Safe scuba diving tips

After the near fatal tragedy off southern Taiwan earlier this week I thought I should give you diving enthusiasts some information to help make your dive a success in every sense. This comes courtesy of ‘Try Diving.net’ to whom I am very grateful.

18 Practices to Make You a Responsible Diver

• Make sure that you plan all your dives before you get into the water.
• Make sure that your deepest dive of the day is also your first dive of the day.
• The deepest part of each dive that you plan should be reached at the beginning of your dive.
• Try to avoid exerting yourself during your dive. You should also avoid physical activity for half an hour after your dive has finished.
• Check your dive computer and/or guages often throughout your dive.
• If you are diving in cold water or after strenuous activity, make sure that you begin your ascent before you reach your no-decompression limit.
• Always act in compliance with the ascent rate that is indicated by your dive computer.
• Always carry out a 3-minute safety stop between 20 feet (6 meters) and 10 feet (3 meters).
• Try to avoid decompression stop dives and be absolutely certain not to dive deeper than 130 feet (40 meters) unless you are a specially trained deep diver.
• When you are doing a decompression dive, prolong the decompression stop nearest to the surface.
• After all of your decompression stops, ascend to the surface very slowly.
• Always make sure that you are not “yo-yo” diving (repetitively ascending and descending under the water).
• Do not carry out any dive until the desaturation time, as dictated by your previous dive, has passed.
• Avoid repeatedly diving to a single depth deeper than 60 feet (18 meters). N.B. Repeated diving to the same depth is known as ‘square diving’.
• Be sure to separate any repetitive dives by at least a 2 hour surface interval.
• If you are planning repetitive dives for a number of consecutive days, be sure to take at least one day off from diving each week. The recommended number of consecutive time diving should not exceed 3 days i.e. take 1 day off every 3 days.
• Be certain that you do not go mountain climbing or take a plane flight for at least 12 hours (preferably 24 hours) after a dive.
• Finally, never try to exceed the limits of your experience and skill.

So there you have it – I can certainly relate to the second last tip – some years ago after diving in the Indian Ocean off of Pemba Island, Tanzania I stupidly climbed into a light aircraft to fly to Nairobi, Kenya. It had been a beautiful dive, incredible visibility and the most wonderful fan corals 5 metres across and then the flight past Mt. Kilimanjaro was equally inspiring – but boy oh boy did I regret that flight. We landed at Wilson Airport where I collapsed with an excruciating headache. To cut a long story short – I recovered – but take note – you have been warned. The only other thing I would add, which I’m sure our Taiwanese diving friends would endorse, is do be aware of the winds and currents in the ocean and make sure in your dive plan that the rendez vous on the surface is agreed and understood by all. This is after all an extreme sport which involves risk but with careful planning this world of a different dimension can and should be enjoyed by all.

All 8 divers rescued alive after 36 hours adrift

I’m pleased to be able to report that after more than 36 hours adrift in the sea off southern Taiwan all eight of the divers have been rescued and are alive and well, albeit very thirsty and frightened by their horrific ordeal. One of the divers who had been separated from the group was able to raise the alarm after he swam ashore on a remote island where he found a fisherman. They were able to raise the alarm and give the search and rescue teams a more precise location of the whereabouts of the other divers. The divers had drifted in the strong currents for more than 30 miles from where they had started their dive and were eventually picked up by a search and rescue helicopter. For those in the water it was third time lucky as they had previously seen two other helicopters before being finally spotted and winched aboard the helicopter at 2.30 a.m. – exhausted and thirsty but alive.

Strong winds and sea currents blamed as 8 scuba divers go missing in Taiwan

An all-out search for eight missing scuba divers in waters off the Kenting National Park at the southernmost tip of Taiwan had not yielded any results as of last night. Officials at the Coast Guard Administration said yesterday the search will continue today.
The eight holidaymakers — six men and two women — were reported missing while scuba diving in waters near Chihsingyen (Seven Star Rock), located some 12 nautical miles southwest of Kenting in the southernmost county of Pingtung. They left for Chihsingyen along with four other members of a diving club aboard a yacht early in the morning. The 12 began scuba diving in waters between Oluanbi and Chihsingyen at 10:30 a.m. and were supposed to return to the yacht at 11:30 a.m. However, eight of them failed to return to the yacht on schedule.The skipper of the yacht said strong winds and rapid currents in the region prevented him from finding the missing divers.
Coast guard teams launched an all-out search, including sending out two helicopters, as soon as they were informed of the case at around noon. It is believed that five of the missing divers have earned diving licenses and are qualified as diving coaches.
Diving experts said the Chihsingyen region has the most beautiful underwater scenes, including rare coral reefs as well as countless varieties of marine animals and plants. Divers should always keep very alert on the weather conditions, including the strength of the winds and the speed of the currents.

Scuba Diving – the things you need to know:

Isn’t this just the coolest photograph?

JUST CHILLING…

courtesy of Rebecca rebox671

Did you know that a store is not allowed to sell you scuba diving equipment (including tanks) unless you have a licence? I must say I didn’t know that but it makes sense I suppose.

So which licence do you get? There is a choice – there are many organisations around the world offering you the chance to get a scuba diving licence, including most holiday resorts where scuba diving is done. Because I’m biased I would say a BSAC, but in America there are two main options: NAUI or PADI. These two agencies have different philosophies and methods of training.

NAUI is a not-for-profit agency, founded in 1960 and based on educating qualified divers. PADI is a for-profit agency, founded in 1966. PADI takes a marketing approach to diving which has been quite successful and has made them the largest and most recognized certification agency in the world.

PADI offers shorter courses than NAUI with more levels, which may lead divers to falsely believe they are at a higher level of proficiency than they really are.

PADI and NAUI use different dive tables. NAUI’s dive tables tend to be more conservative in terms of Surface Interval Time allotted.

Ultimately, what is most important for your training as a good diver is your instructor rather than the certification agencies s/he is affiliated with.

We suggest you go with a course that gives you several weeks to absorb the dense lectures and book readings on various topics such as buoyancy, diving physics, and depth and time limits. At the end of your course, you will be required to take a written test. You must pass it to become certified. In addition, you’ll need to know how to use your dive tables like the back of your hand (that is, calculate surface interval times for multiple dives and how much time you need to give yourself before increasing or decreasing your depth).

While you are reading and studying, you will also be taking swimming pool training dives. Most U.S. based scuba diving agencies have a 200-yard minimum swimming requirement (300 yards for the YMCA) for certification. There are also survival/safety requirements that will be tested in the pool such as treading water and tired diver tow (dragging a tired swimmer to “shore”).

During an open water dive you will be required to do the following:

1. Pass a series of five open water dives in a lake, quarry, ocean or other large body of water.2. You must know how to set up and check your equipment and your buddy’s equipment.

3. You must know your hand signals.

4. You must show that you know how to plan a dive.

5. You must show mastery of Ascent and descent: controlled and normal, with and without reference (boat).

6. You must show that you know how to clean, clear, and remove your mask.

7. You must show that you know how to clear your snorkel.

8. You must show mastery of buoyancy: pivot, hover, donning and doffing the B.C., and manual inflation of the B.C.

9. You must show that you know how to clear and recover your regulator.

10. You must show that you know techniques for overcoming cramps.

11. You must show that you know how to handle tired diver tow.

12. You must show mastery of navigation: compass surface and compass navigation.

When you have a good licence ie: a recognised licence, it gives you the freedom to dive wherever you want – warm water, cold waters etc: And boy is it fun…

Extreme sport accessible to the handicapped

I have come across two recent examples of how handicapped individuals are participating in extreme sports. They are inspiring stories and just goes to show us all that no door should be closed to anyone.

Learning to scuba dive has given Michael Cunnane a new lease of life.Michael is deaf and so has a head start when it comes to making himself understood in the deep.To get this far, however, Michael has had to overcome difficulties with communication.He has been teaching members of the BSAC North diving group in Gloucester, England a basic sign language so they can communicate with him underwater and teach him the new skill. “I’m excited just to think that there are so many big fish to see and old underwater wrecks to explore all over the world in my lifetime.”

Way to go Michael and now read on to hear what Jeremy Schmidt has had to contend with after he went blind at the age of 27. About a year ago, a rare genetic disease deteriorated his optic nerves, keeping his eyes healthy but killing the connection to his brain. In less than a month, he went from having 20/20 vision to not being able to spot an eye chart in a doctor’s office.

Jeremy was not going to give up and with a little encouragement from his father he donned his boots and ruck sack and in his right hand he had something other hikers don’t: a red-and-white cane with a rolling ball at the tip. Continuously swinging his arm left and right, he knocks the cane into rocks, plants, and boulders, helping him ‘feel’ his way forward.Since Jeremy went blind, he has continued to go horseback riding, skiing and rock climbing.

“I didn’t think my whole life was over,” Jeremy said. “Not by far. It just meant it was going to be one heck of a challenge.”

This is the kind of spirit i have so much respect for, it is extreme and it is inspirational – the impossible does not exist.

Sci fi legend dies

Perhaps not the most usual subject to talk about on an extreme sport blog but did you know that the sci-fi authority Arthur C. Clark, who died last week in his adopted home in Sri Lanka, was also an extreme sports enthusiast. I quote ‘The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible’.

Clarke’s vision of a time when people, subconsciously feeling their own impending obsolescence, devote their lives to such self-gratifications as hang gliding, eco-tourism, and recreational mountain climbing has unfortunately already dawned: consider Mount Everest, where trash left by tourists who climb it each year has become a problem.

Clarke, who had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome since the 1960s and sometimes used a wheelchair, discovered that scuba-diving approximated the feeling of weightlessness that astronauts experience in space. He remained a diving enthusiast, running his own scuba venture into old age.

Another sad loss for those of us who are prepared to go the extra mile although i’m not sure we extremists could be equated with self gratification????

Bad Week for Scuba Divers

The 16th March was a bad day for scuba divers. In Tobermory, Scotland, search and rescue teams are looking for a scuba diver who went missing whilst exploring a 1935 year old shipwreck in the sound of Mull at a depth of about 50m. The circumstances are mystifying as the authorities said that the weather conditions were good with clear skies and calm seas.

Whilst in Kauai, Hawaii, on the same day, a 69 year old woman from Minnesota nearly drowned during a PADI course at Kaloa Landing in Kauai. She lost consciousness but her dive instructor managed to pull her to shore and call for help. She was lucky to have him. She is now in hospital in a critical condition.

As with all extreme sports, scuba diving is potentially dangerous. In fact, it is probably one of the most dangerous of all in that it is so beautiful, so beguiling, and so relatively ‘easy’ that you tend to be lulled into a false feeling of security. However, being underwater is a place humans were not intended to be, and the deeper you go, the more dangerous it becomes.

It is incredibly important to do a proper course and preferably not just a day’s holiday course. It is important to either scuba dive regularly or do a refresher course before you do it again. Never ever ever take anything for granted.

Some important lessons for this sport, once you know how to do it, are that you must never forget the following:

Maintain your equipment. Annual servicing should eliminate the need for major field repairs, and you should always check the security of even seemingly minor parts.

Decompression dives, or potential decompression dives, also require specialized training and equipment. Get both before you attempt these dives.

Leave your ego in your dive bag. The only thing it will contribute to your dive is a threat to your safety.

Dives CAN go wrong. They do, they have done, they will again in the future. Poor planning and careless gear maintenance can lead to terrifying consequences.

Whenever I scuba dive I always think I will be perfectly content to go no deeper than 6 metres – at about a level where nothing too serious can happen. But it’s so beautiful down there, a stingray drifts by, or a turtle, or just a shoal of fish, and down you go…. until before you realize it you’re below 20m and still going down.

Having prosed on about all that alarmist stuff – it is a wonderful sport. Just take care, take precautions, never dive without a buddy, love it, enjoy it, be grown-up about your attitude to it!

“When You See That Look of Fear in Their Eyes, You Know This Really Means Something!”

On the 9th March Ski Sunday and Graham Bell (former downhill skier for England) and Ed Leigh took a look at extreme sports and what makes people participate in it, and to do this they went to New Zealand where so many of today’s extreme sports were first invented.

“I love pushing myself into new areas and trying out something that no-one has ever tried before” says Chuck Berry (not the singer!). Extreme sports is all about challenging yourself to learn something new and then putting your skills and your experience to the test. This gives you the biggest buzz of all…

Graham and Ed, being adrenaline junkies themselves, decided to test out this theory and their first task was Bungy Jumping. Bungy jumping, as some of you might well know, is all about challenging yourself to do something that is completely unknown. The first thing you feel is FEAR and you feel weak, but you push through that, and then the big adrenaline rush kicks in, you go out on the platform, you do it…. and then when you are back on the platform you look back at your jump and you feel great about yourself!

As Graham and Ed put it afterwards … it’s “THE biggest adrenaline rush!”

Following that one they decided to try “Flying Without Wings”. Here they were strapped, stomach down, onto a ‘craft’ which launches itself across a canyon and, within limits, you can steer yourself. Their comment was “if you’re into adrenaline then this is for you. It really is so much fun… it’s great.”

From there Graham and Ed went sky-diving which “is surreal” and “so much fun”, but then they came to the decision that if they wanted to ‘fly’ they must search out the ultimate sport, step outside their comfort zone and take to the air solo, and the perfect sport for this is:

SPEED RIDING…

In terms of innovation this is the latest adrenaline sport to come out of the mountains. It combines the speed of downhill with the exhilaration of paraponting. You use downhill skis and a small parachute which allows you to fly close to the ground touching down with your skis as you go. It allows you to take a direct and hitherto impossible route down a mountain as you are able to lift off whenever necessary.

“This is when you are really living life to the fullest” says Graham Bell.

“My heart is racing. I haven’t had that much adrenaline in my system for a long time” was another comment.

It has been said that you need to scare yourself once a day – apparently if you do speed riding “you certainly will!”

I thought it looked GREAT fun and will most certainly give it a go one day…

Extreme Sport

How much do you know about extreme sports?

“We do these things not to escape life, but to prevent life escaping us” says Bob Drury, a paraglider.

Extreme sports are no more “extreme” than traditional activities played at a much higher level. It might even be said that the distinction between an extreme sport and a conventional one has as much to do with good marketing rather than the levels of danger involved or the amount of adrenaline generated. If this wasn’t the case surely rugby union should be termed an extreme sport!

Did you know that when the term “extreme sport” first surfaced in the late 1980’s/early 1990’s it was used for adult specific sports including scuba diving, bungee jumping, sky diving etc. However, nowadays the term applies more to youth sports such as skateboarding, snowboarding and BMX. A feature of all these activities is the adrenaline rush experienced by the participants although some extreme sport enthusiasts claim that it is more about developing their physical and mental skills, seeking mastery of their chosen environment and a desire to escape from the mundaneness of day-to-day life.

What do you think? We are delving into this subject in more depth on our site xtreme sport 4 u. This site is still under construction but we will let you know as soon as it is open, but please feel free to comment on our blog. We would love input from enthusiasts, anxious parents (!) or people related to the topic in other ways…

Extreme Sport

In a national survey commissioned by AKSA (American Kite Surfing Association) kite surfing, a relatively new sport in North America, is ranked as the top extreme sport! According to Logan Long, a co-founder of AKSA, “it’s just .. the biggest adrenaline rush available”, and Cathi Long, another co-founder, adds “kite surfers are simply the sexiest athletes”!