Sustainable diving practices are not just what you do in the water. Call yourself a sustainable diver? Take our quiz to find out the truth.
Sustainable diving practices are not just what you do in the water. Being a sustainable diver is more than just good diving habits and maintaining a pristine marine environment that we can all enjoy. Sustainable diving starts with the choices you make before you even get into the water. Call yourself a sustainable diver? Take our quiz to find out the truth. (Answers at the bottom).
Continue reading “Call yourself a sustainable diver? Take our quiz to find out the truth”
There’s a new installation near Tulamben beach: roofed plinth with a 50-litre bottle of oxygen and an oxygen delivery kit. A banner declares that the facility has been provided by Alba Diving.
By Simon Pridmore
“The other day, I drove down to the parking lot near the drop off at the eastern end of Bali’s Tulamben Bay. I hadn’t been there for a while. As I set my gear up I noticed a new installation at the edge of the car park, near the beach. There was a new roofed plinth that housed, to my surprise, a 50-litre bottle of oxygen and an oxygen delivery kit. A banner attached to the roof declared that the facility had been provided by Alba Diving.
“Extremely impressed, after the dive I headed to Villa Alba, Alba Diving’s beachside resort, and asked the owner, Alex Ford, what the story was.” Continue reading “Beach Oxygen in Bali”
Looking for a relaxing ‘dive holiday’ dive trip? A place with easy diving and sites with names like Heaven’s Door, Purple Haze and Black Magic? Then look no further than Fiji’s Vatu-I-Ra on Viti Levu’s northern coast.
Looking for a relaxing ‘dive holiday’ dive trip? A place with easy diving and sites with names like Heaven’s Door, Purple Haze and Black Magic? Then look no further than Fiji’s Vatu-I-Ra on Viti Levu’s northern coast.
Fiji’s diving is often overlooked, as many imagine that all of Fiji is just like the vague recollections they have of the beachside resorts of the Mamanuca Islands, or some resort they have vague memories of on the Coral Coast. Not so! Fiji has some of the very best diving in the Pacific. Continue reading “Fiji Friday – Have you dived Vatu-I-Ra?”
Excerpt: Divers often gather for a beer or two after a long day of diving, and some drink more than just one or two! What are the risks – especially when we are likely to get back in the water early the next morning?
Divers often gather for a beer or two after a long day of diving, and some, let’s face it, drink more than just one or two! But what are the risks involved in doing this, especially when we are likely to get back in the water early the next morning? Continue reading “Party on… not! The dangers of partying too hard the night before”
An intensive 2-day course for instructors, instructor trainers and those who are exposed to higher levels of risk, for example in cave and technical diving, to improve their personal and team performance. Hosted by DAN AP and held at DAN AP HQ, 29-30 November, led by Gareth Lock – GUE’s Director for Risk Management.
This unique training course is led by Gareth Lock, an Open Circuit advanced trimix diver, recently appointed GUE’s Director for Risk Management. (Bio below).
The intensive 2-day course is for instructors, instructor trainers and those who are exposed to higher levels of risk, for example in cave and technical diving, to improve their personal and team performance, and improve their safety as a by-product. Continue reading “Human Factors Skills in Diving Course, hosted by DAN AP, 29-30 November”
There’s more to Oxygen Preparedness than just having that green case with the reassuring DAN sticker on it tucked away in the bow. Delivery equipment, training and other factors play a big part. How prepared is your dive operator?
Recently on Facebook we posted four questions that divers should ask to gauge an operator’s level of preparedness to help you in the event of a diving accident. These centred around availability of oxygen, appropriate equipment, supply of oxygen and staff trained in oxygen provision.
Here, DAN AP’s General Manager, Scott Jamieson, discusses Oxygen Preparedness in the context of a recent diving incident. Continue reading “Is your operator O2 Prepared?”
A common question from female divers is whether they can keep diving whilst pregnant. Even those trying to become pregnant need to read this blog.
A common question from female divers is whether they can keep diving whilst pregnant.
When it comes to fitness for diving, the recommendations for male and female divers are largely the same: good exercise tolerance, a healthy weight and awareness of possible concerns related to medical conditions and medications. But men and women are physically and physiologically different and with women representing about a third of the recreational diving population it’s important to consider specific health concerns that female divers face. Continue reading “Can I dive while pregnant?”
Wrecks provide a fascinating window on the past and can be a museum of both human history and aquatic ecology. It’s safe to say that the knowledge, training and expertise needed to dive wrecks safely are as unique as the experience itself. We have précised the most important issues pertaining to safe wreck diving from a previously published article.
This October, the Coolidge will celebrate its 75th Anniversary, so it’s a good time to look at how you can stay safe wreck diving.
Wreck diving is often undertaken in challenging environments, but it can be done safely with the right training, experience and equipment. This is not the environment to be taking shortcuts.
We have précised the most important issues pertaining to safe wreck diving from an article by, Richard Walker (M.D., M.S) and Joe Citelli, previously published in DAN’s Alert Diver magazine. Continue reading “How you can stay safe wreck diving”
We all occasionally have a problem clearing the ears. Here are ten tips for easy equalisation which should reduce any problems significantly.
We all occasionally have a problem clearing the ears. Here are ten tips for easy equalisation which should reduce any problems significantly.
Before you even board the boat, make sure that when you swallow you hear a ‘pop’ or ‘click’ in both ears. This tells you both Eustachian tubes are open.
Several hours before your dive, begin gently equalising your ears every few minutes. “This has great value and is said to help reduce the chances of a block early on descent,” says Dr. Ernest S. Campbell, webmaster of ‘Diving Medicine Online.’ “Chewing gum between dives seems to help.” adds Dr. Campbell.
If you feel like you, or the world around you, is tilting, swaying, whirling or spinning – then you’ve got vertigo. If this happens before, during or after diving you need to read this post.
If you have a persistent feeling of tilting, swaying, whirling or spinning motion of oneself or of the surrounding world when nothing is moving, you are experiencing vertigo.
In other words, it’s not a nice feeling whether it happens under the water or on the surface. But why does it happen and is there anything we can do to avoid it, and importantly, what are some strategies for handling it if it occurs underwater? Continue reading “Vertigo and diving – not a good mix!”
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