Your Opinion Does Not Matter
The following is weather for various locations for this Friday through Sunday (17th Feb 2006-19th Feb 2006):
Perhentian/Redang: Friday through Sunday – isolated rain. Wave height: 1.5-2.5m
Tioman: Friday through Sunday – isolated rain. Wave height: 1.5-2.5m
Mantanani: Friday and Saturday – cloudy. Sunday – sunny. Wave height: 1.5-2.5m
SYDNEY, Australia (12 Feb 2006) — A man who died cleaning the hull of his boat may have become distressed after losing a fin, police said yesterday.
The man, in his early 50s, was using scuba gear while cleaning the underside of his boat, which was moored in the Parramatta River at Kissing Point Bay, near Gladesville in Sydney.
It is understood the man and a male friend boarded the moored vessel – an old fishing trawler which had been converted to a pleasure cruiser – yesterday morning with the intention of cleaning the hull.
He was last seen in the water at 11.30am (AEDT).
A short time later, his friend became concerned when he could no longer see the diver or any air bubbles indicating his location.
Using the boat’s radio, he called for help. A NSW Maritime Services vessel was first on the scene.
Police divers arrived a few minutes later and quickly located the man at the bottom of the bay and brought him to the surface about 1.15pm.
A Water Police spokesman said last night the man, who had not been formally identified, still had air in his tank when he was found.
“The biggest clue is that he lost a fin so he may have got himself into difficulty and was unable to return to the surface,” the spokesman said.
The man’s body was taken to the Water Police station before being transported to Glebe morgue late yesterday afternoon.
A post-mortem examination would determine whether he suffered a medical condition such as a heart attack or drowned in the accident, police said.
His friend would give a statement to police and a report was being prepared for the coroner.
The accident occurred about 200m from Putney Park, where dozens of families were enjoying a sweltering Sunday afternoon.
Unaware of the tragedy, they enjoyed picnics and barbecues around a children’s play area and paddling pool.
A number of boats moored nearby appeared unattended as police examined the dead man’s boat and the surrounding area.
The area is a popular one for recreational boating and fishing.
Police had not released the dead man’s name late yesterday as relatives had not identified his body.
Very often you find Instructors and Divemasters who brag about their dive skills. Well, I don’t dispute them as they would have gone through quite a lot to get where they are.
According to PADI, upon completion of your Advanced Open Water course and completing both your Emergency First Response and Rescue Diver courses, and on top of that you have 20 logged dives, you can enrol for the Divemaster course as a DMT. Upon completion, you must have a minimum of 60 logged dives. To become an Instructor, you will have to become an Assistant Instructor first, and must have at least 100 logged dives.
Now, what if the DM organises a dive trip and acts as a dive guide to 4 Nitrox divers who dive to, say 30 meters for 45 minutes, and then after half an hour of surface interval, turn to the DM and say, “Hey, we’ve completed our surface interval. You’ll have to go down with us again and show us this other deep dive site.”?
By the end of the day, the untrained-in-Nitrox-diving DM would have seen pink perch (ikan puyu) swimming by him.
I would think that those who have Master Scuba Diver rating would have more specialised skills than most Divemasters. This is because, on top of the EFR and Rescue Diver courses, a Master Scuba Diver would have gone through 5 other specialty courses. I currently hold PADI PICs for UW Photography, UW Videography, Wreck Diver, Deep Diver, Enriched Air Diver (that allows me to use up to 40% Nitrox mix)..and to add to that, I also have the Advanced Nitrox Diver PIC issued by the PSAI. These specialties would certainly be of help to me if I decide to become an Instructor later in my diving life.
Maybe PADI should consider having DMTs rated as MSDs first…meaning, one has to become a MSD first before he/she is allowed to become DMs. Then PADI would have added quality to its Divemasters.
Just a thought.
February 05, 2006 19:44 PM
Stormy South China Sea, Dangerous To Small Boats
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 (Bernama) — The South China Sea will be stormy, with waves lashing as high as 2.5m to 3.5m, a condition dangerous to small boats.
The rough sea condition is caused by the north-easterly wind, blowing between 40 and 50km an hour, the meteorological services department said.
It also said thunderstorm is expected in one or two places around West Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor this evening.
It would rain in several areas in Sabah and Sarawak until tonight, it added.
— BERNAMA
Finally…here it is:
Pictures of the January 2006 Exploratory Trip to Koh Lipe is in My Gallery
I’m setting my sights on the wreck of the HMS Hermes, a Royal Navy aircraft carrier that was sunk by aircraft from IJN Akagi, IJN Soryu and IJN Hiryu (three of four Japanese aircraft carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor and later sunk at Midway).
HMS Hermes now lies on her portside, off the east coast of Sri Lanka at a depth of 53m max (44m top).
Now that is so cool!
This is what I want to be doing next month…with my camera on video mode. I already have the background music for it 🙂
January: Koh Lipe, Thailand
February: Mantanani, Sabah
March: Perhentian, Terengganu
Time to hit the silk again….
Divernet News, dateline 11 January 2006
‘No thanks’ to rescue helicopter
A stranded New Zealand diver turned down a lift by rescue helicopter – because he was afraid of heights.
The incident, which occurred just before Christmas, involved two divers who, after entering the sea off Island Bay in the Cook Strait, were left stranded when their dive boat lost power and drifted away. The boat put out an emergency call and a rescue helicopter and police launch arrived on site.
One diver was spotted in the sea near Island Bay’s Taputeranga Island, and was tended by the launch. When the other was spotted on a rock close to the island, the helicopter headed over to hoist him up. But when the lift man arrived alongside him, the diver refused to go, saying he was afraid of heights.
He said he would prefer to stay put a while longer and wait for the police launch. The winchman retreated and the diver duly swam out from the rock when the launch arrived to pick him up.
SeaDemon Says 
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