Our website is basically about enjoying scuba diving. To the owner of the website, scuba diving is not a passing interest, it is a lifelong recreational activity. The owner is an experienced recreational diver, not a professional diving instructor. In order to really enjoy any adventurous activity, most people would like to feel that they are not in any significant danger. Safety should be achieved by adequate training, good equipment, experience, and a common sense attitude. All keen divers should complete advanced training courses such as Stress and Rescue, Senior First Aid, Nitrox and other specialties that suit their interests. Some examples are reported in the Magazine section as an example of the quality and level of training that a new diver should be looking for. Scuba divers who push the limits should have the appropriate training, equipment and experience so that the risks are minimised. Our equipment Recreational scuba diving is all about enjoying the underwater world but within a variety of constraints. However divers who descend beyond 30 metres or extend their bottom time should have the appropriate training, equipment and experience so that the risks are minimised. The most well known forms of diving injuries are Decompression Illness (DCI) and Air Embolism though the incidence of these problems in recreational diving is relatively rare. Decompression Illness At the “SAFER LIMITS 2000”, Hyperbaric Workshop, held at the Wesley Hospital, Brisbane, September 2000, it became clear that diving is considered to be a very safe recreation these days compared with other adventurous activities. This opinion was based on the number of DCI cases treated in Australia compared with the total number of dives per year. One of the main reasons for this is that most divers now use a dive computer, rather than tables or nothing at all. It would seem that there is evidence to suggest that the use of the dive computer has made diving safer. Deep Diving Divers contemplating diving beyond the recreational limit of 30 metres should attend a comprehensive Deep Diver speciality course to learn the necessary skills and to use the additional safety equipment that should be used. In particular, this course should cover gas consumption at depth, and include at least four dives using safety equipment such as twin tanks, pony bottles, sling tanks, hang tanks, high performance regulators, reels, lift bags, etc. Although the larger tanks and/or secondary air supply will provide a substantial safety margin for diver or dive buddy, there is still the overriding no-decompression limit on bottom time. Extending Bottom Time Planned bottom time may be extended by using Nitrox (within its own limits) instead of air. Nitrox is oxygen enriched air, or air with a greater than normal percentage of oxygen. Divers who wish to use oxygen enriched air must attend a Nitrox Diver specialty course which should cover oxygen toxicity, partial pressures, nitrogen toxicity, dive planning, blending and analysing gas mixes. The use of Nitrox pushes you towards using better equipment and having a more disciplined approach to diving. As Bret Gilliam (TDI) says, using Nitrox is not technical diving, just safe recreational diving. Nitrox Gear Typically Nitrox tanks are steel 12 or 15 litre cylinders with high-pressure DIN valves that are rated to 232 Bar. These days, new high performance regulators are either Nitrox-compatible or ready for Nitrox use, with a DIN or yoke first stage. A Nitrox dive computer can be set in the field for one or more gas mixes. The computer should have a depth alarm which should be set to the Maximum Operating Depth of the gas mix being used. An air-integrated Nitrox computer should display the remaining bottom time under unchanged diving conditions.

In order to become an internationally recognised scuba diver, a person must attend and pass an Open Water Diver course from a reputable training agency such as one of the following: SSI SDI NAUI PADI With this certification card, a new diver can then participate in `open water` rated dives to a depth of 18 metres. It is human nature and good common sense to feel a little apprehensive about entering this alien underwater world. Only training and experience will overcome this. It is good business practice for dive shops to encourage their recent Open Water students to participate in pleasure dives where their instructors can keep an eye on them. A new diver can learn a great deal by watching a good instructor in the boat and under water. People need an experience base to consolidate and apply new learning. In other words, you have to practice the basics until they become a reflex action. Then you can move forward and learn new skills. The Mythical Advanced Diver It is common practice in the industry to package four or five specialty courses, and present them as an “Advanced Open Water Diver” course. It makes a lot of sense to do this because there are economies of scale for the dive shop and convenience for the diver. This course can be a very efficient way of significantly upgrading a diver’s skills, and creating a long-term customer. However, there does not appear to be a generally accepted industry standard for ``Advanced Diver``. This can be verified by reviewing the training agencies` web sites. Boat Diving Skills Although some shore dives can be rewarding, for the most part the best dive sites are only accessible from a boat. If you think through the steps in a typical boat dive, there are many little skills involved: dive planning, buddy procedure, entry, controlled descent, instrument checks, dive computer use, navigation, dealing with current, returning to the anchor, controlled ascent, safety stops, retrieval, exit, safety log, stowing gear, refilling tanks. Consequently, an advanced diving techniques course should reinforce the basic open water skills and cover the additional skills and safety procedures that are needed for enjoyable boat diving. Preparing for Adventure An advanced diving techniques course is only the beginning of the learning experience. All keen divers should complete Stress and Rescue, Senior First Aid, Nitrox and other specialties that suit their interests. For example, the SS Yongala lies off Townsville at 30 metres. The SS President Coolidge in Vanuatu goes much deeper. There are several accessible WWII wrecks in the Solomon Islands. Truk Lagoon has a broad range of wreck diving. Wreck and Deep Diver courses are sensible pre-requisites for these trips. Deep Diver courses cover recreational diving from 30 to 40 metres and, in particular, gas consumption at depth. Nitrox courses cover the use of oxygen enriched air which provides an additional safety margin.