Over this weekend just past I had the chance to do four dives as part of a Deep and Enriched Air Diver Course, and a concurrent Deep and Enriched Air Specialty Instructor Course that I am currenrly teaching.

On Saturday we dived the wreck of the SS Bombo, which lies in 30m.  I’ve done well over 100 dives on this wreck, and this would be the best dive I’ve had on the Bombo in a long time.  Viz was good at 10-15m, fishlife was absolutely prolific, and it was a very pleasant dive indeed.

After our surface interval we headed out to the northern side of Pig Island, and dived a spot I call Guano Reef.  Great sponge gardens, good viz and moderate fish life.  A nice dive.

On Sunday morning, we headed out to The Pinnacle, which lies east of Pig Island.  A terrific dive on the southern wall of the site, with a max depth of 30m reached.  A massive bullray glided past and checked us out, and there was a load of fish.

The final dive of the weekend was at The Ampitheatre, on the southern side of Pig Island.  Going down to the sand at about 24m, another massive bullray checked us out.  Then as we cruised around the wall, we were met by the largest school of sea pike and bullseye that I’ve seen in a longtime.  Again viz was in the 10-15m range.

Sea conditions were quite flat with a cold westerly wind, which particularly buffeted us on the Saturday.  The water is very “brisk” with a magical 14C reached on each dive!

I have been advised today that the first batches of the new PADI eRDPML are now available in Australia.

I’ve yet to play with one myself, but I’ve been told that the device is very sleek and is a great dive planning tool for recreational, no decompression air dives.

I’ll be implementing the usage of the eRDPML in all PADI Instructor Courses immediately.  This will ensure that my candidates are given the opportunity to get comfortable with this new technology, as well as be able to offer something unique to their students.

I should have a unit to play with early next week.  I’ll try and post a bit of a review then.

Surface Interval Episode 021 (mp3 - 10MB - 30 min)

LISTEN HERE TO SURFACE INTERVAL

Welcome to the awesomely exciting relaunch of The Surface Interval Show podcast.

Des and Bear kick catch up on whats been happening with them, and some stuff in the diving world, including:

• Des has been busy becoming a PADI Course Director, and is now teaching PADI Instructor Courses at United Divers in Wollongong
• Des discussed the PADI Course Director Training Course he attended in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
• Bear hasn’t been too wet lately, but has been working on getting a lot fitter.  He’s going to have to get his dry suit taken in before he wears it again, as he’s dropped more than 15kg!  (way to go Bear)
• Oceanic Australia has taken a big initiative to talk with its customers, having setup a relationship with DiveOz (close friends of the show), and hosting three bulletin boards there.  Russell Kitt, MD of Oceanic Australia, personally gets into the conversation
• Mike Ball Dive Expeditions is getting rebreather friendly
• The ex-HMAS Canberra has now been handed over to the Victorian group who are preparing it for its sinking as a dive site.  Check out the splendid website at www.hmascanberra.com.au
• Friend of the show, Dave Harasti, has co-authored with Mark Blaine an amazing book called The Marine Life of Bootless Bay.  Its a wonderfully illustrated work on the life found around Port Moresby in PNG.  Purchase the book through Dave’s website.

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BlueBeyond Dive News and Blog | BlueBeyond.com.au | The Surface Interval Show podcast

Surface Interval Episode 021 (mp3 - 10MB - 30 min)

LISTEN HERE TO SURFACE INTERVAL

I am pleased to advise that Edwin Kwan has successfully completed his PADI Instructor Exam in Sydney today.

Edwin undertook his PADI Instructor Development Course with me at United Divers Wollongong.  He attended a part time IDC over 5 weekends, which allowed him to become a PADI Instructor without having to take time off from work.

As with all of our Instructor Candidates, Edwin undertook a FREE PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider Specialty Instructor Course as part of his IDC program.  Not only will Edwin now be qualified to teach a range of core PADI diving courses, he will also be qualified to teach this important safety related specialty.

Congratulations to Edwin on successfully completing the PADI IE and becoming a PADI Instructor!

The June/July 2008 PADI Instructor Development Course at United Divers Wollongong is now complete!

This program was conducted as a part-time IDC, running over 5 weekends.  There were two candidates, Edwin and Phil on the program, with Phil being a former PADI Instructor returning to the fold, and Edwin a long time PADI Divemaster.  There was also a PADI IDC Staff Instructor Course candidate, Richard, who will complete his training on the next program as his schedule didn’t allow him to attend every session on this course.

Phil and Edwin both showed a lot of attention to detail throughout the program, and I am confident that both will make excellent dive instructors.   Each put a lot of effort into preparing well structured presentations, and both showed an ability to inject a sense of fun into everything they did.

Edwin will attend the PADI Instructor Exam in Sydney next week, and I am sure he’ll do very well and move into the ranks of PADI Instructor.  Phil has met all his requirements now to regain PADI Instructor status.

During the IDC, Edwin, Phil and Richard also completed the PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider Specialty Instructor Course, a free inclusion in all IDCs conducted at United Divers. Undertaking this during the course means that they can now teach this important specialty to their future students.

Good luck to Edwin for the IE, and to both for their futures as PADI Instructors.