications what so ever and will train their way all the way up to becoming a fully certified PADI instructor. Whatever kind of diving you are looking for, Aquanauts can give it to you. Whether you want to dive on wrecks, coast over nothing but coral reefs, or you feel the urge to heighten your diving experience by continuing your training, Aquanauts can offer it to you.

Many dive shops will offer the basic courses that any instructor can teach up to Divemaster. At Aquanauts they can offer above and beyond this with their team of IDC Staff Instructors and Course Directors.  The staff instructors have enough experience to handle any situation and any kind of diver. Whether it is an open water course, rescue course, or just welcoming divers into the professional ratings with a Divemaster course they know how to get things done.

Kaleb Lewis dives the HTMS Kood wreck in Pattaya

And how could they not – being watched over by Gary. A man with years of training, years of experience, and the will to pass it on to those who are willing to listen and learn. A man of many words, and though he may not always like what you have done and will not hesitate to make this fact known, he is also the first to step forward and assist when it is really needed.

The final member of the dive team is Roger, another veteran of the diving world. With years of experience in not only recreational diving but in technical diving as well, he is a source of great information, which he is happy to share with any who are willing to ask and listen.

The team the Aquanauts shop has is second to none and the experience I have gained from being with them is one that I will cherish for years to come.

Aquanauts is a shop I would recommend to any diver who is looking for a once in a life experience. Whether it be the dive sites you visit on a daily basis, the high quality of training you will receive while diving with these elite divers, or the experiences you will have while in their area, Aquanauts is by far the shop to go to.

As we’ve noted many places on the website, internships are not just for young people. Over the years, we’ve a good number of people in their 40s, 50s and even 60s become dive instructors and divemasters. One such intern is Greg King, who qualified as an Open Water Scuba Instructor in February 2010.

At age 62, Greg saw the training a bit differently than some and, below, he shares his thoughts on the program and experiences at Aquanauts.

Aquanauts intern and now PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer Greg King. (Click to enlarge.)

I started diving in 1998 in Australia and completed my Advanced Open Water that year.  I logged about 50 dives over the next 4 years until my marriage started to fail. It was about March 2009, while I was visiting friends here in Pattaya, that I noticed a dive shop and walked in and enquired about going for a dive after a six-year layoff, went out for a day and although I was a bit rusty, I had a good days diving.

Fast forward to October last year and I made arrangements to start the internship here in November.  I won’t bore you with all the details, but I have had many good dives here and have logged more than 100 dives since arriving.

What is the course like?  It is hard work, even for the younger ones here and for us older interns, we are expected to keep up with all the requirements of the courses.  There is no consideration given for age, but having said that, there is nothing that can not be achieved by someone who is reasonably fit.

Throughout my life I have tried to keep myself reasonably fit. I have never seen the inside of a gymnasium, but have participated in sporting activities such as tennis (until the knees started playing up) and sailing.

With age, however, comes a little wisdom that says don’t rush to do one thing, take it slower and do everything.  It was the same for me here.  I could not hope to keep up with some of the swimmers who had recently come out college and were in the swim team or played water polo. I was a capable swimmer, but not fast. It was the same in the classroom where some of the interns have only recently been studying full time while it has been 45 years since I was in school.

My education was just high school level in Australia and I did not excel in any subjects. Maths and sciences were my worst subjects because I could not see why I needed to learn about quadratic equations and could not see any reason to learn anything about Boyle’s Law. I was more interested in learning about things that meant something in real life.

Greg King, far left, with Aquanauts Instructor Exam candidates and staff for February 2010. To his left: OWSI Lorna Green, PADI's Instructor Examiner, OWSI Conner McBryde and, in front, Master Instructor Sally Rathbone. (Click to enlarge.)

I found it harder to understand almost everything, but with the persistence of the instructors here I managed to learn everything that was required and passed all exams, presentations and water skills for the final testing.

There were times when I could almost have given up and walked away, but I am not the sort of person to let something get the better of me. The hardest part of the whole internship was the last 15 days where we completed the IDC section of the course, but I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Most of the interns here were young enough to be my children and even grandchildren and while I do not exactly fit in with their social habits, we managed to get on very well socially most of the time.  The dive community respects anyone who is a diver no matter what their age or background because we all look, act and communicate the same way underwater.

The rewards at the end, knowing that I have achieved what I set out to do, has made this a great experience personally as well as being a great way to get fully fit again.

My advice. If you think you can do it, then you probably can.

So, How old is too old?  Age is mostly a state of mind so why not at least give it a try.

From left, Master Instructor Meg Smith, new OWSI Lana Brook, IDC Staff Instructor John McGraw (back), new OWSI Greg Kuchan, Course Director Roger M. Smith (back), new OWSIs Jonathan Davis and Stephen Bodell, and Master Instructor Gary Tytler. (Click to enlarge.)

Aquanauts Dive Centre made it a full three years with a perfect, 100 percent pass rate on the PADI Instructor Exam when four more of its professional scuba diving interns passed their exams with flying colors in Pattaya.

Lana Brook and Stephen Bodell of the United Kingdom, Jonathan Davis of Australia and American Greg Kuchan sailed through their three-day exam May 18-20 at Pattaya’s Discovery Beach Hotel. All are off to new adventures around the world teaching as PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors.

May’s instructor training also saw the certification of American John McGraw – who first became an instructor at Aquanauts is 2009 – as an IDC Staff Instructor.

This was the second IDC Aquanauts has done under PADI’s new 2010-format Instructor Development Course. The IDC has been shortened from nine days to seven with the dropped material moved online for students to complete before the classroom session begins.

While students do appreciate sitting in the classroom for a shorter period of time, the accelerated schedule does play on the nerves. Up until the last day before the exam Bodell was still nervous about his physics knowledge, but once he got to the exam he found it was easier than expected. All the students agreed Aquanauts’ thorough teaching methods results in the exam being easier than the IDC.

The four graduations now make it three full years since anyone has failed an instructor exam at Aquanauts, the only internship program with that record. It’s one reason why only Aquanauts guarantees its results in writing.

The IDC was staffed by PADI Platinum Course Director Roger M. Smith and Master Instructors Gary M. Tytler and Meg Smith.

From left, Master Instructor Gary Tytler, Master Instructor Sally Rathbone, new OWSI Carly Hawkins and Course Director Roger M. Smith. (Click to enlarge.)

It took her more than two years to finally arrive, but Australian world traveler Carly Hawkins finally made it to Pattaya where she has become the latest Aquanauts Dive Centre intern to become a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor.

Hawkins, 28, first signed up with Aquanauts after visiting the PADI 5-Star Career Development Center’s booth at the Dive 2007 expo in Birmingham, England. The original plan called for her to arrive the following April. Then November. Then her trip got delayed indefinitely. She finally moved into her Aquanauts apartment in December 2009.

“It did for a while like I’d never make it,” Hawkins said. “But becoming a dive instructor was something I always wanted to do. I just had to find the right time to do it.”

In the years between signing up and arriving, Hawkins worked as a teacher in the United Kingdom, using her frequent school breaks to criss-cross Europe to see the sights, discover new adventures and make new friends. She details many of her journey’s on Facebook where, thanks to her wide travels, she’s accumulated more than 1,100 friends.

She finally made the move to Pattaya when, she says, she “just couldn’t bear another winter in the U.K.” She arrived just after Christmas and found she loved it.

“I love the convenience, the people, the lifestyle… It’s so relaxed,” she said. “The dress code is great. The girls are so friendly and I love the beach and the nightlife.”

Carly, right, gets into the spirit of Songkran ... big time!

The two highlights of Hawkins’ time in Pattaya came at the same time: mid-April, when she did both her Instructor Development Course and soaked up everything Songkran, or the Thai New Year, had to offer.

“I hated that the IDC was during Songkran. The instructors could see I was just dying to get out of the classroom and back out there,” she joked. After class Hawkins was off to Soi 7 where she got into blasting everyone with water guns.

Fun aside, Hawkins acknowledges the best part of coming to Pattaya was gaining a new career thanks to her training at Aquanauts.

“They really prepared you for the Instructor Exam,” Hawkins said of the Aquanauts instructors. “The IDC was pretty stressful, but the I.E. was very easy because of it.”

What she didn’t anticipate, she added, was the number of new friends she has made through the internship program, which offers all its students accommodations, all their courses and materials, a full set of equipment, visas and more. “I thought when I came here I was going to be on my own. But all the interns are awesome.”

Now both a teacher and a professional dive instructor, Hawkins has a lot of possibilities in front of her. Her first stop will be her native Australia, where she hasn’t lived for years. Then, she says, who knows? The world and new adventures are waiting.

From left, new PADI instructor Jonathan Harris, Aquanauts Master Instructor Meg Smith, new instructors Scott Beadle and Tim Fiorito, and Master Instructor Gary Tytler. (Click to enlarge.)

Three men from three continents became the latest Aquanauts Dive Centre students to become professional instructors when they passed this month’s PADI Instructor Exam in Pattaya.

Jonathan Harris of the United Kingdom, Scott Beadle of South Africa and Tim Fiorito of Canada posted near-perfect scores across the board on the March 15-17 exam at Discovery Beach Hotel near Aquanauts’ headquarters on Soi 6 and Beach Road.

Fiorito, at barely 19, became the youngest instructor ever to successfully complete Aquanauts’ instructor internship program. Beadle, meanwhile, came to PADI 5-Star Career Development Center in September as an uncertified diver and worked his way up through the ranks over the past six months.

Harris, who came to Pattaya in mid-December and quickly earned a reputation for his flat-out determination, said all three guys found the exam much easier than Aquanauts’ demanding training program and thanked his instructors profusely at a post-exam party, saying the course has changed his life and he wants to teach diving for the rest of his life.

This IDC was staffed by Course Director Roger Smith and Maser Instructors Meg Smith and Gary Tytler.

Aquanauts' February 2010 IDC students and staff. From left, Connor McBrye, Master Instructor Sally Rathbone, Lorna Green, Greg King and Master Instructor Gary Tytler

Aquanauts started 2010 the same way it ended 2009 and 2008: Perfectly.

A 63-year-old sailboat captain and English massage therapist were among the latest students to change their lives and become scuba diving instructors when Aquanauts Diving Instructor Internship program.

Australian Greg King became the oldest participant in Aquanauts dive internship program to pass the Feb. 15-17 exam at the Discovery Beach Hotel near Aquanauts’ headquarters on Soi 6 and Beach Road. Also passing the exam were former spa trainer Lorna Green and 19-year-old student Connor McBryde, both of the United Kingdom, and Jonathan Eagle, who did his instructor’s course at Aquanauts after doing earlier training at new partner company Real Divers of Jomtien Beach.

“With age comes a little wisdom that says don’t rush, take it slower. It was the same for me here,” King said. “I could not hope to keep up with some of the guys who had recently come out college and were in the swim team. It was the same in the classroom where some of the interns have only recently been studying full time while it has been 45 years since I was in school.”

Nonetheless, King scored perfect marks in classroom presentations and turned in a strong open water test performance. Likewise, Green dropped only 3 questions out of four written exams and scored perfect marks across two days of swimming pool and open water testing.

Aquanauts, a PADI 5-Star Career Development Center, in the only professional dive training facility in Pattaya or Jomtien Beach with a 100 percent pass rate for the past 32 months, thanks to its small class sizes and personal attention.

Aquanauts' December 2009 IDC students and staff. From left, Course Director Roger M. Smith, Ben Wertsch, IDC Staff Instructor Meg Smith, Dan Cook and Master Instructor Gary Tytler. (Click to enlarge.)

Aquanauts closed out its second continuous calendar year of perfect results on the PADI Instructor Exam when interns Dan Cook and Ben Wertsch became new Open Water Scuba Instructors in December.

Englishman Cook, 18, and 24-year-old Wertsch of the United States posted strong scores on written exams and pool sessions at the Pattaya Discovery Beach Hotel next to the Aquanauts main office and then sailed to success during the final open-water training day.

Both are staying on at Aquanauts to become Master Scuba Diver Trainers. Cook has already begun his MSDT and Wertsch will be returning in February.

The two latest passes now give Aquanauts a 100% pass rate for the past 2.5 years and is now the only center of its kind in Thailand with perfect records for all of 2008 and 2009.

December’s instructor development course was staffed by Course Director Roger M. Smith, Master Instructor Gary Tytler and IDC Staff Instructor Megan Smith.

The Aquanauts interns gather on Bang Sarary Beach.

Aquanauts interns went from diving alongside sea turtles to releasing new ones into the wild at the Royal Thai Navy’s Sea Turtle Conservation Center as part of the budding dive instructors’ environmental training.

The Nov. 25 field trip to the Sattahip Naval Base treated 24 Aquanauts interns and staff to a lecture and video presentation about the Navy’s work to rebuild Thailand’s five endangered breeds of sea turtles, an educational exhibit, a visit to the aquarium and nursery and, in a grand finale, the chance to release 6-month-old baby turtles into the sea.

“It was really a unique experience that gave our students some first-hand knowledge about one of the creatures they see and dive with every day,” said Aquanauts Managing Director and Course Director Roger M. Smith.

“As divers we all get excited when we are lucky enough to see a sea turtle on a dive. They are so beautiful and graceful as they move effortlessly through the water,” said former intern and now IDC Staff Instructor Sally Rathbone. “However, more importantly, they play key roles in ecosystems that are critical to them as well as to humans. If sea turtles were to become extinct, the negative impact on beaches and the oceans would be enormous.”

The interns take in the presentation.

Divers can expect to find Olive Ridley, Hawksbill, Loggerhead, Leatherback and Green turtles while in Thailand with Green turtles being the most common around Pattaya. Green turtles are also the most endangered of all of Thailand’s sea turtles. The Navy’s Sea Turtle Conservation Center is combating this by rescuing eggs laid on Koh Khram and two smaller islands nearby that fall under Navy jurisdiction and working with fishing fleets around Thailand to protect the animals while still preserving the fishermen’s way of life.

A key part of that is rescuing eggs after their laid. The center has gone from raising just 700 turtles a year to more than 20,000 today. They are raised in nursery tanks until they are six months old. Tank water is changed daily and sick turtles are nursed back to health while kept in isolation.

Some larger turtles are kept in the nursery if they are found and injured.

“I was surprised by just how much work the center does, releasing more than 20,000 turtles per year,” said Aquanauts IDC Staff Instructor Megan Smith. “It was fascinating seeing so many turtles so close together and we were fortunate to be the only group there at the time, so we had lots of time to ask questions and observe these amazing creatures.”

The highlight of the day came after the lecture and tour when all the interns went to the waterline to set a few of the baby turtles back into the sea. “We all stood back, watched in awe and took photos at what must be a once in a life time opportunity,” Smith said.

More than 200,000 students and community groups visit the center each year although many don’t get the same opportunity to set turtles free. The center plans to release 983 turtles back into the wild Dec. 5 to mark the 83rd birthday of Thailand’s 9th Chakri Dynasty monarch, HM the King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The meat of the sea turtles and their eggs are regarded as great delicacies in many parts of the world, especially in Asia. The combination of poachers and natural threats from birds and sea creatures mean the survival rate for unprotected turtles is about 1 in 100. With the Navy’s help, that as increased to 50 percent, officials said.

The Navy visit is only part of Aquanauts’ commitment to preserving the marine environment. In addition to regular beach and reef cleanups, Aquanauts exclusively offers a program its has dubbed the “Eco-Tec Dive Training Pack” which gives all its professional training students a free suite of PADI environmental courses, including the Project AWARE marine conservation course, Project AWARE Coral Reef Conservation and National Geographic Diver, which teaches students to identify plants and animals as well as document the man-made impact on dive sites.

“The work done by the Sea Turtle Conservation Center is vital to the survival of these beautiful animals,” said Rathbone who, with Megan Smith, developed Aquanauts’ Eco-Tec curriculum. “But we also need to do our bit as divers to help them if we want to continue to see the sea turtles on our dives.”

Aquanauts divers are taught not to chase or try to touch the turtles while diving, not to dispose of plastic bags in the sea as turtles eat them thinking they’re jellyfish, a favorite turtle food. And Aquanauts also urges students not to buy any turtle products, such as meat and eggs, nor any product made of their shell, such as jewelry, hairbrushes and other fashion items.

Here’s a full slideshow & gallery of photos from the trip:

Aquanauts' September 2009 IDC students and staff. From left, Master Instructor Gary Tytler, new OWSI Alexandra Booth, Course Director Roger M. Smith and new IDC Staff Instructor Stefan Thomi. (Click to enlarge.)

A 25-year-old British business consultant is now a professional scuba diving instructor, the latest of the many foreign students who’ve decided to change their lives and careers through an internship at Aquanauts Dive Centre.

Alexandra Booth, 25, sailed through her three-month course to easily pass her PADI Instructor Examination Sept. 6. The Hampshire, England resident has gone home for a few weeks with plans to return to advance her instructor qualifications this winter.

While Booth found the exam much easier than two other students did the Instructor Development Course with her, she said it was still challenging.
“People forget about the studying,” Booth said. “You don’t just get to come here and go diving… unfortunately!”

With a keen mind and a medical background, Booth excelled on the academics, however, “Thanks to Aquanauts, I felt really well prepared for the exam,” she said.

This month’s instructor development cycle also saw Stefan Thomi, who became an Open Water Scuba Instructor in May, complete his IDC Staff Instructor course, the third run on the PADI instructor ladder. He’s now off to the Maldives to begin working.

Aquanauts, a PADI 5-Star Career Development Center, hosts students from around the world through its unique 2-6 month internship program which offers private accommodations, new equipment, unlimited diving plus all courses, materials, fees and job placement.

This month’s IDC was staffed by Course Director Roger M. Smith, Master Instructor Gary Tytler and IDC Staff Instructor Sally Rathbone. See below for photos from the I.E.

Aquanauts' July 2009 IDC students and staff. From left, Master Instructor Gary Tytler, IDC Staff Instructor Meg Smith, new OWSIs Andrew Jennings nad Alison Breeze, and Course Director Roger M. Smith. (Click to enlarge.)

Tourists may have been soaking up the sun and partying until dawn, but for Alison Breeze and Andrew Jennings, four months in Pattaya meant getting up at dawn and studying into the night to become scuba diving instructors. This month all their hard work paid off.

Jennings of England and Breeze of Scotland became Aquanauts’ latest interns to pass the PADI Instructor Exam, sailing through the three-day exam with near-perfect grades. They are now headed back to the U.K. for a breather before returning to Pattaya later this year to continue their dive education.

“I came here on holiday and didn’t really know what to expect when I signed up,” the 28-year-old Jennings said. “But it turns out to be the best decision I’ve ever made.”

Aquanauts’ management demands excellence from their students, but the results showed on the recent exam. Jennings, for example, posted perfect marks seven of the nine times he faced the marking pen.

This month’s success makes it 25 straight months where Aquanauts interns passed the I.E., giving Aquanauts the best pass rate in Central Thailand.

This month’s IDC was staffed by Course Director Roger Smith, Master Instructor Gary Tytler and IDC Staff Instructor Meg Smith. See below for photos from the IDC and I.E.

Meant to complement our just-introduced Eco-Tec Dive Training Pack, a suite of 8 additional courses included from with all Complete interships, the PADI Enhanced Learning Pack includes all the optional manuals not included the Eco-Tec package, plus three additional specialty courses with materials: Enriched Air (Nitrox) Diver, Search & Recovery Diver and Wreck Diver.

The Dive Medic Enhanced Learning Pack has also been upgraded with the addition of the Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries course. PADI’s version — Emergency Oxygen Provider — is included in Complete internships standard but the DAN course is a required prerequisite for the Advanced Oxygen course included in this Enhanced Learning Pack. Students purchasing therefore get dual oxygen certifications.

Finally, the Technical Diving Enhanced Learning Pack has seen a major upgrade in the additional of the full Tec Deep Level 1 course. Previously, the Tec Deep Basics course was included in this ELP, but that course is now offered free in the Eco-Tec package. Those who buy this will get to complete 7 of 12 dives of the full Tec Deep program.

No other dive training internship offers the number and breadth of courses in Aquanuats packages. Check out the website to read more.

Aquanauts' June 2009 IDC students and staff. From left, Master Instructor Gary Tytler, IDC Staff Instructor Sally Rathbone, new OWSIs Justin Mah, Christian Holmes, Becky Maxwell and John McGraw and Course Director Roger M. Smith. (Click to enlarge.)

Aquanauts Dive Career Development Centre made it two full years of perfect results on the PADI Instructor Exam in June as four more Aquanauts interns became Open Water Scuba Instructors.

Christian Holmes and Becky Maxwell of the United Kingdom, Justin Mah of Canada and and John McGraw of the U.S. sailed through the I.E. with no fails and no makeups. Once the exam was done Mah thanked his instructors, saying they made the IDC so challenging that the exam itself was easy.

The IDC was staffed by Course Director Roger Smith, Master Instructor Gary Tytler and IDC Staff Instructor Sally Rathbone. Below are photos from the Instructor Exam.

The Aquanauts Value Internship offers the same length and quality of training that has resulted in Aquanauts interns achieving the best PADI Instructor Exam pass rate in Central Thailand. Since June 2007, Aquanauts has a 100% pass rate on the I.E. and, in fact, offers a money-backed guarantee that, if you follow our program and meet all our deadlines, you’ll pass your I.E. or we pay for another exam.

Included in the internship, which runs 6 weeks to 7 months depending upon your current certification, are all your required PADI courses and materials, non-shared accommodations, a set of new, professional-grade dive equipment that’s yours to keep, up to 150 dives and job placement. But all of that comes at a value price that is the lowest available in Thailand, including even Koh Tao, long-known for low-priced courses.

For uncertified divers, the 7-month Aquanauts Value Internship is just US$5,999 with prices as low as $2,530 for current Divemasters. That’s about $3,500 less than the Aquanauts Complete Internship and among the best prices for extended-length instructor-training internships.

Value Divemaster Packages, Too

For those not interested in going to the Instructor level, Aquanauts also now offers the Aquanauts Value Divemaster Internship, which runs 1-2 months. As with the Instructor package, the Divemaster internship includes courses, books, accommodations, equipment and job placement.

Prices for the Divemaster package start at just $1,686 and, even for uncertified divers, costs no more than $3,749. That’s nearly $500 less than less-comprehensive packages on Koh Tao and several thousand dollars less than our Aquanauts Complete Divemaster Internship and similar competing programs.

Sure, the Value package doesn’t include everything the Complete internship does. But for those interested in getting the most value for their money without all the bells and whistles, there’s no better choice than Aquanauts CDC.

See full details of the Aquanauts Value, Aquanauts Complete and innovative Aquanauts 4-Step internships at DivingInstructorTraining.com or call free 866-995-5959 from the U.S., 0800-8456-710 from the U.K. and 1800-654-387 from Australia.

Aquanauts' May 2009 IDC students and staff. From left, Master Instructor Gary Tytler, IDC Staff Instructor Meg Smith, new OWSIs Faruke Latif and Stefan Thomi, Course Director Roger M. Smith and new IDC Staff Instructor Thomas Badstubner. (Click to enlarge.)

While it’s certainly fun, an Aquanauts professional internship is also a bit like a marathon. Not everyone makes it to the end. Such was the case this month with just two students completing the May Instructor Development Course. Winning the marathon were Faruke Latif and Stefan Thomi, both of whom are now PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors after passing the PADI Instructor Exam.

Latif of the United Kingdom and Thomi of Switzerland were, in fact, the only candidates out of seven on Pattaya’s May PADI I.E. to pass. Such extreme preparation is why Aquanauts is the only instructor training facility in Central Thailand with a 100% I.E. pass rate since June 2007.

The May IDC also saw Thomas Badstubner, who last year completed his OWSI and MSDT with Aquanauts, return to do his IDC Staff course.

In addition to Tom, the IDC was staffed by Course Director Roger Smith, Master Instructor Gary Tytler and IDC Staff Instructor Meg Smith. Below are photos from the Instructor Exam.

A full boatload of divers took to Saxophone Bay to remove a bags and bags full of of rubbish from the beach and reef. At least 50 black sacks were hauled away, showing how much washes up onto Thailand’s beaches.

The trash – comprised of everything from glass and plastic bottles to cigarette lighters to shoes to polystyrene containers – were bought back to the boat and safely disposed of, with any recyclable items sorted for recycling. Divers also hit the water and splashed for trash and cleaned up the reef at the bay.

Dive for Earth Day was also a fun event, with PADI this year inviting divers to dress up for the event. Funny wigs and devil’s ears were strange sights to see on divers, but made for a festive atmosphere.

Since the 30th anniversary of Earth Day in 2000, Project AWARE has helped divers focus attention on aquatic environments for this annual event. Thousands of diver volunteers in more than 115 countries have helped protect underwater environments and educate local communities for Project AWARE’s Dive for Earth Day.

Read more here about Project AWARE’s Dive for Earth Day initiatives around the world and share your news with the Project AWARE community.

While Dive for Earth Day is an extraordinary opportunity to take action and help address the underwater issues that concern you most, there are many simple, low-cost things you can do each day and each time you dive to lower your impact on the environment. Begin by following Project AWARE’s Ten Ways a Diver Can Protect the Underwater Environment or check out Tips to Keep Waters Debris Free.

Aquanauts, a PADI 5-Star Career Development Center, dives “green” everyday and last month’s cleanup was just part of a year-round commitment to aquatic conservation on Pattaya’s dive sites for generations of divers and snorkelers to come.

Check out the short slideshow from the fun day out: