How to Avoid Hypothermia in Search and Rescue Diving

May 19, 2015/0 Comments

How to Avoid Hypothermia in Search and Rescue Diving

By: Dr. Thomas Powell
Imagine it is the middle of January. At 2am the call comes in that a vehicle has entered the water with the potential for trapped passengers. As you race to your vehicle, the ice and snow cause you to slip and slide along your driveway. As you arrive on scene with your teammates, you realize that the water temperature is even colder than the air temperature. Despite the harsh conditions, you know that lives may be at stake and you need to enter the water. In search and rescue/recovery diving, divers face many potential hazards. One of the greatest hazards public safety divers may face is hypothermia. There are various methods to reduce the threat of becoming hypothermic, but divers must train in the use of these methods to be prepared when a real mission takes place.

1) Exposure Protection

The most obvious method of reducing the threat of hypothermia is to wear the proper exposure protection. In the world of public safety diving, dry suits are essential. Dry suits create a barrier of air between the diver and the natural environment. The problem with dry suits is that they often have little or no properties that provide thermal protection. For this reason, public safety divers must consider the use of undergarments. Undergarments come in various weights and sizes designed to provide different levels of thermal protection. The best thing that any dive team can do is analyze the temperatures it faces within the region it operates. Various undergarment weights may be needed to allow for proper thermal protection during temperature changes throughout the year.

Dive teams around the United States often forego the use of undergarments. Instead divers will wear street clothes or “sweat clothes” underneath dry suits. The problem with “sweat clothes” is that they are often made of cotton, which retains moisture such as sweat. Allowing wet cotton to remain against the skin can cause the diver’s body temperature to drop as the material cools. Similarly, street clothes often provide little or no thermal protection. For these reasons, dive teams should consider looking into the various types of thermal protection designed for dry suit use within the scuba industry. Once undergarments are selected, the divers must train in the use of these undergarments. Differing types of undergarments often have differing buoyancy characteristics and may require weight adjustments for each diver. Similarly, with the addition of extra material, divers need to practice underwater skill sets to ensure capability and comfort.

2) Reduced Bottom Time

Many public safety divers develop a mindset focused on success. In many cases, this mentality is essential to remain focused and capable when faced with harsh conditions and no visibility underwater. The problem that can arise with this mindset is that divers will often push limits and take unnecessary risks. For this reason, a diver may request to stay underwater longer and increase the risk for the development of hypothermia. Team leaders, supervisors, and even tenders must watch for this attitude and make sure that divers stay within safe limitations. In many cases, the development of maximum bottom times can be developed within team standard operating guidelines to ensure that all divers stay within reasonable time-based dive limits. If these standards are developed, teams must train to perform and enforce time restrictions. Public safety divers must remember that they go on missions to help others, but not to take risks that may add death or injury to an already problematic situation.

3) Medical Support

In many cases, dive teams do not take advantage of resources located within their communities. These resources may be firefighters trained in hazardous materials decontamination, law enforcement personnel trained in scene security or crime scene investigation, or emergency medical technicians. Medical personnel are critical to the success of any public safety dive operation. If emergency medical technicians or paramedics are available to take baseline physiological readings before divers enter the water, they will have an improved likelihood of recognizing physical changes as divers exit the water. After any diver exits the water and undergoes any needed decontamination, the safest action to take is to have the diver checked out by medical personnel. Professionals of this type can recognize the onset of hypothermia and take corrective actions as needed to ensure diver safety. Emergency medical technicians and paramedics can also help to ensure that divers remain hydrated and intake calories to help fight off problematic physiological situations. In certain cases, medical personnel will even offer heated vehicles as a location for chilled divers to fight off the onset of hypothermic conditions. If medical personnel who are not members of a dive team are going to be used during active missions, they should be invited to partake in training to ensure that all parties will understand how each other will react and perform during a real mission.

4) Practice and Training

The primary action that any dive team must establish is regular training. Training ensures that divers do not become complacent and that team members and associated parties understand how to act, perform, and behave during real missions. Training evolutions are the perfect time to practice regulated periods of bottom time, interactions with medical personnel, and even skill proficiency using condition-specific equipment. Training and practice will ensure that divers are best protected and that a team understands how to recognize and react to problems that are out of the ordinary such as a diver suffering from hypothermia.

Hypothermia is a condition that can debilitate a diver and his or her team. If a diver goes down, the team may lose a critical member. Similarly, the diver may face a serious personal ailment. Public safety divers must obtain and then maintain the proper equipment needed to fight the potential for hypothermia. These divers must then work to establish a manner in which they can train to best monitor, evaluate, and care for team members in a fashion that best supports operational objectives. More than anything, public safety divers must care for themselves, and work to support the community in which they dive rather than take unnecessary risks that could cause self-harm or injury.

Proper Procedures for Interviewing Witnesses

May 19, 2015/0 Comments

by Tanya Chapman
It’s 8:00pm on a Saturday evening, you have just sat down in your most comfortable chair after a long day of grueling yard work anticipating a quiet night to relax, you find yourself starting to doze off a bit. Suddenly, you are jolted awake by the sounds of a cell phone ringing, a pager going off or some other form of notification that you are urgently needed to respond to a report of a car in the water with a child still inside.

You rush to gather your necessary equipment, your mind racing on what equipment is needed and available, the safest and most expeditious route to the scene, who needs to be notified, what your actions will be upon your arrival, how you will manage the scene, your manpower, your resources. You arrive and begin to gather the facts of what occurred, where the vehicle entered the water, where it is currently located. You assess the water’s temperature, depth, clarity and current so that the personnel you have enter it are appropriately protected from visible and invisible hazards.

Time is of the essence as your emotions demand you to recover the vehicle as quickly as possible in hopes that your team may save a life, even while the more logical side tells you that with each passing minute that chance is reduced. Your team enters the water exactly where you were told the vehicle would be and after what feels like an eternity, determines there is no vehicle present. As the adrenaline subsides you are trying to sort out the facts, are you in the wrong location, who reported the call, are the divers missing underwater clues to the vehicle’s location?

And then you are reminded of something someone said when you arrived at the scene, there is a witness standing on the bank. Your attention turns and now you are focused on this person, someone who may hold the answers which you desperately seek. You speak to him and determine that he is the owner of the vehicle and yes, it went into the water and is now submerged but the location of it is not where you were told or are searching and that no one was in the vehicle when it entered the water. The reported trapped child was actually his daughter’s baby doll which had been left in the car. As relief comes over you, you realize your focus can now change to a vehicle recovery instead of a potential rescue.

In the aftermath of this call you begin to evaluate your team’s actions and try to seek ways to improve your response. As an ERDI Dive Team Supervisor, you realize a possible improvement step would be to interview all potential witnesses at each scene prior to allowing any divers to enter the water. While you have many other additional responsibilities to complete at a dive site, the realization occurs that you are in the most appropriate position to complete this task.

Being tasked with identifying and speaking to (interviewing) anyone who may have specific knowledge to what has occurred and what you are searching for may be a difficult, daunting and time consuming task. Frequently, in your role as Dive Team Supervisor, there are other issues that you are addressing concurrently while interviewing witnesses and bystanders that compete for your attention. Your experience as a diver is beneficial to you as it allows you to understand and comprehend how to apply the knowledge learned from your interviews to the dive environment, but it is not a necessity.

In this role you are essentially responsible for gathering as much intelligence from the scene as possible. This may include precipitating events leading to the submersion. You should be the only team member tasked with gathering information for the team as it can create confusion and misinformation if more than one person is assigned this task. The goal should be to compile a comprehensive, accurate and objective summation as expeditiously as possible. The fundamental questions of who, what, when, where, and how should be answered if possible. A paramount task in this assignment is the understanding that each witness interviewed is likely to provide a different response to each of these questions. This does not automatically indicate that the witness is being deceptive but may be a result of each individual’s perception of the event being different.

It is your duty to consolidate these in a manner which provides some consistency when passing the information along to the Dive Safety Officer. The Dive Safety Officer should be briefed on any relevant information which may affect the safety of the divers or the security of the scene. It is also imperative your original notes taken from witness and/or bystander interviews be maintained in their initial state, unchanged by anyone present at the scene as these notes may become part of the evidentiary chain of custody.

Your dedicating the time to gather relevant information to be analyzed and evaluated for usefulness allows other team members to focus on completing their assigned tasks without the additional burden of questioning the details or trying to assimilate information from multiple witnesses. It additionally provides witnesses or bystanders with a known person to contact directly in the event they remember or recall information which may be vital to the recovery effort.

Dive Team Supervisors should be articulate, able to multitask effectively and have the authority to make decisions based on the information received for the agency in which they represent. Persons in this role are not required to have completed interview and interrogation training as their mission is more one of fact gathering. However, they should be cognizant that an active public safety dive site is not the time to transition an interview into an interrogation.

In the hectic time surrounding the arrival at the scene, a concerted effort should be made to locate and interview witnesses prior to any dives commencing if the situation allows. Often times this component may not be viewed by some as necessary to a dive team’s operation however it is vitally important. The ability to effectively and efficiently obtain information from witnesses and bystanders prior to divers submerging is an invaluable skill which when applied to a public safety dive team will lessen the risk to all those involved.

– Tanya Chapman – Training Manager – North Carolina Justice Academy
– Instructor – Air Hogs Scuba, Garner, NC

How OSHA Standards Apply to Public Safety Diving Teams

May 19, 2015/0 Comments

“Hey Chief! OSHA Inspector is here, he’s in your office…”

by Darrell Adams:
Many dive teams get hung up on trying to figure out if the “Commercial Dive Standard” applies to them and in the meantime forget that OSHA standards and guidelines encompass a variety of other workplace safety issues. In the great debate of whether or not OSHA has jurisdiction, or a standard applies, depends on several variables. First, do you even operate in an area that is subject to OSHA compliance? Outside the USA and its territories this conversation may be moot but that doesn’t mean that these standards do not have merit, can improve workplace safety, and reduce risk to employees if an organization implements them. Second, is there an employee and employer relationship where the employer is obligated to ensure the safety of its employees? This question can be answered by determining if there exists a relationship based upon monetary compensation and/or the act of providing insurance to said person(s). The “Safety and Health Standards: Occupational Safety and Health” website may be of help in developing a basic understanding of OSHA’s purpose and the employer’s responsibilities. http://www.dol.gov/elaws/elg/osha.htm. Another place an employer should reference is the “Compliance Assistance Quick Start” webpage that provides general information to the basic housekeeping regulations he or she may be subject to. https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/compliance_assistance/quickstarts/general_industry/gi_step1.html. Third, is there an “exemption” that may apply to the standard that allows an organization to opt out of compliance with a standard or regulation due to a certain set of circumstances or provisions that are met?

These questions lead us to the great debate that has existed for years in Public Safety Diving (PSD), “Do we have to comply with OSHA regulations?” The answer is: “Yes and no”.

There are four major groupings of OSHA regulations. They are: General Industry, Construction, Maritime, and Agriculture. Within each of these regulations there exist many sub-regulations that may have application to an organization. An organization really needs to do its own research into each of these areas to determine if they are applicable to them. The regulation section that is most famously referenced in the PSD arena is: “The commercial diving operations standard does not apply to diving operations under the following conditions….. 29 CFR 1910.401(a)(2)(ii). Diving solely for search, rescue, or related public-safety purposes by or under the control of a government agency.” https://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/Directive_pdf/CPL_02-00-151.pdf.

The polarization and scrutiny that this one statement has caused within the PSD community has resulted in marriage breakups, bar fights, and social media battles of wit. But seriously, so many divers in our PSD community get caught up in the determination of application that we fail to see the true purpose of this standard in a commercial setting and its merit in the public safety diving arena. I would challenge everyone to look at the ocean instead of the waves. Take this regulation, read it, dissect it, and relate it to the scope and application for your own organization. Then ask yourself can this help us be a safer organization and what is the cost of doing so versus the cost of not doing so? You may find there are parts of this regulation you already meet, some you could implement fairly easily, and others that will take time and or money, but it can provide you with a framework and a set of goals for which you can strive. There may be parts of this regulation your organization finds are not applicable due to the diving environments and conditions you operate in. In other cases you may find there are environments you should not operate in until you can provide a better risk assessment and compliance. Below are some, but not all, of the other relevant OSHA regulations that should be considered. Take time and see if they apply to your organization.

1910.101 Compressed gases
1910.133 Eye and face protection
1910.134 Respiratory protection
1910.135 Head protection
1910.136 Foot protection
1910.138 Hand protection
1910.146 Permit-required confined spaces
1910.147 The control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout)
1910.151 Medical services and first aid
1910.183 Helicopters
1910.184 Slings
1910.242 Hand and portable powered tools and equipment, general
1910.1020 Exposure & medical records access
1910.1030 Blood-borne pathogens
1910.1200 Hazard communication
1926.106 Working over or near water

One of the complaints about OSHA is that the regulations at times are outdated and do not keep up with technology and advancements within our industry. OSHA enacted a Standards Improvement Project (SIP)-III in 2010 which is “a proposed rule to revise and remove requirements within several OSHA standards that are outdated, duplicative or inconsistent. This rulemaking will help keep OSHA standards up-to-date and will help employers better understand their regulatory obligations.” As professionals in the industry we can make recommendations and suggest changes. The websites for this are: http://www.regulations.gov/ or https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=17928

OSHA regulations are designed to keep employees safe and are not a bad idea to consider if they can help you keep employees safe and can keep costs down by preventing injuries. OSHA will also reference the CDC NIOSH recommendations when conducting investigations. These recommendations can be found by searching diver fatality reports on the CDC: NIOSH website. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/. These reports can provide invaluable insight into why public safety diver fatalities happen and how we can prevent or reduce the risk of similar events from happening in the future. Another great article on this subject is “OSHA Standards and PSD Teams” by Michael Glenn. https://www.tdisdi.com/osha-standards-and-psd-teams-are-we-really-exempt/.

Darrell Adams
SDI/TDI/ERDI Instructor Trainer with Air Hogs Scuba in Garner, NC, Captain with the Harnett County Underwater Search & Recovery Dive Team and technical rescue instructor for the NC Fire and Rescue Commission.

Dreams and Nightmares – A DCI Hit

May 12, 2015/1 Comment

by Becky Schott:
I was scared, and I’m not afraid to admit it. My whole life and all of my dreams flashed before my eyes. I knew the day would come, just not this early… or maybe it was long overdue. Either way, it happened. I kept rewinding the day’s events in my head looking for a reason. Life is full of grey areas and this was no different. It was the day I took an unexpected, Decompression Illness (DCI) hit.

As an instructor I teach decompression sickness can hit anyone at any time for any reason. I preach conservatism and staying in shape, and not smoking or drinking. As a technical diver we are taught the risks involved in diving activities and accept them, but do we really understand what that means? Are we just in denial thinking, “It can never happen to me”? Well, when this happened I was 26, in shape, and I don’t drink or smoke. I plan my dives conservatively, yet still found myself in a chamber thinking – how did I get here?

As a child I dreamed of diving all over the world. I learned to scuba dive at the age of 12. I knew instantly I wanted to be an instructor and dive my whole life. Moving forward in my dive career I came across cave diving and fell in love with it at 17. I enjoyed planning out my dives and using mixed gasses, staging and decompression. I became an Instructor and taught diving through college and after graduation. The whole time working two jobs and taking all of my college classes and still finding time to cave dive in my spare time. Still, I wanted more. I found my calling with filmmaking and photography and took the steps to get to where I am today. It wasn’t an easy path and I worked extremely hard to follow my dream and I can’t imagine doing anything else. My biggest fear in life has always been: what if I could never dive again? What if? And that’s what I thought about for the long 7 hours in the hyperbaric chamber on March 9th 2009.

The dive was a fun cave dive at Ginnie Springs in High Springs Florida. A place I know and have been diving for years. This was my second cave dive of the trip; the first dive was two days before that with the previous day off. We planned on doing a long swim dive, no video cameras or scooters, just a leisurely swim dive. We joked about how little we had to carry to the water. My buddy Dave and I were both diving CCR and our total dive was 3.5 hours of bottom time running a 1.1 PO2. I did a stop at 15 metres/50 feet and at 12 metres/40 feet. After that I completed my computer’s decompression at 9 metres/30 feet and 6 metres/20 feet. At the 6 metres/20 foot stop I pushed my PO2 up to a 1.4 but left the computer set at a conservative 1.1 and did 20 extra minutes of decompression. I was very comfortable and it was generally a really good dive. I made a slow ascent up to 2 metres/7 feet where we swam back to the exit. We hung out a few minutes before walking back to the truck and chatted with some other divers for about 15 minutes.

It was at that point I started feeling a cramp in my right knee. I thought, “Well we just did a lot of swimming so it must be a cramp”. I looked down at my leg and it was purple marbled and felt itchy and just after that, it felt like someone stuck a knife in my knee and twisted it sideways! I kept thinking it would go away just like one of those horrible leg cramps you sometimes get in the middle of the night. This didn’t go away. I started breathing oxygen and felt no different but the marbling went away. I always thought oxygen would make the symptoms subside so maybe I’m not bent? I drank lots of water but it started hurting worse and now I couldn’t even walk. It was time to call DAN and get to a chamber.

The staff finally got me into the chamber a few hours later; by this time the pain was indescribable off of oxygen, and really painful on oxygen. It’s amazing how much it escalates the longer you wait.

Before I knew it they were pressurizing me to 20 metres/60 feet. I thought, “Finally this pain will subside,” yet this is another misconception, thinking that once you got in a chamber and you were put back under pressure the pain would disappear. It took over an hour for me to start to be able to move my leg. I did a table 6 with 3 extensions at 20 metres/60 feet. An extension is a cycle of 20 min on oxygen with a 5 minute air break. After every cycle of oxygen, I began to feel a little relief. They put on a movie that I didn’t watch and just let my mind wander. The 7 hours went really fast. When I was finished I still felt a little stiff and achy, but I also had been awake over 24 hours and was exhausted. I went home and went to sleep. When I woke up I felt the pain coming back a little, not as bad but it wasn’t gone. I went back for a second chamber ride and another table 6. That seemed to take care of it.

I encourage anyone who thinks they have symptoms of DCI to call DAN and visit a chamber. It can’t hurt anything and dive insurance is worth every penny.

You know I wake up today and I feel like it never happened, like it was a bad dream, yet I feel the phantom pain in my knee letting me know it was very real. I remember that night and how it felt, and I really don’t want to ever go back. I’m not going to quit diving or technical diving and now it’s a very real thought that it will probably happen again sometime in my life. Not because I’m more prone to it but it’s simply decompression theory and our bodies are all different and change day to day. At first I was a little embarrassed about getting DCI, but then I started sharing my story. I found out so many people I know have been to a chamber in their diving careers that I had no idea about. It was becoming more common than I knew, many of their hits after very short dives, some long dives, not necessarily deep or extreme. It made me feel better to ask them questions and hear their experiences and that’s why I’m sharing mine with you.

I will continue to be conservative, and stay hydrated on long dives. I now do a much longer 10ft stop and try to stay warmer while decompressing. It was a cool spring day and there were 5 or more divers that visited the chamber at Shands after me that week. I want to learn from others’ experiences and hopefully we will come up with better dive theory so we don’t have to see the inside of chambers for a long time!

I can’t imagine my life without diving. It defines me and it’s the only thing I think about and want to do. That day I was scared and getting back in the water was also scary. Maybe it was just a reminder that we are all vulnerable even if we do it right, even if you’re conservative, in shape and young. My worst nightmare didn’t come true that day but every so often I get a twinge of phantom pain in that right knee, just a reminder that we are all susceptible and not to take any of it for granted.

Safe diving everyone!
Becky Kagan Schott, TDI Instructor, Liquid Productions

The P-Valve Struggle

May 12, 2015/3 Comments

First things first, if you don’t know exactly what a P-valve is, it’s pretty basic. Essentially, it’s a tube that has a valve on one end that vents to the outside of your dry suit that allows liquids to pass from the inside of the suit to the outside. Want to know more about the ins and outs of P-valves and our tips to make the process go smoother? We got you.

Cave diving 101: Avoiding Entanglement

May 12, 2015/0 Comments

by Steve Lewis:

Scuba diving seems to make an appearance on just about every sports writer’s list of the most dangerous recreational activities; and my guess is that when asked, every single one of the men and women compiling those lists would rank cave diving the most dangerous form of scuba diving. For example, Forbes, the venerable business magazine famous for listing things like the world’s richest person, most expensive car, or blingiest wristwatch, puts cave diving right up there with bull riding, base-jumping and surfing monster waves. With respect – and with a nod of the head to the personal bias resulting from being an avid cave diver – I feel we should temper any belief in the accuracy and relevance of these lists with the knowledge that they are put together by writers happier conforming to uninformed generalizations, than researching primary data and supportable statistical evidence… but let’s not go there right now.

Let’s say instead that although cave diving presents divers with an alarmingly long list of potential risks, those risks are well-managed and suppressed to a perfectly acceptable level by following a few quite simple rules. Sure, cave diving has the potential to be dangerous, but when we follow best-practice guidelines, the stats reflect a totally different perspective: in short, the level of danger is inversely proportional to how closely we stick to well-established guiding principles!

Paramount among these principles is having the relevant instruction, up-to-date experience and practice with the appropriate kit and skill set, and staying within personal limits.

For example, let’s consider entanglement… and the steps cave divers learn to reduce the dangers entanglement present.

Even if you have never been inside a cave, you may already know, those dived on a regular basis have a network of permanent lines and navigational markers in them. These lines (usually color-coded kernmantle), are fixed in positions that make them easily seen, and not easily tangled in fins or other gear. This helps to make getting snarled up in them unlikely: especially compared to divers who penetrate wrecks, which often have a horde of cables, nets, wires, and ropes ready to reach out and grab at passing dive gear. But cave divers are also taught a few skills to further ensure any interaction with lines is visual only.

The first step in the process of managing entanglement risk is to streamline one’s personal dive gear. This is part of the process that every Cavern/Intro Cave/Full Cave student is walked through with his or her instructor usually well BEFORE diving in an overhead environment.

Chief culprits are the “danglies”: any accessory, any piece of harness, any clip, reel, spool, light, or regulator second stage not tucked away either out of sight in a pocket or pouch or “hidden” making contact with permanent lines improbable.

Another step in the streamlining process is to “trim the fat” from one’s dive gear. This means to take only what’s needed, and to leave behind what’s not. For example, some divers like to adorn themselves with every piece of kit they can pick up and carry to the water. It’s not unusual to see divers (even cave divers) with five or six additional reels and assorted spools attached to their harnesses. Make no mistake, every member of a cave-diving team MUST at all times carry a safety reel or spool, but taking “three or four or five extras just in case” is overkill. Especially when the dive plan calls for no deviations from the main line or gold line. OTT (Over-The-Top) accessorizing is unnecessary and encourages the Christmas Tree approach to kit configuration!

With this in mind, we can segue to the topic of “line traps”, places on a diver’s kit or person that a line might get pushed into, making removal difficult, time-consuming, or darn right dangerous. Classic line traps include manufacturer’s standard fin and mask straps (which are either taped or replaced with better options); swing-gate boat clips (which are sometimes called suicide clips and typically replaced with bolt snaps); anything behind the diver’s back such as a doubles manifold or a tangle of reels and spools clipped to the diver’s butt; or a side-slung stage, bailout or decompression bottles (which should be pulled in tight to the body’s lateral line a la sidemount configured tanks). Most of these can be managed or eradicated completely using a little creativity, judicious gear selection and editing, and common sense, but some simply have to be accepted as inevitable (the behind the head paraphernalia for anyone diving backmounted doubles or a rebreather for example), and dealt with accordingly.

And this brings us to what is perhaps the most important skill, and certainly the one most difficult to acquire: positional and situational awareness.

Cavern and cave diving students learn that they should strive to develop complete control of their buoyancy and the ability to maintain their body in an attitude best suited to the conditions: often, but not always, horizontal trim. As these skills begin to develop and become finely tuned, a diver’s awareness expands to provide them uncanny feedback regarding the exact position of their hands, feet, fins, body, equipment, accessories, etc. relative to their environment. This makes it possible for them to maneuver through restrictions, glide past snags, over, around and under lines without coming into contact with anything.

Most of all perhaps, the seasoned cave diver understands the Zen-like concept of being in the moment… and being in no rush to get anywhere. Yes, the most common mistake made by new cavern and cave divers is to behave like a puppy at the beach… or perhaps more like a bull in a china shop. Slowing down, taking one’s time will certainly be helpful, and will help avoid entanglement. And in the cases where something does become snagged, the Stop, Think, Act response taught in basic SDI open water classes, remains the best advice.

So, go out there and have fun, and if you should bump into that writer from Forbes, take the time to explain that cave divers are not nutcases with a death wish!

North American Rolex Scholar of Our World Underwater Scholarship Society

May 5, 2015/0 Comments

photos and video provided by:

Ana Sofía Guerra:
2014 North American Rolex Scholar of the
Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society®

Taking my professional scuba diving career to the next level was the perfect way to wrap up my year as the 2014 North American Rolex Scholar of the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society. In March, I started my SDI Instructor Development Course (IDC) in Rosebud, Victoria in Australia. Under the guidance and careful instruction of Rubens Monaco from IDC Scuba, I learned all about the side of diving we often don’t think about as recreational divers – the responsibility that comes with teaching someone else how to dive. Throughout an intense and information-laden week, I learned methods for effective teaching, both above and under the water.

I hadn’t realized how many things we take for granted when we have been diving for a while, but they can actually be completely alien to someone who has never put a regulator in their mouth and taken a breath underwater. I suddenly had to think through all the steps of these actions that had become entirely second-nature to me, like clearing out some water from my mask or purging my regulator. There are so many things that instructors have to think about to ensure their students turn into proficient and safety-conscious divers.

I am excited to now have the training to be able to introduce others to an activity that I am so passionate about, and hope diving becomes to them what it has for me, a lifestyle.

Check out some video footage from my SDI Instructor Development Course below!

Will Scuba Diving Drain My Savings?

May 5, 2015/0 Comments

by Dr. Thomas Powell:

10 Tips for Saving Money as a Scuba Diver

Hobbies, sports, and things we do in our personal time are often outside the realm of typical expenditure and necessary daily activity. For this reason, any expense in regard to these activities may be viewed as excess or unneeded spending. Scuba diving is one of those sports or hobbies that individuals or groups take on because they love the water, crave something different, and desire to be below the surface. Despite this desire, income is often allocated for family needs, emergency funds, and long-term planning. Subsequently, divers all over the world often look for deals and ways to save money in order to remain in the sport. When any money is available to spend on scuba diving, that hopeful expenditure must be carefully planned and performed to ensure optimal value is obtained.

Many methods exist through which scuba divers can save money in an effective and sensible fashion. Ten of these methods are listed below.

Dive your own equipment. Many people love the idea that you can travel anywhere and simply rent the equipment you need to have fun at your destination location. This is always a nice convenience but conveniences almost always have a price. Every time scuba equipment is rented, fun may be had for a short period, but then those rental fees are lost. The choice to own your own gear may seem costly, but once a diver possesses everything he or she needs to go out and dive, those rental fees disappear. Over time, owning your own gear can actually save you money.
Support your local dive shop.Local dive shops are the backbone of the scuba industry. These stores support the needs of divers and promote adventures and fun on a daily basis. One of the greatest things about the dive industry is that dive shops create scuba families. These families are groups of people who travel, dive, and socialize together. In many instances, the local dive shop may even transform into a local “hang-out”. If a diver seeks out a local dive shop and builds a relationship, divers will often discover that the shop will work to offer deals, discounts, and support in return for loyalty and business promotion. These relationships are what have made the dive industry a lasting and fun entity. Developing a loyal relationship with a shop that works to support you as a diver can help you save money as you build your dive kit and plan dive-based adventures. The best way to develop a relationship of this type is to visit your local dive retailer and ask them questions when you need information, or ask for pricing when you’re in the market for items.
Buy equipment for the future.When buying equipment, divers often seek out cheaper packages and in many cases new divers look at purchasing “starter equipment”. The reality surrounding purchasing equipment is that a diver should invest in quality equipment that suits the dive-based needs of that diver. If a diver sees him or herself doing more down the road such as technical, penetration, or even public safety diving, the gear should be designed to provide value over long periods and for various uses. Essentially, your dive gear should allow you to evolve as a diver. If one set of gear can be purchased to suit multiple needs, the necessity of purchasing multiple sets of equipment over a short period is eliminated. Though a diver may spend more money on the front end for a more versatile set of equipment, money may be saved through the elimination of future excess spending. This is another realm of education and understanding into which local dive shops can provide insight.
Buy what you really want.When scuba gear is needed for various reasons, people often compare equipment they want and equipment for which they are willing to settle. When a person “settles” on something that is not exactly what he or she wanted, that person may become frustrated and unhappy. The desired item may have been the one thing that made diving even more enjoyable. For this reason, many people often settle for one item and then replace that item in short order for what they really wanted. If you purchase the items you really want, the potential for satisfaction is increased while the need to replace and re-buy items may be decreased.
Buy complete sets of gear.Many divers often buy equipment in pieces or as they find deals. One thing that many dive shops will do is provide a discount if a full equipment set is purchased at one time. In fact, certain manufacturers may even offer discounts if a complete set of gear made by that same company is bought at one time. For this reason, a diver may save money in the long-run by inquiring about possible discounts for purchasing an entire setup. The upfront cost may be greater, but the total expenditure may be less than what a person would spend by purchasing a gear set in pieces.
Look for or create package deals.Around the world, dive retailers often like to organize packages made up of popular items. If these packages are purchased, the items within the package are discounted. In many instances, if you are seeking a handful of items or more than one “big ticket” item, dive retailers will work with you to create a purchase-based package to encourage the sale. For this reason, a diver may be able to save money through the purchase of multiple needed or wanted items rather than purchasing one item on multiple occasions.
Service your equipment!People are not designed to survive under the surface of the water without the support of functional equipment. When equipment breaks or is not reliable, costly repairs or replacing certain items may become necessary. The act or servicing your equipment in a proper fashion on a regular basis can help to eliminate many basic problems or catch issues before they become catastrophic. Essentially, caring for purchased gear may eliminate future expenses by making that gear last longer. Regular service can be performed by a dive retailer, but even tune-ups prior to a big trip are available just to ensure that equipment is functional and safe to dive. Certain manufacturers even allow divers to become certified to service specific equipment items after learning how the equipment is built and maintained. Aside from service, remember that equipment must be stored in a safe and protected manner to ensure that simple weather, natural elements, or basic temperature does not damage equipment.
Develop a long-term training plan.Training can become a costly venture when a diver seeks to learn about many topics and venture into the various educational paths within scuba diving. There are lots of scuba classes out there available to divers and in many instances, divers hope to participate in many of them. In many instances, one of the best courses of action is to visit with a local instructor or dive retailer and develop a long-term educational plan. This plan may be altered or change as new experiences occur or information is learned, but it provides a path for an eager diver. When plans like this are developed, many dive professionals or scuba retailers will be willing to establish package pricing where a diver pays a reduced rate for many programs. Essentially, a diver can create a roadmap toward goals and pay a reduced total price for planning education in this manner.
Buy quality and comfort instead of brand.When a diver chooses to buy an item based on cost alone, the diver may become dissatisfied with the fit or feel of the item. Discomfort eventually results in the purchase of a replacement item. For this reason, a diver should always seek to purchase scuba equipment that fits in a proper fashion and improves the experience of scuba diving. Though the best fitting equipment may cost more than similar items on the front end, purchasing equipment in this manner may eliminate the need to buy replacement gear due to poor fit and feel.
Try shore diving!Finally, divers often love the adventure associated with jumping off a boat into new and unknown waters. In many cases, boat diving is the primary type of diving performed by vacationers each year. In Southern Florida, places like the Blue Herron Bridge are rated as world class shore dives. Shore diving offers the ability to dive almost any time with minimal associated fees. Shore diving offers a diver the ability to get more diving in on a trip with little extra expenditure. Essentially, a boat is not always needed to go get wet. Shore diving is inexpensive, fun, and available on almost any coastline.

No diver wants his or her financial resources entirely depleted because of the sport he or she loves. After all, you need to have funds available to keep traveling and trying new things. To be responsible as a scuba shopper try developing a relationship with your local dive shop, plan out how you can responsibly purchase the gear you want, and develop a long-term training plan that can keep you out diving and having a good time. Plan for the future and try to understand that on certain occasions, spending more now may mean you spend less in the long-run. Be financially responsible where appropriate but more than anything, remember to make sure diving remains fun. You are only willing to spend your hard-earned money in the first place because you enjoy the sport, and you should do what it takes to own the sport for your own enjoyment and the enjoyment of others.

– Dr. Thomas Powell
Owner/Instructor Trainer – Air Hogs Scuba, Garner, NC

Which Scuba Certifications Do You Need and Why

May 5, 2015/0 Comments

Taking a dry suit course will not only make your diving in tropical waters more comfortable, it will also extended your diving season.
So you sat all winter, and for some of you it has been a rough winter, looking at your diving photographs, reading the dive magazines, and posting on social media all your diving dreams and fun stories, just waiting for the water to warm up. Why wait?!