Phuket Lifestyle - SSI brings dive training online

CONFORMITY CRITICAL: All dive operators must all comply rigorously with SSI standards to be part of their network.

From Phukett Gazette: Phuket Lifestyle - SSI brings dive training online
PHUKET: Scuba Schools International (SSI) is the second largest school-based diving certification agency in the world, and it’s growing at a rapid rate. It’s one of only two diving agencies that holds a global ISO rating, it has been training divers for over 40 years, and it’s the only diving agency that offers free online training. Operating in over 130 countries and with more than 2,400 SSI Dive Centers, SSI training materials are available in over 25 languages, including Thai.

Their commitment to service is more important to them than brand marketing. SSI have, as a result, seen an annual growth of over 35 per cent year-on-year across the region, and, since opening an Area Office in Thailand in 2002, they now employ 25 staff in five full service centres (two in Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia), and also have certification card printing facilities in 18 locations across eight countries with at least six more planned before the end of the year.

SSI Thailand has grown to 11 full-time staff, plus four experienced Dive Medical Technicians who emphasize and ensure diver safety. In fact, they regularly visit dive operations under the SSI umbrella and conduct assessments in all areas to ensure that safety standards are maintained.

High quality operators are critical to their success – they already work closely with 20 dive operators in Southern Thailand who have all had to comply rigorously with SSI standards in order to be part of the SSI network.

Sea Bees Diving, in Chalong, was the first dive operator in Thailand to be awarded the prestigious SSI Diamond Instructor Training Centre. With over 20 years experience in recreational diving, through day trips and liveaboard safaris, it’s also a training center for those who wish to become professional instructors. They have dive centers in Phuket, Khao Lak, Pak Meng and Koh Phi Phi.

Gary Hawkes, SSI International Training Director, states: "Sea Bees Diving reflects the quality of diving operations that SSI likes to partner with. They ensure SSI divers new and old are given the very best in service and standards available in the diving industry."

"For Sea Bees Diving, SSI allows us to link our philosophy of diving together with an agency that has an established and reliable worldwide network and is a relationship that benefits all – whether they’re customers or dive professionals" says Holger Schwab, Managing Director of Sea Bees Diving.

Their free online training at www.diveSSI.com is part of the social networking features of SSI's global website and online divers network which has over half a million regular users.

Earlier this year they advertised their free online training to gap-year students across Europe using the slogan "Start online today... do your dives in Paradise". Several thousand signed up, a few thousand of whom have already completed their courses in the region and they expect SSI dive centres in Phuket and across the west coast to benefit from this new influx during the coming high season.

But it’s not always about diving – supporting and funding locally based ecological projects directly is an equally important part of their operations. Assisting with illegal wildlife trading, beach and dive site cleanups on Koh Phi Phi, artificial dive sites in Koh Tao and environmental projects involving local schools throughout Thailand are just some of the projects SSI are actively involved with.

For more information on SSI dive services, or to sign up for dive classes, contact Sea Bees Diving T:+66 (0) 76 381 765 or W:www.sea-bees.com

Orissa, India: Scuba diving and snorkeling camp starts

From Rissadiary.com: Scuba diving and snorkeling camp starts
Bhubaneswar: The State Directorate Sports and Youth Services Department in collaboration with Kalinga Divers Foundation is organising five-day-long scuba diving and snorkeling training camp at Biju Patnaik Swimming Pool in Kalinga Stadium here from October 28 to November 1.

This is the first time the sports and youth affairs department has extended their cooperation in my four years effort to promote the adventure sports, said scuba diver Sabir Bux.
As in the history near by the Konark Temple sea many old ships had capsized. In future along with my team and some lifeguards from the Puri beach we would unravel truth and history of the old ships, he added.

As a part of State Youth Welfare Board promotional activity we are committed to promote adventure sports in the state, said sports and youth affairs director Saswat Mishra.

With these five day camp you may not be a perfect scuba diver but it will definitely help you to overcome the fear psychosis from the mind, Mishra added. As many 60 youths along with few visually challenged are participating in the camp.

Scuba diving can be dangerous

There were a couple of articles in the news today about dead scuba divers, which I'm not going to share here. A novice diver in Australia apparently became "separated" from her group and drowned, and the body of a male Scuba diver missing for two years was pulled out of some lake.

What does this teach us:
1. Do not go anywhere without a buddy! Work together with your buddy so you know what to do in case of emergencies and don't panic. Panic kills.

The problem is of course when you're travelling alone - like on a dive boat - and have no buddy you know, but are assigned one. Do you really want to ruin your trip and not dive because the buddy you've been assigned is no good? What's needed, I think, is a buddy finder. Somebody going on a trip to some prime dive sight, there should be a list of experienced scuba divers at that site who will buddy up with the traveller - for nothing. (After all, he or she is getting to dive!)

2. Beware of pitfalls. The most common problem with scuba divers is running out of air. Always have a "pony" (spare air) and always be aware of your air.

3. Never, ever, ever explore a cavern or cave or wreck without proper equipment. It is very very VERY easy to become lost in these things, and if you have no guide rope to take you out...you are out of luck. Or if your gear gets hug up on some kind of protuberance, and you have no buddy, you have no way of getting your gear free. (Which is why you want to be very careful of lose gear when you're going into a wreck, not to mention avoiding any protuberances from the wreck itself.)

Action Scuba Montreal Now Offers a Shark Conservation Specialty Scuba Diving CourseFrom

From WebWire: Action Scuba Montreal Now Offers a Shark Conservation Specialty Scuba Diving Course
Montreal, Quebec (October 26, 2011) Action Scuba, Montreal’s scuba diving experts, have become one of the first scuba diving centres in Canada to offer the new AWARE Shark Conservation Distinctive Specialty certification course.

Although Canada is not normally associated with sharks, Action Scuba regularly offers organised group dive trips to some of the most world’s most popular dive destinations, including the Galapagos Islands and the Bahamas, two areas well known for their shark populations. Spotting sharks is usually a trip highlight for most scuba divers, and is often a reason people become divers in the first place.

Sharks are an apex predator, which means that they play a critical role in managing the planet’s marine population and biodiversity. They help to maintain the health of the oceans and their presence increases tourism revenues for many developing countries. Due to overfishing and public misconceptions, shark populations are in sharp decline, with many species facing extinction.

The new AWARE Shark Conservation Diver course offered by Action Scuba will educate divers about the risks facing sharks, the impact they have on the world around us, and what actions individuals can take as part of the shark conservation effort.

The Action Scuba team will offer this course on most of their group dive trips, including upcoming visits to Little Cayman, the Bahamas, the Galapagos and Belize.

The AWARE Shark Conservation Distinctive Specialty Course can be credited towards the Master Scuba Diver rating, the ultimate goal for most recreational scuba divers.

“At Action Scuba we appreciate the role that sharks play in the marine ecosystem and we’re saddened by the plight faced by these creatures today,” says Gary Davis, owner of Action Scuba and a PADI Master Instructor who has personally certified over 750 divers. “The only way to bring about real change will be to change people’s attitudes through education, which is something we hope to accomplish with this new course.”

To learn more about this course, visit www.actionscuba.com

About Action Scuba
Action Scuba (www.actionscuba.com) is a PADI 5 star Instructor Development Centre and dive shop located in Pointe Claire, Quebec, which has been serving water-loving Montrealers since 1997. As underwater experts they offer training and certification for all levels of divers, from beginners through to specialist technical divers or dive professionals. Action Scuba carries a large inventory of scuba and snorkeling equipment for purchase and rental at their full service dive shop. They also organize travel to dive destinations around the world and offer regular local diving excursions on their own dive boat.

Allen Sherrod seeks to break world record

From 10WTSP News: Allen Sherrod seeks to break world record

LAUDERDALE-BY-THE SEA (CBS4) - There's a spectacular underwater feat taking place off the shores of South Florida. A Florida scuba diver is trying to break a world record for the longest saltwater dive.

Allen Sherrod already holds the world record for the longest freshwater scuba dive at 120 hours and now he's attempting to break the record in saltwater.

He started his attempt Tuesday morning in 15-feet of water just off the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea shoreline. He plans to be there for the next 72 hours but seas are already very rough.

"Temperature is critical," said Sherrod before his record-breaking dive attempt. "You can't stay in this water, temperature is 78 right now so you can't survive without something to keep your body core warm."

Sherrod is wearing a full body suit and has smeared Vaseline on his skin to keep from swelling. He even plays to eat and drinkunderwater.

"I put the bottle in my mouth, open it, squeeze the bottle, take a drink, close it, put the pod back on, take a breath," Sherrod explained about how he'll stay hydrated. He'll be on a steady diet of Gatorade and Ensure but no solid foods. "Unless I find a good lobster swimming by," laughed Sherrod.

What about sleeping? He plans to do that underwater as well.

"It's going to be nice because the current is going to be wiggling me back and forth. It's going to be a really nice sleep out here," said Sherrod.

This daring scuba diver isn't doing this feat without a reason. In addition to trying to break a world record, Sherrod is trying to bring attention to a new artificial reef off the coast of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.

"I want more people to come out and take a look at this. Learn more about what we have to do to restore our reefs."

With rough sea conditions, Sherrod has his work cut out for him but the dive community is confident he'll make it to Friday morning.

"Absolutely. I don't think he'll give up," said Brian Gagas from Gold Coast Scuba.

Sherrod will use up to 60 tanks during the next three days. All of them will be changed underwater, day and night, with help from a team of divers.

His biggest obstacle, aside from the rough current, will likely be boredom but he's hoping other divers will come to visit him. So far, he's hanging in there by listening to Jimmy Buffett tunes and texting his friends.

While Mother Nature may not be cooperating at the moment, he's determined to pull this off.

"Oh he'll make it. It's all psychological. If he doesn't make it won't be his fault, it will be our fault for not being able to get stuff in and out to him," said Bob Giguere of bGenesis Productions.

NASA evacuates astronauts from deep-sea training

From Breitbart.com: NASA evacuates astronauts from deep-sea training
NASA evacuated a crew of astronauts Wednesday from an underwater lab off the coast of Florida where they were training for a trip to an asteroid, due to the approach of Hurricane Rina.
"Crew decompressed overnight and will return to surface shortly. Hurricane Rina just a little too close for comfort," the US space agency said in a message on the microblogging site Twitter.

The NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) team climbed aboard support boats that were waiting at the surface and they were expected to be on dry land by 9:00 am (1300 GMT).

The crew includes Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques, commander Shannon Walker of NASA, and Steve Squyres, an expert on planetary exploration at Cornell University in New York.

They were about midway through a 13-day mission at the Aquarius Underwater Laboratory, the only undersea lab of its kind in the world located three miles (4.5 kilometers) off the coast of Key Largo, Florida.

The practice run aimed to help astronauts figure out how they would get around on a near gravity-free asteroid, a trip President Barack Obama has said could happen by 2025.

Hurricane Rina, packing winds of 110 miles (175 kilometers) per hour, was forecast to become a major category three storm before making landfall near the sprawling resort city of Cancun on Thursday.

Experts to help recover body in cave

Beginning scuba divers are taught to use a buddy at all times. "Technical" divers, including cave divers, don't always follow this protocol, believing that they wish to be responsible only for themselves and no one else. So when a solo cave diver dies...there's no one left to explain how or why...

From Irish TImes: Experts to help recover body in cave

A British team of cave rescue experts is due to attempt a recovery of the body of Polish cave diver Artur Kozlowski (33) from a cavern in south Galway this afternoon.

Three specialist divers who are described as European experts were en route to Gort, Co Galway, yesterday evening, following a request for assistance from gardaí.

The Irish Cave Rescue Organisation, which confirmed the location of Mr Kozlowski’s body on Tuesday after he had failed to resurface from a dive on Monday, met gardaí yesterday to finalise the arrangements.

The 22-hour search for Mr Kozlowski was initiated on Monday night.

It was stood down shortly before 7pm the following day when a colleague located his body some 800m into the Pollorona borehole at Kiltartan at a depth of about 52m.

Mr Kozlowski, a quantity surveyor and cave diving trainer, had been continuing his exploration of a new shaft in the karst limestone boreholes. He was one of Ireland’s leading practitioners of the sport, and held several records – including one for the longest and deepest cave traverse in Ireland and Britain.

The cave rescue organisation has said he was fully equipped with all necessary gear, and had sufficient compressed air and mixed gases with him

Mr Kozlowski had informed colleagues of his plans as part of correct cave diving protocol, the organisation said.

Recent heavy rainfall would not have been a factor, as he was diving in flooded caves, it pointed out.

The Pole had been using mixed oxygen when he set off at 3pm on Monday, and had sufficient gas for six hours.

He had deposited “stage” oxygen bottles en route, in case of an emergency, and had made arrangements with two colleagues to raise the alarm if he had not returned by 9pm.

Residents of the south Galway area have expressed their shock at his death, as he had become well known in the community, where he helped farmers with advice after the extensive flooding of 2009-2010.

“He got on very well with the farmers, and you’d see his tent up in a field where you’d see a hole of water, and he was usually in it,” Kiltartan resident David Murray said.

The recovery is expected to take some hours today.

A postmortem examination will be carried out, and Mr Kozlowski’s gear will be examined as part of the Garda investigation for an inquest.