We welcomed Neil, our new dive centre assistant, Divemaster Trainee & soon to be service technician on aboard at the beginning of February. You'll see him around the dive centre filling your cylinders, working in the workshop, helping in the shop and taking your money!
We've also welcomed two new instructors on board - Louie & Stacey! They've being sunning it for far too long in Thailand and are now braving the UK weather with us lot. They're a great addition to the team and bring with them plenty of experience and some amazing stories (we're not jealous at all!). Stacey will also be running most of our EFR courses and doing alot of work with our social media.
Completed Courses
Well done and congratulations to the below students for completing courses with us during January & February.
PADI Discover Scuba Diving
Tim & Macey C
Muhammed S
Jonah J
Alex & Elysia K
Steve & Clare I
Sophie & Frankie A
David D
PADI ReActivate
Lizzy S
Alex G
PADI Referral
Joe W
Emergency First Response & Emergency Oxygen Provider
Neil S
Chris F
Callum L
Jamies, Lubka & Charlie H
PADI Drysuit Diver
Chris F
Bek B
Stacey & Louie B
A BIG well done and congratulations to our instructor Pablo, who qualified as a RAID Sidemount Instructor with Garry at Simply Sidemount!
What else did we get up to?
We had lots more Seal Team fun in January & February with lots more skills learnt, including some specialty missions and lots of games!
We started a Rescue Diver course in February too!
If you'd like to join the next Rescue Diver course, please get in touch with us as we will be running another one at the start of Summer.
We also had some more winter talks to see us through the dry season!
Check out our upcoming ones. Be quick, there's only a few left as we're getting ready to get back in the water! And be sure to book your space as seating is limited ;)
We're looking forward to a jam packed Summer ahead for 2022! Click the images below for more information on upcoming events, boats, trips and more!
We're looking forward to seeing you all back in the water very soon!
In the meantime, don't forget the kettle's always on at the dive centre and we're always here if you have any questions.
See you soon
]]>
Fourth Element's new (and first!) dive mask is designed with you in mind. Their team have done a great job of taking a dive mask to the next level by allowing you to customise it yourself to suit your diving needs. Whether you're a snorkelling, scuba diver or a free diver - check them out!
The scout mask is a frameless, single-lens mask that comes in two colour options (black or white). It's angled profile maximises your field of view and has the added benefit of a soft silicone skirt for extra comfort and optimized fit. It also comes with an elasticated strap made from recyled materials in a handful of colour choices.
The fourth element mask strap has been made using recycled materials wherever possible; The elasticated strap is made using rubber and recycled nylon; the clips are made from recycled waste ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) plastic from the automotive industry.
The clips have been designed so that they will fit most mask buckles, and will fit all fourth element masks. Supplied with the SCOUT mask, or to be sold as a retro-fit option for most other mask types.
The Shield.
Inspired by the gold visors of NASA astronauts, the SHIELD lens provides UV protection and reduces glare, making it ideally suited to tropical and warmer water environments. It's perfect for shallower diving and snorkelling in bright conditions.
UVA and UVB radiation is reflected by the lens, reducing the exposure of the eye to potentially harmful rays.
The Clarity.
Maximising the amount of transmitted light, without any tint from impurities in the glass, the CLARITY is the ideal lens for night divers and photographers. CLARITY is also the perfect lens for teaching - allowing students and instructors to clearly see each other's eyes.
The CLARITY lens is manufactured with the highest level of purity to deliver maximum visual acuity during a dive.
The Contrast
Filtering out some of the mid-range wavelengths of light in the visible spectrum, the CONTRAST lens has a green appearance. Particularly when diving in temperate (green) waters, images seen through the lens show an increase in contrast, accenturating brighter and darker areas, increasing the perception of visual acuity.
The CONTRAST lens provides full UVA and UVB protection from harmful ultraviolet rays.
The Enhance
Filtering Ultraviolet and HEV (High Energy Visible) radiation, this lens is designed to protect the eye and enhance the visual experience.
It is well known that UV has a damaging effect on the eye, but it has also been shown that HEV light can interfere with the lutein proteins in the eye and alter them, so filtering out this High Energy radiation can help to preserve optical health.
Each mask comes with a hard card. Designed to replace the bulky, disposable plastic boxes that are supplied with so many masks. Low profile and protective, this case will protect the lens thanks to its cushioned half shell, without creating bulk, meaning it can fit in the foot pocket of many fins for convenient transport.
Supplied as standard with every fourth element mask.
Keep an eye out for matching snorkels coming soon and maybe some other new product ;)
]]>
RAID Connect 22’ is much more than just diving. The whole point of these social connections, created by RAID, is to meet other like-minded people to share and learn new experiences in a fun way. There is nothing more beneficial for your dive progression and enjoyment. Enjoying the buzz of diving is unique, it’s the life-blood of this beautiful sport.
If you haven't already, don't forget to check out what RAID is all about and what they have to offer. Why not pop onto to website and register to check out some of the FREe-Learning they have to offer. Once you register assign us as your local dive centre and we'll keep in touch with you about all our RAID events and upcoming courses.
The dive centre will be open to all divers offering exclusive offers on selected products to everyone. We'll be open usual business hours for this (closed Sundays).
To view all our RAID CONNECT events click the links below
EVENTS - https://bookwhen.com/events-trips?tag=CONNECT
BOATS - https://bookwhen.com/boat-diving?tag=CONNECT
Friday 3rd June, from 1830 at The Dolphin Leisure Centre, Poole.
We'll be offering sidemount and twinset try dives and a buoyancy workshop. Each session is bookable online, please book now as spaces is limited.
Sidemount and Twinset try dives - https://bookwhen.com/events-trips/e/ev-s55k-20220603183000
Wing try dives - https://bookwhen.com/events-trips/e/ev-s9wv-20220603183000
Buoyancy, trim & finning techniques workshop - https://bookwhen.com/events-trips/e/ev-s2z6-20220603183000
Saturday 4th June & Sunday 5th June - BOAT DIVING!
Our chartered boats are currently only available for qualified RAID divers to book onto due to the nature of the weekend. If you are a RAID diver, please use the password DDSRAID to book your space. However, if you are not RAID qualified please check back mid April, from mid-April we will be opening up the remaining spaces to other divers.
SATURDAY - Drift dive & Kyarra.
The Kyarra is arguably one of the most famous wreck dives off the South Coast. With many features still recognisable on this 104 year old wreck, she's an absolute gem to dive. Ropes away time is ???? from Custom House Steps, Poole Quay. YOU MUST BOOK ONTO THIS BOAT IN ADVANCE TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT, for more information and to book click the photo below
SUNDAY - Betsy Anna & Drift
The Betsy is a beautiful wreck dive, featuring two recognisable boilers, an engine and more wreck features filled and covered in a great variety of life! This dive is sure to not disappoint.
Ropes away time is 0715 from Custom House Steps, Poole Quay. YOU MUST BOOK ONTO THIS BOAT IN ADVANCE TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT, for more information and to book click the photo below
Please ensure that you have read all event details before booking on. Payment is taken at the time of booking. Please make sure you book your space to avoid disappointment. Bookings are reserved for RAID divers only until April, from April onwards we will open it up to our other regular divers.
SATURDAY EVENING
It's time to socialise!
This evening is open to all divers (from any agency of any ability).
The centre will be open all day for visitors (with exclusive offers on selected items), but from 5pm onwards we'll have a hog roast (chargeable on the evening) and a couple of guest speakers. Drinks won't be available, but there is a Co-Op food store next door to make your own purchases.
SPEAKERS
We'll start our speakers from approximately 1830, please note, during this time we may lock the entrance when we do so for security purposes (so please make sure you're on time).
Paul Toomer, RAID very own President!
Richard Cullen, Deptherapy’s Chair and Head of Operations
SHORE DIVING!
We maybe able to offer some shore diving on Saturday or Sunday morning, but this will be confirmed closer to the time when we can confirm our team availability - so stay tuned.
However, if we are unable to provide this we can still direct you to some amazing shore dives and give you some helpful hints and tips on diving the sites.
ACCOMMODATION
There is plenty of accommodation in our local and surrounding areas (Poole & Bournemouth).
Accommodation close to the dive centre:
Shah Of Persia
Parkstone Guest House
OX Hotel
Accommodation in Poole, near the weekend boats departure point:
Premier Inn, Holes Bay
Holiday Inn
Travelodge, Holes Bay
RNLI College
The Thistle
There will be plenty more accommodation options available via the usual booking websites for other accommodation in Poole.
We hope you can join us for our RAID CONNECT weekend and we look forward to seeing you very soon!
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us
info@dorsetdiving.co.uk
01202 122006 / 07880 342515
Don't forget to LIKE us on Facebook!
See you soon!
]]>As of 1st January 2022 we will become a RAID Dive Centre, as well as a PADI Dive centre. We will be offering both RAID recreational and technical courses alongside PADI recreational courses.
Who are RAID and what do they do?
The Rebreather Association of International Divers!
RAID was founded in 2007 to support diver training for the Poseidon MK VI Discovery Rebreather. It has since expanded its scope to include open circuit scuba diver training and supports both recreational & technical training worldwide.
RAID differs from the rest of the diving industry by having a comprehensive online training system. With a store of over 60 online programs their online approach eliminates the need to sit in a classroom whilst delivering the theory training online with no paper, no books and no plastic - a great result for their zero environmental impact claim!
RAID is the world's fastest growing diver training agency with both full service & satellite regional offices, dive stores and instructors.
RAID has taken a new and far better approach to diver training. It ensures that it's instructors are trained to a high standard, this is done by having minimum requirements and prerequisites that are currently almost twice of the current industry standards. This is absolutely essential to ensure that all divers in training are exposed to not just highly skilled and experienced instructors, but extremely dedicated dive professionals too!
RAID's ground breaking quality assurance program incorporates a globally acclaimed and fully integrated approach to ensure RAID standards are maintained throughout all elements of all courses.
RAID MISSION
To be the global benchmark for diver and instructor training through the use of cutting edge technology and superior in-water training techniques monitored by a fully integrated and proactive quality control system.
RAID PLEDGE
To deliver the highest quality and most comprehensive diver services, products and training programs in the industry whilst maintaining zero environmental impact.
RAID SLOGAN
"Dive Training in a Class of its Own".
How are we incorporating it at Dorset Diving Services?
We are offering several RAID recreational & technical courses from open water upwards. Our team of professional instructors will be completing their recreational crossover training in January and our technical team will be completing their crossover training in February.
We'll be offering RAID courses from the Spring time when the weather warms back up and we're ready to get back in the water for another fun season of diver training!
You'll be able to book onto any course from 1st January.
How do I get started?
Easy peasy!
Pop onto the raid website and register/login.
Assign Dorset Diving Services as your Dive Centre
Browse the FREe-Learning they provide (under the Members Home tab)
Click go to the course and read through the theory manuals & complete the quizzes & exams.
You can contact us at any time to book onto your practical course.
Payment for your training is required at the time of booking - terms & conditions apply.
If you want anymore information please feel free to contact us.
You can also come along to our RAID Talk on Monday 10th January to learn more about RAID and see where your diving can take you.
FREe-Learning
RAID's FREe-learning is a unique innovation that makes available to everyone - from non-divers to instructor-trainers - every level of our online academics and quizzes for FREE.
The list of course previews available to YOU is a smart list... it shows every course that you haven't already taken. So, if you are a new RAID tribe member, you have more than 110 free courses to choose from.
Once you have registered, you'll see your personalized list on your homepage. To start reading any course that interests you, simply click on it. There are no restrictions.
RAID are the online-learning experts - technology is how we roll - our online learning system was the first fully online system in the industry and remains the market leader. The benefit to you is unlimited access to the best online academics available.
Each course is presented in a series of easy-to-understand, exciting chapters, at the end of each chapter there is a short quiz to gauge your understanding of the basic concepts and rules of diving. When you've completed each quiz, the system retains a record of your answers. This prepares you to go diving with your instructor.
If when working through the quizzes, you get any quiz wrong ten times, the quiz will lock. Please contact your allocated RAID Dive Center to ask for it to be opened again.
FREe-Learning is a concept that can be used at any time or when normal training schedules cannot be completed. This could be due to a seasonal restriction (winter), travel restrictions or temporary financial restrictions.
RAID LEARN TO SCUBA APP!
The RAID LearnToScuba App has been purely developed to support the RAID online learning experience, both online and offline, for the entire range of courses that RAID offers.
It is the most advanced integrated training App and Web Site interface! RAID internet learning incorporates pro-active quality control learning developed for SCUBA dive training and it is FREE of charge.
First of all - is there any other App on the market today that can do the following while ONLINE or OFFLINE?
There is no other training agency App that does this, none!
And all this with NO hidden extra charges; NO having to go to another program; NO having to open and login to another application, anywhere, at any time, with any internet connection. NO need to have extra dongles or extra "box" in the dive center's. NO need to be near a RAID dive center at all. Our members use the RAID App when diving in remote areas, for days or even weeks with no internet online connections.
Head over to your app store now to download, available on both Android and Apple!
I'm a diver professional, how can I get involved?
We will be offering professional crossover courses from March onwards.
Contact us for more information. Stay tuned & keep an eye out on our website and social media for upcoming crossover course dates!
What membership fees are involved?
NOTHING! That's right, you read that right, ZERO!
RAID recently rocked the dived industry by annoucing *FREE membership fees to all its professional members and dive centres. The industry norm is to charge instructors and dive centres an annual fee to do business with them. RAID has torn up the status quo and once again offered something new and unique in the diving marketplace. At a time when the diving world is still reeling from the ravages of COVID and its impact on the adventure travel industry, the benefit of not charging a fee to teach for the agency, is obvious and far-reaching.
The power of zero membership is a paradigm shift and shows you are appreciated for being a diving professional and supporting this agency.
Membership has become a major hurdle to new instructors entering the market and existing instructors remaining in active status and solvent. By having no membership fee at RAID, we have future-proofed the agency as this initiative does not only work for the pandemic, but also for many other global economic issues.
Firstly, a big well done and congratulations to last months students:
We've had several scout groups in the pool completing try dives and snorkelling, lots of fun by all 34 of the Verwood Scouts!
This month we'll be doing monthly deals on various items, so stay tuned and keep an eye out on Facebook. We've also got our BARGAIN CORNER that's had some new products added to it recently, so grab a bargain while you can.
Are people still asking you what you want for Christmas? Still not sure what you want for Christmas?
Here are some ideas....
GIFT VOUCHERS
We now have gift vouchers available as an eVoucher! They're easy to use on our online store, on the booking system and in store. There are still vouchers available to collect from the dive centre so you have something to present if you would prefer this, get in touch if you'd like one.
You can buy:
- £10, £25, £50 & £100 denominations
- Dorset Diving Dive Club
- PADI Discover Scuba Diving
- PADI Open Water Diver
- PADI Advanced Open Water Diver
GIFTS OVER £100
We have a range of dive kit both in stock and available to order - with enough notice. Check out some of these (click the photo for more information)....
GIFTS BETWEEN £50-£100
Be seen in the water by everyone above the waves and check out our selection of DSMBs, Reels & Spools. From open/closed SMBs to narrow SMBs, from Reels to Spools, there's some available for everyone!
>>CHECK THEM OUT HERE<<
Has your mask seen better days?
Have a browse through our mask range, from budget to premium we have a great selection! Choose from a lovely, soft, colourful Beuchat Maxlux S (with 16 colours to choose from!) or a Frameless XDEEP.
>>BROWSE HERE<<
Keep warm during your surface intervals with a Moonwrap from Frostfire!
>>Available in a range of sizes and colour from £89.99 <<
See the way on your night dives with a shiney new torch. We're now stocking a new range of great torches - DivePro, full of great features! >>CHECK THEM OUT<<
GIFTS UNDER £50
Click the images below to find out more!
Check out this awesome, backup Varilux torch for jusy £49.99 - it comes in it's own hard cards, has a rechargable battery, comes with spare orings & grease and it's a great little light for 800 lumens!
Don't get tangled up on a dive! Free yourself, and any wildlife with these Eezycuts from £34.95 available in a variety of colours to match your dive gear!
Don't loose your dive gear, secure them with these handy XDEEP Bolt Snaps from only £9.95!
Carry your gear and accessories easily and in style with a snazzy bag, we have a variety available with different features and in different colours from £9.95
Keep your kit maintained throughout the year with some Gear Aid products. We've got black witch, zipper lubricant, mask de-fog & cleaner, wax and more!
DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE BARGAIN CORNER!
We've currently got Fourth Element rashguards at 50% off and selected Aqualung products at 20% off while stocks last!
Check out the other stock we've got discounted while you're there.
We've too many things to list on here, so have a browse on the online shop or come on in for a cuppa, we don't bite ;)
Have you seen this years Christmas Raffle for The Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance? With £1,443.90 worth of prizes up for grabs you've got to be in it to win it! BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE!
Here's a peak of some of the prizes available....
We also have some winter talks coming up to, book your tickets via our >>BOOKING SYSTEM<<
2nd December - In The Company of Seahorses
8th December - The Adventures of Paul Toomer & Garry Dallas
6th January - Dorset's Popular Fish and how to ID them
13th January - Seasearch Diving
20th January - Saeed Rashid, Underwater Photography
27th January - Dorset Wrecks
5th February - Ghost Fishing UK
10th February - Discovering Marine Wildlife
12th February - Treasures from the Deep
17th February - The Black Bream Project
24th February - A History of the Valentine Tanks
17th March - Hunting The RIMS Warren Hastings Wreck
Followed by a season of scuba diving!!
We have some courses up already on our booking system, with more in the pipeline. Boat bookings will be available to book around March onwards.
Don't forget to keep an eye out for some upcoming trips, due to be annouced soon!!
See you all soon!! =)
]]>
A big congratulations to this months students for participating and completing PADI courses.
PADI Discover Scuba Diving
Elizabeth
Julian
Georgie
Lucie
Sean
Reviews
Ben
PADI Open Water Diver
Richard
Rob
Alan
Tom
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver
Trev
Calllum
Jon
Charlie
Hayden
Chris
PADI Delayed Surface Marker Buoy
Neil
Jack
Shaun
PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy
Charlie
Buoyancy Workshop
Neil
Trev
Chris
PADI Seal Team
Chris
A big well done to our Advanced students that completed some adventures dives towards their certification:
Elliot
Ralph
Yasmin
Wayne
Jen
We had fun on the last Friday of the month with our PADI Seal Team and their Halloween special. We completed some Aqua Missions, played some games and then ate some sweets ;)
And a big well done to the 28 Sea Scouts from Bournemouth that we did 2 evenings with on Snorkelling and Scuba for the evening!
We've still got pool sessions and dry courses coming up over the winter, including a whole load of talks from several people, companies and charities.
Book your seat(s) via our online booking system to avoid disappointment
https://www.dorsetdiving.co.uk/pages/book-now-trips-events-workshops
Don't be a stranger over the winter come and join us and/or pop in for a cuppa :)
September is a month where PADI promote their AWARE Foundation, so the week of 18th - 25th saw their PADI AWARE week raising awareness for healtheir seas and promoting how we can help. Find out more about it in our other blog >>HERE<<
We did some AWARE courses during this week, well done to Ben, Jess, Zoe and Trev for completing the Project AWARE and Coral Reef Conservation courses.
We also carried out a Dive Against Debris and are pleased to report that we found no litter under the water at Branksome Chine Beach!
Also, a big well done and congratulations to all the below students who completed courses this month.
Najla
Adam
Liam
Eathan
Lydia
Saz
Tadhg
Jessie
Rufus
PADI Open Water Diver
Adam
William
Vincent
Chris
Declan
Scuba Review
Zoe Smith
Steve
Daniel
Garry
Darren
Neil
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver
Lucia
Jess
Bek
Ken
Jude
Neil
PADI DSMB Diver
Jess
Bek
Ken
PADI Wreck Diver
Lee
PADI Enriched Air Diver
Callum
Trev
Bek
Jess
We also have some great achievements in our own team with our PADI Pro's this month!
Liv achieved her PADI Junior Divemaster
Pablo & Ellie achieved their PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer status
JoJo qualified as a Digital Underwater Photography instructor
Another well done & congratulations to all our students this month, we look forward to seeing you back in the water soon!
What's happening in October and onwards?!
We have some PADI Discover Scuba Diving (including weekday school holiday sessions!) and Scuba Reviews available to book onto - you can do this via the booking system
https://www.dorsetdiving.co.uk/pages/padi-course-schedule
PADI NIght DIver - 18th & 25th October
PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy - 24th October
Upcoming Events & Workshops
Buoyancy & Finning Technique Workshop - 29th October
PADI Go Pro Talk - 9th November
Brussels weekend trip (Nemo33, TODI Aquarium & X'Mas Markets - 4th & 5th December
STAY TUNED FOR SOME UPCOMING TALKS THAT WE WILL BE HOSTING THROUGHOUT THE WINTER MONTHS!
CLUB MEMBERS KEEP AN EYE OUT ON THE FACEBOOK PAGE FOR UPCOMING MOVIE NIGHTS!
]]>
Here's a short breakdown of the history:
PROJECT AWARE FOUNDATION 1989:
Their ocean conservation adventure started as a project - an environmental ethic initiated by PADI in the late 90's. The founding mission of project A.W.A.R.E was to teach the world about the importance and responsibility of preserving the aquatic environment.
PROJECT AWARE 1992:
With tremendous support from the dive community, Project AWARE Foundation was registered in 1992 as an independent non project organizarion in the US, established a UK charity in 1999 and received formal nonprofit status in Australia in 2002.
PADI AWARE FOUNDATION 2021:
PADI AWARE Foundation is created an official PADI entity, further strengthening 30 years of partnership. Together we work to mobilize the PADI Torchbearer Community and advance the AWARE mission to drive local action for global ocean conservation.
Why has Project AWARE become PADI AWARE Foundation?
To evolve their partnership, increase their conservation impact and to officially join PADI’s mission to create one billion Torchbearers to protect the ocean. The new PADI AWARE Foundation combines PADI’s strengths in numbers (a network of over 128,000 PADI Professionals across the globe) with Project AWARE’s strengths in conservation (30 years of program development and policy expertise). PADI’s mission, working in concert with PADI AWARE’s conservation programs, will engage and activate a global community of Torchbearers on an unprecedented scale
Will there be any changes, will anything remain the same?
PADI AWARE Foundation will legally maintain public non-profit status and continue to function as a global ocean conservation charity. There will be greater integration in its operations, fundraising, and branding with PADI, allowing the organization stronger financial stability, community reach and program scale.
What about the existing Project AWARE courses?
PADI AWARE Foundation will build on the three decades of work done as Project AWARE. Evergreen programs and campaigns like Adopt a Dive Site, 100% AWARE, Shark and Rays and Dive Against Debris will continue with an overall program focus dedicated to the organization’s new mission to drive local ocean action for global impact. To support this commitment, PADI AWARE Foundation will launch a Community Grant Program in June, aimed at providing resources to local communities to participate, educate and advocate for ocean protection. With greater strength under the PADI brand, PADI AWARE will also expand and develop new conservation programs and courses addressing climate change, marine habitat loss and vulnerable species protection.
Are the conservation goals going to change?
PADI AWARE Foundation’s conservation work will continue to be underpinned by the Project AWARE Clean and Healthy Ocean strategy. All programs under this framework will support countries’ implementation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals commitments, particularly Goal 14 - Life Below Water. By joining forces, the PADI and PADI AWARE Foundation partnership will establish joint conservation goals under our shared vision to achieve balance between humanity and the ocean
How will PADI AWARE Foundation be funded?
PADI AWARE Foundation will continue to rely heavily on support from public donations. PADI is strengthening their commitment by financially supporting the PADI AWARE Foundation’s operations and work. All donations generated under Project AWARE have helped establish evergreen programs that have achieved notable conservation impacts. These foundational programs, such as Dive Against Debris, will continue to evolve as primary drivers for the conservation targets established under the PADI Blueprint for Ocean Action.
It's exciting times ahead for PADI and their conservation plan!
We plan on doing as much as we can for ocean conservation for as long as we can! Our AWARE Officers - JoJo & Ellie - will be keeping you up to date on both the AWARE Foundations and DDS's actions and plans, as well as running courses & dives. We'll be on hand to encourage divers (and non-divers) to think about their actions and support this amazing charity.
You can also join PADI's Torchbearer community to stay up to date with campaigns, events and PADI's conservation work. As a Torchbearer you also become responsible for the promotion of the charity aswell being an active voice for the ocean.
What is a PADI Torchbearer?
A PADI Torchbearer cares deeply about taking action to heal the planet, shining a light on what’s possible, and leading communities towards a sustainable future. They believe there is a better and more responsible way for humanity to live in balance with nature.
Ultimately, there are 5 goals:
COMMUNITY GOAL 1 - STAND UP FOR THE OCEAN
We will speak up and use our voices to drive positive change. We will lend our support to environmental campaigns, sign petitions, attend key events, write to our representatives and engage in conversation with our local communities. As the world moves forward, we will continue to be the ever-louder voice of the ocean.
COMMUNITY GOAL 2 - ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY
We will take direct responsibility for ocean health and act as stewards for the places we love, both above and below the surface. We are driven by the common understanding that all life on Earth is connected and that our actions have a direct impact on the natural world. We will serve as role models in our communities and amplify the movement for the betterment of people and planet.
COMMUNITY GOAL 3 - DIVE WITH A PURPOSE
We recognize that every dive is an opportunity to collect vital data that can be used to create future protection measures for the ocean. We will participate in conservation programs and contribute to citizen science through activities that preserve underwater habitats and biodiversity vital to human and planetary health, helping the local communities where we dive.
COMMUNITY GOAL 4 - REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
We will restore balance by reducing our own carbon emissions at work and at home. We will help the ocean and coastal communities manage the effects of human-induced climate change by working with key partners to recover and protect seagrass meadows, mangrove forests and salt marshes.
COMMUNITY GOAL 5 - MAKE SUSTAINABLE CHOICES
We will reject single-use plastic, support genuine eco travel and voluntourism, make sustainable food choices, dive with eco-friendly operators when possible, and support businesses that are taking an innovative approach to sustainability. Our example will influence those around us, paving the way for systemic change.
Find out more here:
During the Project AWARE & AWARE Foundation transition you'll still see some older marketing/course materials - but it's all still the same stuff!
We'll be running Project AWARE courses as usual for now and adding slightly updated information, as well as introducing the new AWARE Foundation courses when they become available.
So keep an eye out for their exciting new courses, which include: Climate Change, Coral Reef & Marine Protected Areas!
We have some exciting bits coming up for this month:
Keep an eye out for some weekly AWARE posts on Facebook
Keep your other eye out for some other blog posts
AWARE & Coral Conservation course - 21st September, 1800
Dive Against Debris Shore Dive - 22nd September, 1830
We will also be promoting the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy course this week that will be ran in October. The Peak Performance Buoyancy course is a great opportunity to get you neutrally buoyant in the water - this is a great way to ensure that you don't damage any fragile corals and/or disturb the sensitive life within the sediment and other fragile habitats.
The course is being ran on Sunday 24th October at Vobster Quay. We are offering £50 off this course for non-club members and 50% off for club member (check our Facebook page to get your club offer code!) - RRP £185!
Click the link below to book onto the course. Please ensure that you can attend this date before booking.
https://www.dorsetdiving.co.uk/pages/padi-course-schedule
Keep an eye out on our Facebook page for regular posts and events & activities throughout this month.
]]>The Aeolian Sky was a frieghter with a superstructure and big engines at the rear with four massive holds seperated by equally massive masts and cargo derricks. It sank in 1979 after colliding with a German Coaster 20 miles off the coast of Guernsey. She tried making it back to Portland Harbour but never made it. She is now lying on her port side standing tall at 18m off the seabed and lying at a maximum of 31m.
There are lots to explore on this wreck whether you're an avid wreck diver or enjoy watching the life. We highly recommend having a wreck diving qualification if you are planning on diving this wreck properly.
(Image: Divers Down, Swanage)
You can also check out a video from the day on our You Tube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFn94Mpv9Sl36-uTpvT3Dsg
Don't forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel so you can check out our other videos when they are uploaded ;)
As usual, we've enjoyed some brilliant evening dives off Rocket with Trev.
Don't forget, September is the last month of the year that the boat will be in the water, so book your space now to get wet while you can!
https://www.dorsetdiving.co.uk/pages/boatdiving
Well done to the below students for completing courses!
PADI DIscover Scuba Diving
Georgie
Mia
Fiona
Will
Max
Isla
Izzy
Natalia
Mateusz
Abbey
Robert
Astha
Aditya
Chris
Marley
Toby
Danny
Poppy
Ann-Marie
Vinny
Mason
Along with all the kids & adults that completed a Discover Scuba session on our holiday Tuesday morning sessions! Keep your eyes peeled for other sessions running in the October school holiday week too!
Scuba Reviews
Charlie
Gareth
Harrison
Robert
PADI Deep
Rob
Claire
Tristan
Siobhan
Julie
Adam
Henry
PADI Navigation
Nick
PADI Rescue Course
Piers
Tom
PADI Open Water
Archie
Trev
Martin
Andrew
Callum
Charlie
Bek
Harrison
Jen
Luke
and some adventures dives completed by other students....one step closer to qualifying next month! :)
Check out our upcoming courses over the next few months!
Our last PADI Open Water course of the year in October, click the link to book now https://www.dorsetdiving.co.uk/pages/padi-course-schedule
More PADI Discover Scuba Diving
8th September - PADI Enriched Air Diver
10th & 19th September - PADI DSMB Diver
29th October - Buoyancy Workshop
Stay tuned for more!
18th - 25th September PADI AWARE WEEK
21st September - Save 10% when you book onto our Project AWARE & Coral Reef Conservation course! When you book it includes some super cool freebies on the evening! :)
22nd September - Dive Against Debris
Come and join us for an underwater litter pick!
Location will be confirmed closer to the date.
Keep an eye out for other courses coming up.....
]]>
Our excitement ended (briefly) when we got to Clovelly on Saturday morning to load up and board the "dive boat." Turns out that Clovelly has one of the biggest tidal ranges in the world, and guess what? The tide was out!
So the skipper wanted us to CARRY all our gear (dive bags/boxes, dry suits, cylinders (including 2 twinsets), overnight bags and camping gear) over the wet, slimy cobbles to the waters edge where he had a small inflatable waiting! A bit of a heated discussion followed and we ended up waiting for 2 hours for the tide to come in....
Turns out our dive boat was fairly small, had no overhead shelter and no dive lift. So yes, we had to roll off the side and climb up a ladder at the side...
We finally headed out, heads held up high ;)
We saw a few Dolphins for all of 2 minutes on the way out too!
We finally arrived at the Island and dropped off our camping gear then headed over to catch the slack on The MV Robert wreck. What a fantastic wreck! We all loved it and agreed it was a great dive - there was lots of life on there:
- Anemones
- Deadmans Finegrs
- Nudibranchs
- Flatworms
- Wrasse
- Dogfish
- Crabs
- Starfish
We then headed over to one of the bays to join the Seals. We had a spot of lunch before jumping in and watched them while they checked us out. As we ascended we had 3 curious Seals join us. They swam around us, chewed a couple of fins and watched us as we enjoyed their company. There was even some pretty Jellyfish floating around.
After all the excitement we headed back to the Island and trekked up a very steep hill with our camping gear lol. After that, we set up camp and went to the pub!
After some delicious food and a couple of refreshing drinks some of us went for a walk and others chilled out. It was an enjoyable evening until one of the tents started flooding in a heavy downpour that surprised us - at 11pm!
In the dark and rain people ran from one tent to another to help evict a few people into the awning part of another for the night.
We were woken in the morning by a blizzard of heavy rainfall blowing sideways across the camping field LOL. Needless to say, we waited for a lull in the rain to take the 4 tents down!! After that he walked down the steep hill (easier than climbing up it!) and went down to the dive boat excited for another fun day of diving!
NOPE!
Unfortunately when we got down to the pier the skipper informed us that he was having issues with the boat engines and needed to head back to the mainland, so we wouldn't be diving today :(
We were all well and truely gutted but boarded for a long slog back to the mainland. As his engines were not playing ball, we headed over at 3 knots - which took almost 3 hours, and yes it started raining again, there was no cover on the boat and seating was slightly limited.
However, we spotted some Dolphins again. But nobody could move because we were so soaked through and somewhat not impressed..... HAHA!
(JoJo took shelter in her Dry Robe and Leon & Cam cuddled up...)
After a handful of unexpected surprised we had a great time and the Seal and Wreck diving certainly made up for the not so great Skipper we had (He won't be named, but I will clarify that he's not a regular out of Ilfracombe, he departs from elsewhere - so be cautious if you book a trip from anywhere other than Ilfracombe!). We already enjoy reminiscing and laughing about it!
Check out the Seal & Wreck videos on our YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFn94Mpv9Sl36-uTpvT3Dsg
We have another trip running in May 2022 - click the Seal below to find out more information and to book....
TRAINING!
After our weekend away we got back into the nitty gritty of training.
We started this months PADI Open Water course with 9 students which saw 8 of them qualify on 25th July. A big well done and congratulations to them all for their hard work.
Another big well done and congratulations to our other students:
PADI Delayed Surface Marker Buoy Divers
Henry
Adele
Greg
Tom
Matt
Sam
Julie
Jon
PADI Discover Scuba Divers
Gemma
Callum
Nikodem
Charlie
Alex
Ellie
Mia
Grace
Sophie
Andrew
Trevor
Noah
Scuba Reviews
Romain
Charlie
Mark
Dan
Harrison
A round of applause is also in order for our team member Georgie for completing her PADI Discover Scuba Diving Leader as well. We're looking forward to throwing (not literally, don't worry!) more DSD's at her ;)
Training still continues and is going well for our three PADI Divemaster Trainees aswell, we're looking forward to moving forward with them over the next few months to get more hands on with our students.
We also had a Scout Group and Seal Team evening, which was thoroughly enjoyable with scuba, snorkelling and games!
July also gave us the month of PADI annual LADIES DAY!
Yes, I said it guys, Ladies Day. We've had nothing but stick about our sexist day, but we loved every minute of it! ;p
We dropped down on the Fleur De Lys and drifted off into Swanage Bay, then had a feast for lunch by Old Harry Rocks, followed by a drift along Poole Rocks and ended with a bottle of Prosecco on board.
We also dived The Salsette on Sea Leopard out of Portland with Al, Freda & Minxy! It was another great day with some fantastic deco diving enjoyed by all.
Check out our upcoming courses over the next couple of months
Scuba Reviews - 13th & 20th August
PADI Dry Suit Diver - 3rd & 5th September
PADI Wreck Diver - 5th September
PADI Enriched Air Diver - 6th September
PADI DSMB Diver - 10th September (followed by either 2 evening dives off the boat or a morning at Vobster on 19th September
You can find out more information and book onto these courses via the link below:
https://www.dorsetdiving.co.uk/pages/padi-course-schedule
Keep an eye out on our Facebook page for more upcoming events & courses. PADI AWARE week is coming up in September, so stay tuned for more details.
]]>
Don't believe everything you see and hear, especially in the films!
Here's a list of rated and reviewed Shark films by Rotten Tomato.
Some are good, some are cheesy, some are just plain awful! Sometimes it's worth just for a laugh though! ;)
However, don't believe everything you see in these films. Yes, somedays you might "need a bigger boat" but other days (most days!) it's more than safe to enter the water, no matter where you are and what you're doing.
Hollywood do a great job of convincing people that it's not safe in the water and that shark attacks happen all the times and are always fatal etc etc. But remember, it's not true. They're not all that bad, they're just swimming along minding their own business and every so often they get it wrong.
Don't believe me? Do your own research, make your own conclusion. There's plenty of research out there that has been carried out and is still being done about Sharks behaviours and eating habits. 9 times out of 10 an "attack" is usually just a case of mistaken identity.
If you're planning on going dive with Sharks GREAT - enjoy it, I'm jealous! Check out his blog for a few pointers on destinations.
Here's some tips to consider aswell if you're heading out for a Shark dive.
I hope we've debunked a few misconceptions of Sharks for you.
Don't be scared and don't let it put you off.
These are egg cases, also known as Mermaids Purses. You often find empty ones washed up on the beach. You can find them while diving too - they're usually attached to something, and if you look through it or shine your torch through them you might see something wriggling around inside! Don't touch them though, they can be very delicate.
The above also includes Ray & Skate eggs - these are closely related to Sharks too!
The most common species that we see regularly while out diving around Dorset include:
Others popular around the UK (that have also been spotted in Dorset) include:
Check out this fantastic guide from The Sharks Trust on different types of Sharks and Rays around the UK and how you can ID them!
https://www.sharktrust.org/pages/faqs/category/british-sharks?Take=34
How can I see Sharks in the UK?
The majority of the time you just come across them while out diving. We regularly see Dogfish, Tope and Smooth-Hounds off the coast of Dorset when we're diving off the boat.
However, if you want more of an experience you can go on specific sighting trips. You can find trips to snorkel with Blue Sharks around Cornwall & Devon aswell as snorkelling trips in Scotland with Basking Sharks.
Both amazing experiences.
We have a trip booked to Plymouth in August where we will have an opportunity to snorkel with Blue Sharks and aim to run this trip on a yearly booking - with 2022 trip currently in the making, so keep your eyes peeled on our trips booking page. There are also some spaces remainig for August ;)
What about other Sharks around the World?
Well, there are plenty out there! Where do we start? Here's a short list and a bit of information on the most popular places to go diving and see sharks....
1. Galapagos Islands
Sharks: Great Hammerheads, Scalloped Hammerheads, Smooth Hammerheads, Whale Sharks, Tiger Sharks, Whitetip & Blacktip Reef Sharks, Port Jackson Sharks and Galapagos Sharks (yes! They have their very own Shark!). These are to name a few!
I think the Galapagoes Islands are on 90% of scuba divers bucket lists! Not only does it have an abundance of Sharks but it also has much more spectacular marine life including the Worlds only Marine Iguana(!), Manta Rays, Turtles and Sea Lions as well as some amazing topography both in and out of the water.
With its 18 islands it's now recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
And the best bit? The diving season is practically year round!
2. Bahamas
Sharks: Tiger Sharks, Bull Sharks, Lemon Sharks, Great Hammerhead Sharks, Carribean Reef Sharks and Oceanic Whitetips.
The Bahamas have an amazing 700 individual islands covering 5,358 sq. miles in The Atlantic Ocean! Divers are spoilt for choice with dive sites and locations. Tiger Beach is by far the main attraction for thrill seeking scuba divers. Here, there is a group of resident Tiger Sharks. Divers are gathered on the sandy bottom at around 20 metres and the skilled shark handlers feed the sharks while you sit back in a circle and watch. Other Sharks also join in, such as Lemon Sharks, Carribean Reef Sharks and Nurse Sharks.
Another breath taking expereince is in Bimini with the Great Hammerheads. A local dive operator runs small trips out to a location where they've discovered a resident "hang out" for these usually shy species of Hammerhead. The divers are instructed to sit on the sandy bottom at a shallow depth of no more than 6m to watch these beautiful creatures feed.
3. Malapascua, Philippines
Sharks: Thresher Sharks. Other Shark species nearby: Whale Shark, Whitetip Reef Sharks, Silvertip Sharks, Bamboo Sharks, Bull Sharks, Hammerheads, Giant Guitarfish, Great White Shark, Tiger Shark and Oceanic Whitetip Sharks.
Malapascua Island is very well known for its resident Pelagic Thresher Sharks that inhabit the waters. It is the smallest species of Thresher Shark (growing to approx. 3 metres) and is easily recognisable by its elongated caudial fin. Because of this longer fin it makes them amazing swimmers and can even help them jump out the water! They use their fins like a whip to kill/stun their prey. They're not aggressive and can be quite shy when they see divers. Unfortunately the local population are declining due to ilegal fishing and pollution :(
There are other local dive sites full of spectacular life and other Shark species.
4. Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Sharks: Scalloped Hammerheads, Great Hammerheads, Whale Sharks, Common Threshers, Silvertip Sharks, Silky Sharks,Galapagoes Sharks, Blacktip Sharks, Tiger Sharks, Nurse Sharks and Whitetip Reef Sharks.
Cocos Island is located in the Pacific Ocean 342 miles offf Costa Rica's mainland. There are no permanent residents on the Island, it is only inhabited by the National Park rangers. It's only accessible for scuba divers via a liveaboard trip.
With the island surrounded by deep waters and counter currents it brings an amazing array of marine life. Not just Sharks but Whales, Dolphins, Ray and much much more! Because of its unique ecology and life the island and its surrounding waters were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
5. Mexico
Sharks: Whale Sharks, Bull Sharks, Great White Sharks
You can do various Shark diving experiences in Mexico. Three popular ones are Great Whites in Guadalupe, Whale Shark snorkelling in Cancun and Bull Shark diving in Playa Del Carman.
Guadalupe is one of the top diving destinations for Great Whites. It's a small island located off the coast of the Baja California Peninsula. They promise clear visibility of up to 45m with a 99% guarantee of seeing Great Whites. You are submerged down to around 10m in a cage while the curious Sharks circle you.
Cancun's warm waters provide a surplus amount of plankton for Whale Sharks to feed on. Every year from June - September Whale Sharks come to the area to feed. This makes it a great opportunity for an unforgettable snorkelling experience. The Whale Shark is the biggest fish in the sea but is very peaceful and only interested in eating the microscopic plankton in the water column. Snorkelling is best with these gentle giants, but you may come across some while you're diving locally.
Bull Sharks can be found in Playa Del Carmen between November & March. During these months you'll find them in the shallower waters, making it accessible for those beginner divers too!
Other diving in Mexico includes encounters with other great marine life such as Manta Rays, Crocodiles, Hammerheads, Mobula Rays, Turtles and Manatees - as well as some awesome cenotes & cave diving!
Other fab Shark diving destinations include:
- French Polynesia
- Egypt
- Belize
- Fiji
- Australia
- South Africa
- The East & West coasts of America
What you need to know about diving with Sharks (or any marine life!)
ALWAYS arrange your diving with a trusted operator. Check their customer reviews, check their itineraries and procedures and if in doubt contact them and ask! If you feel uncomfortable about anything, don't do it.
While this is a great opportunity to get up and close to some spectacular life, you still need to respect their space in their territory.
Remember: Sharks (wildlife) predominantly attack if they feel threatened i.e. if you're too close or doing something silly.
Lets be honest, with over 500 different species of Shark in the World Shark attacks do happen....But very rarely. You're more likely to be hit by a moving vehicle than you are to be attacked by a Shark. Check out PADI's list of everyday things that are more dangerous than Shark Diving. Did you know, on average there are approximately 60 confirmed Shark attacks around the World every year? And only 5-15 of them are fatal.
They don't intentionally attack you, they are more curious - it's not their fault they were given big sharp teeth and a ferocious smile! It's essentially the same as a cute, fluffy puppy running up to you to play....Right?
Attacks can be provoked or unprovoked and research has concluded 6 main reasons why they attack:
- Competition
- Conditioning
- No respect
- Animal personality
- Confusion of senses
- Food in the water
Keep your distance, stay calm, don't distract them. Just stay back and observe.
Here's some helpful information from The Sharks Trust about diving in the presence of Sharks.
If you want to browse specific diving holidays with Sharks check out the PADI Travel website. They'll have safe, trustworthy dive operator listed on their website for this kind of diving. Failing that, it could give you a handful of good ideas for your next trip!
Don't forget to come in and tell us all about your diving experiences!
Keep an eye out on our trips, as we do several trips throughout the year and some may include Shark encounters or other encounters with amazing life.
Happy Shark Week!
JoJo
]]>
A big congratulations and well done to our students that completed the course:
Nicole & Rebecca
Wayne & Yasmin
Ken
Eddie
Jeb
Marella & Max
Zena
We look forward to having you come along for more diving now and furthering your knowledge & skills. Welcome to the world of diving!
We started some PADI Advanced Open Water training this month too!
A couple of dives at Vobster, as well off the boat & shore diving....
Well done to Brett & Adam for becoming PADI Wreck Divers! They've waited since last year to do this course, we enjoyed teaching them how to safely navigate wrecks and lay lines amongst the great wreckage features that Vobster Quay have on offer.
Well done to those that completed PADI Discover Scuba Diving and Scuiba Reviews, we look forward to seeing you again in the water very soon ;)
Zoe
Julian
William
Stephen
Aaron
Leo
Jocelyn
Alex
Lisa
Casey
Will
Mark
Elliot
Fiona
Trevor
James
Well done to our Divemaster Trainee for completing his Emergency First Response Refresher course.
A big well done to Jordan for completing his PADI DIvemaster and to Georgie, one of our Divemasters, for completing her PADI Discover Scuba Diving Leader certification!
A big welcome to our new PADI Seal Team who started this month and our new PADI Advanced Open Water Divers!
VIEW OUR UPCOMING COURSES HERE:
Scuba Reviews - Various dates available
PADI Discover Scuba Diving - Various dates available
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver - Various dates available
PADI DSMB Diver - 16th & 18th July
PADI Open Water Diver - spaces still available for August, September & October
PADI Navigation Diver - 11th August
PADI Dry Suit Diver - 3rd & 5th September
PADI Wreck Diver - 5th September
We also still have spaces available on our Plymouth trip and the last few remaining spaces of our Red Sea liveaboard holiday next year!
We've had some great boat dives this month too! Why not come along and join us? BOOK HERE to join us!
]]>
The first thing we need to know is our Surface Air Consumption Rate or SAC. Some computers may give you a SAC rate, this is normally shown as a Bar/min eg. 0.8. In this case, we simply multiply this figure by the volume of our tank. 0.8 x 15 = 12ltrs/min. We can also work it out by finding our average depth for a dive, the dive time and the volume of gas we consumed during that dive. So, if we had a 12ltr cylinder and used 150 bar during a dive, we used 12 x 150 = 1800ltrs of gas. Lets say our dive time was 55mins and our average depth
for the dive was 12mtrs (2.2ata), we would then divide 1800 by 55mins and then divide by our depth in atmospheres. So, 1800/55 = 32.7 / 2.2 = 14.8. This then gives us a SAC rate of 14.8ltrs / min. By doing this for every dive we get a good average over time and for the sake of our example we shall say that we have a SAC rate of 15lts/min (Remember that this is the surface rate, so at 10 mtrs we would be using twice as much and at 20m three times and 30m four times).
If we are planning to dive the Aeolian Sky at 30m our rate of consumption at depth would be 15ltr x 4 or 60ltrs/min. A full 12ltr cylinder filled to 232bar gives us 2784ltrs of gas. We also want to get to the surface with 50bar in reserve. We may want to start our ascent when we were on 80bar (for this example) giving us gas for our ascent and the safety stop etc. So, we subtract our 80 bar from the 232 starting pressure. 232-80=152 or 1824ltrs of usable gas. We know that we breath 60ltrs/min, this gives us 1824/60 = 30mins.
As it happens, we could just about complete this dive on a 12ltr cylinder but we should also take into account the gas we need for our buoyancy device (BCD or wing) and the dry suit inflation. If you wanted to add further safety into your dive planning you could follow the same rule cave and technical divers follow and use the rule of thirds. One third of your gas for the descent and bottom time, one third for the ascent and the final third for reserve. With this in mind and using the above example we have 232/3=77.3 x 12 = 927.6ltrs/60 (our
SAC)=15mins bottom time before starting the ascent.
Hopefully, you’ve found this interesting and fairly straight forward to follow even though the maths can be tricky at times. If you have any questions please either talk to me on the boat or talk to one of the instructors at Dorset Diving. I hope it helps in your dive planning.
Have a safe season.
Mark - PADI MSDT Instructor.
Read all about The Sky here
So, time to raise some awareness. For this blog I am only going to focus on one of the endless list of challenges and yes, you guessed it: plastic pollution. Over the last year with the pandemic, staycations are becoming the norm and this issue has become the forefront of everyone’s mind. Who in 2020 didn’t see the horrific photos of the litter left on our beautiful nature spots and I think very few locals could avoid it. Bournemouth beach is my work commute so I got to see it every day, hence this being a big topic for me. Plastic pollution isn’t just in the form of drinks bottles or carrier bags, it also includes food wrappers, cigarette butts, take away drinks cups and even face wash. There are so many everyday items you don’t even think about that contain plastic and a lot of them are single use. These items often find their way into the ocean and plastic doesn’t biodegrade. The breakdown process of plastic is simply to break into smaller pieces releasing chemicals as they go. It takes years, if not decades to breakdown. Whilst these items are within the ocean they are being mistaken for food by animals (seabirds are feeding plastic to their chicks, yummy plastic for dinner anyone?), its causing animals to get entangled and eventually leading to death.
But it is not all doom and gloom there are a few things we can do to prevent our rubbish ending up in the oceans and it begins with the 4 R’s. Rethink, refuse, reuse and recycle. Let’s begin with rethink. It’s simple rethink your purchases; can you buy the same item without a plastic wrapper? Bananas for example, don’t they already come with a protective skin? do they really need to be wrapped in a plastic bag? Refusing items is ok also, the consumer has a huge amount of power. I have walked out of coffee shops when they refused to use my reusable cup (it is estimated the UK gets through 2.5billion single use coffee cups a year which is a huge number!). Carry a water bottle, you will be surprised how easy it is to get them filled up and think more about how you can reuse items after you have purchased and used them (e.g., jam jars make for an easy storage solution). Recycling as much as possible will also make huge steps to reduce pollution. Due to public awareness about plastic pollution, a lot of improvements are being made to reduce the amount of new plastic being produced and you will find manufactures have reduced bottle sizes and a lot of these are now being made from recycled plastics, which is giving that single use plastic a second life. As divers, a very easy contribution we can make is to simply bring back any litter we find whilst out diving. This will remove it from the environment and don’t forget to talk about what you’re finding. Diver’s love comparing experiences and I can guarantee someone can trump your craziest rubbish item found. We are in the best position to bring what is under the waves to the surface and to people’s attention.
One species of animals that have been hugely affected by plastic pollution is the sea turtle. This brings me on to today’s World Sea Turtle Day, a day to bring awareness to these ancient, curious creatures. There are seven species of sea turtle and they are all threatened with extinction. This threat has come about due to various reasons but plastic is a big one. All species of sea turtle will eat jellyfish at some stage in their lives whether it be as a juvenile, or it becoming the sole item of their diet as an adult. However, plastic floating in the water looks very similar to a jellyfish. For a species that has been around since before the dinosaurs they have no idea what plastic is and if they see it and think its food, they will eat it. This can be life threatening as plastic cannot be digested so the turtle will feel full. So, why not on the 16th try dropping a sea turtle topic into a conversation, post a little something on social media. You will be surprised at how quickly a conversation will get started. A little fun fact a green sea turtle can hold it breath for anywhere up to five hours. That I think would break any freediving record.
Hopefully, you have enjoyed reading this short piece on the two awareness days in June. Now is the time to start raising awareness and to not let your dives go to waste. Come along and find out what we are doing to help our favourite place, the ocean.
Safe diving!
Ellie
PADI Open Water Instructor.
Don't forget to come and join us for some Dive Against Debris events along Dorset's local coast. Keep an eye out on our Facebook page for more information as the events get posted up on there.
You can also join us on one of our Project AWARE courses that are ran regualrly. Book now and we'll contact you within 48 working hours to organise a date with you.
]]>A big well done to all our divers who completed Scuba Reviews:
Adele
Gary
Wilkie
Nicola
Tracey
Ralph
Charlie
Paul
Ed
Henry
A massive congratulations to the below students for completing courses in May
PADI Advacned Open Water
Sam
Matt
Alex
Jon
PADI Dry Suit Diver
Matt
Sam
Jon
Tristan
PADI Delayed Surface Marker Buoy
Matt
Alex
PADI Enriched Air Diver
Gary
Tristan
Massive well done to one of our scout teams that we had and our 9 PADI Discover Scuba Diving students too! We look forward to seeing you in the water in future.
We also had a fantastic time on our Buoyancy workshop (better late than never, eh? lol)! We had 11 students come along to perfect their buoyancy, trim and weighting. We loved our new swimthrough buoyancy frame too - what a treat!
Keep an eye out for our next one in our winter workshops from October onwards.
We're all ready to go for our new 12 PADI Open Water students for June. The team are really looking forward to it and we can't wait to get back into the swing of things!
Check out our other courses running soon too:
PADI Dry Suit Course - 11th & 13th June
Scuba Review - 18th June, more coming soon!
PADI Rescue Course - Throughout July
PADI DSMB Diver Course - 16th & 18th June
PADI Navigation Diver Course - 11th August
We also have weekly PADI Discover Scuba Diving sessions too!
Fancy getting away soon? Sunshine, diving and more!
Blue O Two Best of Wrecks!
Spend a week on Blue Horizon explores some of the Red Sea's amazing wrecks. We have a double cabin left (£1,084 per diver) and 3 shared cabin spaces left (£1,014 per diver). Click the photo for more details and contact us to book.
Plymouth Diving from Bovisands
Check out some of the best wrecks on offer in Plymouth Sound. The area is known for it's fab visibility and amazing wrecks. We'll be spending 2 days diving and a day snorkelling with Blue Sharks & a dive. Click the image below for more information and to book now.
We're so excited for the dive season ahead!
We'll see you back in the water very soon!
Happy diving & stay safe! :)
]]>
Get him in the water for a try dive, you can even join him and get a ‘Duo Scuba Experience!’
Our PADI Discover Scuba Diving sessions are £45 each, this includes a briefing beforehand telling you all about diving and introducing you to the scuba kit you’ll be using. Then, we’ll jump in the water for an hour demonstrate some skills for you to do yourself, followed by some swimming around and playing with our underwater frisbee. We’ll then get out the water and de-brief – there’s no pressure to purchase an Open Water course afterwards either! You can book these directly online via our booking system or you can purchase a gift voucher for him instead which will give him the flexibility of choosing his own date.
If you would like to join him you can purchase our ’Duo Try-Dive.’ This was created as a valentines offer (so don’t be put off by the picture!), but proved very popular and has been since! So why not yourselves £20 each and book onto one for only £25 each!
You buy them directly off the website and we’ll be in touch to organise a suitable date for you both.
You could always go the extra mile and be the favourite child….
Our PADI Open Water course will give him that scuba diver qualification that he’s always dreamed of! Our course is £495 and includes all online theory learning, the pool sessions and 2 open water days – all that will qualify him to 18m.
You can book via the online booking system or purchase a gift voucher for him to book it himself.
Check out specialty packages too!
Gift vouchers are handy for any Dad who think he’s got it all. There will always be something for a diver to buy 😉
We offer values of £25, £50 and £100 along with some others....
Check out our other gift ideas...
Light up the way with a new shiney torch. We have a stock to fit all budget and all needs
BRAND NEW APEKS TORCHES
The Apeks range of Luna torches fills you with the reassurance you need and the intensity of light you demand.
British built and made to last, you won't be disappointed with the fully sealed units, LED lights, Interlligent Thermal Management and more. The mini comes in a range of awesome colours and all of them come in a lovely, zippered hard case to protect them.
ORCA
Our Orca range has a wide variety of torches for your unique needs!
Torches for recreational diving, technical diving and underwater photography with an added range of accessories. No matter what your need you'll find the right one to suit your budget.
Check out our light selection >>here<<
Bags are always handy, you can never have enough bags…
Click the photos below to view the product.
APEKS DRY BAG
APEKS brand new bag range is a MUST for any stylish diver.
Their 30L dry rucksack is useful for everyday use, not just your diving day! The large dry compartment even has a dedicated padded laptop pouch, with a vented back it's durable and waterproof.
Their new roller bags tick all the boxes - reliable, decent capacity and great carrying efficiency. Available in 40L or 90L they have a hardwearing tarpaulin shell, heavy duty roller wheels and a robust telescopic handle.
We have a selection of bags available via our online store HERE including other great brands such as Fourth Element, Akona, Aqualung and O'Three.
Accessories are always helpful. Whether it’s a knife or cutter, repair gear or something to make you look cool - click on the images for more information on the product.
Eezycut cutters.
The forefront of Emergency Cutting Tool dynamics and design. The Eeazycut Trilobite was developed for divers, mariners, mountaineers, extreme sports adventurers and rescue service providers who demand a tool that delivers a swift, safe, efficient cut.
Available in a variety of colours with a harness or flexi pouch.
Gear Aid Maintenance products.
Care for your zip with some Wax or Lubricant, clean and defog your mask with Goggle Bright, instantly repair a damaged suit or BCD with Black Witch or keep your seal in good condition with Seal Saver. Other maintainance products available via the picture below.
Be the bees knees with these amazing XDEEP bolt snaps.
With their revoluntionary design these are the most popular bolt snaps on the market!
Easy to use/open, no loss of dexterity, finger support and made of stainless steel.
Keep the chill off
We've got good quality hoods & gloves available in stock from the guys at O'Three in Portland. Their Tri-Season hoods and gloves keep your warm all year round. If you prefer something thinner or thicker, we can order them in within 2 working days.
We have lots of other stock available in our online store - check it out now!
Oh, and don’t forget to check out our bargain corner while stocks last!
]]>
We’ve had an abundance of enquiries and questions regarding diving now that restrictions are being eased. Not just “Can I dive if I’ve had covid-19?” but also questions like “Should I still be cautious?” and “What are you guys doing to help protect students & divers from it?”
We’re no experts on the matter so we’ve found some trusted articles that you can have a read through and we’ll tell you all about what we are doing while the restrictions are still easing.
At the very start of the worldwide pandemic very little was known about Covid-19 and its effects. Not just its effects on scuba divers & diving, but the effects of the impact of our lives medically, physically and emotionally. With it spreading quickly, and in most cases leaving a devastating trail of destruction for families and humans alike, the world was put into a lockdown and restrictions were put into place. 12 months later we’re only just starting to see the restrictions easing…
Within several months research was showing that the effects of Covid-19 can be damaging to the heart & lungs and that you can even have it without even realising! Although we still have little information on the long-term effects of Covid-19 DAN (Divers Alert Network) have updated their guidelines for divers who are concerned about returning to diving.
DAN
Have some very useful articles and videos here:
https://dan.org/health-medicine/covid-19/
http://www.danap.org/DAN_newsevents/covid-19.php
The Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine Society published an informative article on the risks of scuba divers following the recovery from Covid-19.
https://www.uhms.org/images/Position-Statements/Return_to_Diving_Post_COVID-19_Final_NB_4-27-2020.pdf
If you are concerned in any way, shape or form about diving after Covid-19 it is highly recommended to contact an authorised/insured diving physician to discuss your concerns and have a medical carried out where possible.
However, if you do plan on diving with us or partaking in a PADI course with us we would require you to complete a PADI RSTC medical statement form. If you answer ‘YES’ to any of the questions YOU WILL NEED to get the medical statement completed and signed off by an authorised/insured GP. If you require one of these forms please contact us to obtain one and do not book onto any events or courses until you have seen a doctor.
Preventing the spread and feeling safer.
There’s many recommendations out there that we’ve been adhering to for over 12 months now:
What are we (Dorset Diving) doing to help prevent the spread of Covid-19?
We require EVERYONE to wear a face mask whilst in the centre and indoors whilst training. We have hand sanitisers in several places around the centre for you to use.
We do ask that people refrain from picking up/touching items that they don’t intend on buying. If anything is touched it is wiped over with antibacterial wipes. All our masks are in their own sealed boxes, we have a demo mask of each product that is thoroughly washed down and wiped after each person tried it on.
All surfaces are cleaned down at the end of every day, including door handles. Our POS system is wiped with an antibacterial wipe after every use.
All our school equipment is disinfected after every use.
When we are training, we provide hand sanitiser and mask defog to all students and team members.
All of our students are required to use their own mask and snorkels for hygiene reasons.
During training we encourage and remind all students to social distance where possible (it’s not always easy when learning to dive!) and make sure they are wearing their face masks!
We hire a big hard boat for regular boat diving from Poole Quay. Numbers were low at the start of the dive season, but now the restrictions have eased numbers have increased. Whilst on the boat divers are encouraged to social distance and are reminded to wear masks and be cautious of their actions.
When the weather improves, we will be starting up our shore diving again. We will encourage small buddy groups and ask them to keep their distance from other groups. We will not be doing our usual beach BBQs after the dives just yet.
Stay safe and we look forward to seeing you in the water very soon!
]]>
We had the keys to our new premises at the beginning of last March, so January - March was busy packing boxes and sorting through our old premises in preparation for our much awaited move. March kept us busy refitting the new premises on not a lot of sleep....
However, we did enjoy designing, decorating, repairing, cleaning and all the rest of it. We'd like to say a big thank you to everyone that helped us out where they could, we really appreciate everything that you all did.
On Monday 12th April we opened the doors, not just for the first time in our new location but for the first time since the middle of December! The support and positive feedback from all our divers (old, current and new) since then has been phenomenal! We were so excited to open our doors, not just to show off our new dive centre, but to catch up and see everyone again. It was great to see people again and has been a privilege to meet loads of new divers.
We're not shy to say ourselves that we are very pleased with what has been achieved and to get the exact look & feel that we wanted (and more!).
People have commented, not just recently, but in the run up to opening our new centre, that they thought we were mad doing it in such challenging times, especially when we still don't entirely know what is round the corner. We must admit, we were very nervous about it ourselves but in all honesty, it was always the plan (global pandemic or not)!
In 2019, when we purchased Dorset Diving Services we knew the lease would end on the current unit in April 2021, so we had always planned to relocate over the Winter of 2020/2021. We did have the option to stay at the older premises a little longer, but we don't do things in half, so we decided to bite the bullet and go with the original plan! We are so glad we did it...
Something even more crazy.....
.....We got married on the first Saturday of opening!
A big thank you to our 2 team members Pablo & Cameron for holding down the fort for us at the centre for the day. After having to re-arrange our wedding 3 times already, we couldn't re-arrange it again and we couldn't have asked for a better day. The weather was in our favour and we enjoy a truely amazing day.
A big thank you to Trev & Sharon on Rocket for their hospitality on the boat during the day. They were kind enough to take us round to Swanage Pier on the boat and whilst on the boat we enjoyed canapes & champagne and some lovely decorations :) Another big thank you to divers Andy & Piers for their experise throughout the day.
Again, a MASSIVE thank you to all of our divers that gave us cards, liquids, foods, presents and sent us their well wishes. We were so overwhelmed and it really does go to show how lucky we are to know such a great bunch of divers. You guys are the reason we love our job! Thank you so much.
Back to reality....
At the beginning of the month the team had a day out at Vobster Quay. As you can imagine, we were all dying to get back in the water! The main reason for our outing was to get reaquainted with our kits, blow off the cobwebs, practice a few skills and re-route ourselves under the water. We also needed to check our weighting.....(insert funny comments/emoji's here!)
The day was a success, only a couple of small issues which were sorted by the end of the day. A few new routes mapped out for our courses. Our kits got wet and so did we! It was great to get together again and have a good laugh. We can't wait to get our students back in the water.
We started boat diving again too, woooooo!
The viz hasn't been fantastic, but we still got wet and still had some good dives and some good laughs.
Through the month we managed to do a couple of courses too, well done to the below:
Emily for completing her PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider
Matt for completing his PADI DSMB Diver
Well done to Greg & Tom for completing Dive 1 of their DSMB Diver.
Trev & Jordan for completing their Emergency First Response Refresher
Tracey for completing her PADI Equipment Specialist Course
Keep an eye out on our Facebook page for upcoming events & trips.
Once the weather has brighten up again and the present plankton bloom has cleared we will be organising some shore diving.
We have a couple of trips in the pipiline too.
If you join our DIVE CLUB you'll get priority notifications and bookings on all our trips and events, as well as other stuff. Check it out and join now!
You can also book onto our Boat Diving and upcoming courses via our online booking system!
If you have any enquiries please don't hesitate to get in touch with us!
info@dorsetdiving.co.uk
See you in the water!
]]>Are you ready??
Yes! You might say. However, are you fit enough? Are you Dive Fit?
It’s not something that everyone thinks about on a regular basis and with the most recent global pandemic most of us haven’t been diving for around 6-12 months. I’ve heard plenty of people talking about their ‘covid weight’ – an increase in weight due to the fact that they’ve been snacking more at home and have generally been less active. I’ll holds my hands up too – it happened to be during the first lockdown! Even though we were still allowed outside for exercise during lockdown I can’t be sure that we all did so….(Not that that’s a problem), and of course, the gyms were closed along with other sporting activities and clubs being unable to go ahead with anything. I’ll also say at this point, others have been the opposite. I’ve seen that others have take advantage of this time and improved on their fitness and are coming out of lockdown fitter than when they went in.
Effectively, a small loss in strength and fitness can ultimately affect our diving abilities as we may become uncomfortable in gear we’re normally used to and/or out of breath with the simplest of tasks if we’re exceedingly unfit. If you think about it, diving can be quite a physical challenge we’re lifting our cylinders, carrying our weights, and swimming against currents amongst other things. Even an emergency situation can lead to not just higher stress & heart rate levels, but also more physical exertion. So considering a bit of exercise wouldn’t hurt at all, and not just to “recover” from the covid-19 period, but on a regular basis.
DDRC say, “Obesity and poor levels of fitness are real risks for divers. For most dives that go to plan you don’t need to be fit. It’s when things don’t go to plan that your levels of fitness will make a difference between a close shave and a serious incident. Studies repeatedly show that the exertion required to rescue a diver is substantial. Many of us might not have been diving since last summer or are considering UK diving after our usual overseas trip has been cancelled. We would urge people to get fit, be cautious and to ease themselves back to diving gradually and conservatively. Slowly build up to the kind of dives which you have previously been doing. We realise that there may be a sense of needing to make up lost time – but 2020 is not the year to break depth records and push exposure limits.”
I’m not going to tell you to go and join a gym. There’s lots of things you can do that don’t cost you a penny, even the tiniest of things can help:
So, I’m not a qualified trainer or in anyway, shape or form an experienced sporty person so I’ll tell you about my recent fitness journey and then provide some links for some (what I feel) reliable training and fitness blogs/websites etc that could be useful for becoming dive fit.
If someone told me 12 months ago that I’d be able to run 5k now nonstop(ish) I would’ve laughed in their face and told them to sober up! Although I’ve had numerous gym memberships over the years and enjoy walking, I can most certainly say, hand on my heart, that I’ve never had an interest in exercising. You could say I’m allergic to it – literally(!) – unfortunately I have a condition called Cholinergic Urticaria (yes, I have to Google it every time). In English? Basically, I’m allergic to my own body sweat and have to regulate my body temperate accordingly. Ewwwwwwww. In fact, because it means I come out in a red heat rash most people panic if they see it after a dive because they think I may have decompression sickness! I haven’t done a lot of exercise because of this for a loooooooong time! I always get embarrassed when people point out my rash and because I was bullied over it at school it stopped me doing anything to prevent the rash appearing and to stop any questions and having to explain it. Although I still have to put up with it in other situations (like going from a hot outdoor environment into an air-conditioned room etc), exercise is one of its main triggers. To this day, I still get embarrassed by and will try to avoid certain situations if I can help it and mostly brush off peoples comments or questions (or just try to hide myself or it!). In fact, I think this photo was taken the last time I participated in exercise LOL - Beanbag race, sports day 1995 ;)
In February 2020 we went away for a weekend in London and our hotel room had one of those stupidly big mirrors in the bathroom and I happened to catch a glimpse of myself in it and didn’t like what I saw. I knew I’d put a bit of weight on (yes, this was before the lockdown!) and decided it was time to do something. I actually joined a gym online there and then!! That week I started going to the local gym making an effort 2-3 times a week starting off with the cardio side of things. I power walked on the treadmill and did some cycling and cross training for around 1-2 hours. Needless to say, I started getting bored quite quickly & came up with excuses as to why I couldn’t go, and then when the first lockdown hit, I used it as an excuse to cancel my membership. I actually remember trying a light jog on the treadmills and not being able to do 3 minutes!! I lost a few pounds during this time but nothing much – better than none I suppose. Fast forward to the Autumn of 2020 and I noticing that I was struggling carrying & lifting cylinders to and from the dive van, getting out of breath going up the office steps and squeezing into my size 12 jeans! Again, things needed to change this time, after all I didn’t want to be too fat and not fit into the wedding dress I had bought. We’d been given a treadmill during the first lockdown, which we used a handful of times and then, admittedly, used it to store things on! LOL! In October I decided that I should probably give the couch to 5k app a go, being as I’d downloaded it all those months ago…. I started using it and, to my surprise, actually enjoyed it. Admittedly I was struggling with things towards the end of 2020 and during the third lockdown (but who wasn’t?!), so I felt that this was giving me a reason to get out of bed in the morning to do something productive and feel better for it throughout the rest of the day and being able to achieve something every other day. Yes, I’ll admit, there were some days and the odd week that I missed, but I got back on it! After 3-4 weeks I realised that it was making a difference, I noticed that my body shape was changing and that I had lost a couple of inches off certain areas that I hoping to target. I also realised that I wasn’t getting out of breath walking up the stairs anymore and that I was feeling much better in myself. Halfway through my couch to 5k programme I realised that I was enjoying it so much and liked the difference it was making that I decided to add another workout regime to my routine. I found a suitable fitness app (after trying many) that enabled me to go at my own pace and had a variety of workouts to do. So, 1-2 days a week, as well as running, I also do a Legs, Bums & Tums workout, some stretching and a bit of yoga – I even tried hula hooping at one point, but that one’s not for me!
I still can’t believe how much I’m enjoying my new exercising and am keen to continue it once lockdown is over. It was quite an overwhelming moment when I completed the last run of the couch to 5k and I still enjoy running today. I highly recommend getting into a regular fitness regime, not just for diving but for your own satisfaction, mental health, and general health & fitness.
Don’t let a poor fitness level let you down when you’ve been waiting to go diving for so long! Get yourself into a regular exercise pattern – it doesn’t have to be too much – just walking can do.
DAN recommend about 30 – 60 minutes of exercise 3 – 4 times a week to help meet the demands of diving. They advise gradually building up your strength, stamina and endurance for the dive season ahead following our altered fitness regimes and lifestyles during the covid-19 pandemic. Here’s a handy top from one of their blog posts:
“In those weeks before your dive, slowly crank up your fitness with a mix of both low- and high-intensity workouts — walking, running, yoga, lifting weights, cycling and swimming are all great options with their own benefits. Don’t anticipate your body being able to perform as it did this time last year. The aim is to first re-establish and then enhance endurance and cardiovascular fitness.”
As promised earlier, there’s some links below to some websites and popular apps for more information on getting ‘DIVE FIT.’ Click on the pictures to find out more information.
Here’s some information on the Couch to 5k. You can download it directly onto you smart phone. It's a great start to getting into running.
The Peloton apps include a variety of workouts for Running, Cycling, Cardio, Strength, Bootcamp, Yoga and more. You can use it via their website or app on your smart phone.
Deep Blue Diving has a great, detailed article on some fitness & diving tips
https://www.deepbluediving.org/how-to-exercise-for-scuba-diving/
DAN have a series of workouts:
- Neglecting Health & Fitness
- Body & Brain
- An in depth article on weight training for diving fitness
- Strengthening your core – without the situps!
- Battle rope workouts
- Have a stretch before you dive
www.sidemounting.com
This website is more than just side mounting, there’s some great content on here! It was recommended to me by a friend when I wanted to improve my finning technique and I found the ‘exercises & stretches’ video very helpful (here's a preview) - https://youtu.be/kc19r0sxPqQ
If circuit training is your thing, this article may interest you
https://scubadiverlife.com/circuit-training-for-scuba-diving/
And if its inflatables you prefer…
https://www.exercise-ball-exercises.com/exercises-for-scuba-diving.html
PADI has a good blog with some exercises to keep you fit for diving too.
I found Laura’s blog on 6 ways to stay fit to dive an interesting read. It’s not just about fitness, it’s helpful for your mind and soul too! As well as a link to their Health & Wellbeing Facebook group for the ladies…
Don’t forget about eating a healthy diet too. Forget about the ‘fad’ diets, just eat healthily.
There are plenty of other blogs, websites, apps and videos online to browse through. Obviously, it doesn’t have to be ‘scuba diver’ specific but they’ll give you an idea of the types of exercises you can be doing to help improve your cardio and strength etc to prepare you for the years of diving ahead of you!
At DDS we wish you the best of diving for the year ahead and many more to come! Stay calm, stay fit, dive! We’ll see you very soon.
JoJo.
]]>
I am officially a qualified PADI Divemaster! Yay! Was this my goal when I first started diving? Nope! Did I ever think I had what it took to be a DM? Truthfully, no. I first qualified as an Open water diver when I was 17 on a trip to Kenya. Aside from a couple of dives on a family holiday I did not go diving for nearly 10 years, always keeping it as a fun memory but nothing more.
My proper journey into the dive world really started when I met Jojo through work in 2018, she told me that she was a diver and that her partner, Leon, ran a dive school. Jojo encouraged me to come along to a pool session and do my ReActivate to refresh the skills and knowledge I learnt on my open water course. Within a few weeks of meeting Jojo, Leon and the rest of the team, I had signed up for my Advanced Open Water course and booked on to an Egypt liveaboard the following year! In the summer of 2018, I went diving as much as I could; I completed my AOW and several specialities to improve my skills. I made lots of new friends and went on lots of underwater adventures. However, if you had asked me then if I were going to complete my Divemaster I would have told you no way, I am not a good enough diver to do that! I did however start getting more involved in supporting the Dorset Diving team, and in the 2019 I found myself in the role of Crew for the team.
In 2019 I completed my Rescue diver course and became PADI Master Scuba Diver, which I honestly believed was the end of my training. To fulfil my role as crew and be able to help support the Dorset Diving Instructors in the water, I nervously invested in my HSE medical. I was happy, then the word Divemaster was thrown in my direction, mostly by Leon and I kept batting it away. However as many of you will know Leon is stubborn and in September of 2019, I signed up for my Divemaster course. It started out great; over the following months I started to get parts signed off very quickly. I also realised how wrong I was about my diving and how capable I was! Sadly, something happened that absolutely no one saw coming…2020. In March, my training stalled due to this pesky little thing called Covid! Along with my training my motivation for completing the course stalled as well, I just could not see the end of the road whilst stuck at home watching the world essentially fall apart. Thankfully, others could and in August, with encouragement from Leon and the team, I picked my DM manual back up and organised the completion of the remainder of my course! Finally, on October 4th 2020 whilst at Vobster Quay I completed my final training dive!
The course was challenging and at times a real struggle, with truly unexpected hurdles, but it was also one of the most rewarding courses I have ever completed! Bring on the summer and introducing more people to the amazing underwater world!!
I'll see you in the water very soon!
]]>Project AWARE is a registered, non-profit organisation and global movement for the oceans protection.
VISION: A clean & healthy ocean
BELIEF: A future where the ocean no longer needs protecting
It was created in 1989 when PADI introduced Project AWARE as a project and environmental ethic for its divers – new, current and future! In 1992 it evolved into a non-profit organisation with a dedicated mission and purpose and in 1999 it formally registered as a charity. In 2011 it introduced Dive Against Debris – the world’s first underwater marine debris survey.
MISSION
To connect the passion for ocean adventure with the purpose of marine conservation to create lasting change. Project AWARE takes action to create both local and global change for the ocean and the communities who depend on it. Our local actions collectively protect the most vulnerable marine species and decrease pollution.
Project AWARE:
As part of its mission, to help divers along the way, they have created the “Top 10 tips for divers to protect the Ocean planet.” This has been created with divers in mind and how they can help make a difference every time they dive, travel and more!
Our project AWARE course helps you understand how you get the most out of the above and teaches you how you can be efficient in contributing towards the health of our oceans - as well as the on-land environment too!
We offer the course as a stand alone and also an add-on option to our PADI Advanced Open Water so you can become an eco-diver.
At Dorset Diving Services we have 2 Project AWARE officers (below) – Open Water Instructor, Ellie and Divemaster, JoJo. As our project AWARE officers, they will be on hand to answer any queries you have about the movement and will be around to help encourage you stick to the top 10 tips. They also manage our Project AWARE Facebook page (more info below) and organise project AWARE events. JoJo is also keen on introducing ways in which the dive centre can be green, so keep an eye out for small changes at our new dive centre and when we’re on site. Did you see her blog post about ways on how you can reduce your carbon footprint?
Recently, during lockdown, JoJo (top right) became a Project AWARE and a Coral Reef Conservation specialty instructor. So, in celebration we are currently offering 10% off the Project AWARE course – this offer is only valid for 1 week until 20th February 2021. To claim this offer book online and use code ‘PA10’ at the checkout.
Also, in loyalty to our project AWARE commitment, we have introduced a new ‘add-on’ to our PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course. For an extra £50 you can complete the Project AWARE course to become an ‘eco-Advanced’ Open Water Diver – this saves you £35 and is sure to allow you to become a more conscious diver.
Other Project AWARE Courses
Project AWARE also offer other courses that are environmentally friendly, as well as awareness courses.
Project AWARE also have numerous campaigns that they, as well as other divers, are passionate about. Check them out here:
If you’re interested in taking one of these courses head on over to our website and book yourself on. These courses are presentation led so will be presented either online or in person at the dive centre (once restrictions are allowed). Once you’ve completed any Project AWARE course you will be invited to join us in our ‘DDS Project AWARE divers’ Facebook page, where you can keep up to date with Project AWARE news, worldwide news relating to the subjects covered in the project and you can get involved in our local event organised by JoJo & Ellie.
As part of your payment to the course £10 will be donated to the Project AWARE Foundation and you will receive a specific Project AWARE certification card.
If you want any more information please feel free to contact us.
]]>
Valentine and St Valentine’s Day date back to the 5th Century! Today we celebrate St Valentines on 14th February as a day of romance between lovers. This holidays origin comes from the roman festival of Lupercalia, which was traditionally held in mid-February. The festival, which celebrated the coming of spring, included fertility rites and the pairing off of women with men by lottery. At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I replaced Lupercalia with St. Valentine’s Day.
Although there were several Christian martyrs named Valentine, the day may have taken its name from a priest who was martyred about 270 CE by the emperor Claudius II Gothicus. According to legend, the priest signed a letter “from your Valentine” to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended and, by some accounts, healed from blindness. Other accounts hold that it was St. Valentine of Terni, a bishop, for whom the holiday was named, though it is possible the two saints were one person. Another common legend states that St. Valentine defied the emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to spare the husbands from war. It is for this reason that his feast day is associated with love.
During the 1500s formal messages of love started to spread and by the 1700s it had become as commercialised as it is today. Valentines commonly depict Cupid, the Roman god of love, along with hearts, traditionally the seat of emotion. Because it was thought that the avian mating season begins in mid-February, birds also became a symbol of the day. Traditional gifts include candy and flowers, particularly red roses, a symbol of beauty and love.
Back to the aquatic world that us Scuba Divers thrive off! Did you know that they’re of some amazing loving relationships out there in the oceans?
Japanese Puffer Fish
These awesome little guys create “underwater crop circles” as part of a mating ritual. The males flap their fins as they swim along the seafloor, disrupting the sand making these lovely patterns. The Puffers are only about 5 inches in size and create a masterpiece that’s around 2m in diameter. Once they’ve created their pattern, they decorate it with shells. The females then make their decision on who to choose by assessing their skills and artwork(!). If she’s impressed, she will lay her eggs in the centre of the circle, where the male will then fertilize them.
Check out this BBC clip to see him work his magic
Seahorses
Most species of Seahorses mate for life. They dance together every day to reinforce their relationship. This is done by entwining their tails, swimming side by side and mirroring each other’s movements.
Did you know that it’s the male that carries the developing embryos and gives birth to their live babies? (This is the only known male species that do this!)
During the mating season the female deposits her eggs into his pouch (like a Kangaroos!) and the male fertilises them there.
Check out this BBC clip to sea some local Seahorses dancing
(PLEASE NOTE: It is illegal to actively search for and/or photograph Seahorses in the wild if you do not have a license to do so!).
Angler Fish
(I think this is weirdly my favourite!)
When the deep-sea Ceratoid species of Anglerfish were discovered in the 1800’s scientists were confused as to why they were only finding large female specimens. They recognised that some had a bumpy appearance, and some didn’t - some bumpier than others. It was ruled that these bumps were other species – possibly parasites. But it wasn’t until later on that scientists realised these bumps were in fact male anglerfish!
When the males are born, they follow a pheromone to a female. Once he finds a female he latches onto her body and fuses himself to her – their skin & blood vessels join, allowing the male to feed off his host. His sperm is provided whenever she is ready to spawn.
There are other species of Anglerfish where the males are independent and look after themselves. They only latch onto the females to mate.
Pacific Striped Octopus
Octopuses are well known to be solitary creatures that typically mate at arm’s length. However, the small Pacific Striped Octopus have been observed close together.
These species cohabit in the same crevice for a few days while they mate, as well as sharing their meals. Observers have described their actions as having rough sex, arm-to-arm, sucker-to-sucker and beak-to-beak (as if kissing). After mating the male looks after the eggs, while the female leaves and dies.
French Angelfish
These monogamous Angelfish are rarely found on their own, they’re always seen in pairs and they mate for life. They work together to defend their territory and foraging together. They travel to the surface together and release their eggs and sperm together into the water. If they are ever separated, they perform a circling dance with each other when they reunite.
Wolf Eels
These Eels are another monogamous relationship and live in the same caves together for life. They start mating from the age of around 7 years old, the male wraps around the female (a hug maybe?) while she lays her eggs, which he then fertilises. Once the eggs are laid, they coil around them shaping the eggs into neat spheres. They both protect the eggs, massaging and rotating them to ensure that they get enough supply of Oxygen. They take it in turns to leave their home to get food.
Sea Otters
These cute fluffballs are quite social animals. The males are polygynous, mating with multiple females throughout the breeding season and often luring females away from other groups. The mating itself is often forced upon the females, the males bite and hold down the females. Sea Otters form a friendly raft in large numbers on the surface to help protect them from predators and stop them from drifting off along while they sleep.
Male Otters have also been observed & documented on several occasions sexually assaulting young Seals!!
Not so cute now eh….?
However, they do look cure when they're holding hands on the surface. Some people mistake this for being in love, but it's actually what they do (mostly in groups) to stay together. The groups form rafts, they hold hands to stay together which stops them drifting off on their own while they sleep and forms a kind of defence from predators (strength in numbers and all that).
Humpback Whales
It’s common knowledge that Humpback Whales can belt out a good tune. But there is speculation as to why they do this, there are a few theories and while these theories are valid reasons and quite possible scientists are still not entirely sure of the actual reasons for this and are still researching.
The first theory being that is helps them navigate through the oceans. A second theory being that it’s communication, although predominantly between males as it’s only the male that sings.
A third theory, being that it’s a mating call. This has been slightly debunked recently by scientists in New Zealand because the recordings they played under the water only attracted males, not females. A theory in relation to this is that the song is for males to join together to display a “lek.” A Lek is when multiple males display together, allowing females to choose the best from the group.
Click here to listen to their Majestic songs in Monterey Bay
Highly recommended for Whales watching by the way.... ;)
Penguins
An adorable one to end on. Most people can’t say they’ve dived with Penguins; however, what people don’t realise is that you can, in fact, see them in several parts of the world (Not just Antarctica!), like New Zealand & Australia, South Africa and South America. Most Penguins do have a monogamous relationship – although in unfortunate circumstances when one partner doesn’t come back, life goes on and they have to find another partner. So, I mentioned earlier that traditional gifts of letters, sweets, chocolates, and flowers are usually what one would expect to receive from a loved one. But some Penguins prefer sticks and stones…
Male Gentoos search for the right pebble to give to his companion. If she likes the stone that he’s picked out, she’ll keep it in her nest and they’ll mate for life. The stones are so important that the males often fight for the smoothest, prettiest stone and once it’s in the nest the stones are fiercely guarded by both the male and female.
Male Adelie Penguins go back to the same nest every year. They tidy it up and build it out of sticks and stones and anything else they may find. The same female from the previous year(s) will head back to the same nest to check out his hard work and make sure it’s still up to scratch - if she’s happy she’ll stay. They’ve been observed to check out other nearby nests too, which can cause trouble!
For the species that don’t build nests, such as the Emperor’s, singing is very important – Like the Happy Feet film! It is believed that a female can tell how fat a male is by its song, meaning the fatter he is the longer he can guard their egg without leaving for food. Once a female chooses her mate, they embark on a courtship ritual which involves bowing, preening, and calling to each other. This ritual builds their trust and relationship and helps them get to know each other, as well as learn their calls so they can find each other later on. Once they have mated and the female has laid her egg the male incubates their egg between his feet for 2 months while the female goes to search for food.
I hope you've been inspired for Valentines this year! ;p
Don't forget if you're stuck on what to buy your loved one for Valentines Day this year check out our GIFT VOUCHERS PAGE!
]]>
There are several terms used in relation to carbon footprint and they’re all closely linked:
- Greenhouse gases
- The Greenhouse effect
- Climate Change
- Global Warming
- Fossil Fuels
Your personal carbon footprint is what you leave behind as a result of moving about, consuming, eating and using resources like energy.
Why not check out what your carbon footprint is? There are several calculators that you can use to find out.
Click here for a detailed analysis
Click here for a simpler analysis
There are others out there you can use too, just Google it if you’re interested.
Greenhouse Gases
A greenhouse gas is any type of gas in the atmosphere that blocks heat from escaping. They let sunlight pass through the atmosphere, but they prevent the heat that the sunlight brings from leaving the atmosphere. Overall, greenhouse gases are a good thing. Without them, our planet would be too cold, and life as we know it would not exist. But there can be too much of a good thing. Scientists are worried that human activities are adding too much of these gases to the atmosphere.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Made up of carbon and oxygen, CO2 is all around us naturally. It comes from decaying and living organisms, and from volcanoes! It is released when burning fossil fuels like coal and oil. It is the main contributor to human-caused global warming.
Methane (CH4)
Made up of carbon and hydrogen and is released from wetlands, rice fields, raising cattle, using natural gas and coal mining. It traps a lot of heat. It is considered the second main contributor to human-caused global warming.
Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
This is a natural part of the nitrogen cycle. It is made from bacteria in the soil and ocean. It is also released by some types of factories, power plants and plant fertilizer. It damages the protective ozone layer and is a powerful greenhouse gas.
The Greenhouse Effect
This is the natural process that is warming the Earth. The Sun’s energy gets absorbed and re-radiated as greenhouse gases. This absorbed energy warms the atmosphere and the surface of the Earth. The current problem we are facing is that our activities as a human race are increasing the concentrations of greenhouse gases. Which, in turn is contributing to the warming of the Earth (climate change).
Human activities are changing Earth's natural greenhouse effect. Burning fossil fuels like coal and oil puts more carbon dioxide into our atmosphere and scientists have observed the increased amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere. Too much of these greenhouse gases can cause Earth's atmosphere to trap more and more heat. This causes the Earth to warm up.
Just like a glass greenhouse, Earth's greenhouse is also full of plants! Plants can help to balance the greenhouse effect on Earth. All plants — from giant trees to tiny phytoplankton in the ocean — take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. The ocean also absorbs carbon dioxide, unfortunately this makes it more acidic – creating something called ocean acidification. More acidic water can be harmful to many creatures that live in our oceans. The warming waters are also a main cause of coral bleaching.
Climate Change
Climate change is a change in average temperatures and the change in weather patterns. For 100s of years human activities have directly & indirectly contributed to the release of greenhouse gases, which in turn has added to the rise in overall temperatures. In the mid-1800s (when the industrial revolution began) we started to burn fossil fuels; this is what creates the greenhouse gases that are getting trapped in our atmosphere. Since then the average temperature has risen by around 1.5C. Although this may seem like a small number, we’re already seeing the effects it has and over time it is estimated to increase.
There are also some natural processes that contribute to climate change, such as volcanic activity and the suns energy.
Global Warming
This is the overall term used for the long-term heating of the Earth, it’s basically a blanket term for the above terms. These effects are causing such things like rises in sea levels, melting ice caps, extreme weather events and changes in wildlife populations and their habitats.
Fossil Fuels
These are what give us most of the energy we use today to get on with our daily lives. For example, powering our cars, homes and businesses and keeping us warm. They are formed via a natural process, mainly decomposing organisms and fossilised remains, and contain a high amount of carbon. The primary fossil fuels used today are coal, oil and natural gases.
Not only is the burning of these fuels having a bad impact on our planet, but the way in which it is “farmed” is also having a negative impact. Mining, fracking, deforestation, acidic run offs, destructive blasting methods and the building of infrastructure to accommodate for the removal of these are devastating the Earths landscapes, critical wildlife habitats and creating unusable wastage.
How does this effect you as a scuba diver?
Although it doesn’t massively affect us directly, it’s all having an effect on the beautiful waters that we love to spend time in and around. You may not think it but there are several ways in which all of the above can affect the oceans (71% of the Earths makeup don’t forget!). You may not realise it straight away, but think about it:
What now? How can we change this?
So far, we, as a human race, have made huge progress. With the introduction of renewable energy (wind & solar) and being energy efficient we are helping to grow a cleaner future.
The links between greenhouse gases and climate change are too evident and extreme to ignore. Average global temperatures are increasing, extreme weather events are becoming more severe and too often, ocean levels are rising, and acidification is occurring. All these threats are a result of human activity. By lowering our own carbon footprint, we can help contribute to the reduction in the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Reducing our carbon footprint also has other advantages, we can save money as well as lead a healthier lifestyle. By changing certain things, no matter how small or big, we can help all future generations to come to live a safer, healthier life.
What can you do?
What are we doing at the dive centre to help reduce our carbon footprint?
We have others things in the pipeline that we would like to start working on and hope that you can help do more to reduce your carbon footprint. Pop on by the dive centre for more help and information and to see what we're doing to help. By working together we build a better future, not just for us and future generations to come but for our planet.
]]>
New year, new you?? YES!
We all love setting ourselves goals in the new year, whether they last a week or the whole year! It’s such a simple thing to do and can lead to some exciting adventures throughout the following 12 months and in addition, the rest of your life!
So, for now, lets not kid ourselves that we’re going to stick to a healthy diet and go running every other day (a big well done to those of you who do and stick to it - I admire you so much!). Pick up that chocolate bar and have a browse through our courses, see what you fancy doing for yourself in 2021. Here’s a quick summary for you 😉
Is your new year resolution to start something new? Get a new hobby?
Then this is a good place to start.
Come along to one of our PADI Discover Scuba Diving sessions on a Friday evening at The Dolphin Leisure Centre in Poole. It’s an evening with a couple of our PADI Professionals introducing you to the underwater world, they’ll go through:
It’s a great way to give it a go and double check that it’s something you’ll be comfortable with before you commit to the PADI Open Water Course.
Did you enjoy that? Or have you done it already and want to start your training?
Then let’s book you onto the PADI Open water course! There are a couple of options for this…
If you are booking onto our PADI Open Water Course, please be aware of the following:
Is your new years resolution to get back into diving?
If you haven’t dived for a while and you want to get back into it why not come and join us in the pool one evening for a PADI Scuba Review or a PADI Re-Activate. It’s a great chance to dust off those cobwebs and reignite your passion. So, what’s the difference I hear you ask?
Scuba Review.
This is recommended for those who have been out of the water for approx. 12 months. Our PADI Professional will have a chat with you on the evening to get an idea of your past experience and what you have in mind for your future diving. From this, they’ll take you into the water and go over all the skills from your Open Water course. You’ll also get the chance to focus on some of the skills a bit more if you want to, aswell as working on some simple buoyancy skills if you have time.
PADI Re-Activate
This is recommended for those who have been out of the water for a long time (1 year+). You get an eLearning code up to the level that you are trained to (the highest being PADI Rescue Diver), this enables you to go back through the theory part of your qualification level (including the basics) and then on the evening you refresh all of your PADI Open Water Skills, as well as any other skills you’d like to go over. You’ll need to have completed all your online theory before you attend your pool session and once you’ve completed your pool session you get a new certification card with a renewed date on it.
These are 2 great options to help you get back into your hobby! Once you’ve completed your evening you can come and join us for some diving on the boat and off the local shore – you may even fancy booking onto one of our upcoming trips!
Is your new years resolution to do more diving?
Awesome! We have an array of specialty courses – and PADI Pro ones. There are several options:
NEW FOR 2021!
Diver Course Packages!
We’ve put together some packages to help you save some dollar!
Our packages are designed with you in mind. The discounted rates are only available when the package is purchased as a whole. PayPal finance options are available at the checkout to help spread the costs.
As of Spring 2021 we will be running First Aid courses – not just for divers but for others too. The courses include:
Stay tuned for more details coming soon!
Are you ready to jump right in!
For the next 6 weeks, until 17th February 2021 we are offering the below:
We look forward to seeing you soon.
If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
]]>
Here’s a list of some ideas for your Christmas wish list that we think you’ll like. Don’t forget, pop into the store and we will look after you – Help to look after your local dive centre, and we’ll look after you 😉
Present Ideas
Light up your life with a new torch!
Not just for night diving but are helpful in low viz situations, for looking inside things (like wrecks and crevices) and for communication. You’ll find that most torches now use LEDs rather than bulbs and they have got smaller over time and with just as much power!
We stock Orca Lights and even have some available for you to try out before you buy.
We always have a stock of D520 & D530 torches in stock and will have the new D700 and D710 in stock from the end of October.
Torches you can try – You can hire (for FREE!) a D520, D530, D611 or D630 before you order. If there are any other torches you wish to purchase that we don’t stock, we can still order them for you and have them in within the week.
Keep an eye out on our events on FB and on the booking system for a demo night coming soon. We’ll be turning the lights off in the pool so you can see what kind of power they have and how easy they are to use, so keep an eye out and pop along.
Create Bubbles!
Treat yourself to some regulators.
Most definitely one of the first things you should purchase if you’re looking at having your own dive gear. This is one of the most important parts of your kit, so having your own is handy – so you know where it has been and how well serviced and looked after it is.
We recommend APEKS regulators (they’ve built up a very good reputation for making high quality, extremely reliable equipment), we have always used them in the school kit. We started with DS4’s and have now upgraded to XL4’s. You’ll notice that most of our team use APEKS regulators and you can always pop along to a pool session to give them a go.
Check out their range here and contact us to find out more information if you’d like a price.
We can order APEKS and Aqualung regulators in for you and have them in store within 5 days.
https://www.apeksdiving.com/uk/products/diving-regulators.html
http://www.aqualung.com/uk/gear/aqua-lung-regulators
Pack your bags & go!
We all love a good holiday and making sure we can take our scuba gear as well as our clothes & flip flops! So having a roomy, lightweight bag is a must! They’re not just for holidays though, having a set of wheels to get your dive gear to and from your car to the local boat or shore is handy too.
We stock and have available to order bags from Fourth Element, Akona & Aqualung.
Stay Neutral
Do you need a new BCD or wing? Or do you just need to buy one?!
There’s plenty out there that you can purchase. We can order these products for you from Apeks, Aqualung and XDEEP. We have an XDEEP Demo evening on 2nd December in our pool, so why not pop along and try some out?
Book it online now: https://www.coast2coastscuba.uk/pages/events-trips
XDEEP’s range is great, from the travel ghost to the technical rigs it. You can even customise it – add extra D-Rings, add a splash of your favourite colour and you can even get your name embroidered on it, so you don’t mix it up with anyone else’s kit! We have the ZEOS Wings in the school too! Check out their range here, and drop us a message if you’d like us to place an order your you:
https://www.xdeep.eu/
Aqualung have BCDs to suit every need and every budget. We use the Pro HD and Wave BCDs in our school and have never had a problem. Apeks have a range of wings for both single and twinset cylinders.
http://www.aqualung.com/uk/gear/buoyancy-compensators
https://www.apeksdiving.com/uk/products/bcds.html
Computers – yep, I said it! That expensive thingy on your wrist…
Yet another first purchase for your dive gear collection.
Purchase the best computer that’s right for you – there’s no need to buy the one with all the features on it if you’re not going to use them all. There are computers to suit all budgets, but at the end of the day they all do the few things that you need them to do the most – monitor your depth & dive time, calculate no-decompression limits, display your ascent rate and show you your safety stop information. We have a wide selection of computers available for you to purchase from Aqualung, Suunto and Cressi.
We use the i300C computers in the school – they are so easy to use and you can even Bluetooth them to an app on your phone which is so quick, easy and simple!
You’ll find that our team members have a range of computers from a basic Cressi Leonardo to a more featured fill computer such as Suunto’s Eon Core or Aqualung i770R.
http://www.aqualung.com/za/scuba-diving-gear/dive-computers
https://www.suunto.com/en-gb/Product-search/dive-computers/
https://www.cressi.com/catalogue/index.asp?CategoriaCOD=06F&act=1
With some of the Suunto and Aqualung computers you can even purchase a pod or transmitter which attaches to your cylinder(s) and sends your air reading straight to your computer. Fancy stuff eh?!
DSMBs & Reels/Spools
There's plenty on the market out there and it's this that will make you seen from above the water. Allow other water users and your shore cover to know where you are at all times with a new, fancy DSMB and show off your shiney new reel or spool too!
We stock a range of different styles, sizes and brands including XDEEP, Apeks, Beaver & IST.
We have a DSMB workshop on 9th December, so come along and have a play with a few different SMBs, Reels & Spools - there's plenty to go round.
https://www.coast2coastscuba.uk/pages/events-trips
Stocking Filler Ideas
After those suggestion, if you get the “I wasn’t planning on spending that much on you!” comeback, here are a few slightly cheaper ideas that are always handy to have on any dive or dive holiday!
Eezy Cut Trilobite
A snazzy Emergency Cutting Tool (E.C.T) that every diver should have on their person.
An E.C.T. needs to be fit for purpose. Like a fire extinguisher or insurance, you do not plan to use it. It needs to be well maintained, and regularly inspected. Get to know how the tool works before you are confronted with an emergency. Locate the tool in an accessible area, especially when you may unexpectedly have restricted movement or limited visibility.
The EEZYCUT TRILOBITE has two sides, and so it has REDUNDANCY built into its design, but nothing can replace the true redundant safety feature of two completely independent E.C.T.’s.
The unique cutting mechanism of the EEZYCUT TRILOBITE provides the cleanest, sharpest, most effortless cutting action available. Everyone experiences the wow factor the first time they use this ergonomically designed cutting tool, as it slices and dices its way through line and webbing. The EEZYCUT TRILOBITE is rated to cut line with ease, repeatedly, up to 8mm thick, and can easily cut through larger line. TheTRILOBITE also makes light work of all types of webbing. With replacement blades, this cutting tool provides you with the best cut, every time.
Available with either a harness or wrist mount and in a variety of colours from black to glow in the dark. We stock a handful of these at all times, if we don’t have the one you want we’ll order it for you.
Gear Aid repair & maintenance products and Spares
Don’t get stuck on a boat watching your buddies have a great dive or 2 because you’re not equipped with the right back-ups or repair stuff…
Got a small hole in your dry suit? No problem!
Black Witch or an Aquasure Repair Kit should do the job for a few dives until you can get it into repaired properly.
Stiff Zip? No problem!
Keep some wax and lubricant handy
Dry Seals? No problem!
Don’t let them dry up too much, keep them conditioned with the Seal Saver.
Smelly neoprene gear? No problem!
We’ve got suit shampoo and odour eliminator to solve the problem.
We’ve also got things like mask de-fog and Jollop which are always handy to have as extras in your bag!
We’ve got all sorts of suitable spares stuff for your toolkit too:
O-Ring Sets
O-Ring Key rings
Multi Tools
Grease
Glowsticks and Light Markers
We’ve got a range of light markers that are extremely handy (not to mention mandatory) for night diving. We stock:
Ni-Glow Key-Ring Glow Markers
Northern Diver Flexi-Lights
Cyalume Sticks
Mares Marker Beams
All in a variety of colours with easy attachments and great burn times.
Lanyards & Bolt Snaps
We sell handy wrist lanyards (in black or yellow) and the great quick release coiled lanyards (in Blue or Black). Both great for keeping things like your torch and camera secured to your gear.
We’ve variety of snap bolts in stock – both stainless steel and brass in an abundance of sizes. We also stock the super-duper high quality XDEEP bolt snaps.
http://www.xdeep.eu/nx-series-bolt-snaps-scuba-pr-140.html
GIFT VOUCHERS!
We also have a range of gift vouchers. You can purchase these online and we’ll post the voucher out to the purchaser within 48 working hours.
Vouchers available:
PADI Discover Scuba Diving
PADI Open Water Course
PADI Advanced Open Water Course
£25 Gift Voucher
£50 Gift Voucher
£100 Gift Voucher
You can also buy the Air Fill and Nitrox Fill Cards online!
https://www.coast2coastscuba.uk/collections/vouchers
Come on by or get in touch for more details, we’re always on hand to help.
See you soon.
Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
]]>https://www.discoveryuk.com/campaign/shark-week-2020/
To join in we thought we’d share some sharkey stuff with yourselves throughout the week.
Did you know that Sharks, Rays & Skates are all closely related? They are part of a family called Elasmobranchs. These animals don’t have any bones, they are cartilaginous fish and have between 5 & 7 gill openings on each side of their bodies. They are thought to date back approximately 150 million years!!!
There are around 630 different species of Rays & Skates and around 1,000 different species of Sharks! Did you know we get them here in Dorset? The most commonly spotted are:
The Sharks Trust is a great charity that work to raise awareness to safeguard the future of Sharks through positive changes. They achieve this through science, education, influence and action.
Check out their website, they have some great information on there all about Sharks, Skates and Rays. You can also get involved by reporting sightings and your findings of Shark eggs along the shores.
The largest Shark is the Whale Shark, they can grow as large as 18 metres.
The smallest Shark is the Dwarf Lanternshark, these little fellas only grow up to around 20cm in size.
The largest Ray is the Giant Manta Ray, they can grow as big as 8.9 metres.
The smallest Ray is the Short-nosed Electric Ray which only grows to around 10cm.
The largest Skate is, the creatively names, Big Skate. The biggest recorded was 243cm
The smallest Skate is the Starry Skate, which grows to approx. 76cm.
Shark Diving: The Top 10 Best Dive Sites In The World (courtesy of PADI Travel).
Browse their holidays now by clicking here.
Sharks Are Friends
A fear of Sharks is quite a common thing amongst Humans and it need not be! They're not exactly the cuddliest of creatures and some of them can look fairly terrifying with their rows of sharp teeth. However, this fear is largely unfounded.
Shark incidents are rare and of those that do happen, only a handful turn out to be fatal. They are not the mindless, killing machines that the movies make them out to be and media coverage can be a bit exagerrated and one sided.
The majority of Sharks are harmless - did you know the Worlds largest Shark (The Whale Shark) is actually a Plankton eater?? They don't even have teeth! In fact, the top 3 biggest Sharks are Plankton eaters!
Scientists actually believe that attacks are just a simple case of mistaken identity. Sharks, such as Great Whites, Tigers & Bull Sharks hunt from below, so they can mistake a humans silouette for something like a Seal or Sea Lion and that's why Humans are just bitten, not eaten & swallowed!!
The International Shark Attack Files states that you're actually more likely to be killed by drowning in the sea than you being attacked by a Shark and you're more likely to be hit on the head with a Coconut at some point in your life.
Remember, Sharks have more reason to fear us than you do to fear them....
Dun-uh. Dun-uh. Dun-uh
And if you fancy watching some "Jawsome" movies this week here are IMDb’s top 10 Shark films:
(I don't take any responsibility for listing the above as top 10.....!!)
Keep an eye out on the Facebook page this week for some Shark facts throughout the week. Don't forget to share with us any photos or memories you have of any Sharkness....
]]>The Wildlife Trust have some handy things you can do yourselves at home and along the shore to get stuck in – check them out!
https://www.wildlifewatch.org.uk/national-marine-week
Dorset Wildlife Trust also have a couple of things at The Chesil Centre to get you stuck in with
https://www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/explore-shore-celebrate-marine-week
If you fancy visiting a local beach yourself to investigate the life along the shore I can highly recommend a few great sites that I love going to for a good browse:
How to Rockpool
Rockpooling is one of my favourite things to do – although I must admit, I haven’t done it for a while! (That's me in the main image enjoying a bit of Rockpooling!) People take buckets and trays to put things in to inspect them closer, but I prefer not to – you never know what harmful bacteria you have on your skin and I wouldn’t want to unknowingly harm anything. So, I just admire from a distance. But you want to get in there and move a few rocks around and look into the crevices (if you move anything put it back, but make sure you don’t squash anything). You’ll find little Crabs, Shrimps, Gobies and Blennies hiding under the rocks and in the crevices. There’s lots of stuff attached to the rocks too – Common Limpets, Barnacles, Anemones, Starfish and Seaweeds (there’ll be things attached to the seaweeds too!). Keep an eye out for Mermaids Purses too. There’s so much more stuff there than I have listed – there are lots of free online guides you can use too, even just typing in a description on Google can bring up the result you want to ID something.
LEFT TO RIGHT:
Limpets (the bigger, rounder shells) and Barnacles
Small Porcelain Crab
Snakelock Anemones
Beadlet Anemone
The Anemones display their colourful tentacles when they become submerged in water, which helps them collect their food. You can see the blob in the insert - this is what they look like when they are not submerged in water, they're like a small blob of jelly.
Rockpools are a familiar sight along the coasts all around the world and I’m sure many people have memories of a good old rummage at some point in their life, maybe as a child on holiday? It certainly is an interesting habitat – you may not think it but it has to deal with a lot, there’s so many changing factors in the rock pools which make the living environment a very harsh one:
Investigating the Strandline.
The Strandline is an area on the beach when debris has accumulated. The water moment of the waves carry debris such as seaweeds, driftwood, shells and sometimes animals (dead or alive). It accumulates along an area of the beach (around the high tide area). You can find all sorts here from Whelk eggs to Permaids Purses and lots of empty shells, melted crab shells, cuttlefish bone and seaweeds. Unfortunately, you also get a lot of litter caught up so don’t forget to take a bag with you to collect any rubbish you come across.
Most recently I found some cetacean vertebrae that I was really excited about along Chesil Beach.
SIDE NOTE: Don’t remove any bones from protected species, such as the vertebrae as it’s illegal to do so without a license. Just take photos like the ones below:
LEFT TO RIGHT:
Mermaids Purse - Thornback Ray eggcase
Cuttlebone - Not actually a bone but an internal shell filled with lots of small gas chambers that control the Cuttelfish's buoyancy.
Mermaids Purse - Small Spotted Catshark eggcase
Whelk Eggs - A sponge like ball
Cetacean Vertebrae
Portugese Man O War - Commonly mistaken for a Jellyfish, but it's actually a Hydrozoan. It's a colony of lots of small individual organisms.
When walking along any beach you’ll always come across something marine related, usually lots of empty shells. But at certain times of the year some of the beaches get stranded Jellyfish, some even get stranded Mammals such as Cetaceans and Seals.
If you do find any eggcases please report them to The Sharks Trust:
https://www.sharktrust.org/great-eggcase-hunt
If you come across anything that is stranded report it to BDMLR:
https://bdmlr.org.uk/
If you spot any Jellyfish, Turtles, Basking Sharks or Crawfish report them to The Marine Conservation Society:
https://www.mcsuk.org/sightings/
I got called out to young, stranded Seal once at Chapmans Pool. As you can see he was quite thin for his age and very thin. We transferred him to a recovery centre and he was released a few weeks later :)
On and Under The Water
There are 2 charities that do surveys on the water.
ORCA do Cetacean surveys and Marine Life do Cetacean and sea bird surveys.
I enjoyed doing many of these before, but unfortunately my lifestyle no longer allows it :( Check out their websites for more information and upcoming training courses:
https://www.orcaweb.org.uk/
http://www.marine-life.org.uk/
You can also get involved in underwater surveying while you're diving. Seasearch Observers carry out surveys of the habitats and marine life on a dive site. I've done some myself, but really need to get back into it. If you're a Seasearcher let me know and we'll arrange to go diving some time and if you're not attend a training day and come and do some diving. You can find out more information on their website:
http://www.seasearch.org.uk/index.html
We hope you manage to get out over the next couple of weeks to explore. Don’t forget we’ve got boats running on Monday & Thursday evenings now and are hoping to start some shore diving soon, so keep your eyes peeled on our events page.
Throughout the week we will be posting images and information up about some of the most common Marine Life we get to see while we are diving locally so stay tuned!
Don't forget to share with us on Facebook what you get up to, we'd love to hear all about it.
]]>However, have you made any thoughts about diving post-covid-19? Whether you have had the virus yourself or not, or whether anyone you know has had it, it’s still worth reading up about it and considering a few aspects of the ‘situation.’ With many dive operations opening again (whether that be a boat, school or dive centre) you might find yourself wondering whether you are safe or not?
Well, whatever the facts and figures show and whatever the current government guideline(s), that is your sole decision to make. It is up to you whether you feel safe enough in certain situations and/or environments, so it is important to do your own research from trusted, reliable sources to make your decision.
We’ve been making our own preparations in our school and putting certain things in place in our dive centre to ensure not only your safety but our safety. When visiting our centre and attending our training sessions please ensure that you abide by the rules that have been set out:
Our Dive Centre:
Training:
We request that all divers adhere to any guidelines whilst visiting our centre or attending our sessions – please read the information on the centre door before entering and we kindly ask that you do not visit the shop or attend any training sessions if the following applies:
Our of our team members have been briefed on the ‘new norm’ for a safe return to teaching how to dive. We’ve been busy taking online First Aid courses, including ‘Airbourne Pathogens’ and have attended some PADI online webinars around the subject.
All of our team members have completed the below course which is available to anyone for FREE. Although it is aimed at staying safe in the workplace, there is still some valuable information in there for anyone who would like to learn a bit more about the virus and how you can stay safe. We highly recommend it
https://www.firstresponse-ed.com/stay-safe/?fbclid=IwAR2_cbwTCC0GhDwp_Tf24ol1UUSQAjI9m0C12wCT6Iez2CC2N_CZvRMqASE
We have found some reliable resources for you to read and watch surrounding the Covid-19 and returning safely to scuba diving.
The Divers Alert Network (DAN) have a great range of articles and you don’t need to be a member to access them!
https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/covid-19/
If you are qualified to give CPR this is a useful article regarding how to provide treatment, recommending safe steps to go ahead.
https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/emailView/landing/blogs/cprAndCovid19/index.html
Dive Magazine have an interesting article, with an article within that written by a German doctor that has experienced treatment on the front line.
http://divemagazine.co.uk/skills/8907-serious-problems-diving-after-covid19
The World Health Organisation have issues for great tips on how to protect yourself and help prevent the spread of the virus
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public
Check out this map that PADI are regularly updating regarding the current status of diving all around the world. We know it’s not the best time to be booking holidays, but if you are considering it then this may help.
They have also created a handy page of diving and travel safety tips to consider
https://blog.padi.com/2020/04/03/travel-and-diving-safety-tips-during-and-after-covid-19/
Don't forget to support your local shop.
2020 has been the most important time, more than ever, to support your local dive centre, but in times like this it has highlighted how important it is to do so regularly - not just during a time of crisis.
We've had a fantastic first week back to diving since we opened our doors again after closing them almost 3 months ago! It's been great to see you all - old and new - and we are really looking forward to continuing our friendships with you all in the future.
Lets stick together!
* Click here to like us on Facebook & tag your family & friends. Interact with our posts (comment on and share our posts!)
*Book your gear in for a service with us
* Click here to view PADI Travel holidays
* Give us a review on Facebook and Google
* Click here to view our online courses to complete from home
* We can now also order books too, so have a browse at our other courses available.
* Join our dive club!
We wish you a safe and happy return to diving.
If you have any concerns or questions give us a call and we will do our best to assist.
As the majority of us are still abiding by the UK Government lockdown rules we're unable to get out and about to celebrate World Oceans Day and go diving.
Learn about the World's Oceans here instead.
With most of our planets surface being covered in water, it comes as no surprise that 94% of Earth’s living species exist within the oceans! However, on the other end of the scale, less than 5% of the Earth’s oceans have been explored.
According to the World Register of Marine Species, there are now 240,470 accepted species, but this is believed to be just a small proportion of the species that exist, with new marine life being discovered every day.
Ocean currents are continuous and directed movements of ocean water. These currents are on the ocean’s surface and in its depths, flowing both locally and globally. Winds, water density, and tides all drive ocean currents. Coastal and seafloor features influence their location, direction, and speed. Earth’s rotation results in the Coriolis Effect which also influences ocean currents. It takes approx. 1000 years for water to complete a full, continuous journey around the world via the Global ocean conveyer belt.
The tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun, and the rotation of the Earth.
The average depth of all oceans together is around 3,700 metres.
Naturalist divers would be interested to know that there are just over 240,000 known marine species that are included within the 28 major animal groups that live in the ocean.
For all you wreck divers out there, did you know there are approximately 3 million shipwrecks in the oceans and more artefacts than all of the world’s museums combined?!
Deep divers will be amazed to know that the deepest dive ever to take place was achieved in the Red Sea in 2014. Ahmed Gabr reached 332.35 metres – the dive lasted 15 hours!
For technical divers – The pressure at the bottom of the ocean would crush you like an ant! In the deepest part of the Mariana Trench, the water pressure is eight tons per square inch – if you got down there, you’d feel like you were holding up 50 jumbo jets!
For the warmer climate divers. You may think that the deepest parts of the ocean would be very cold, but actually most of them can reach up to 400°C. This is emitted from Hydrothermal vents where the seawater is heated by hot magma below the Earths crust.
Here are some interesting facts about each one of our Oceans.
The Pacific
FUN FACT: If you could put all of Earth’s landmasses together the Pacific would still be larger.
The Atlantic.
FUN FACT: (Lets call this more interesting than ‘fun…’). The RMS Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg in the Atlantic’s well-known ice fields. It now lies 3,700 metres below the surface (approx. 13 nautical miles away from its last known position) off the SE coast of Nova Scotia. It was on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York and was only 3 days away from New York – she was the largest ship of its time and had coincidently been dubbed ‘the unsinkable ship.’
Indian Ocean
FUN FACT: It is estimated that the Indian Ocean becomes approximately 20cm wider every year!
Southern Ocean
FUN FACT: The largest invertebrate found on our planet, The Giant Squid, lives in the Southern Ocean.
Arctic Ocean
FUN FACT: It is the only place you can find Walrus, Polar Bears and Narwhals.
What’s the difference between an Ocean and Sea?
Sea and Ocean are two different large bodies of water. People often use them interchangeably, but they are not the same. However, all the seas and oceans are all connected into one large body of water.
The sea refers to a body of salt water that covers most of the earth. Generally, it is a secondary body of salt water that is largely landlocked. It is often between connected to an Ocean. Seas are usually around the land, and they are greatly made up of marine life. An Ocean is much larger than a Sea and is actually a combination of seawater bodies. It is also a large body of water that exists between continents. Oceans have more depth and do not support a great variety of marine life like the Sea. There are also farther away from the land, which further reduces the possibility of aquatic life in an Ocean.
World Oceans Day
“World Oceans Day unites and rallies the world to protect and restore our shared ocean. The Conservation Action Focus is on the protection of 30% of the Earth's land and ocean by the year 2030.”
This is growing collaborative conservation around the globe with a network of leaders in 140 countries, providing resources for all to take action to restore and protect the ocean.
Sign the petition to encourage our world leaders to do something sooner rather than later
https://worldoceansday.org/take-action/petition/
How can you experience the oceans and seas?
Click on the options below to find out more.
>>LEARN TO DIVE<<
>>RE-ACTIVATE YOUR DIVING STATUS<<
>>CHECK OUT OUR TRIPS AND EVENTS<<
]]>