Browsing articles tagged with " PADI"

Divemaster life – living legends

maj 17, 2014   //   by supernova   //   Blog, Divemaster  //  No Comments

Great diving experience this week!

I’ve been at Crystal Divers for almost 2 months, I’m having really great time, meeting very nice and interesting people and the best scuba experience ever! At this moment I’m about to complete the Dive Master course. Part of the courses are, theory lessons which gives you the mandatory knowledge to be a professional DM, water skills and practical application which make you getting confident with what will be one day my daily duty and last, but not least, assisting Dive Instructors during their courses and sometimes we just go for fun dives as well!
I have been studying and diving almost with all the instructors and the divemasters, any day spent with each of them it’s always been fun, safe and professional. I spent the pass two days diving as assistant with two legends of Crystal Divers…
and probably two legends of diving in Bali!
They’re the only two Crystal’s instructors I never dive with before: but this moment came! I was really excited to finally spend the day with them! These guys have thousand and thousand dives logged in their logbook: if counted together it’s more than 15.000!!!! They basically spent more time of their life underwater than on-land
I was really looking forward to see how these guys behave underwater, what’s their approach with costumers, how they spot fishes…basically how they do the thing they most love to do, scuba-diving!

I’m talking about the two “living legends” Magic Toto & Amin!
Destinations of the two days were: Tulamben, wreck dive to see Liberty (US Navy cargo ship from WWII, sank in 1963 after been torpedoed by Japanese submarine in 1942) and Padang Bai the next day to see some cool underwater creatures!
Both days started with a nice ride to the diving sites: during the trip Toto and Amin entertained our guest whit amazing stories about their diving adventures and about life in the beautiful Bali. Me and the costumers were extremely entertained by them I was impressed about the passion and joy they’re transmitted us!
All the dives went very well: we seen many different type of fishes and coral, met Mr.Frank the Barracuda, white tip sharks octopuses, dozens of tiny nudies and many others beautiful creatures….oh…and I’ve finally seen pygmies!!! YEAH!!!!
During the dives I was almost their shadow underwater. I wanted to stay close as much as possible to them, learning from their movements and their behavior. I was totally amazed by them! They look like fishes: it seems they’ve got gills! They know each dive site we’ went diving like their own pockets.
Diving with these amazing guys was an experience that I recommend to every diver: both experienced and beginners! They transmit you love for diving, for underwater life and for life in general. Their smiles are very contagious…and that the best way to start every day!

…oh….and watch out for special fish when you’re next to Magic Toto….you might be able to see the Picacku fish 😀

//Roberto Divemaster trainee, Crystal Divers

The Self Reliant Diver

okt 11, 2011   //   by supernova   //   Blog, Crystal Divers, Divemaster  //  No Comments

Kitted up and Ready to go

As part of my continuing education in diving, not just the gaining of experience, I decided that I would rather enjoy undertaking the Self Reliant Diver Course, a relatively new course from PADI. My aim being that once qualified, I could complete the necessary qualifying dives to undertake the instructor qualification.

First let me say that self reliant diving is not Solo Diving. The self reliant dive training provides you with another skill set that increases your ability for self rescue, identify and anticipate problems before they become life threatening and equip you with the skills to extract yourself from a situation should it arise.

Diving without a partner requires you to be willing to make the required commitment to train and equip yourselves properly and to accept the added risks involved. You must have the right attitude and ability to dive independently. This is true in other adventure sport activities such a solo rock climbing.

Diving without a partner requires the right attitude and equipment. This includes, but is not restricted to redundant air sources, specific dive planning and management of independent diving problems and emergencies. However, no amount of redundant equipment can effectively back-up a diver’s brain better than another individual

In simple terms, responsible independent scuba diving is not for everyone; however it does have a place. So, who should develop self –reliant diving skills and why? The course will appeal most to photographers, videographers, traveling divers, wreck divers and TecRec Divers. This is by no means an exhaustive list and will appeal to anyone with the necessary course pre-requisites.

Having completed the necessary pre diving study and knowledge reviews, we traveled to Tulamben on Monday 10th October to complete the three qualifying dives. Having gone through some very thorough pre-dive planning and briefing we kitted up ready for the first dive. We were certainly carrying much more equipment that normal; redundant equipment that is either critical for survival or critical to the dive objective’s success. This included a backup 4.7 ltr cylinder, complete with regulator and SPG. This would allow us the opportunity to initiate an emergency exit from a life-threatening situation without undue stress and with a minimum of confusion in the event of a major equipment malfunction.

Entry for Dive One

During the first dive we were required to complete a number of skills, which were, with all standard and specialized equipment, conduct a buoyancy check at the surface, complete a 200m surface swim, demonstrate neutral buoyancy by hovering for one minute, perform a relaxed, nonstop 200 meter surface swim, demonstrate the ability to switch to a redundant air supply system, simulating a regulator free flow and breathe from the redundant air source for at least two minutes, perform a SAC rate swim by swimming for approximately five minutes at a level depth, recording the appropriate information for later calculation and deploy a lift bag or DSMB from the bottom. All skills were completed without issue and one skill that was practiced a great deal was switching to our alternate air source, which had to be done one handed and within thirty seconds.

 

Swimming without a mask

After our required surface interval, we kitted up again for dive 2. During this dive we would have to complete further skills, comprising of demonstrating time, depth and gas supply awareness by writing the depth and cylinder pressure on a slate at 10-minute intervals, swim at depth for at least two minutes covering a distance of at least 18 meters without a mask. We would also have to whilst continuously swimming, simulate an out-of-air emergency and change from our primary air supply to our redundant air supply system within 30 seconds, then breathe from the redundant air supply system for at least two minutes, complete two navigation exercises, perform a SAC rate swim by swimming for five minutes at a level depth recording the appropriate information for later calculation and deploy a lift bag or DSMB from the bottom. Again, one of the key components and something practiced repeatedly throughout the dive was switching from our primary to redundant air supply. Again, all skills were completed and there was even time to interact with the aquatic life, especially the turtle that seams to have taken up residency on the wreck.

Swimming without a mask

Ready to go our seperate ways

After lunch, we began our third and final qualifying dive. For this dive we were truly diving alone but it was not just a fun dive. The instructor gave us our briefing for the dive and set us our tasks. This was to demonstrate time, depth and gas supply awareness by writing the depth and time on a slate for each 20 bar of gas consumed, demonstrate turn around pressure and time limit awareness when either the pressure or time limit established during the briefing is reached by writing the time (if pressure limit reached first) or the pressure (if time limit reached first) on a slate, demonstrate navigational control and return to the exit with no assistance from the instructor and while continuously swimming, simulate an out-of-air emergency and change from your primary air supply to your redundant air supply system within 30 seconds At the conclusion of the dive we then had to deploy a lift bag or DSMB and ascend to the surface, stopping at 5 metres/15 feet for a three minute safety stop and most importantly surface from the dive within the established time frame and with no less than the planned pressure remaining in the cylinder.

Through the Wreck

The third dive was a new experience, diving alone and with no buddy. We have all no doubt at some time or other been alone for a short while but to do a whole dive alone was something new. What was noticeable during this dive was that you checked your dive computer more often than usual and you became more aware of your surroundings and where other divers were, just in case.

At the end of the third dive we had completed all the skill requirements and were now qualified as Self Reliant Divers. Twenty more self reliant dives and instructor qualification beckons. The benefits of completing this course are not about diving alone. It is about being self reliant, equipping you with the skills and knowledge to be a better diver, able to self rescue if the need ever arose. These are certainly skills that anyone should have and teaches you how to manage situations where you may be separated from your buddy for extended periods of time.

Deploying the DSMB whilst on redundant air supply

If you want to do the Self Reliant Course, then there is no better place than Crystal Divers. Take a look at the Courses Section and see what is entailed.

DDD

 

Mola-Mola. The Sunfish

okt 9, 2011   //   by supernova   //   Blog, Crystal Divers  //  No Comments

Bali has its fair share of dive sites, located as it is in the Golden Triangle, where there is a spectacular array of marine life and bio-diversity.

Bali has some of the best diving in the world, often featuring in the top 10 dive destinations of the world. Whether you want to dive a wreck, see fantastic coral, dive with turtles and sharks or you just have a hankering for macro life, Bali has it all to offer.

One of the most strange aquatic visitors to Bali has to be the Mola-Mola or Sunfish as its often referred to; a name it got because of its habit of floating at the surface with its side facing the sun, almost as if it were sunbathing.

Mola’s are shy creatures but during the season are often seen around Crystal Bay, Nusa Penida and Candidasa to name just a few sites. They can be seen at the cleaning stations or just transiting through on their way back to the depths. Most often seen at 20 metres plus, they can be seen swimming at shallower depths; indeed only today, a group of divers on their way to Manta Point saw and snorkelled with a Mola at the surface. Stories of Mola breaching and leaping into the air have been heard on more than one occasion, the reason for which is they are attempting to rid themselves of parasites.

What can be frustrating to divers is the actions of others, who pursue and harass the mola, trying to get that ’perfect shot.’ More often than not this results in the mola disappearing back to the depths, on occasion pursued by obsessed divers, oblivious to the danger they present to themselves and others. Or you get the odd diver that wants to touch the mola, often not realising that this removes the coating that covers all fish, causing immense pain, similar to third degree burns and which can result in the death of the fish.

Mola are a majestic, albeit odd looking fish and are best viewed from a calm and considered distance. There is no need to chase the Mola; quite often they are curious and will swim towards you, playing in your exhaled bubbles. It is down to all us divers to treat the underwater realm with respect, remembering to take only pictures and leave only bubbles.

If you want to see the Mola then Bali is the place to come and Crystal Divers has certainly a very good record when it comes to spotting these fantastic fish. With Toto, Asmui and Amin leading you, your chances are good as they have many years of experience and have seen many many Mola between them.

It is always special diving in Bali but its becomes magical when you see these amazing and yes, strange fish.

Please have a look at one of our videos of an encounter with this beautiful creatures

Crystal Divers – Mola

DDD

Interns & DMT Skin Diving

okt 9, 2011   //   by supernova   //   Blog, Crystal Divers, Divemaster, Interns Blog  //  No Comments

As part of the Interns and Dive Master Trainees (DMT) continuing education, one requirement is to undertake the Skin Diving Course. It is one of the many skill sets that form part of every Dive Masters training. Here at Crystal Divers a little fun is injected into the training and every participant is assigned with coming up with a skill or game that can be used during the course. Any number of games are thought up and whilst fun, they do have a great deal of added value.

The ideas for the games are varied and diverse and it never ceases to amaze the ingenuity of those that come up with them. Games vary from the simple to the more inventive. Examples of the games were swimming from one end of the pool to the other, swim through a submerged hoop and collect as many weights as possible before returning to the other end; diving from one end of the pool to the other, exchanging masks underwater, writing your name on a slate before returning underwater to the other end.

Other games played were swimming around the edge of the pool whilst keeping one fin out of the water. No easy task and if you don’t believe it, try it. Another popular game was two skin divers battling underwater to try and remove the others mask whilst keeping hold of your own. More often it would be a draw as each of the players lost their own mask. One skill game that brought out the competitive nature of those taking part was the longest breath hold, with some showing themselves to be as near to fish as possible.

 

But by far the most inventive game was one thought up by Wulan, combining ’aquatic life trivial pursuit’ questions with skin diving tasks. She gave each diver a clue as to the identity of an aquatic life form and then the diver had to swim underwater to the far end of the pool and find the weight with the correct answer. Some wrong answers meant the diver returning with the wrong weight and an early exit from the game.

Whilst the games and skills were fun, there was added value, from breath holding techniques, finning techniques to buoyancy control when navigating though the submerged hoola-hoops. All skills that are important to the skin diver but also the diver in terms of buoyancy. Not breath holding of course as all divers know the most important rule of diving;

”NEVER HOLD YOUR BREATHE”

In all it was a most enjoyable experience for those partaking and is testament to the internship at Crystal Divers. I have no doubt that the interns will go from strength to strength, becoming amazing Dive Masters and Instructors.

DDD

 

Learning to blog ;-)

sep 23, 2011   //   by supernova   //   Minnis Blog  //  No Comments

 

New times in Crystal Divers – We’re learning to blog. So from now on you can follow us and get all the news served directly on your computer. However we do still hang out at Crystal in the evening, so you’re of course also more than welcome to come and get the latest news in live 😉 See you around.

EFR part 1

sep 19, 2011   //   by supernova   //   Interns Blog  //  No Comments
Some divers took this course because it’s a must when they want to continue to the next step (been told like that by someone :p ). Some of them feel that this course is boring but I feel it’s excited and easy to practice in reality. Well thanks to Robert Scammell our EFR instructor. He made this course fun and easy…
After finish the Advance dive now we need to study about EFR to continue our study.. This course is not only about diving hmmm… actually its about how to help people in need, how you fight with your fear to help people, not only in diving industry but also in your family, in your neighborhood and in your life. That’s why they have different website from PADI because this is another program from diving.. You can read more info inwww.emergencyfirstresponse.com
1 week before we start our course with Rob, Minni gave us the manual to read and answer all the knowledge review so when our instructor come we already know a little bit about this course. So we read page by page and answer the knowledge review for “Primary and Secondary Care” and “ Care for Children”. Minni already gave us the schedule for the EFR course because our instructor is not in Indonesia, He is from Thailand ( well he is from UK but stay in Thailand) and he will be one of the examiners to the IDC and he extended to stay in Bali to teach us about EFR and also diving with us. Holly said that Rob is funny and really good to this course- well and you were right Holly 😉
First day he showed us the video for introduction and we need to practice all the skills from the video, we already have the manual so more or less we already know about the skill but we need to practice it so it’s easier to remember than only the theory.
STOP THINK and ACT this is what should we always remember for the first time and follow by the ABCD’S… we need to ASSES THE SCENE, is it safe or no for us. Yeah it is right, if you can’t safe your self first, you will not able to safe someone else. Like you heard many times in the flight maybe, you need to use your own mask before you put into your children.
ALERT EMS and APPLY BARRIER, he taught us how to use the gloves and how to open it, and he showed us how to put ventilation barrier in Mr. Mannequin, and surely none of us will bring the barriers in our daily life so when something happen just use what ever that can be a barriers such as cloth, plastic bag, paper , etc, etc ; don’t make this become an excuse to help someone; and how to check the BREATHING, first open the airways and check it by LOOK to the chest movement, LISTEN for the breath sound , and FEEL it in your ears.
He also gave us the EFR kit ( the barriers) and asked us to practice it together. After that he make some scene and this time Hairi become the victim, the scene is he got electricity shock and I need to do the skill.. He taught us the simple way to do that because sometimes in the book a lil bit more complicated like “hello, my name is Wulan, I am an emergency responder, May I help you?” so Rob told us just say simple statement like “can I help you?” because in Indonesia many person doesn’t know about what is emergency responder so just make it as simple as possible so any body can understand that ( well if you in abroad/ helping foreigner of course you need to do this statement so you are protect by the law in that area). After that Rob divided us into 2 groups, 1 group to the parking lot and the other with Kat went to swimming pool and we need to practice what we have taught about before.

PADANG BAI

sep 19, 2011   //   by supernova   //   Interns Blog  //  No Comments

It was starting with the conversation in the toilet, when Minni asked me which chapter I am now. That time I already finish the chapter of adventure dive ( which they told us to read n answer) so I said that to Minni but the others still haven’t yet. After that she took me to the schedule board and let me choose which one I can go with. The choice is between Tulamben (with Om Toto) or Padang Bai (with Taka). I choose Padang Bai since I’ve been to Tulamben before. Minni said that I need to be here on 7am. There will be 1 guest + taka, and of course with me now

The next day, I went to crystal to go to Padang bai with Taka and Mari (the open water student that time). It took about 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach Padang Bai. In there we set the equipment and ready to go to the dive spot with the boat. It’s a small boat so we need to wear the equipment in the surface.

First dive is in Jepun, we saw pinky frog fish (well its pink! So I call it pinky :p).There is a small wreck in there and an artificial coral. We saw also mantis shrimp, many blue spotted stingrays, cowfish, moray, lionfish, napoleon ( humphead wrasse) and titan triggerfish. Mari is a good diver also even she is still in the open water, she has good buoyancy

After rest for 1 hour, we do the second dive in the Blue Lagoon, I saw more fish in this area, on the wall and there are more fish to see, little fish and little creatures such as pink squad robusta, ribbon eel juvenile, black blotched porcupine fish, Map puffer, Spotted Garden eel, Nudibranches – Jim black, rockmover wrasse, anemone fish : false clown, pink, gobby – fire dartfish and twotone dartfish. Looks like I found so many new stuff in here right? But we didn’t meet any shark that time, I heard that Padang Bai is good place for finding the shark. Its ok better luck next time!

Diving was finished… Time for lunch and go back to crystal. Yes its true when it said diving makes we meet many people. I met Mari and make friend with her. She is nice girl and always smiles even though we can’t communicate fluently but we still learn how to understand each other. She is in Japan now and she will come back to Bali next month for her Dive master I guess. Good luck for that Mari and see you soon!

TULAMBEN – Deep & Wreck Dive

sep 19, 2011   //   by supernova   //   Interns Blog  //  No Comments

Many of divers already know the famous wreck in Tulamben and now it’s our turn to go there….

Early morning we already ready to go to Tulamben to do Wreck dive and Deep dive with our instructor, Paul and his assistant Tom. We need to drive for 2,5 hours to Tulamben but it’s really worth it for a nice and amazing place like Tulamben!
The first dive was about Deep Dive -the water was so nice that day, No wave and the visibility was 30m -we will do this dive in Coral Garden to check our Narcosis in 30 meters depth. Paul asked us to do some task under the water, he asked us to touch the number in the slate and touch our nose after we got each number. Beside that he took empty aqua bottle and show us it squeeze under the water. On the surface he asked us to do the same thing while under the water so we will know how much time and how big the difference between the surface and under the water. Along the way we saw many new fishes (well maybe its only for me again :p) such as ornate ghost pipefish ( 3 at once!), blue spotted stingray, napoleon wrase, black ribbon eel, clarck’s anemone fish, short nose pipefish, emperor juvenile angel fish, morish idol, surgeon fish(black spine), bignose unicorn fish and many else! Thanks to Paul who asked us to find the name after the dive so I still can write it in here ^^

“This is American cargo ship in second world war II in 1942. Torpedo by Japanese submarine, in south west of Lombok. In that time the ship leaking and too much water come to the ship. In 1942, the ship comes to the shore in tulamben, at that time everybody can see the ship from the beach. 1963, the biggest mountain eruption ( Agung mountain) and push the ship to the deep water. From the shore to the ship just 30 meters out and from the surface only 4-5 meter deep. The long of the ship wreck is 120meter long and they had 2 torpedos, the first torpedo is shallow point in the stern around 16 meter deep and the second torpedo in the bow around 25 or 26 meter deep. And also the ship has big room and you can come inside. You can see small steering wheel in engine room. You will be enjoyed diving in liberty ship wreck because so many fish, nice coral and also you can see schooling of jackfish. The maximum depth of the wreck is 30 meter. “ That was a story about USST Liberty Wreck in Tulamben, Eri – one of us is from Tulamben and he already familiar with the spot for long time. ( Well I make him tell me once more when I wrote the blog :p)

So after listened to his story we are ready for the second dive! WRECK dive…. When I saw the wreck for the first time there I was amaze, shock, happy and excited. That was really incredible feeling to see such a beautiful things and creature around the wreck. We saw school of Jackfish above the wreck. They swim together and make like a tornado shape, I really can’t describe my feeling that time – my eyes can tell how happy I was! Around the wreck we also found many fishes. We took a couple shoot of under water that time so maybe I will not say anything anymore just enjoy the picture!

BOAT DIVING

sep 19, 2011   //   by supernova   //   Interns Blog  //  No Comments

First diving for adventure diving is Boat diving, we are already familiar with this kind of diving because we usually start our dive from the boat “Putri Emily”. Emil in charge for teaching us this time, he is teaching us about knots. We will need to make
the knot for buoy, jack line, and whatever we need to tie under water and we need to do that also with close eyes in case of emergency.

These are the three knots…
1. Two and half hitches for quick way to attach line to an object
To make this knot, just take both end of the line. Keep one of the line straight and tie the other end in the same direction. If you tie from above, put it twice above and vice versa. We can see the line is correct when we pull one line, the line will move

 

2. Bow line for tie line directly to an object – its strong, dependable knot that unties easily. We use this to attach a line to safety marker buoyancy.
There a sentence to memorize this knot: go swim under the cave, go down through the coral and swim above the cave… so make a circle with the loose end below… take the end and enter the circle from below and tie the other line from below and enter the circle from above.

3. Sheet bend for tie two lines of different diameter together.
Look the line to attach then tie the other line from below make a circle tie under the two end of the attach line and go above the circle tie.

I, myself, still a little bit confuse about the two half hitches but I need to memorize how to make it. I need to practice more and more to do that so I can do it with close eyes and maybe with gloves under water.

The next day, when we wait for the limo to the beach, Minni come to us and see what we do with matras beach tie 😛 and teaches us how to make knot once again. Hmmmm, apparently it is so easy. Like I wrote above. Just keep the one line and let the other line do anything! Nicely done… Then we all go to Sanur Channel and Emil explains us about the specific name for the boat and like always we do the rollback entry.

 

First dive we need to do the hovering and Emil made a game for the first dive, anyone who found the crocodile fish (because its only 2 crocodile fish in Sanur) first time get coke from the bar, and Emil pay for it 😛 and ERI is the winner! And hovering time…..Arghhhhh it’s hard for me to hover!!! We also need to hover up side down. Now I’m buddy with Komang and he taught me how to hover and still I think I am not good enough with this thing.. LOL… practice wulan practice ;P

For second dive I can relieved because no hovering again 😛 We stayed in the jack line and waiting the turn to do al the knot. Some of us did that nicely (I put myself in this group :P)and some of us have trouble to do that. But anyway with good practice, I am sure we all can do the entire knot 😉

ADVENTURE DIVING

sep 17, 2011   //   by supernova   //   Interns Blog  //  No Comments

After finish our Open Water final exam with great score ( of course because we study for 1 month – usually they only study for 3 days :p), we are now officially become Open Water Certified Diver! Yeay! Maybe the rest already had it before but since this is the first time with me, I am really feels good to accept that. The card will be sent to me within 6 weeks!!

For the next step, we will study about adventure in diving (intro for advance diving) this time we will study a lot more about specialty in diving such as :
1. Altitude diving
2. AWARE Fish Identification
3. Boat Diving
4. Deep Diving
5. Diver Propulsion Vehicle
6. Drift Diving
7. Dry Suit Diving
8. Multilevel and Computer Diving
9. Night Diving
10. Peak Performance Buoyancy
11. Search and Recovery
12. Underwater naturalist
13. Underwater Navigator
14. Underwater Photography
15. Underwater Videography
16. Wreck Diving
We need to study about all this specialty but not all the diving above can be practiced in Bali because we didn’t have the tools or the place nearby.. Else open the adventure diving briefly, she showed the video and told us about things about all specialty and I am so exciting about these kind of dives! And like Minni said just understand it slowly because you have plenty of time!
Oh well in the middle of our reading, I and Nico got the chance to dive in Sanur with the open water training guest. We got it because we already finish to read the chapter! Cool 😉 like always we packed our stuff and go to Sanur channel. In there we dive with Om Toto, Mike (the dive master), and Eric (the student). Five of us dive together and Eric needs to do the skills on the surface and underwater. He did it smoothly… Om Toto also showed us some magic under water such as he take out a stick from his mouth and he put a sand to his mouth and suddenly its changed into big rock.. It was Great!
There was something bad on the second dive.. My fin slip out from my boots and straightly I ascent to the surface, luckily no boat on the channel and Nico come with me 😛 When we want to descent again, I cant sink at all.. OMG OMG.. I really need to get the usual weight! ( I take out 1 kilo because in first dive I feel ok) so we back to the boat while Om Toto still dive with the guest.. sorry Om!! Make you worry but promise will never happened again.. I talked with Eric after the dive, he is from Holland and first time come to Bali and first time to dive also. And for sure he will come back to Bali again :p anyway enjoy your time in Bali Eric!

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