New Divemaster!

Congratulations to Eddie Kish our newest Divemaster!!!! Great job on working through the course. You all should be diving with Eddie into the start of the year. Greg

Did You Really Check Your Regulator? (or did you just do what everyone else does?)

Here is an interesting question. I was out with a group of experienced divers the other day and one of the diver was doing a buddy check. The diver doing the buddy check picked up the diver's regulator, pressed the purge button slightly heard a hissing sound and decided that was good enough. What just got checked? The only thing that was tested was whether the regulator had air coming to it and if the valve closed.

What wasn't tested??? The objective in a buddy check is to make sure both regulators are functioning correctly and that there is adequate air making it to the regulators. To test the function of a reg, you have to test several parts:

• First - does the air valve open and shut consistently and does it leak after being opened?
• Second - are there any holes in the diaphragm? The diaphragm is the part at the front of the regulator that moves back and opens the air valve as you breath in.
• Third - is the exhaust valve sealing when you breath in and is it opening when you breath out.
• Fourth - is the first stage regulator providing enough air.

All of this is easy to accomplish. When you check your regulator, put it in your mouth and while you look at the pressure gauge, take a couple of breaths. Here is what you should check. As you breath in, the air valve should open quickly and deliver lots of fresh scuba air. If the valve opens slowly, or goes on and off as you breath in, the you have a hole in the reg, most likely either in the mouthpiece, diaphragm, or exhaust valve. A hole in any one of those will cause the reg to breath very wet. This is really important when you check your spare regulator so that if and when an emergency arises, you won't have the person breathing on the reg panic because they are getting half water, half air.

Next breath out. Did the exhaust valve open? Sometimes after periods without use, or not getting rinsed, the exhaust valve will stick in the closed position. No fun rolling off the boat and finding you can't exhale through your mouth.

Finally while you are doing all this, watch your pressure gauge needle. Divers often turn on the air on the regulator to check the pressure, then turn it back off again, but don't drain the system. It gives enough for about 5 breaths and then stops. After you giant stride, your reg runs out of air and you can't inflate your bcd. If you see the needle isn't dropping, make sure the needle isn't moving at all. This happens when somebody closes the scuba valve and then opens it back a quarter turn like they have been taught (btw - you don't need to close the valve a quarter turn anymore, it is a scuba urban myth :-). The person checking the air has gotten confused about which way to turn the valve and as you start to descend, the first stage won't be able to deliver enough air to you.

Pretty simple check and takes just slightly more time than it takes to just press that purge valve, but can make a world of difference.

If you ever want to see how a reg works from the inside out, let me know. I'm happy to show you the "guts". Greg

MD1 and Service Club Park Reports!

It is getting good!!! I'll knock on wood right now to avoid the jinx. Yesterday we went out to MD! and the water was 69 degrees with 20 to 30 feet of viz. Off the beach at Service Club this morning, water was 66 degrees with 10 to 15 feet of viz. Conditions are really getting good for diving!

Looking at the weather forecast, this week promises some good conditions. Hope to see you all out there. Don't forget the New Year's eve night dive. Greg

Christmas Donut Dive and Cleanup 20 Dec 08

Wow, what a beautiful day!!! Thank you to Bob, Tyler, Derek, Seth, Casey, Sue, Gil, and Caroline for coming out today. The donuts were sweet the coffee was, well warm... and the conditions were great. There no surf other than the wake of the crab boat, the wind was down and the VIS was too... About 3 to 6 feet of VIS made for a secluded dive for most. The water was 63 degrees. (Time for that hood.) Everyone had a good time and we overcame some issues.

Issues? Did I say issues? Ok me first. DUH, I show up and am unable to dive. Sinus blockage is never a good way to start a dive, and yes I have had a reverse squeeze. One word, OUCH!!

The next issue was that a mask was forgotten. But thanks to the great people that we have in the diving community there was a spare to be had. Then the weight calculations were for fresh not salt water... makes for a great (large, hehe) surface swim. Wait there is more... weight issues that is. Some ankle weights were left behind. Cool huh? Well yes if you are diving in a .5 mm skin in 63 degree water and have 1% to 2% body fat, now that is downright cold after a few minutes. Oh yah, dive flags... LOL.

Ok, now back to the blog. We all have issues from time to time and they are not fun. But all of the issues that were had today are not all that uncommon. Gear is right where we won't forget it, and it is there when we get back from our trip or when we get back to the car. No big deal. I am inspired though to create a check list that will make sure that I remember those things that I need for each dive. I may even make one that I can go over once I have my gear on so that I don't leave that backup flash light in the dive bag. By the way, I am not the only one that has thought of this. There are check lists out there already, but I did not use one and I should have. My thought is that they may be too vague or general. I have a specific set of kit that I use for different dives. Like slates for my training dives, or a shark's tooth bag for the fossil hunts, or the three lights that I know that I should take with me on a night dive.

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas to all and thanks for the inspiration
Carl

Viz

Last night at Spanish Rocks, viz was fantastic! A little bit harder bottom and we had about 10 to 15 feet of viz - and it was still coming up. Over the rocks, viz dipped a bit with the algae, but was still good enough to see a toadfish on top of a rock, a stingray cruising around, nudibranchs and assorted tropical fish.

The strangest thing was in the sand near the rocks, since there has not been much wave action lately (knock on wood), the sand dollars have created a giant flat spot where they have erased all of the ripples in the bottom. It looks like a giant maze of sand dollar tracks out there.

Also, there were a ton of scallops, in one spot within arm's reach, I counted 12 scallops, all of the opened up and feeding. Have to go get ready for the charter this morning, will post on viz further out. Greg

Viz Report

Hi - on my way to a night dive. Quick viz report at Service Club. 64 degrees in the water. Viz is coming up and was much better than 2 days ago. Fair amount of 'string algae' in the water. Will post. Another viz report after my night dive at Spanish Rocks. Greg

More Seal Team Fun, Sunny, Warm and Wet

Another beautiful day in the pool!!! Miles and Kegan listened to the briefing, geared up and got in the pool for another PADI Seal Team Aquamission. Kegan is already and PADI Seal Team Member and is helping his friend Miles by exhibiting the proper behavior and following the PADI Seal Team CODE of Conduct.

Carefully dive at all times - remembering the rules.

Offer help to my diving buddy.

Defend and protect the aquatic world.

Educate myself by learning more about diving and developing my skills.

Great job in the pool guys,

Carl

Diving off of Siesta Public?

Who was that diving off of Siesta public beach? It was me. We were doing Assistant Instructor training and needed a nice close by sandy bottom. There isn't much to see and besides viz was about a foot and a half. Good environment to learn to teach in :-). Greg

RHS Marine Club Open Water Class Update

Moving right along, the bulk of the class has completed the confined water portion of the course!
Way to go guys and gals. Working through the dives today was a bit nicer due to warmer weather, but we got a lot done in the limited time that we had. Next week it is down to Venice and the beach for a couple of dives. I can't wait to show you the wildlife and sharks teeth.

Carl

Spanish Rocks

Made it out to Spanish Rocks tonight. Eddie was completing his Divemaster course mapping project there. Wave conditions were perfect. Water temp was about 63-64 degrees, although a few degrees warmer on the surface after today's warm day. 

It turned out to be a good day for a mapping project. Viz ranged from 2 to 5 feet with no current. It was a bit hard locating all of the parts of the rocks, but Eddie eventually found them all. We spent about 70 minutes in the water and were a little cool by the end. Just so you know, I'm wearing my 1mm rash guard, 2mm hood and 3/2 Everflex wetsuit. I will probably switch to my hooded vest for the next dive. 

Funny thing was there are some large ripples in the sand just before the rocks from the storm, and in the ripples, there were a bunch of large holes (about 8 inches across, and about a foot deep). I wasn't sure where they came from and I couldn't see anything in them.

Dive conditions should be getting better here as the silt settles out over the next couple of days. Greg

Extendable Dive Flags as seen in Undercurrent

We have had a great response to these flags since the Undercurrent newsletter came out. We do carry these flags and have more on order. If you would like one of these flags please contact us and let us know if you would like Yellow, Orange, or Yellow/Orange. The price for these flags is $33.00 plus shipping.

Below are some pictures of the flags. Undercurrent stated that the yellow had the overall best visibility.

Welcome Miles to Seal Team Training

Miles started his PADI Seal Team Training yesterday! As the team grows, so does the adventure. Miles and Kegan had a great time in the pool. As always I had a wonderful time showing the kids the beauty and adventure of the underwater world. The setting at Serendipity is amazing as is their staff. Miles completed his first Aquamission and Kegan worked on his buoyancy skills. It is a blast watching these guys! Get your kids out and watch them learn what you love so much.

Go Seal Team!!!

Carl

PADI Open Water Certification - Buy one and get the second for 1/2 price!

Great gift idea or for you and a friend. Sign up for a PADI Open Water Class and get the second one for 1/2 off! Our classes combine the best of eLearning, pool and open water so you can be diving within the week!

Everything is included in our class price: top-of-the-line SCUBAPRO gear, Classic BC with integrated weights, regulator system w/computer and wetsuit. You get a deluxe logbook crew pak, eLearning access code, Multilevel Recreational Dive Planner, Open Water Diver DVD and your certification paperwork. No hidden costs. All you need is mask, fins and a snorkel.

Our class schedule is flexible so call 941-870-4461 or email:

info@FLORIDAUNDERWATERSPORTS.com and get started!

This offer is good until December 31th. Bo

Want to be a Divemaster?????

Hi all - first off, what is a Divemaster? A Divemaster is the first step in the PADI (Professional Association of Dive Instructors) professional rating. As a Divemaster you can assist with classes, lead scuba dives and trips, teach scuba refreshers and Discover Scuba in the pool and you can teach Skin Diving and Snorkeling. And besides all of that, it is FUN!!!!!

Why do people become a Divemaster? A lot of reasons, but the most common ones I see are that somebody wants to turn their hobby/passion into something with more of a purpose. They are looking for reasons and opportunities to go diving. They want to make money while diving. They want to go on free trips. They want to be part of the cool kids :-). They want to know more about diving and reach for the highest certifications. They want to see and work with people getting trained to see diving through their eyes (there is nothing like taking a new student on their first open water dive).

I mentioned money above. Basically successful Divemasters are in demand. Being in demand equals money in the Divemaster's pocket. The more the Divemaster works and markets themselves and creates cool trips, the more that they make. Now, we aren't talking retire to a house on Siesta Key rich, but good Divemasters make more than enough to cover their expenses, buy a new set of gear every year and still have money in their pocket. <\DIGRESSION>

What does it take? First, the prerequisites are certified as a Rescue Diver (or equivalent from another agency), logged 20 dives, 18 years or older and have a doctor sign off on your medical form. A few other things you'll want to have: your own gear (although the store you work with may want you in another brand if they don't sell the type of gear you are using), good study habits and a really good attitude going in that you are going to make this a fun experience.

The actually training is very straight forward. There are a series of lectures that take a total of about 10-14 hours. They cover a variety of topics, Supervising Certified and non-Certified Divers, Physics and Physiology of Diving, Dive Equipment, Divemaster Conducted Programs, Decompression Thoery and the RDP and the Environment. There is a self study book that accompanies the Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving (which by the way makes a great Christmas gift).

The Divemaster in trianing will need to map a dive site, demonstrate the highest quality rescue skills in open water, show that they can perform Divemaster conducted programs and have a good overall attitude towards learning, the students/customers and show a desire to improve.

There is a physical test portion as well, consisting of a 400 yard swim, 800 mask/fins/snorkel swim, 15 minute tread water and a 100 yard inert diver tow in open water. Most people have no problem with these requirements.

Finally, there is the internship portion of the program. I like to use the first option, which places the Divemaster-to-be into the water with real students and customers. By pre-briefing the dive, letting them lead the divers and work with students, Divemaster candidates improve their diving skills, understand how to work with people in diving situations, build their confidence and encounter problems for the first time with an instructor there to help guide them through the process of solving them. The relationship to the instructor is more of mentor/mentee. It is funny since everytime I run a Divemaster course, I learn something new and cool. For me, the Divemaster course has made me a much better instructor.

There is one other option for completing Divemaster and that is to do the "practical" method where we create fake students and customers for the Divemaster to work with. This is a good option for those that need to get their Divemaster in a hurry, but won't give them experience dealing with real students and customers.

That completes the Divemaster course, however, I also believe that as an instructor, I need to round out the Divemasters with more training, so I add on Nitrox Gas Blender, Fill Station Operator, Deep Diver and Underwater Navigator as well to help them through the first part of the their diving career. Why add these things? Think about what you expect form a Divemaster in open water. I would expect them to be knowledgeable, ready and willing to rescue me or somebody else and have a good understanding of the limits of diving and their local area.

Let me know if you have any questions. Greg

Observations On Service

Here, in general, are some not-too-serious observations made through the years:

• Vise grips are not appropriate for life support equipment.
• Neither is duct tape, usually.
• Regulators do not usually make daangerous noises; they just make annoying ones, which can be eliminated. However, sometimes incantations or a little chicken blood are involved.
• No matter who does your service, always test your regulator before going on a dive trip.
• Puppies will chew regulators. Labradors will eat them, or seriously try.
• Tropical divemasters are not always competent service technicians, especially if they're carrying vise grips. (see above)
• User-changeable batteries are not always.
• There is, generally, a direct correlation between how quickly the customer wants his regulator serviced and how badly the service is needed.
• The only parts on backorder are the ones we order.
• Just because you bought it mail-order doesn't mean you can have it serviced mail-order. We have no idea who made some of these regulators and how to find the parts.
• Just because you bought it "New - in the box" on ebay doesn't mean it isn't 20 years old and service parts haven'e been available for 10 years. "New" describes condition, not the age.

Senior Tank Manager