World Environment Day

The UN has declared that every year on the 5th June, we will celebrate World Environment Day.

Created in 1972, World Environment Day is a means to highlight the issues facing our environment and raise awareness amongst the general population. Like the Olympics, it is hosted by a different City in a different country and this year, it is Italy's turn to host the events.

Each year has a theme and this year that is Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care!

With our Mediterranean neighbours hosting along with this year's theme, it brings forward thoughts of the plights of our oceans. There is so much reliance on the Oceans, to both make money and for survival, that it is really unsustainable to keep so much pressure on its resources from so many different places.

Besides sustaining life and supporting a whole underwater ecosystem, our oceans provide food (around 90 billion kgs of fish and shellfish are caught every year) and a means of transport for goods and people travelling. We mine our oceans for minerals such as; salt, copper, iron and nickel and, of course, we drill them for oil.

So, it is important that we look after them!

We need to manage our fishing and make it sustainable. Know which fish species are at risk and don't eat them because a lack of demand means the supply is no longer viable. Trawling and Dredging, gill nets and drift nets not only damage and destroy underwater habitats, they are responsible for over 27 billion tonnes of wasted fish and by-catch a year.

Don't Litter!

Sounds easy enough but when you are out on your relaxing cruise boat or even lying on the beach, be sure to put your empty cans, food wrappers and cigarette ends in the bin or in a bag to be taken away and disposed of later. Many a time, we finish a dive with 4 or 5 beer cans in our pockets that have been blown off the day boats as they cruise by, so a little care can go a long way.


This one goes out in particular to the Scuba Divers out there. Get your buoyancy right and watch where you put your hands and your fins in the water. Although here in Cyprus, it is mostly rock and sand, you don't know what little creatures and critters are hiding nearby and you can do untold damage to the life underwater just by being careless.


In the last 50 years, the world population has more than doubled from 3.3 billion to over 7 billion in 2015 so the impact made per person adds up to devastating proportions. It isn't just the Oceans but our forests, woodlands and animal life too. We need to be a bit more discerning with our actions to try to limit the damage and make a conscious effort to give back where we can.


As Mahatma Gandhi said...

"The Earth Provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed."

HAPPY WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY EVERYBODY!

Scuba Diving: A Burning Passion or Burned Out?

It is a brand new season here in Cyprus and before the mayhem begins in earnest, we decided to have a little holiday and refresh in preparation for what is to come.

Since we are also celebrating our 5 year anniversary of being Scuba Tech, it seemed like a great time to get together with some good friends and get away... and what better way for Dive Centre owners in Cyprus and Cyprus Diving Instructors to relax but... Scuba Diving in Egypt!

How can you call it a holiday when you are still doing your jobs you may ask?

Ever heard the old adage, a change is as good as a break.? Well, it is true. We love Scuba Diving and although it is work, it is also a hobby for us and to remain this way over the 25 years I have been a Diver has taken some effort on my part.

Whatever you do, wherever you are, once you get complacent with something, you can easily get bored. This is particularly true if whatever you are doing is repetitive.

For example, I used to work at a diving centre where the bulk of business came from PADI Discover Scuba Diving. When I first started to work there I quite enjoyed the feeling of taking someone in the water for the first time. Seeing the smiles as they came out of the water and the achievement each new diver reached, especially those who initially struggled was a highlight. However, after 3 years of doing these experiences 2-3 times a day, every day, the sheen soon wore off.


We call it burn out!

So, how do we stop this from happening or re-find our enthusiasm if it already has?

For me, I wasn't sure where to go. Initially, I considered underwater videos and photography and did a few bits with that such as; underwater adverts and even some footage for the tv series "My Greek Kitchen". However, we soon realised that was more Shelley's forte!

Eventually, I found Technical Diving and, although I had always said I would never do it, it rekindled a spark for diving that hasn't left me since.

I attribute this to every day being different. Some days I guide qualified divers, some days I teach Technical Diving, sometimes I dive or teach the Rebreather and sometimes I am servicing Dive kit in the workshop. There are even times when I take beginners for Discover Scuba Diving Experiences and the satisfaction of taking a brand new diver in the water has returned.

To ensure the variety, it is definitely worth investing in your diving so you don't get burn out. If you find you are getting bored of the same old routine, it is time to shake it up a little bit.

There are many different aspects of diving you can look into. Try wreck diving or take an underwater camera with you and develop your photography skills. You could consider Technical Diving or a Rebreather Try Dive or, like us, just take a holiday and scuba dive in a different place, see different things and meet new people.


Variety is the Spice of Life!

Dive Presents for Scuba Divers

When it comes to Christmas presents, we aren't hard to buy for, we the Scuba Divers of this world.

Anything that helps us get wet, stay warm and dry whilst getting wet, lights up dark murky holes, is shiny or can be classified under the terms gadgets and toys will surely be a winner wherever a Diver is concerned.

So, here is a Christmas offer from Halcyon Dive Systems to make you feel Festive this winter. This is the Double Down Christmas 2014 Bonanza.

The offer looks something like this...

Buy a Halcyon Infinity Single Tank Wing System for €895 (£715) and get an Evolve Twinset Wing for just €100 (£80).

The Halcyon Infinity System is the ultimate in luxury for the special diver in your life (or even if you want to treat yourself!). It has all the durability and reliability that divers worldwide have come to expect from Halcyon products and incorporates the opulence of the Deluxe Comfort pads for back and shoulders all combined with the Halcyon Cinch system for easy fit adjustments.

Of course, the system has the basics; wing, aluminium or steel backplate, harness and Single tank adaptor.

Use the Backplate with the Single tank wing or the Twinset wing and you are all set up for any kind of diving you want to do... all for less than €1,000.

For more information, just get in touch with us at Scuba Tech Diving Centre

Don't Drink and Dive

With the festive season fast approaching, we all find ourselves with lots of nights out and parties to attend to celebrate. Be it with friends, family or work, it is easy to find yourself over doing it with the alcoholic beverages but if we are diving during this season, how can this impact our health?

Obviously, we all know the risks of drinking too much and most of us wouldn't even consider having an alcoholic drink before we go Scuba Diving but just like driving the morning after a big night out, can alcohol still affect us while we dive?

The answer is a big resounding YES!!

It takes time for our bodies to metabolise alcohol in our systems and there are no hard and fast rules. Like diving and Nitrogen off-gasing, everyone is different and everybody's metabolic rate can vary. 

Narcosis and Alcohol

Tests have shown that a diver's ability to complete skills on Scuba is dramatically compromised with a Blood Alcohol Concentration of just 0.04% which is less than the legal limit for driving a car and, after a late night drinking, can easily be the level left in your body the next morning.

Add this impairment to that which we already feel as divers through Nitrogen Narcosis and you are asking for trouble, especially if old Murphy pops his head up....

Energy Zapping

Which leads us quite nicely onto our next problem with drinking the night before diving. Alcohol Drains Energy by impeding the liver from producing the body's primary energy source, Glucose. This can leave you feeling tired and lethargic.

If Murphy does show up on your dive, you want to have a bit of Energy in the bank to be able to deal with the unexpected. A lack of Energy can leave you incapable of dealing with it safely and expediently. 

Chilling

Feeling chilly? Have a wee dram of brandy to warm your cockles, right?

Wrong!

Alcohol actually works to dilate the blood vessels close to the skin, allowing blood to flow closer to the surface, which makes you feel warmer but with blood flowing away from the core and so close to the surface, you lose heat and chill faster.

Add this to the fact that we lose heat 25 times faster in the water anyway and those drinks are putting you at increased risk of Hypothermia

Dehydration

We have touched on Dehydration and Diving in previous articles and discussed all the risks that entails. In brief alcohol affects the kidneys, which is going to lead to a loss of body fluids and when you combine this with the dehydrating effect scuba diving inherently causes, we greatly increase the risk of DCI.

So, the take-away from this blog is not kebab and cheesy chips or to put a damper on your Christmas festivities. This is just a reminder that if you are scuba diving, take it easy the night before and after your dives.

You don't have to abstain completely but moderate your alcohol consumption and maybe switch to soft drinks after 11pm to give your body a good 8 hours, at least, to metabolise the alcohol to an acceptable level.

Above all else...Dive Safe!

Scuba Addicted Divers? That is SAD!

Sunday is the day that many Dive Centres close their doors and give their Scuba Instructors a well deserved day to off-gas a little.


This week, we had some technical divers in with us at Scuba Tech and decided to organise an exploration dive somewhere new with depths suitable for both Technical and Recreational Diving.  Since it was on a Sunday, we invited some of the local Diving Instructors along with us.

Everyone jumped at the chance and it suddenly occurred to me that the willingness of these instructors to scuba dive on their days off could only be a sign of one thing.

We are all SAD (Scuba Addicted Divers)! Are you?

Your Garage could be a Scuba Shop

You have so much Diving Equipment that your inside cupboards and storage will no longer hold it all and your vehicle that meant so much to you when you first bought it has been relegated to the curb. In the meantime your wetsuits, drysuits, cylinders, BCDs, regulators and other diving paraphernalia are slowly building and taking over.

Your partner will no longer enter the garage because of that unique diving smell but you could spend hours checking out all the bits of kit you have accumulated over the years. Much of it, you don't even use any more but daren't throw it away just in case, one day, it comes in useful.

That Diving computer might need a new battery and depth sensor but one day, you might need it!

Are you out this Weekend? Of Course!

Except your friend is talking about the local pub while you mean the local Quarry.

Weekends are no longer about family time or going out on the lash. Weekends are for getting wet; wherever, whenever and if the club are going for a post dive beer, well that is ok, so long as it doesn't interfere with your diving!

Where is your Tan?

You have just been on a lovely beach holiday, so everyone is expecting to see a bronzed body return.

Unfortunately, if you have any colour at all it is usually on your lower arms and legs (up to the point the boots begin at your ankles) and maybe a bit of burnt skin around where the mask sits on your face.

It is hard to get tanned when you are 30m under the sea!

Your Mastermind Speciality Topic is Kit Configuration

What more needs to be said. It is important!

Baked Bean Diet

You live off a diet of baked beans to enable you to save up for that latest piece of diving equipment that you want... no need to own!

Be it a new wetsuit/drysuit, the latest GoPro camera or a brand new rebreather, Scuba Equipment is never cheap and when you are a real scuba addict, you will give up a lot of luxuries in life to get it.

Now, where's that tin opener?

Protaras Diving. Meet Spongebob Harbour

This is a short video from this week scuba diving in Protaras Cyprus.

We have been diving with Russian Brothers who wanted to see the underwater world of Protaras and Cyprus as a whole. Nothing could have prepared us for the multitude of life we found under the sea at this local site. It is called Spongebob Harbour and wow, was I amazed!!

Heroes in a Half Shell: Turtle Dive!!

We had heard rumours of his existence and apparently he always appeared at the same time every day.

This was it! My afternoon was free and I had no divers to guide and no students to teach so I attached myself to Pete's training session down at Green Bay, camera in hand and heart in throat.

Would he still be there waiting for me?

Yes, he was!

There is nothing so peaceful as watching a turtle graze at a dive site. Settling down as he moves gracefully across the seabed it didn't take long until he seemed quite comfortable with my presence. Almost a "don't disturb me and I won't run away" pact was silently agreed between us.

As I pulled out the camera, he gave me a quick second glance before returning to his dinner of Poseidonia sea grass, unperturbed by this monstrous black housing I was pointing in his direction.


I was certainly rewarded as he posed away for the camera, quite often looking directly into the lens for me. This was one very accommodating turtle.

When he had had enough of me, he simply turned his back and this, I took as my cue to leave him be to finish his feast in style.

Although it can be fairly common to spot turtles here in Cyprus, one which allows you to sit with it and watch is quite rare and a great privilege also. These are majestic creatures that are desperately in need of our protection.

Some cultures see turtles as a resource to be exploited for medicines and cosmetics or as a delicacy for the table. Some just want to have a turtle shell for decoration, which has led to between 48% and 54% of the 328 species of turtle being threatened.

The Green Sea turtle is considered a success story after having been declared a threatened species, steps were taken to protect it and numbers have been recovering. However, there is plenty more to do.

As a scuba diver I try to look out for the local wildlife by removing any rubbish and debris from the water to prevent them injuring themselves on it. For turtles in particular, removing plastic bags from the water is important, as they can mistake these for jellyfish and suffocate.

Only one thing left to day and that is to implore you to look after our wildlife and protect our turtles:

Heroes in a Half-shell.... Turtle Power!!!

5 best questions a non diver has asked

I have been scuba diving now for more than 20 years and the past 10 of those has been in holiday resorts.

For several years I worked in a dive centre that took 2 days out of the working week to head around the pools of the local hotels, trying to tempt divers into trying scuba diving for the first time. First try it in the pool and if you think you will like it, we head out to the local shallow dive site to have a proper dive and see the fish.

This isn't something we do anymore. We still take beginners for the first dive, but it is generally via word of mouth now rather than trawling the hotels.

When I look back, I do remember with fondness some of the random questions I have been asked over those years and I would like to share some of them with you all.

Do you Live on the Island?

Well, this is Cyprus and if I didn't, it would be a really long daily commute!

Do you see Fish when you scuba dive in the sea?

www.englishexercises.org

Unless its the Jeep Safari day out up to the Troodos for fish.

This was possibly the most common question I was asked by non-divers.

Its a loaded question because half the people wanted to see fish and the other half were scared of fish. Even the little tiddlers but you can rest assured that even in a place as over fished as the Mediterranean, you will see fish if you go scuba diving in the sea.

What happens if it is wet?

It is always wet when you go scuba diving! The point is to submerge yourself in the water and so you will get wet anyway.

Rain? Oh!

We dive anyway. If you are going to get wet, it may as well be under the water.

I really want to try Scuba Diving but do I have to wear all that equipment on my back?

Do you want to be able to breathe?

Unfortunately, the equipment is a vital part of the scuba diving experience. We have to take our own air underwater because we cannot breathe without it and we need a means of breathing from the tank of air and connecting it to our bodies.

Without the equipment, its just free diving and/or snorkelling.

When you Scuba Dive, How does the Snorkel change the Water into Oxygen?

This was my personal favourite. the best question I have ever heard from a non diver! If I knew the answer to this, I think I would be a very rich diving instructor and they don't come along often.

In a change from the norm, this blog was just a bit of fun, sharing some of the questions I have had over the years that have made me laugh.

Hopefully, some or all have put a smile on your face. Let us know what questions or statements you have heard over the years that cause a giggle and let's send the laughter round the Internet and spread the fun!

Cyprus Wreck Diving: The Lady Thetis

Diving the Lady Thetis Wreck in Limassol. This is the second of the new wrecks that have been sunk for scuba divers and is settled in just 18 metres of water. Perfect for all levels of scuba and a great second dive after the Costandis Wreck.

Scuba Diving- Pure and Simple

I have been writing this blog now for about 12 months and we have covered many different topics from "The Value of a Check Dive" to Nitrox Diving to Nudibranchs.

We have offered information and tips regarding Sidemount Diving, Rebreather Diving and Technical Diving but not once have we looked at the pure and simple act of Scuba Diving and what it means to dive.

What is Scuba Diving?

Scuba Diving is quite simply the most relaxing sport I have ever had the pleasure of doing.

Basically, it involves submerging yourself underwater while breathing off a cylinder of air via specialised equipment that has transformed over the decades since it was first seen. 

SCUBA stands for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus and we will look at the equipment needed as part of this in our next blog.

You might not feel so relaxed at first, as scuba diving can be quite nerve wracking. Under the sea is an alien environment and it feels strange being able to breathe in water, leaving you feeling like a fish out of water (sorry, had to do it!!).

You hear your own breath and, although you have been doing it since the day you were born, you are no longer sure that you are breathing correctly. The equipment might feel heavy and bulky and maybe you feel a touch unbalanced.

After a few breaths though you begin to settle down and take a look around you and are suddenly amazed by how peaceful, colourful and beautiful the world is. 

Suddenly, all that bulk of the scuba equipment that you felt sure was overkill becomes weightless and you no longer notice it on your back. The long fins on your feet feel like an extension of your feet and you know... this is evolution!

Fish glide past with a grace you didn't know existed, while crabs and other critters forage in the rocks and sand. You will see creatures and sights that most people never will, including long forgotten shipwrecks and coral reefs.

Scuba Diving is like another world on your doorstep. There is a reason that is an ever growing sport with thousands of new Divers being certified each year. This is excitement and adventure all rolled into an easily accessible sport with an amazing safety record.

Succinctly, for me at least, Scuba Diving is a Lifestyle

Sophie's BSAC Dive Leader on Zenobia Video

This is Sophie's Dive Leader BSAC course, plart 3 in video.

We head out to the Zenobia wreck in Larnaca, where she completes the planned decompression and the wreck experience dive of the course.

If you want more information about BSAC training in Cyprus or Diving the Zenobia, simply get in touch with us or check out the website at www.scubatechdivers.com

Easter Diving: Avoiding Hot Cross Bunnies and Broken Eggs!

So Easter is just around the corner. It is the time for long eared, pink Bunnies and chocolate Eggs a plenty, which we have to hunt out in the April showers with the little ones.

The real meaning of Easter

For many Scuba Divers the real meaning of Easter comes from the hunt for Scuba Diving Equipment abandoned over the cold months of winter.

We are extremely lucky that Cyprus offers favourable conditions for year-round diving but some resorts/countries just aren't so lucky and some scuba divers prefer to only dive in the summer months. So at this moment in time, there are divers from all around the world preparing for the summer season to begin.

Old wardrobes are being opened to reveal moth eaten BCDs.

Long locked garages release the fusty stench of damp wetsuits and drysuits left hanging in the hope that they will dry completely, quickly masked by the smell of Aquasure glue as leaks and tears are repaired in time for that first dive of the year.

Dive Tables come out, computer batteries are replaced and regulators are handed over to a frustrated repair/servicing technician who has had nothing to do for 6 months only to find himself with 50 sets of regulators that all need servicing by the next day!

The Dive

The treasure that we find at the end of this Easter Hunt, is that joyous feeling of getting back into the water again. The water looks clear and blue and the sun has even come out to watch you on this tremendous day, making the water appear warm and inviting.

The BCD fills and you execute a perfect entry into the water. As your buddy joins you, you signal, deflate and exhale to drop smoothly under the surface.

Now, for most, it will feel like you have never been out of the water. Everything clicks back into place and the familiarity of your scuba equipment is like going out for coffee with a good friend. Everything is as it is meant to be.

What if it isn't?

The problem with having extended periods of time out of the water is that the feeling of familiarity doesn't always come back immediately. There could be problems with your equipment after it has been sitting for a prolonged period that you just don't find out about until you are in the water. Maybe, after Christmas and New Year, you just haven't got back to the same level of fitness that you had at the end of the diving season last year. There are many variables!

A Dive Instructor's Advice

I am not trying to put people off getting back in the water nor am I suggesting that if you are a diver you should be forced to dive year round but there does seem to be an increase in the number of dive incidents that occur as we approach Easter and the May Bank Holiday Weekends.

Just consider your experience and how long you have been out of the water before you decide to head out on that first dive and plan accordingly.

After a period of inactivity, we at Scuba Tech always start off with shallow dives that have easier entry/exits and conditions to minimise any stress while we check everything is in good working order and re-aquaint ourselves with the underwater world. 

Even highly experienced divers can feel some anxiety when getting back into the water after a hiatus, so start off easy. Pick a shallow(ish) site and don't pile on the kit for the first time. 

If you are a Tekkie, consider starting out with just the twinset, then add stages and scooters etc on successive dives.

Photographers can get in for the first dive without the camera to make sure weights and buoyancy skills are all still in good practice before adding extra distractions.

Take your time, stay safe and remember, there is a full season of scuba diving to come. Make sure you are able to enjoy it :)

My Favourite Cyprus Dive Site

My Favourite Dive Site in Cyprus

I have been Scuba Diving in Cyprus for almost 10 years now and there is a variety of different dive sites that we get to visit on an almost daily basis. From the very shallow and easy to Dive, Green Bay with a maximum depth of 10 metres to Cliff Jumping entries at the Chapel or one of the numerous wrecks that you can find around the Cyprus coast, each site has its own qualities that distinguish it from any of the others.

Green Bay

Mainly used for the beginners to try Scuba, Green Bay is very overlooked for certified divers. With a maximum depth of 10 metres, it is a very shallow site where the bottom gradually slopes. 

Fish in Green Bay

This site has the greatest abundance of fish than any other in Protaras. Sea Bream and Damsels will literally follow divers around the entire site with wrasse weaving in between, the odd puffer fish, flounder and even barracuda and Squid. 

At 10 metres, you can find Statues that can be used for Aqua-batics and posing for photographs. Green Bay is an amazing site that is up there among my favourites... but it isn't number one!

Zenobia

Most people who think about coming to dive in Cyprus want to come and dive the Zenobia wreck in Larnaca. 

A massive ro-ro ferry, she sank in 1980 and still remains largely intact with no official salvage having ever been completed. Plenty to see on the outside, there are also several penetration routes you can take depending on your level of certification and ability.

34 years on and the Zenobia is home to groupers, barracuda and amber jack. Smaller nudibranchs, wrasse and sponge have colonised the decks of this wreck creating a barrage of colour in a blue world and, as voted for by divers, she is one of the best wrecks to dive in the world... but she still isn't my favourite dive site in Cyprus.

Cyclops

Situated on the Eastern edge of Cyprus at Cape Greko, Cyclops is my favourite Dive Site in Cyprus.

The site is named after the cave that can be found on the pathway down to access the dive site. Cyclops Cave is where the one eyed monster used to live when mythical creatures roamed the island!

Divers of any certification level can dive at Cyclops with confidence and ease. You can pick your depth and stay there from 12 metres to 45 metres plus. Some divers have even swam out far enough to hit 60 metres, and while it used to be pretty easy to get these depths from shore, the bottom has changed so much over the years that it is much shallower now and takes a much longer swim to get that kind of depth. For 50m and beyond, it is definitely boat diving territory.

The thing I love about Cyclops is the surprise of what you might see. I have never done a dive and seen nothing exciting down there. Sometimes, there are Morays galore, tiny cleaning shrimp dodging between their teeth that require a steady hand and a macro lens to get pictures of.

Squid can be found here in the summer months flamboyantly flashing and dancing through the water while in the winter months, tiny Flabellina nudibranchs litter the sea bed and Octopus hide in the rocks.  I have even seen creatures and critters at this dive site that I have never seen before and never seen since. Each dive is different but every one amazing.

So, if you are diving in Cyprus this year, don't just focus on the Zenobia. Consider shore diving too and pay a visit to Cyclops. 

Scuba Diving with Seahorses- 4 interesting facts

Scuba Diving with Sea Horses

As always, we like to keep our blogs current with what is happening at the Dive Sites here in Cyprus and over the past 12 months, we seem to be seeing more and more sea horses here around our Protaras Coastline. So, what do we need to know about Sea horses if we are Scuba Diving with them?

by Silverflight
www.mythicalcreatureslist.com

Seahorse's Scientific Name is Hippocampus

The name Hippocampus comes from ancient Greek. Hippo translates as Horse while Kampos (campus) means Sea Monster. 

I know what you are thinking... a tiny little seahorse as a Sea Monster, where did that come from?

Well in Ancient Greek Mythology, the Hippo Kampos was a creature that sported a Horse's head and shoulders while its hindquarters were coiling, scaly and fish-like. According to the mythology, the Hippo Kampos was closely related to the Sea Goat, Capricorn.

Males carry the Babies

There is a myth that Seahorses mate for life. Unfortunately, this is not true and they will readily switch if the opportunity arises. However, they may court for several days before mating and this may involve swimming side by side while holding tails or holding onto the same blade of grass while dancing around it.

Eventually, when ready, the male will open up a pouch on the front of his tail to show his mate that it is empty and she will fill it with around 1500 eggs. The female departs and the male will carry the eggs for between 9 and 45 days.

Once they are ready, the seahorses emerge. There can be, on average, between 100 and 1000 seahorses, which are extremely small but fully formed. At this point, there is no more care from daddy; Just a cheerio, best of luck, where's my next mate?

A Seahorse Swims Vertically

Alongside Razor Fish, sea horses are the only species that swim vertically through the water column. This makes them very vulnerable in high winds and rough seas, as they tire easily.

They move through the water by rapidly fluttering a dorsal fin while using pectoral fins that are located behind the eyes to steer.

Maybe it is for this reason that the sea horse doesn't tend to travel far. They make territories for themselves and the males tend to stay within a square metre of this while females can travel up to 100m squared.

The Seahorse is very Sensitive to Stress

A seahorse is very sensitive to Stress and to light.

When you see a Seahorse while Scuba Diving, keep a good distance and make sure you are neutrally buoyant. I find the Zoom works extremely well to get good photographs of a seahorse.

Use natural light where possible, as strobes and dive lights do stress these little creatures. If you must use a light, try a red filter to create a softer more diffused light which they should be less sensitive to. 

NEVER try to touch it!!!

It is great to see sea horses thriving like this in Protaras and I hope we can all come together to help these vulnerable little creatures to survive the odds, as it is fantastic to be able to see them on a dive. Although, I did hear tales of the Ayia Napa sea monster just a few weeks ago and I wonder now, if this is the creature they were talking about and he has a Hyde Side

Scuba Diving Cape Greko in Cyprus

Scuba Diving around Cape Greko in Cyprus

Local Diving Couple, Dawn and Norman join us for a jolly bimble around Cape Greko in Protaras, Cyprus.

There is always something different to see at this dive site and we love going back there just to see what we can find. With clear waters and warm sunshine, what more can a diver need.

Buoyancy Basics Part 4: Breath Control

Scuba Diving Basics

Breath Control for Buoyancy

As we continue to look at the basics of buoyancy control when Scuba Diving, we come to possibly the most common means of adjusting buoyancy, which is breathing.

As we discussed last week, the Buoyancy Control Device can be used to adjust a diver's buoyancy but the experienced diver will only use this for large changes in buoyancy such as ascent and descent. For minor changes, we prefer to use our lungs. Please bear in mind that this will only work for those using open circuit and rebreathers are a totally different kettle of fish!

Imagine you are scuba diving alongside a wall maintaining great buoyancy mid water at 30m when suddenly looming ahead of you is a beautiful Fan Coral in your direct line of travel. You decide that the easiest way to get around it is to ascend slightly and swim over it. What do you do?

One possibility is to add some air to the BCD to ascend but this will expand as you ascend and it gets a bit messy when you start adding and subtracting air from your BCD for these minor changes.

The best practice in this situation is to breathe in deeply. When we take a deep breath, we increase our buoyant force in the water (if you do not know what this is, please refer to our Buoyancy Basics 1 article) and become a little bit more positively buoyant. You will find that you begin to rise in the water, at which point, you simply have to begin to exhale for control.

Equally if you want to descend slightly, you can breathe out a bit further, making your lungs a bit emptier than you would normally have them. You will begin to descend and then you can just inhale for control.

REMEMBER 

At NO point should a Diver Hold their Breath!!!!

Using breath control to adjust your buoyancy is very easy but it does take a lot of practice to get it spot on. However, you will have already started to learn this technique with Hovering skills, ascent and descent training on your basic scuba diving courses.

I have seen a number of divers over the years that have insisted that all the dive should be controlled using breath control and only inexperienced divers have to use the BCD. 

THIS IS NOT TRUE

There is a reason we have a BCD and it should be used to make big changes in buoyancy while breath control is for the small changes. If we didn't need the BCD, we wouldn't have it!

So when you are learning to improve your buoyancy skills when scuba diving, remember there are a number of things to consider underpinned by Archimedes Principle and Volume/Density relationships (which we will look into at a later date) and you have been given the tools to control buoyancy, so make use of them. You will find that the easier you can make your diving; with good weighting, using BCD and breath control, the easier it will be to achieve perfection.

Buoyancy Basics Part 3: Buoyancy Control Devices

When you are Scuba Diving, it should not feel like you are exerting yourself. If diving feels strenuous, you are generally doing something wrong somewhere. Most experienced Divers (not the ones pushing the boundaries of scuba who can experience stress but for very different reasons) will tell you that diving should be a relaxing, easy past time... and they are right.

Perfecting your Buoyancy Skills is the best way to make your diving strain free and now we understand the basic principles behind buoyancy, we can look at what we can do to make our diving better by improving this core skill.

There are a number of things that affect buoyancy and we have previously discussed weighting for scuba diving and, hand in hand with weighting is use of your Buoyancy Control Device (BC).

Whether you dive in a wetsuit or a drysuit, your primary means of buoyancy control should be your BCD or Wing, which makes this piece of diving equipment crucial to perfect buoyancy control and having the correct BC for the diving you do is essential.

So, a BC (whether jacket style, wing or sidemount BC) is basically a bladder to which you can add or subtract air to control your position in the water column. It will have some means of actually adding the air and this is usually through a low pressure system, allowing you to add air from the cylinder, while dump valves are used to release air, alongside an Over Pressure Release Valve (OPRV) to prevent over filling.

The BC must have sufficient lift capacity to hold the diver and full kit at the surface with their head comfortably above the water line...Just as a note to this, if your BC will not hold you at the surface but you have 20kgs of lead on your weightbelt, drop some lead before you go out and buy a bigger BC... you have overweighted yourself and this will cause problems both at the surface and in the water...

Before any dive, you should check your BCD is working correctly by connecting it up to the cylinder and inflating it fully until the OPRV kicks in. Then check all the dump valves to make sure nothing sticks open or closed.

On the dive, you should add air in small amounts on the descent.

As we descend, the increasing water pressure causes the air we put into our BC to compress and we need
to add more air to equalise it to the ambient pressure.

Equally, as we ascend, the decreasing water pressure causes the air in our BC to expand and we need to release some. Again, this release of air should be in small amounts and you should ensure that the valve you are using to subtract the air from the BC is the highest point in the water, as air rises.

If you are using the Over the Shoulder Inflator/Deflator, you must hold this up above your head and come into a more head up position in the water. If you are an advocate of the kidney dump to stay in trim, you must roll slightly to make the kidney dump the highest point in the water.

It is important that you know how to operate the BC and know where all the controls are without having to fumble, so you can make a speedy adjustment, if needed. This is where a check dive can be invaluable if you are hiring equipment and getting advice from someone who knows what they are talking about is second to none when buying your own kit.

BCs are pretty standard for a reason. They work! Variations are quite often just gimmicky sales pitches that are more likely to hinder than help and with a piece of Diving Equipment that is so central to the core Diving skills, it is important to get a BCD that works for the Diving you will do.

Buoyancy Basics Part 2- Salt vs Fresh Water

Scuba Divers in Seawater

Continuing on from our first buoyancy basics blog last week, we will move on to the difference between buoyancy in salt water compared to fresh water. If you haven't read last week's basics, please do, as it underpins what will be read here.

During our scuba diving beginner courses, we learn that if we dive in Fresh water, we need to use less lead weight on a set diving equipment rig than we would in salt water. Generally speaking, if we move from the salty sea to a swimming pool, we drop around 2kgs off our weight belts.

But why is this?

The answer is actually quite complex but we will look at it in the most simple terms possible.  Again, it relates back to Archimedes Principle.

Salt water is water with salt in it, therefore, it is heavier (for a given volume) than fresh water, which is water without salt!! 1 litre of fresh water weighs approximately 1 kg while salt water is more like 1.04kg per litre. This increased weight means the salt water has a greater upward or buoyant force.

Archimedes principle states that an object will float or sink depending on the weight of water it displaces. If the weight of water the object displaces is more than its own weight, the object floats, while if the weight of the water displaced is less than that of the object, it sinks.

So, imagine our 80kg diver is neutrally buoyant in fresh water. This is because s(he) displaces 80 litres of water giving an 80kg buoyant force counteracting the 80kg down force.

If we move our diver to the sea, the additional weight of the salt in the water causes the buoyant force of the water to increase to approximately 83.2kgs, (80 x 1.04) which is greater than the 80kgs down force of our diver, making them more buoyant and in need of a few extra weights.

Neutral Buoyancy in Salt Water Caves

However, the amount of salt in the sea varies depending on where in the world you are. Even diving in the Mediterranean, the seawater is much more salty around Cyprus than around the Western Med and of course, diving in the Dead Sea would require an awful lot more weight than pretty much anywhere else. So this isn't exactly a science that can be mathematically computed pre-dive.

Tried and tested is to get in the water, do a weight check and scuba dive. You will eventually get the knack for guess-timating the weight that you will need as your environment and diving equipment changes.

A Whole New World... it's our own Alladin's Cave!

Recently hitting the Internet News has been a story about a couple diving off the coast of Curacao who captured an image of Sesame Street's Cookie Monster underwater. Having seen it, professional photographer, Mauricio Handler quickly snapped this shot.

Of course this isn't really the cookie monster. It is 3 sponges grown close enough together to form the illusion of this well loved character but it is just one example of the wonders that we, as Scuba Divers have the opportunity to enjoy.

The amazing things we can enjoy do not end there either. We have ships that, sometimes haven't been seen for centuries that we can go down and visit. No human will ever walk on these wrecks again but as Scuba Divers, we have the privilege of being able to visit and admire these ancient vessels and hear the stories they have to tell.


Add to that, all the fascinating creatures that live beneath the surface of the water and you have yourself an Alladin's cave of life that cannot be rivalled. Coral Reef systems are being hailed as the "rainforests of the oceans" due to their vast bio diversity.


Just here in Cyprus, we see a vast range of different species. A couple months ago, we were inundated with tiny little nudibranchs and today we were swimming with turtles. Who knows, next week it might be whale sharks... although that might be wishful thinking because, let's face it, this is Cyprus and we aren't known for whale shark visits.


The point is, there are so many different things to see under the ocean and we are extremely lucky that we are able to visit. Where else would you find such diversity and awe-inspiring sights?

It might not be silver and gold, but it should be treasured, admired and protected.