Work now, dive later

Winter season variation on the IQ's "Dive now, work later" motto.

Right on time

Just got my Undersea Journal for the fourth quater of 2009. Just in time to learn about the upcoming DEMA Show in November 2009 :/ I wonder if PADI's trying to force everyone into switching to online editions...

On-line magazines

The end of the year... time to pay the yearly PADI tribute (aka The Renewal Fee). The first one I have to pay (last year I finished the AI course in the last two months of the year so the application fee counted as renewal). But this year you can opt in for an online edition of the Undersea Journal to reduce your carbon footprint. Divers Alert Network Alert Diver magazine is available only online.

I don't like it. I mean it's OK the way PADI is doing it (switching to online edition is optional). I like reading these mags on the bus too much to even consider moving to the online version. Another thing is, that when you have the paper version your kind of obliged to read it, whereas when it sits in your email box you're not.

75m Dynamic With Fins - New record

Today I finally (planned this long ago) managed to set a new personal record in breathhold swimming with fins:D It's now 75 meters on one breath. Of course big fins helped a bit:)

It's still way back behind world record (Alexey Molchanov's 250m at the time of writing) and it took me longer, but I'm happy and hope I'll be able to improve this soon.

Living in the city - it ain't easy

Just ended the trip and I already know that living in a city is not for me. Amazing how things change - a year ago I definitely wouldn't suppose that. But I can't go right now:( There are debts to pay off, and I learned that you need an ample supply of money. To cheer myself up I've set a starting date for the next trip - it's for years from now. During these for years I want to save up some money and do the IDC (this is the minimum plan).

BTW notice the donate button - it's for my Instructor Development Course:D

Back to Samui

We planned just to pass through Samui on our way to Malaysia, but we got stuck:) It's high season here, and due to unpredictable factors Easy Divers (the center we worked for) is temporarily short staffed so we got some work (diving:D) to do. It's also great to see all our friends, and the places we used to go to:) Even people on the Big Buddha market recognize us:D

Egyptians know how to care for their reefs

Recently I stumbled upon regulations by the Egyptian Chamber of Diving and Water Sports. It is nice to know that some nations know how important it is to protect their reefs and know how to enforce that. These regulations also seem to try to improve diving operations safety. At the moment I'm not sure how many diving injuries where reported in Egypt and how many of them happened during deep recreational dives, but requiring operators to limit maximum depth to 30 meters seems to be reasonable, especially with all East European divers going to Egypt. I wrote that because, unfortunately, these divers are know to notoriously exceed depth limits set by their certifications. Of course other nationalities also do that, but not as often.

What I like the most about aforementioned regulations, is the ban on Discover Scuba Diving dives on the most spectacular reefs in the Sharm el Sheikh region, including Ras Mohammad and Tiran Strait. As for other dive courses - the possible dive sites have also been limited. Any instructor or divemaster knows what a diver who is still developing his buoyancy control can do to a reef...