PADI, diving and Instructor Development (IDC)

Rotation

2010-02-06T07:29:00.003+07:00

Rotation

Indeed! Students come and go all the time and this time it was Chris Jones' time coming up to rotate back home to Australia again. He's been on Koh Samui for almost 6 months and completed his IDC in September last year and MSDT internship here.

There was a farewell evening and early in the evening the picture shows from left to right Grainne, who's participating in the current IDC, Chris Jones aka Jonesi, Graham who's in the midst of his Divemaster course, Nigel who is currently completing his MSDT internship and myself.

In good tradition this most likely ended in a very late or early morning in Chaweng.

Craig and Irish Steve went back home earlier in this young year already.

Camille

PADI IDC for February 2010 is in the making

2010-02-05T20:49:00.002+07:00

PADI IDC for February 2010 is in the making

The prep course finished yesterday and today the actual IDC kicked off. There's Preben who's completing his IDCS course and as IDC candidates we have Grainne and Rob.
So far we have sunny blue skies over Samui, absolutely lovely!

Lots of classroom time is guaranteed! From left to right Rob, Preben and Grainne, who completed her Divemaster course last year with us.

Before one of the skill circuit practice dives, Grainne and Rob complete a buddy check on each other. Even at this level something that shouldn't be left out.

Rescue course exercise # 7, 'unconscious diver at the surface' is part of the practice cycle as usual, as in every IDC.

Preben also had to do a Confined Water presentation as part of his IDCS course, his presentation was a CESA (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent). He's controlling Grainne's CESA in this picture.

Rob is showing off his CESA demonstration skills in the pool. Today they both passed their skill circuit evaluation with flying colours.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Camille

A tribute to Bruce Mozert, part 1

2010-02-03T19:47:00.007+07:00

A tribute to Bruce Mozert

Bruce who? That's exactly how I felt just a few days ago, until I browsed the US PADI Instructor blog and found a post on Bruce Mozert in there. That was an eye opener!

The short version; he is the pioneer of underwater photography.

As Mozert puts it, he “took to photography like a duck takes to water.” For the man generally considered the “grandfather of underwater photography,” that may be something of an understatement. On the scene at Silver Springs in 1938 to capture the third in the Tarzan series starring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan, Mozert was vexed to discover that the one shot he truly needed, Weissmuller swimming with “porpoise-like grace” in the springs’ crystal clear waters, was the one shot he couldn’t get. That’s because the only way to capture underwater sequences was in a submerged drum outfitted for the movie’s cameraman, and there wasn’t room enough in the rig for Mozert.

Bruce with one of his early underwater housings

But, in what would become Mozert’s lifelong mantra, necessity proved to be the mother of invention. He got permission to nose around the park’s maintenance shop and cobbled together the world’s first underwater camera casing out of galvanized metal sheeting, an old inner tube, and rubber cement.

“When I showed up at the set the next morning, they all laughed at me,” he says. “But I just walked into the water and took my pictures.”

He ended up with black-and-white images so good that MGM snagged them for publicity stills, paying Mozert the princely sum of $12.

The rest, as they say, is history.

IN THE PRIMORDIAL days before Disney, Silver Springs became Florida’s premier tourist attraction thanks in large part to a public relations juggernaut that targeted snowbirds through release of thousands of publicity stills on the national wire services.

Mozert was part of an aggressive marketing machine that by the 1950s saw annual visitation of 800,000. During the park’s heyday, from the 1940s through the early 1970s, Mozert’s pioneering efforts resulted in the first underwater movie camera and the first underwater lighting system that is still used today.

TO PROMOTE SILVER SPRINGS, Mozert knew his photographs had to be “snazzy” enough to grab attention from the press and would-be tourists. To accomplish that, he used shapely models performing everyday tasks such as smoking cigarettes or drinking Cokes, flipping burgers on a grill, playing golf, or cooling off in front of a new-fangled air conditioner—all underwater.

He continued to refine his housing designs for both still images and movie cameras. Mozert shot all the underwater footage for the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and worked for all of the major television networks, including ABC Sports, NBC’s Mike and the Mermaid, and CBS’ Sea Hunt. For 15 years during the 60’s and 70’s he was a contract photographer and cameraman for Mercury Engines. Shooting high speed underwater footage of propellers is a feat that he is particularly proud of.

Shooting scenes underwater with Bruce Mozert

Mozert’s legacy is the series of unique underwater images of beautiful models in real-life domestic situations under the crystal clear waters of Silver Springs. His images are world class examples of conceptual photography at its best. For forty five years Bruce Mozert developed impactful and memorable images that not only required creative prop work, but early on required inventive experimentation with homemade housings and lighting systems. In fact some of Mozert's early underwater rigs are on display at museums around the USA like the Smithsonian. He began shooting underwater before the invention of regulators (the “aqua lung” as he refers to it), and explained how he would submerge in a diving helmet tethered to a hose at the surface with people pumping air by hand. Eventually he recommended attaching the hose to a compressor and essentially invented the first compressed air system. These were the days prior to navy dive tables and an understanding of dive injuries like embolisms. He reflects back on a few situations where he had to perform an emergency ascent and in retrospect is lucky he didn’t embolize. We should all be just as happy that he didn’t as we all owe Mozert credit for helping to bring the modern era of underwater photography to fruition.

Keep your eyes peeled to this blog for more pictures of Bruce here shortly!

Camille

Preben's IDCS course kicked off today

2010-02-02T16:37:00.002+07:00

Preben's IDCS course kicked off today

Preben, who completed his IDC last year in February 2009 is back to complete his IDCS course this year! Well done Preben and a great example of taking your own education serious and continuing your dive experience and education.

Today Preben breathed through the 5 Theory exams, knocking them all out way above the required 80% passing grade and we had a Knowledge Development section as part of this IDCS course shows Preben during this evaluation training and he knocked them out as well today!

Above is one of my presentation topics shown! Get in there!

Tomorrow the actual IDC will kick off and Preben will sit through the complete IDC course again and gets the opportunity to see it from a different angle this time and with more opportunities to practice his grading.

Keep your eyes peeled to this channel for more updates this coming week!

Camille

Specialty of the month; February 2010 - Boat Diver

2010-02-01T13:04:00.003+07:00

Specialty of the month; February 2010 - Boat Diver

Just like February last year, specialty of the month is Boat Diver.

In Thailand most diving is done from boats but in the Netherlands, my native country, most dives are done in lakes and other water ponds and they are almost all shore dives.

MV Waverunner (pictured above) and MV Seafarer are the boats that I dive most with.

There's a lot more to this Specialty than the eye meets.
Mainly because different boats in different parts of the world do things differently. This Specialty course familiarizes you with the various ways you stow gear, enter and exit the water, use surface lines and more, depending upon the type boat and the location but you an also learn about the various anchor designs and their specific uses.

If you mix up starboard and port, here's an easy one to remember; we left port!

You can also learn where the head, aft cardinal points or galley are and what they are by becoming familiar with boating terms.

Come and participate in the Boat Dive specialty and get a 10% discount his month!

Camille

PADI IE for January 2010 is in the bag!

2010-01-24T13:03:00.003+07:00

PADI IE for January 2010 is in the bag!

After 3 days on Koh Tao for the PADI IE (and a few days before that so we could complete Mike's Instructor Specialities) the PADI IE finished today and Mike sailed through it with all straight fives (out of five) during the last segment this morning, the confined water presentation and the skill circuit.

Here's the whole IE group, some 30 odd candidates, with the two examiners Rob and Young and Young Hee at the side of the pool for the closing ceremony.

The 'official' picture' from left to right; Rob, the PADI Examiner, Mike and myself.

Now it's time to leave Koh Tao and go back to Samui again and ready to start another IDC in a good 9 days from now.

Camille

Camille

Mike's specialty Instructor training is done

2010-01-22T13:26:00.004+07:00

Mike's specialty Instructor training is done

After having completed the January 2010 IDC successfully, earlier this month, we made good use of the time available, together with the fact that there was only one IDC candidate this month, which allowed for great(er) than usual flexibility, we took a ferry to Koh Tao and we completed the Instructor Specialty training before the start of this months PADI IE, also on Koh Tao.

One of the Specialties taught was Underwater Navigation, here's the white board after the briefing of this dive, a small door opening into the kitchen of knowledge and teaching . Come and see if you're interested in the full course (sounds familiar, anyone?).

On Koh Tao, during an Aware Fish ID dive at Twins, we spotted this scorpion fish in full war dress, in all of his glory, a beautiful and rather rare sight. A nice touch was that Thomas, Dijana and David of the December 2009 IDC also participated in selected dives this month in order to complete their Specialty training.

Yesterday we saw this big Titan Triggerfish (as one of many around the Koh Tao dive sites) as part of the first of the two Deep dive Instructor specialty at White Rock and I got really close up for this amazing picture. If breeding, these are not very friendly fish! Luckily for us their hormones were in check.

Today we went for another Deep dive at Chumporn Pinnacle, although we didn't get to see the much anticipated and by now famous bull sharks at this dive site, it was still a very enjoyable dive with a good 20 meters visibility. This really small jelly fish caught our attention however, near the surface, it was the size of half a fist probably.

A school of baby Barracuda at White Rock saw us finish the specialty training today, having completed DPV, DUP, Nitrox, Equipment, Gas Blending, Night, Emergency Oxygen Provider, Search & Recovery, Boat and the Underwater Naturalist specialties over the last couple of days.

Right now Mike is in the PADI IE orientation which should be finished about now, ready to kick it off with 5 theory exams and the General Standards & Procedures exam.

Soon more about this PADI IE.

Camille

PADI IDC for January 2010 has been completed

2010-01-18T11:00:00.002+07:00

PADI IDC for January 2010 has been completed

Today Mike completed his January 2010 IDC. After already having completed the Prep and AI courses, the IDC is now complete.

Knowledge development presentations were given by Mike with the help of training aids, like his BCD.

There was also plenty of confined water training, here's Mike working on his buoyancy by means of a fin pivot.

As with every IDC, we had some lovely lunches during our breaks at World Resort, where I conduct my IDC's.

Now it's off for some more specialty instructor training and to the PADI IE on Koh Tao.

Good luck Mike, I'm very confident you're just going to fine at the IE.

Maybe time for you, my readers, to come to Koh Samui and start your IDC and/or related courses with me as well.

Camille

PADI Specialty of the month for December 2010; Enriched Air Nitrox

2010-01-15T20:51:00.002+07:00

PADI Specialty of the month for December 2010; Enriched Air Nitrox

Just like January last year, Nitrox is the first Specialty of the year for PADI Specialty of the Month series.

It also tops the list of being the most popular PADI Specialty out of all the Specialties PADI has on offer and also for my Instructor Specialty training, Enriched Air Nitrox Instructor Specialty tops the list of being the most popular one.

If you participate in this PADI Specialty you will need the manual and a couple of slates that will help you understand the materials at hand and how you can integrate Nitrox into your diving habits in a safe way.

The new exciting thing happening in the Nitrox course is that with the new manual, coming out soon, you can learn the course based on computer diving rather than tables, if you prefer that.

Keep your eyes out for the new ADI Nitrox Specialty, soon at your local dive shop!

Camille

EFRI and Oxygen Provider Instructors in the making

2010-01-11T22:45:00.004+07:00

EFRI and Oxygen Provider Instructors in the making

During a break in-between the current AI course and the OWSI program of this January IDC, we're completing some specialty instructor courses.

Today we tackled the EFRI course, with Little Annie, the mannequin waiting for some action in this picture. Due to Mike's medical military back ground, we could finish this course rather swiftly in a one on one training setting and we moved on to the PADI Emergency Oxygen provider course.

This course was taught by Craig, who certified his 25th PADI diver during Mike's Oxygen Provider course, under my direct supervision and hence completed his MSDT internship and is now ready to start his IDCS course during the February IDC, so we'll see a lot more of him in the near future. The picture above shows Mike, Craig and me after the EFRI and Oxygen Provider course. I went on and completed the Oxygen Instructor course with Mike as well.

As usual this was all taught at the local recompression chamber in Bang Rak.

Earlier, before the IDC started, we also looked into the Gas Blender and Equipment specialties already.

First we'll complete some Instructor diving specialties, weather permitting and later this week we will continue with the current IDC again.

Camille

Prep course for the January IDC has kicked off

2010-01-06T22:16:00.003+07:00

Prep course for the January IDC has kicked off

Mike is the only candidate in this first IDC of the new year and decade and we're cruising through the program.

As usual there are exams involved and they were checked on day one and two of the prep course in this IDC.

Besides a couple of curriculum presentation by me, the skill circuit is also on the program and here is Mike demonstrating a giant stride for his deep water entry skill. Tomorrow the IDC kicks off with the AI course.

Keep your eyes peeled here for more updates to come.

Camille

Happy New Year 2010

2010-01-01T18:23:00.000+07:00

Happy New Year 2010

And remember, never, ever fart in your dry suit!

Camille

The year 2009, time to look back

2009-12-29T10:52:00.002+07:00

The year 2009, time to look back

Another interesting year has been completed. Some great trips were made over the year and some great and fun IDC's were conducted on Koh Samui by me at World Resort.

Highlight of the year was another year being rewarded the Platinum PADI Course Director rating for the third consecutive year running but most unexpected and highly appreciated was the PADI Instructor Development Award that was awarded to me by PADI and was handed over to me by Drew Richardson, the President and Chief Operations Officer for PADI Worldwide.
It was a good year for awards!

This years number of PADI IDC candidates tally stopped at 29 split up over 9 IDC's. All passed but two, who were not successful on the General Standards exam and one candidate did not pass his Confined Water presentation. One candidate failed his Open Water presentation after I advised him not to go into the PADI IE because in my opinion he wasn't ready for it. They all passed their second attempt except one candidate who couldn't pass his second General Standards exam despite intensive study and help in preparation. Strange considering that this is an open book exam. Good luck to him on his next attempt in 2010.
This year saw 4 IDCS candidates successfully take on this course and advance their professional diving career. This year saw also James and Paul staffing a few IDC's with me, which was a change in pace for me during the IDC's.
The first stand alone Asisstant Instructor course that I ever taught was also being completed, just a few days ago with Steve.
Congratulations and good luck to all of you.

Furthermore 21 EFR Instructors were certified this year by me and I taught 29 Specialties (mainly Nitrox, Gasblending and PADI Emergency Oxygen provider courses) and 147 Instructor level specialties, with the most certifications in the Nitrox Instructor rating.

The Divemaster carousel was also turning around nicely and it's always good to see former Divemaster trainees move on to complete their IDC and participate in their first Instructor steps when they teach their first courses as part of the MSDT internship.

On the diving front, there were excellent trips to the Similan islands in January, a trip I can highly recommend to each and every diver and hopefully I get the opportunity to dive there again next year.

There were also wreck diving trips to Pattaya in April and October. It's always good to get away from Samui once in a while and enjoy another environment and Pattaya is always a great trip. There's already a 2010 trip planned to Pattaya during late February next year.
The dive with the Sharks in Bangkok was also a great moment and experience to remember and look back at. Thanks Robin and Toby! It just shows that there's even diving to be had in Bangkok!

It was a while ago, but this year I taught an Open Water Diver course again to my friend Marc and his wife and his and my sisters children entourage participated in Discover Scuba Dives with me. A great time was had by all of us and this files under 'good times'!

Interesting was also two PADI Course Updates in one year, one in April and one in December, a very unusual situation considering that they are usually only held once every two years! There was also a very interesting PADI Risk Management seminar conducted by Richard Evans.

Project AWARE's yearly beach clean up day was once more very successful and proved to be good fun and there were plenty of participants!

I managed to log just over 100 dives this year, including a few as a tender at the local recompression chamber in Bang Rak and a few more at Chaweng Beach a dive site that enjoy a lot and keeps growing on me, year after year.

A very busy and interesting year and I'm looking forward to next year to new challenges and fun!

Thanks to all the readers of my blog for popping in on a regular base and I wish you Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Camille

Last course of the year; Steve's Assistant Instructor course

2009-12-28T15:58:00.004+07:00

Last course of the year; Steve's Assistant Instructor course

It's official, Steve met the performance requirements of the PADI Assistant Instructor course and this is also the last course of 2009.

This AI course was conducted in the local SSS Recompression chamber in Bang Rak rather than at World resort, due to the fact that there was only one candidate and it was going to be very busy in the resorts swimming pool, so I used a different pool as well. We also had some good food, at Il Mulino one day and the remainder at the Picnic Basket.

James staffed and helped out during this course, thanks for that James! Here is Steve in James' pool together with Graham who's in the middle of his Divemaster course.

Steve getting ready for Open Water at Chaweng Beach

Considering the circumstances, we did well, with Steve having to work hard on his endurance and skill circuit, after being two years out of the water and heart surgery about a year ago (with a good assessment of his physician, who cleared Steve for diving) it was a bit more difficult for him than anticipated to get in a dive swing or mode again but we managed in the end

Congrats to you Steve and good luck with the direction you're about to take with diving.

Camille

USS Lagarto in the news again

2009-12-25T10:59:00.010+07:00

USS Lagarto in the news again

After an article written last year on this blog about Tech and Advanced Wreck diving I'm very happy to see that a documentary named 'Lost and Found, Legacy of USS Lagarto' about the USS Lagarto, a US Navy submarine sunk in the Gulf of Thailand by the Japanese Navy during WWII was rewarded with 3 Emmy Awards.

The film picked up the awards for the categories of Historical Documentary, Musical Composition/Arrangement and Writing in the Regional Emmy's for Chicago, Midwest Region.

Here's a trailer for the Emmy winning documentary - if you're interested in getting hold of a copy visit the Wisconsin Maritime Museum's webpage about the USS Lagarto.

Well done and a big thumbs up to my former PADI Course Director Jamie MacLeod who discovered this wreck with his fellow MV Trident crew.

Non diving Instructor Specialties completed for December 2009

2009-12-25T10:11:00.003+07:00

Non diving Instructor Specialties completed for December 2009

The last batch of Instructor specialties on Koh Samui for this year are being completed and yesterday the non diving specialties were taken care of. On the menu were the DSAT Gas Blender, the DSAT Gas Blender Instructor and Equipment Specialty courses.

Earlier last week we went one day on the boat for the Deep Dive Instructor Specialty at Sail Rock and during the week we completed the Oxygen Provider and Instructor courses.

Craig, on the far right, who completed his IDC and PADI IE in October this year and who is completing his MSDT internship right now, during which he gets the chance to certify 25 PADI divers at various levels under direct supervision of our experienced instructors was teaching the Nitrox and Oxygen Provider courses under my direct supervision to Thomas and Dijana.

Craig is checking the oxygen mask for leaks. Don't try this at home folks!

The oxygen box with all the required tools in it in order to supply oxygen to an injured diver, like the various masks, a regulator with adjustable flow rates and a demand valve.

After the Instructor Oxygen provider course, Dave, Thomas and Dijana were happy with a day's work and we had good fun, as the pictures of the day show.
Soon we'll be wrapping up the dive specialties, so keep your eyes posted here.

Camille

Makro Thailand offers shark fins for sale

2009-12-23T09:09:00.003+07:00

Makro Thailand offers shark fins for sale

To my big surprise, I noticed that the Koh Samui branch of Makro Thailand has at least two brands of shark fins on sale.
Since I only found out sine a few days, I'm not sure what route to follow how to have Makro stop selling shark fins.
With around 24 outlets in Thailand, that's a lot of shark fin for sale.

If you have any ideas, please share them since a few years ago DisneyLand in Hong Kong stopped selling shark fin soup, because a statement reads; "After careful consideration and a thorough review process, we were not able to identify an environmentally sustainable fishing source, leaving us no alternative except to remove shark's fin soup from our wedding banquet menu".

If somebody is reading this and doesn't know or understand why shark fins are such a hot item, maybe have a look at the movie Sharkwater.

2 different kind of shark fins of the same brand available at Makro Samui.

A different brand of shark fins for sale at Makro Samui.

Mission completed; The PADI IE for December 2009 is done and dusted

2009-12-17T11:40:00.006+07:00

Mission completed; The PADI IE for December 2009 is done and dusted

During a three nervous roller coaster ride, also known as the PADI IE David, Thomas and Dijana are the newest PADI OWSI's or PADI Instructors under the sun.

Dave and Dijana on the boat on the way to the Open Water dive site

They started off with a day in the classroom where all the theoretical stuff got out of the way. They listened to and sat through the IE Orientation and passed the 5 theory exams and the General Standards & Procedures exam with flying colours.

The next day saw them back in the classroom for their Knowledge Development presentation, where they kicked some serious ass and in the afternoon they went on a boat to Aow Leuk, a local Koh Tao dive site for their Open Water presentation, which again, they passed with very good scores.

Today they completed the last bit of this PADI IE, the confined water part, from left to right Thomas, Dijana and David being very happy directly after they got out of the water.

The official picture for this IDC and last IE of 2009, from left to right; George Wegmann (PADI Examiner), Gregory (who completed his Open Water of the IE this time around), Dijana, David, myself, James and Thomas.

See you next year for more IDC's and IE's.

Camille

PADI Course Director Update 2010

2009-12-15T16:17:00.003+07:00

PADI Course Director Update 2010

After the PADI Course Director Update in April in Bangkok earlier this year, you wouldn't expect another CD update for another two years. Well, wrong. There's another compulsory PADI Course Director update scheduled for next year but surprisingly, PADI Asia Pacific arranged for an early date for this required update, so two days ago I found myself in Phuket for the 2010 update at the Kata Beach Resort & Spa.

Although it was arranged on relatively short notice, it was well attended, with over 40 attendants and it had some good and interesting changes coming up for the new IDC curriculum.
All attendants will receive the exciting new materials early next year and once they're in the mail box I will start with presenting the new format IDC's.

The update was expertly presented by Colin Melrose, who presented the 2009 update in Bangkok earlier this year and by Mike Holme, who can be seen together with me in the picture above.

It's going to be an exciting 2010 for IDC's!

Camille

The last IDC of 2009, the December version is in the bag!

2009-12-13T14:24:00.003+07:00

The last IDC of 2009, the December version is in the bag!

After having completed the AI course earlier this week, it was now time for the OWSI course to kick off. Well, today that course was completed, the last IDC of 2009 is officially in the bag!

Plenty of work still had to be done before we could complete this IDC and here are the four candidates before one of their Open Water dives, behind World Resort on the beach. This was one of their two presentations in Open Water.

After one of their Open Water presentations they also had to snorkel 800 meters, here they are after just having finished that swim.

We also had more Confined Water and , yes, you guessed it, more classroom presentations by me and James, who staffed once more an IDC with me after he completed his IDCS course two months ago.

As usual, we also enjoyed great lunches at World Resort during our lunch breaks, from left to right, myself, Dave, Karim, Thomas, Dijana and James.

Tomorrow I'm off to Phuket for a PADI Course Director update in Phuket, to get back to Samui with the last flight, just to get on the ferry to Koh Tao the next morning to go over to Koh Tao for the PADI IE.

Keep your eyes tuned to this blog for updates on the various travels I'll be making.

Camille

New EFR Instructors in December 2009

2009-12-09T15:12:00.002+07:00

New EFR Instructors in December 2009

After a well deserved day off from the current IDC we kicked the second part of the IDC off with the EFR Instructor course in the local recompression chamber in Bang Rak.

The morning part was filled with presentations by me and an exam, followed by a nice lunch at the Picnic Basket, conveniently located directly next to the chamber.

After lunch it was time for some hands on training and we went through the skills and exercises. This picture shows David in action, assessing the scene in a very convincing way.

The group picture at the end of the course, from left to right; Thomas, Dijana, David and my self.

Tomorrow more action again with the start of the OWSI part of the IDC.

Camille

December 2009 IDC started

2009-12-04T20:19:00.003+07:00

December 2009 IDC started

It's this time of the month again, time for another IDC and it's also this time of the year again, its the last IDC of the year. The prep course finished yesterday with David, Tom and Dijana and James is staffing again. Today the actual IDC started with the AI course and Karim joined us, although he's only supposed to sit through an OWSI course, since he didn't renew for 7 years and in order to regain Teaching Status, an OWSI is required, according to PADI. He's participating in the whole IDC though, so he doesn't miss out on additional training and some important presentations by me that will help him on how to prepare for his own presentations in the classroom, confined water and open water.

From left to right, during the exams; David, Dijana and Tom.

Karim today during the skill circuit, starting off with a deep water entry, or the giant stride.

Dijana, Tom and Dave during their Rescue exercise # 7 practice.

Keep tuned for more updates, soon to come.

Camille

A new PADI Divemaster trainee on the block

2009-12-02T18:55:00.004+07:00

A new PADI Divemaster trainee on the block

It's Graham, who started his Rescue diver course with us, than completed his Nitrox course earlier this week and has now kicked off his PADI Divemaster course.

Next year, after completing his Divemaster course, he will participate in an IDC.

In the picture Graham is in the middle, flanked by me on the left side and Geoff, our main Instructor on the right side.

Welcome to the family Graham!

Camille

Specialty of the Month December 2009; Search & Recovery

2009-12-01T20:50:00.003+07:00

Specialty of the Month December 2009; Search & Recovery

The Search & Recovery specialty is a highly popular specialty at Instructor level with my IDC candidates.

Why? The main reason most likely is the following; Spend time around water (as a diver, how can you avoid it?) and sooner or later, you come across someone who lost something underwater. That's where you come in as a trained Search & Recovery diver, you jump in the water and find the lost object and everybody lives long and happily ever after! Well, almost.

It's not always that simple and easy to find something back that got lost underwater but this course teaches some techniques and underwater search patterns and helps you finding the best way to start a search.

This specialty does require some specialized equipment, one of them being a lift bag. During the course dives on Chaweng Beach my good old lift bag has lifted a few bags of rubbish out of the water.

During the course you learn how to fill the bag in the proper and safe way and how to position yourself during the whole process of rigging and lifting the bag with it's load.

Gloves and compass are also required, although for the Search & Recovery Adventure dive the gloves are not required anymore. You will also learn how to tie three knots; the bowline, two half hitches and the sheet bend.

Some of the things that I found on Chaweng Beach include various smaller sized anchors, like the one in this picture.

It's a challenging but very rewarding course, you learn search and recovery dive planning, organization, procedures, techniques and how to deal with potential problems, split up over 4 training dives. You will also learn how to locate large and small objects using search patterns, and various ways for lifting them to the surface. Not only do these skills make you more capable and confident in the water, but most Search & Recovery Divers eventually end up searching for and recovering something they lost themselves.

Camille

Specialties momentarily completed

2009-11-29T15:40:00.005+07:00

Specialties momentarily completed

Today I completed a few more specialties with Nigel, on Chaweng Beach and it was a fantastic day for diving and for teaching specialties, with a around 5 meters viz but plenty of things to see. Ah, yes, 5 meters isn't that great I hear you saying but believe you me, for Chaweng it is!
A couple of days ago we tried at the same spot and we couldn't literally see a hand in front of us and subsequently cancelled the dive but today it was great! We taught, learned and enjoyed!

Today we completed the Search & Recovery specialty and the Underwater Naturalist Specialty and for the latter we couldn't have picked a better day! For the first time ever on Chaweng's reef I saw a Grey Bamboo shark, the one in the picture above!

During the first dive, just getting out to some deeper water, we already saw this pair of stingray eyes sticking out over the sand and two puffer fish that stood out, besides plenty of other small fish and critters.

Besides a lot of garbage, including some big items like part of a plastic chair, a 4 meter long plastic pipe and 3 plastic baskets and lots of empty (mainly) beer cans and bottles, we also saw and encountered some interesting marine life. This cleaner shrimp is just one of the other nice animals we saw.

Earlier this week, Nigel and me went on the boat for a day to complete the Digital Underwater Photography and Underwater Navigation specialty around Koh Tao's dive sites. Here's a nice view of coral around Sairee beach on Koh Tao.

During a dive on Sairee beach we also saw this very interesting flat worm dancing away. It was a difficult one to get on the camera and this is the best shot I got, it moves so fast that it's almost impossible to get it in front of the camera in focus.

Nigel's digital compass, which is an up and coming trend but I still prefer my hand held 'simple' underwater compass anytime.

We had already completed the Nitrox and Emergency oxygen provider courses and after the coming IDC, we will complete the Gasblender, Equipment and Deep dive specialties with the candidates for the December IDC.

Right now Nigel will be busy with his MSDT internship as part of his Go Pro CDC package, after the beach dives he immediately jumped into the pool to sit in on an Open Water diver course.

Camille