Archive for February, 2012

PADI Tec Rec explorer day

By djl_team, 27 February, 2012, No Comment

This week started with a bang as instructors, dive masters and any diver who wanted to take on a new challenge came and attended Davy Jones Locker’s very own Tec Explorer Day. Presentations were done on everything from Cave diving in the beautiful Khao Sok National Park to deep wreck diving that can be done just outside of our island, Koh Tao. Next on the list of activities we had a chance to participate in a cave diving exercise where we got to understand and feel what it is like to use a reel to trace our steps into a cave and then be blindfolded and try to follow the line back out.

We all were put in pairs and learned how to communicate with your buddy (no talking, of course) so that you can both get out of the cave in a safe but timely manner. Between the laughing and the obstacles that were placed in front of the to-be cave divers, everyone managed to make it out alive.
By this time in the day the sun was getting hot so we took our next tech activity and got in the pool with Dave Polley and Tim Lawrence, we they gave us a chance to try out some tech gear and see what it’s like to have more then one tank on you. First we started with doubles, were you have two tanks on your back and is a diving configuration that is most commonly used in the tech diving world. Divers had the new challenge of trying to be neutrally buoyant with two tanks on their back then trying to do various open water skills while hovering on their front.

Sound easy? Think again! It was like my first day of diving all over again, and with it came a new interest and wanting to get back in the pool to master this kind of diving. After having the doubles on my back they were then moved to my side to try side mount diving, where you have a tank on each side of your body and can detach them from your hips to make it easier to get through tight restrictions mainly found in caves and wrecks. I found this to be my favourite part of the day, feeling the freedom of having the tanks of my back being able to move them around me and adjust my trim freely. Oh, and it looked pretty cool. The day ended with some drinks and a BBQ, courtesy of PADI, and everyone ending the day with a new challenge to take on in their diving lives.

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PADI TecRec Xplor Day at DJL

By djl_team, 23 February, 2012, No Comment

On Sunday 26th February, Davy Jones Locker will be hosting a TecRec Xplor Day in conjunction with PADI/DSAT. We will be running two seminars. The first starts at 10.00am and the second starts at 1.00pm.

During the seminars there will be the chance to find out more about the DSAT Tec40/Tec45/Tec50 training route. There will also be the chance to try diving on a full tech rig in our pool.

Our instructors will also be demonstrating cave reeling techniques, and there will be the chance to discuss the PADI Cavern Diver, DSAT Intro to Cave and DSAT Full Cave courses with our Tech Dive guru Dave Polley. You will also have the chance to try a side mount configuration in the DJL pool.

Our shop owner Tim Lawrence will be on hand to discuss some of the wreck finding expeditions Davy Jones Locker has been involved in and where you can take your new found skills once you’ve qualified. There will also be he chance to discuss Wreck and Advanced Wreck Training.

There will be an Advanced Equipment/Compressor Operator/DSAT Gas Blender workshop all under the headline of Dive Centre Operations. This course is essential for anyone who is considering going into the management area of the dive industry.

Finally you will have the opportunity to try diving on a Closed Circuit Rebreather (CCR), and find out about what rebreathers are all about in our CCR workshop.

There will be free drinks and a free BBQ for all those who attend. So pop into the shop over the next couple of days and sign up. We’d love to see you down here.

Neal

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I have a vision

By djl_team, 20 February, 2012, No Comment

When I have people do their open water courses with me, Apart from chatting about when they are going to do their next dives, or where on their travels they should stop off, One big question I hear quite a lot is what SCUBA gear should I buy? Quite often they say “I want a really big knife that I can strap to my leg!!” This is a shiny toy to have, especially for a guy. However its not really something you need, or to get started with anyway. The thing I recommend most people to get is their own mask, and they think “aww that’s not very cool!!” However masks are the thing most people have trouble with, you see SCUBA masks are not plastic and rubber like cheap snorkeling ones, they are made from tempered glass and silicone. And it’s the silicone that makes it comfortable to wear. As you wear the mask more and more the silicone molds to your face making it fit you perfectly every dive, and not have to worry about it leaking all the time. Not to mention that people spit in their mask to stop it fogging, I know it gets washed every time but wouldn’t you prefer a mask that only you have spat in? Also I would say get a snorkel too! Divers also like snorkeling and once you have a mask and a snorkel it makes for a cheap fun day out!! Once you have a mask there is just one thing you need to do before you use it, get a tube of toothpaste and rubs loads into the inside of the lens, leave it to dry and before you dive with it rinse it off, this will do two things, A) It gets rid of the grease that covers the lens during manufacturing to help it not get scratched. And B) Makes it smell minty fresh, Lovely stuff!!

Schmike

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Fish of Koh Tao – Clownfish

By Harry, 17 February, 2012, No Comment

Clownfish or anemonefish (Nemo), often found at several of the dive sites around Koh Tao living in the shelter of an anemone. They form a symbiotic mutualisms relationship with sea anemones, which means they both provide benefits to each other, the clownfish feed on small invertebrates which could harm the anemone, whilst the fecal matter from the clownfish provides nutrients to the anemone.

As they dont stray too far from the anemone mating becomes a bit more difficult, the way they solve this problem is by changing sex, all clownfish are born male, and when they are ready to mate the largest and most dominant male turns into a female. When the female dies then the largest male will become female, and continue the cycle. There are also several other fishes that go through this change aswell. Finding Nemo will never be the same again..

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STARTING MY DIVING CAREER WITH DJL

By djl_team, 14 February, 2012, No Comment

Don teaches his first OW course

I came to Koh Tao with the plan of becoming a diving instructor. I arrived with only my Open Water qualification and was a little nervous about everything when arriving and what was actually involved in achieving what I wanted…

I had nothing to worry about! After my first couple of days here I was diving, learning and enjoying every day. In the first couple of months while I was doing my DiveMaster Internship I learnt so much. Not only from the courses that I was doing, but a lot from all the Instructors at DJL that I assisted on courses. Each instructor had their different own style, and I could take bits from each and build up my own way of doing things. This experience I got from working with all the great instructors here was invaluable to knowledge and skills!

After qualifying as a DiveMaster I worked at DJL for a while before starting my IDC training. Once again I had the nerves of starting my instructor course, but after the first couple of days those nerves were gone thanks to our great Course Director, Pete. By the end of my IDC I was more than ready for my IE! Not only was I ready and comfortable during the IE, but I actually enjoyed it as well! I was now an Open Water Instructor!
I then started with the MSDT Internship at DJL, once again this proved to be invaluable to me… having an experienced instructor with me on my first few courses to help guide me through them not only helped me learn how to structure my courses, but gave me the confidence to teach courses on my own and know that I was giving everything I could to my students without losing out on anything because I was a “new” instructor. After taking my first Open Water course on my own, one of my students said that she couldn’t believe that I had only recently become an instructor. I think this is all down to the experience I gained from other instructors on the MSDT Internship!

I am now enjoying working as an instructor in Koh Tao and I am really happy I came and did my training with DJL!

Don Dornbrack

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