Our dive center, Nautica, finally has it's own diving base in Poland. It is located in Mazury, polish lake district, at lake Piłakno.
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Last weekend was longer than usual because of Corpus Christi holiday, so we went to this new diving place. Although it was raining cats and dogs during the first three (of four) days of our stay there and visibility underwater was poor, we've spent a great time there partying:) We did some diving too, preparing the place for the summer. We laid out some guide lines to the most interesting spots in the water. These spots are: a sailing boat wreck, something called "The Mower", which is supposed to be a wreck of reed mowing machine, and, ofcourse, an underwater platform used for excercises. There are lots of fish in the lake (pikes are the most interesting) and also some crayfish.
As usual, we were hoping to do a little bit of the divemaster course, unfortunately no one (except for one OWD Trainee) came because of the weather...
Monday 26 May 2008
Monday 19 May 2008
Doing the OWD confined water session
Last weekend we were assisting during OWD confined water training. This was harder than I thought, beeing a divemaster seems to be a tough work. There were 8 OW trainees doing this course, 1 MSDT, 2 certified divemasters and 2 to-be-divemasters - us:). Each of the four DMs got 2 OWD to supervise. First we had to haul all equipment (weights, tanks, regulators and wetsuits) to the swimming pool. Than make them don it all and make sure everything is connected and strapped properly. I forgot donning gear can be such a challenge:) Finally we had 8 OW trainees geared up and ready to go, and so in the water they went.
Now we had to take them to the other end of the pool. Seems easy but problems started to show up. One guy was staying behind, so I asked if he was OK, and he wasn't - he had problems breathing, his mask was fogging, he just didn't feel allright. It turned out that he forgot to wash his mask after he bought it so we swapped masks, and also that breathing from his regulator was a bit harder than usual, so he got a new one. Despite that he couldn't stay underwater for more than a minute:( What was surprising was that he was able to demonstrate almost perfectly the regulator recovery&clearing and mask clearing skills during that minute:)
During the second session this guy was doing excercises with another Divemaster so I don't know if he managed to finish the confined waters portions of the course. I was assisting some other divers, it was very rewarding to see them learn:) Of course there were some problems, but my superior demonstration quality skills:P allowed them to master (almost) these skills.
Anyways, last weekend I've learned that being a DM or an Instructor is harder than I expected, but at the same time is a much more rewarding experience than I imagined
Now we had to take them to the other end of the pool. Seems easy but problems started to show up. One guy was staying behind, so I asked if he was OK, and he wasn't - he had problems breathing, his mask was fogging, he just didn't feel allright. It turned out that he forgot to wash his mask after he bought it so we swapped masks, and also that breathing from his regulator was a bit harder than usual, so he got a new one. Despite that he couldn't stay underwater for more than a minute:( What was surprising was that he was able to demonstrate almost perfectly the regulator recovery&clearing and mask clearing skills during that minute:)
During the second session this guy was doing excercises with another Divemaster so I don't know if he managed to finish the confined waters portions of the course. I was assisting some other divers, it was very rewarding to see them learn:) Of course there were some problems, but my superior demonstration quality skills:P allowed them to master (almost) these skills.
Anyways, last weekend I've learned that being a DM or an Instructor is harder than I expected, but at the same time is a much more rewarding experience than I imagined
Friday 16 May 2008
Lights and Computers
Today me and Magda got a big shipping of diving equipment: anoter Apeks ATX-40/DS4 regulator for Magda, Suunto Vyper computer for me, AZON canister light system, marker buoy, tools&spare parts and some small stuff. I'll just write a few words about the flashlight and the computer, other stuff, though useful, ain't rocket science :)
First - the computer. Vyper is a dive computer made by Suunto since 1999 so it's a mature design. It allows for diving with air, nitrox up to 50% PPO and can also be used as a depth gauge/timer during deeper dives. A diving computer is a very convenient thing, integrates the three meters you need underwater (depth gauge, timer and thermometer) into one device. A diving computer also allows you to extend your NDL (as compared to tables) becuase it traces the exact profile of your dive (no rounding up the depths nor times), and adjusts the NDLs in real time (Vyper is using Reduced Gradient Bubble Model, RGBM) Planning a dive is also much easier - you don't need the tables and you don't need to write down your diving profiles - the computer does that for you. That said, a computer can fail so you still should bring backup for your dives: a timer, a depth gauge and tables...
As for the canister light we bought, the AZON (abbreviation for Autonomiczny Zestaw Oświetleniowy Nurka which translates to Autonomous Diver Light System), it's a fairly good canister LED lamp whith a Goodman handle, made by a Polish diver. It uses 12 AA cells, instead of one acumulator, which are kept in a construction plastic container. These cells should last for at least 90 minutes, though I haven't tested it yet for that long. The light is quite strong (1400 lumens though somewhat dispersed as compared to HID lamps. Charging 12 AA cells is not as easy as charging one big acu, but, and this is the biggest advantage, the price of the lamp is one fourth the price of the cheapest canister lights available elswhere!. The weight of the lamp is very small - only 1kg on the surface and 0,4kg underwater (that's because it doesn't use one big acu and is made of plastic).We are extremely safisfied with this lamp:):)
First - the computer. Vyper is a dive computer made by Suunto since 1999 so it's a mature design. It allows for diving with air, nitrox up to 50% PPO and can also be used as a depth gauge/timer during deeper dives. A diving computer is a very convenient thing, integrates the three meters you need underwater (depth gauge, timer and thermometer) into one device. A diving computer also allows you to extend your NDL (as compared to tables) becuase it traces the exact profile of your dive (no rounding up the depths nor times), and adjusts the NDLs in real time (Vyper is using Reduced Gradient Bubble Model, RGBM) Planning a dive is also much easier - you don't need the tables and you don't need to write down your diving profiles - the computer does that for you. That said, a computer can fail so you still should bring backup for your dives: a timer, a depth gauge and tables...
As for the canister light we bought, the AZON (abbreviation for Autonomiczny Zestaw Oświetleniowy Nurka which translates to Autonomous Diver Light System), it's a fairly good canister LED lamp whith a Goodman handle, made by a Polish diver. It uses 12 AA cells, instead of one acumulator, which are kept in a construction plastic container. These cells should last for at least 90 minutes, though I haven't tested it yet for that long. The light is quite strong (1400 lumens though somewhat dispersed as compared to HID lamps. Charging 12 AA cells is not as easy as charging one big acu, but, and this is the biggest advantage, the price of the lamp is one fourth the price of the cheapest canister lights available elswhere!. The weight of the lamp is very small - only 1kg on the surface and 0,4kg underwater (that's because it doesn't use one big acu and is made of plastic).We are extremely safisfied with this lamp:):)
Tuesday 13 May 2008
Divemaster Watermanship and Equipment Exchange
Today we've completed the Stamina and Watermanship and Equipment Exchange portion of the PADI Divemaster course.
The Watermanship and Stamina is just timed swimming: 800 meters with snorkel gear, 400 meters swimming, 15 minutes survival float (last two minutes with your hands above the water) and 100 meters diver tow. For each of them you get 1-5 points (depending on your time), you must have at least 12 to pass. It's easiest to score 5 points on the survival float, to get 5 point for your swimming you must be a fairly good swimmer ( 400m below 6 minutes 30 seconds).
Equipment Exchange, however, is something quite different than what you normally do on PADI courses. Your goal is to exchange all your gear - BC, weights, mask, fins - with your partner while buddy breathing. This task is supposed to be a test of your problem solving skills and ability to stay calm under stress which, in my opinion, it tests quite well.
My advice for Divemaster trainees: try to enter the water wearing each others gear (at least mask), and take as much lead as possible, distributed between your weight belt and BC's weight system (so your BC is easy to hold at the bottom), keep calm, exchange one item at a time and help your partner don the gear. At least that's what worked for us:)
You can also check out this post at ScubaBoard.com.
The Watermanship and Stamina is just timed swimming: 800 meters with snorkel gear, 400 meters swimming, 15 minutes survival float (last two minutes with your hands above the water) and 100 meters diver tow. For each of them you get 1-5 points (depending on your time), you must have at least 12 to pass. It's easiest to score 5 points on the survival float, to get 5 point for your swimming you must be a fairly good swimmer ( 400m below 6 minutes 30 seconds).
Equipment Exchange, however, is something quite different than what you normally do on PADI courses. Your goal is to exchange all your gear - BC, weights, mask, fins - with your partner while buddy breathing. This task is supposed to be a test of your problem solving skills and ability to stay calm under stress which, in my opinion, it tests quite well.
My advice for Divemaster trainees: try to enter the water wearing each others gear (at least mask), and take as much lead as possible, distributed between your weight belt and BC's weight system (so your BC is easy to hold at the bottom), keep calm, exchange one item at a time and help your partner don the gear. At least that's what worked for us:)
You can also check out this post at ScubaBoard.com.
Wednesday 7 May 2008
Diving Hvar, Croatia
A day after the "basic skills demonstration" exam we were on our way to Croatia for 7 days of diving. We hoped to do at least a part of our Divemaster practical training as this diving trip was organized by our diving center, Nautica Warszawa, and there were about 50 people. The practical training is a part of the divemaster training, it is a kind of internship - you participate, under your instructors supervision, in different courses: OWD, AOWD, Rescue one chosen speciality and you must also practice leading certified divers. This is one of the possible ways of passing the practical part of the divemaster course. The other one is so called Practical Training Excercises which basically is just simulation of the aforementioned courses. I think that the internship is a better way of learning because you deal with real divers and their problems and take part in real courses. This way you gather more experience.
It is important for us to get the Practical Training done as soon as possible because this is the most unpredictable part of the course. Our friend that was doing the previous divemaster course got stuck because nobody wanted to do the AOWD course in winter in Poland...
Unfortunately it turned out that nobody wanted to do any courses, they just wanted to dive... As there were no courses we did some diving ourselves.
Nautica Croatia is located in Stari Grad on the island of Hvar in Croataia.
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Sealife in waters around Hvar is not as rich as in Egypt (the water is much colder, around 15 degrees Celsius), but still you can find some interesting fish, like the angler fish below
Apart from that you can find lots of nudibranchs, urchins and other fish typical of the Mediterranean.
Almost all of our dives were boat dives, we did however 4 dives from the shore during the Map Making assignment of the DM course (we had to do something to push things forward!).
Additionaly we did the PADI Deep Diver course, so I'm expecting a new card to my C-Card collection :)
It is important for us to get the Practical Training done as soon as possible because this is the most unpredictable part of the course. Our friend that was doing the previous divemaster course got stuck because nobody wanted to do the AOWD course in winter in Poland...
Unfortunately it turned out that nobody wanted to do any courses, they just wanted to dive... As there were no courses we did some diving ourselves.
Nautica Croatia is located in Stari Grad on the island of Hvar in Croataia.
View Larger Map
Sealife in waters around Hvar is not as rich as in Egypt (the water is much colder, around 15 degrees Celsius), but still you can find some interesting fish, like the angler fish below
Apart from that you can find lots of nudibranchs, urchins and other fish typical of the Mediterranean.
Almost all of our dives were boat dives, we did however 4 dives from the shore during the Map Making assignment of the DM course (we had to do something to push things forward!).
Additionaly we did the PADI Deep Diver course, so I'm expecting a new card to my C-Card collection :)
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