Starting the rescue diver course

First dive of 2011
 
It's been a while since I posted an entry here and I'm sorry for that. But for a "wet" diver, the winter period isn't the time to go diving frequently. With water temperatures of 0-5 degrees Celcius I, at least, don't dive very relaxed for very long.. So here is a small update.
However, last Saturday I made my first dive of the year with my open water and advanced open water instructor, Willem. It was freezing outside and the water was only 3 degrees, but we stayed under for half an hour. After a hot cup of coffee I got back the warmth in my fingers and toes and we started talking about our plans in diving.

Rescue Diver
Willem told me that he loved the intro to cave diving course he had done in Spain and is planning to go further in learning to cave dive. I, on the other hand was talking about my diving goals for this year. My first dives abroad are booked and also the tickets for a week of diving in the Red Sea are booked (I hope they get Mubarak out of office soon and it will get peaceful again).
And with Willem and I already agreed that I'll be doing the Rescue Diver course in spring with him. Willem already had the course pak already for me. So I've already started studying and watching the DVD. And, of course, I'll be reviewing the EFR manual again to refresh my memory....

As I go along the course I will keep you informed on my progress and my vies on the stuff and skills I'll be learning......

And of course, after my dives in Portugal I'll tell you about it too.

Dive safe and have fun,

New year, new goals

First of all, I want to wish everyone a happy new year. And of course happy diving....

The holiday season is allways a time to look back at the past year and look forward to the upcoming year. The new year is also the time when we make list of good intentions. We want to loose weight, eat healthier, stop smoking and the list goes on. I'm not any different. From here on I want loose at least 10 kilos and pick up running again; a better physical shape will help me when diving as well.
But that's not all. I've been pondering about what I want to get out of diving. And what I want to do with it. And with that 2011 will be a year of change.

Goals
First of all I want expand my knowledge and skills and will start the Rescue Diver course. With that I think I will become a better buddy. Also I want to increase my experience. So I'd like to make at least as much dives as I've made in the last two years. So in my logbook should be at least 90 at the end of the year. Of course I'll aim for 100.
I also want to try a bit more demanding dive sites. I've made some dives in the Oosterschelde at low current sites but I'd like to try some other sites which are more demanding too.
Furthermore I'd like to go diving outside The Netherlands. I've made the first arrangements to go diving during our vacation in Portugal and am aim to go on a dive trip to The Red Sea.

And last, but not least, I'd like to share my knowledge and experiences with others. I'm not an experienced diver (yet), but I've already learned quite a lot by diving with more experienced divers. And I noticed that when diving with less experienced divers I loved to give them some pointers and also felt a responsibility for their safety.
So instead of aiming for the master scuba diver rating I now want to "go pro". So I'd like to become a divemaster. Whether that 'll be this year already or next year is to be seen, but I will go pro!!


List
So to sum up my goals for 2011:

• Pass the rescue diver course
• Aim for 100 total dives
• Dive in more demanding spots
• Dive in Portugal and Egypt
• Become a divemaster

Dive safe and have fun

Scuba Gear: Becoming a Christmas Tree

With Christmas just a few days away, all of the city of Rotterdam is decorated with light, bells and all sorts of other Christmas decorations. More special even, the city is covered with a decent amount of snow....And of course, our house is pretty much the same. Without the snow of course. And as I am a member of the declining race of people who buys a real tree, I was dragging a nice and green, great smelling, tree into my house.

While my girlfriend was decorating the tree, I was catching up on some dive reading and thinking about all the scuba gear I still wanted to buy. And when I looked at the tree again it hit me.......

All suited up, I am the Christmas tree.

I will try to explain what I mean.

When I took my first scuba lessons, I started with the basic scuba gear.
So starting with a mask, snorkel, fins, wetsuit, BCD, regulators, a weightbelt and a console, I hit the pool and later Lake Oostvoorne. Like most novice divers I had my hands full with all of that gear. It was hard to check the compass, stay trimmed at the same time and look at my instructors, divemasters and fellow students, but I managed, no more, no less.

After the open water course I started diving with the dive team of the divecenter and after I made sure I loved scuba diving, I started to acquire my own gear. Of course I started buying the list above and (tried to) get familiar with it.
Wanting to improve my diving skills en experience all sorts of different types of dives, I enlisted in more diving courses. And those courses needed me to by more gear.
Starting with the advanced open water course, I needed two (regular and backup) lights. Then I needed a dive slate, to determine a course during the navigation specialty course. And last, for the deep diver specialty I had to get a safety sausage (SMB) to use during safety stops.

Now back to the tree. When it was still in the forest, all it's branches were free. At most there was a bird's nest on one of them.... But now, all decorated, every branch had something on it; whether it's a light, a ball or some artifical snow.
And my BCD is the exactly the same. At first there were just the console and the octopus, but now all the rings are used to hang all my stuff....



See what I mean?



The worst thing is, I still need (want) more gear... I still have quite a long wishlist that I sent to Santa....
I always thought of myself as a pretty down-to-earth guy, but looking at all the gear I have acquired in two years time, I have to ask myself:

Am I a scuba gear junky?

Something to ponder about during the Holidays.

Have a nice Christmas and a happy new year....

Menno

Deep diver specialty

Lot's of beautiful wrecks and reefs are located deeper than the 18 meters you're allowed to dive when having an open water diver certification or even deeper than the 30 meters with the advanced open water diver certification (padi). So if you ever want to dive those wrecks or reefs, extra training is required. The last two weeks I've taken the deep diver specialty course so I can dive those spots in a safe and responsible way.  I want to share with you what I've learned during this course.

When doing a specialty course, you learn in two ways, from the textbook and from the dives. And I must say, I've learned the most from the last dive. Because for that dive, I had to make the dive plan, do the briefing and go through the safety procedures.

From the textbook

Before the dive
Before you even put on your gear set a goal that is realistic for you and your buddy. Take into account the expected circumstances underwater and both your experiences with them. Making a 35 meter dive in tropical water just isn't the same as making a dive to that depth in cold, dark water.

A goal and a plan
First of all you need a goal for your dive and a decently set up plan. Don't just go in and see what happens. It will put you and your buddy at great risk. Make a decent and conservative plan to visit that great wreck and stick to it. Because of the short bottom times at depth (no deco time), make sure you can descend and descend very close to the goal of your dive.

Buddy check

Well, of course, you should check your gear before each dive, but before a deep dive you should do this even more carefully. Gear failure at depth can cause a lot more problems than at 10 meters, and it's a long way to the surface. So, do a very thorough buddy check...

While diving
Check your air regularly. At 30 meters your air consumption is twice as much as at 10 meters. So check it regularly and that of your buddy as well. And for that matter, maintain contact with your buddy very often, so you'll notice the signs of nitrogen narcosis. Turn back well before you're low on air. You still need to do a safety stop, so make sure you both have enough air for that.

Ascending
When you're at the spot where you want to ascend, release your safety sausage. The safety sausage makes people on the surface aware that there are divers below. It will reduce the chance of being run over by a boat. Then ascend slowly and maintain (almost) neutral buoyancy. At 5 meters, do at least 3 minute safety stop. And then continue to ascend.

The dives

From the four dives we made in the course doing different kinds of exercises like answering diving theory questions and doing math. Also we looked at colour changes underwater and the effect of pressure on object filled with air. And for the first time, I had to use a safety sausage.
But the most educating dive was the final one. I had to prepare the dive, determining bottom time, descending and ascending procedures, agree on hand and light signals. And of course, navigate the whole dive.

Also I had to prepare emergency procedures and had to do the briefing.


The dive itself was cold (5 degrees at the bottom) and dark. But with our lamps, visibility was very good. And everything went as planned.
This course has made me look at a dive in a more serious way and taught me a lot, especially when I have to lead a dive.

European Shark Week

This week it´s European shark week. Project Aware is working together to with the shark alliance to ask the European parlement to sharpen European shark finning ban.

And because shark fins should be on sharks and not in some bowl of soup, I support the shark week with the post in my blog.

You can find more on the European Shark week on Project Aware.

Esspecially for Shark week, I looked on the net for some shark cartoons to make you think about us people..

More shark cartoons on http://www.shaaark.com