Great Barrier Reef

[weathermen]

Hi what great photos,

what camera are you using if you don't mind me asking! I took a Intova to Turks & Caicos back in Novemeber and it did ok but I do need a red filter! Thailand is my next stop this year!

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I REALLY need to learn how to dive! Think that is going to be my goal for this year. Whats the best PADI course for a complete novice, is it just the openwater one? (or is there another route which would be better)?

Excellent photos!

 

[jeasko]

weatrhermen
camera is a canon ixus 60 compact set to manual in the dedicated housing with a modular strobe arm (for dexterity) and a ys27 strobe with fibre optic sync cable, the camera is set to lowest limit ISO (limited to 80 on this model), I also have a red filter which is good for high ambient light dives upto approx 10m dependant on weather and visibilty.

Barney
Padi Open water course is prob the better of the courses for a novice as it will cover all the req'd skills, it will qualify you to a max dive depth of 18m (unless under 14 if i remember right) all you need to be is reasonably fit and be able to swim 200m and tred water or float for 10 min, once multiple guess exam is done you will then have to do 4 open water dives (in kent you will prob be somewhere like laybourne lake)

 

[andywg]

I REALLY need to learn how to dive! Think that is going to be my goal for this year. Whats the best PADI course for a complete novice, is it just the openwater one? (or is there another route which would be better)?

Excellent photos!

Consider what you want to do with your diving. If all you want to do is dive in holiday waters then PADI open water and the PADI training is for you. If you want to carry on diving back at home then PADI is not really any good. For that you want to look towards BSAC (British Sub-Aqua Club) which is slower teaching, but works out much cheaper than PADI as training is almost always free with club membership, not to mention the great club atmosphere with a good club.

I personally have some issues with the PADI teaching after seeing someone fail every single question on the dive tables and still be granted a pass on the exam. That way leads to much bending...

 

[timpetty]

Haha no tank is holding the GBR. Even if it could the flow would be impossible to reproduce. I watched a show the other day saying the GBR has 2000 times the flow of the Mississippi River in America. For those of you across the pond.... thats ALOT of flow haha

 

[jeasko]

andywg
unfotunately the training issues you point out can be accreditted to any govening body as the resposibility lies on the shoulders of the instructor regardless if they are PADI BSAC SAC SSI etc, i hear what your saying regards to costs but all organisations have pro's and cons, for me im almost at instructor level with PADI and seems that there are alot more opportunities world wide for PADI Professionals than most other bodies.

Regards to training irregardless what governing body you use I would always encourage divers to obtain at least rescue diver or equivelent as I have seen way to much that could have easily been avoided.

As for bends the number of incidents in the uk have dropped this year in this country, unfortunately when qualifying abroad instructors (all governing bodies) tend to be way more relaxed about everything which is why the UK is recognised world wide as one of the best countries to obtain your ticket.

 

[jeasko]

Haha no tank is holding the GBR. Even if it could the flow would be impossible to reproduce. I watched a show the other day saying the GBR has 2000 times the flow of the Mississippi River in America. For those of you across the pond.... thats ALOT of flow haha

have to say until your in the air you just cant grasp how big the GBR is!

and this is only one small part of one of the reefs that make up the GBR

 

[andywg]

andywg
unfotunately the training issues you point out can be accreditted to any govening body as the resposibility lies on the shoulders of the instructor regardless if they are PADI BSAC SAC SSI etc,

Indeed, but seeing it happen in front of you is very worrying. Also, due to the question set up and pass rate, if you fail all the table questions in the BSAC OD theory you will fail the exam. Now some people might point towards the fact that having 26 different tissue codes is a little extreme, but that is a whole different kettle of fish.

i hear what your saying regards to costs but all organisations have pro's and cons, for me im almost at instructor level with PADI and seems that there are alot more opportunities world wide for PADI Professionals than most other bodies.

Definitely, which is why I said to consider what the poster wanted from diving. If diving around the world is their interest, then PADI is the way to go, and many Dive Leaders cross over to do DM and then hitch off. But if one plans to dive frequently in the UK, then you are better off with a training program designed for diving in British waters. Ask Arfie, he has done plenty of holiday diving on PADI, but now he wants to get wet more often he has looked into crossing over. Many people in our club are dual and triple qualified (and that is before taking into account the nappy wearing box-users).

Regards to training irregardless what governing body you use I would always encourage divers to obtain at least rescue diver or equivelent as I have seen way to much that could have easily been avoided.

But look at the cost. Why not include it in all lessons? How hard is it to teach a Controlled Buoyant Lift at OW level before introducing Artificial Ventilation at AOW level? I personally would feel very nervous about diving with any PADI person under Rescue Diver level as there is a good chance they will know nothing at all about how to rescue another diver should anything go wrong.

As for bends the number of incidents in the uk have dropped this year in this country, unfortunately when qualifying abroad instructors (all governing bodies) tend to be way more relaxed about everything which is why the UK is recognised world wide as one of the best countries to obtain your ticket.

I wholeheartedly agree. After learning in British waters, diving the reefs off of Fiji were a piece of cake (and, if I am entirely honest, a little bit of a disappointment).

 

[SkiFletch]

Andy, you might know this. Was it PADI or NAUI tables that were originally designed after the Navy divetables? Methinks it was PADI for some reason but I'm not sure.

 

[andywg]

Andy, you might know this. Was it PADI or NAUI tables that were originally designed after the Navy divetables? Methinks it was PADI for some reason but I'm not sure.

Yeah, PADI are based on the SEALs IIRC. Mind you, BSAC were based on Royal Marine (or at least Royal Navy) divers. I assume some latency was built in as most British sports divers carry extra buoyancy around the waist I know the BSAC '88s get a bit of a kicking over some of the deco rates for being aggressive, but almost no one dives on tables. I do all my dive planning off my computer.

I do know a sad story of dive tables that illustrates the fact you can never get away from risk no matter what you do. Down on the South Coast are a couple that were expert technical divers that would be flown around the world to teach groups how to dive. The lady did a nice simple dive to about 30 metres by the book (tables) and ended up bent. She can't go below 7 metres now. Indeed, a guy from our club got bent at Stoney Cold after following the tables fully, it was a simulated decompression dive, so had deco stops in as well without needing them so should have been safer.

 

[SkiFletch]

I know what you mean. We use Navy tables in all our diving at work and managed to bend somebody despite Oxygen breathing and an extra table for safety on air decompresison tables... Wierd

 

[jeasko]

the only likeness you can really apply here is that nitrogen and oxygen partial pressures affect as all differently similar to alchol, there for we all dive conservativly, intresting enough theough in one of the UK mags last month or the month before a BSAC guy was all for reverse profiling, can see his point about building up to deeper depths etc but poses the question why its so frowned upon?

Also was going to ask andy as you may know this.
down this way BSAC clubs along with SAC have a monthly mebership cost, is that something that happens nationally, I only ask as the club I belong to is free, but we pay for dives (fee varies depending on how far out the dive is)?

Also with reference to ascent rates most of us will be diving on computers which are very conservative (way less than 18m per min advised) even with this in mind I have seen more rapid ascents than i care to remember.

Incidently I have to say one of the worst dive organisations I have experienced is SSI, they were that bad they encouraged intercation with marine life and were even encouraging sumersault entries off the dive deck of a live aboard!

 

[jeasko]

anyway back to marine aquariums how big do you think an aquarium would have to be in order for it to take care of itself so that no maintanence was required?

 

[andywg]

Also was going to ask andy as you may know this.
down this way SAC clubs along with SAC have a monthly mebership cost, is that something that happens nationally, I only ask as the club I belong to is free, but we pay for dives (fee varies depending on how far out the dive is)?

All clubs charge a membership fee, this covers the cost of your training and pool use. What does your club offer for free?

even encouraging sumersault entries off the dive deck of a live aboard!

I have to say that we are ones for those too, especially on pool nights.

 

[jeasko]

Also was going to ask andy as you may know this.
down this way SAC clubs along with SAC have a monthly mebership cost, is that something that happens nationally, I only ask as the club I belong to is free, but we pay for dives (fee varies depending on how far out the dive is)?

All clubs charge a membership fee, this covers the cost of your training and pool use. What does your club offer for free?

even encouraging sumersault entries off the dive deck of a live aboard!

I have to say that we are ones for those too, especially on pool nights.

Our club offers the use of the pool for free (small charge for equipment if needed) on a first come first serve basis, when they are using it (they do a one hour session teaching etc then the other hour is ours for free), but training and dives you pay for.