Diving Chapel's Tabletop in Protaras, Cyprus

Exploring new dive sites for our divers here in Protaras, Cyprus.

This is the Chapel's Tabletop, from the Cobra Dive Boat and it has a wall (doesn't show up so well on the video) with a max depth of 30m and a shallow point of 17m.



 





 
Scuba Diving in Cyprus with the best!

Getting the most out of every dive

Scuba Divers! We are an easy bunch of people to please. A bit of water, a few fish and/or submerged twisted metal and we are happier than a dachshund on Stilts.


However, there are times when that little something goes wrong or doesn't happen and it leaves our dives incomplete. So, how can we change this to try and make the most out of every dive we do.

Check your Dive Equipment

One of the most common reasons we have seen for people missing dives on holiday is down to equipment failure.

We all know how important it is to have your diving equipment checked and serviced by someone who knows what they are doing regularly but if you are travelling with dive kit, it is just as important to make sure that nothing has been damaged in transit.

This happens so often that we ask all divers to make their first dive locally here in Protaras.  This allows us to be close enough to the dive centre (and all our tools) to fix any kit problems that may occur easily so no dives are missed. Also, it is a great opportunity to get in an extra dive and get weights sorted, making other dives more comfortable.

Air Accounts

There is nothing worse than having to end a dive early due to getting low on air.

It is possible to improve your air consumption when scuba diving by staying fit, being correctly weighted and getting plenty of dive experience. All divers find that the more they dive, the more comfortable they become in the water and the longer the cylinder will last.

However, there are some who just have big lungs and need that bit more air than others. If this is you, the best way to avoid having to end the dive too soon is to take the right size cylinder for your needs. Don't be afraid to ask for a 15l cylinder, if you need one. 

Equally, it might be worth considering a twinset or Sidemount training. You get more air and more options in the event of a problem with air supply underwater.

Nitrox Training

As a continuation of the last point, if you feel your dives are being cut short due to No Decompression Limits, you may want to consider some Nitrox training to allow you to extend your bottom times underwater.

Nitrox is most beneficial as a breathing gas to a maximum of 35-40m, after which I believe trimix is the only way to go. 

Nitrox is not a miracle gas though. It will NOT make your cylinder last longer than if you were breathing standard air (which seems to be a common misconception). Nitrox simply reduced the Nitrogen in the gas you are breathing, which exposes you to less nitrogen, extending your NDLs.

For even more time underwater, have a think about Technical Diver training and learning how to formally make decompression dives.

Listen to the Guide

To really get the most out of your diving, you want to listen to the people who know the dive site you are visiting. This may be the dive guide or other divers who dive there regularly. This way, you know what to look out for and what to expect on the dives.

Build the dives up, so you get the most out of your time. For example, when Zenobia diving, we ask all divers to complete the two orientation dives prior to making any decompression dives or penetration dives on the wreck. By doing this they develop an awareness of the wreck's layout and are familiar with the wreck before making more advanced dives.

So, to my mind, the best way to get the most out of your diving is to minimise the risk of equipment failure by checking your own kit after travel or, if you are renting equipment from a dive centre, make sure it is working correctly and you are acquainted with the controls.

Also, make sure you have the correct equipment and training to complete the dives you want to make and to do it properly, stay fit... with which I mean physically fit and dive fit.

Chat with others that know the area, be that other divers or dive guides in the area. Discuss what you want to achieve from your dives and then you can work out which dives are best for you with your training and equipment so you always feel happy and satisfied that you got the most from every dive!

The importance of Continuing Education in scuba diving

When we book onto our very first Scuba Diving Course, we realise that there will be a lot to learn.  Although, there is a lot of information passed over on that first diving course, it is extremely difficult to absorb everything over the 3-5 days that you get for most introductory diving courses.

Much of the information that you really need comes after the course when you start actually diving.
When you begin to put all that initial training in to practice, things begin to make more sense and you gradually begin to see how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together.

What happens next can take a number of different avenues. There are some that will not dive again after gaining the initial certification and there are those that will go out and dive for a while but then stop citing reasons like "it just didn't interest me anymore!"

This is where Continuing education for Scuba Divers comes in.

Scuba Diving is such a diverse sport that there is literally a side of it that appeals to everyone. You can learn Underwater Photography or Video, which is becoming more popular these days with the advent of the affordable GoPro cameras. Night Diving and now, flouro night diving offers a new perspective on regular diving with lots of different creatures and critters that you just do not see during day dives. Open up cooler climes by learning to dive in a dry suit and the cold will not be a limiting factor for your Scuba.

The beauty of these branches of Scuba Diving (and many others) is that you do not need to take a formal course to learn how to use them. However, use common sense. Practice good buoyancy skills before you start to play with cameras underwater and, if you have never been night diving before, dive with somebody who has experience that can help you, make sure you know the dive site well and keep your routes simple for easy navigation.

Other areas of scuba do require formal training and these can include Technical Diving or Cave Diving and even reaching a professional rating so you can guide and teach others.

Every diver I take in the water teaches me something new. Whether it is an Open Water Course or a guided dive with Tech Divers, if you listen and watch, you can learn every day. There are multiple diving agencies out there and they all have their own twists and tweaks to make the courses, skills and diving slightly different and if you keep an open mind, it is possible to cherry pick those things that will work for you in your diving.

As an instructor, I think continuing to learn and grow your diving and knowledge base is even more important. The world of Scuba is continually evolving. New techniques and equipment are released all the time and it is imperative that you stay up to date and maintain the flexibility to adapt to better diving systems and ways of diving.

Zenobia with Robert Kostic

PADI Advanced Open Water- The what, why and how?

As a follow on from our PADI Open Water blog earlier this month, I thought it would be appropriate PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course.
to continue with the Advanced Open Water training, particularly since September sees the launch of the new, revised



What is the PADI Advanced Open Water Course?

Essentially, the Advanced course is a continuation of a diver's entry level training. While you have learned the basics in the Open Water Course, the Advanced is designed to build on your experience and increase your confidence and competence in the water.

This course works by building on core issues such as buoyancy and navigation and allowing you to increase your diving certification depth to 30m under a supervised, controlled setting.

You have the opportunity to try different areas of Scuba Diving to see what aspects interest you and if you would like to advance in those areas by making 5 Adventure Dives, which correlate with the 1st dive of the associated Specialty training course.

The core, mandatory dives are the Deep Dive (taking you to a maximum of 30m) and the Underwater Navigation dive. The other 3 you can choose for yourself and there are now, lots more available to choose from.

What's New then?


Although the structure of the course is still the same, everything has finally come into the modern age with new manuals, online theory available and updated content.

As an example, where divers who wanted to make the Underwater Photography dive had to read all
about F-stops and shutter speeds, much of that information is just not relevant to the modern digital point and shoot cameras because the camera itself takes care of that.

The new Photography Adventure dive is called Digital Underwater Imaging and is, not only based on photography but underwater video, since most modern cameras offer both.

Other Adventure dives may also be available depending on the qualifications of your instructor including; Enriched Air Diver, Self Reliant Diver and Sidemount to name just a few.

I think the biggest difference with the revised course though is the focus on training divers to become thinking divers. We have already seen this improvement in the Open Water Training and there should now be a focus on expanding and improving this through the Advanced Open Water Course too.

Divers will be responsible for pre-dive planning including assessing dive site conditions, buddy and own abilities, turn times and/or pressures and gas management.

Conclusion

As with all diver training, a big part of the standard of training comes with your instructor and the dive centre that you choose to train with but having these standards in place from the agency means more divers will learn to dive rather that just follow and I for one, would always prefer to dive with thinking divers!!!

Technical Diving vs Scuba Diving- What is the difference?

I have had a few emails over the past couple weeks asking me what is the difference between a recreational diver and a technical diver, so for those of you unsure, here is some clarification as to how we differentiate between the two.




Recreational Divers are regular scuba divers who are qualified with a diving agency such as PADI,
BSAC or CMAS.  Their depth limit for diving is usually 40m and they usually dive with just a single cylinder and complete their dives within the no-stop limits offered by recreational dive planners or dive computers. If necessary, the dive can be ended at any point with a direct ascent to the surface without an excessive risk of DCI.

The vast bulk of divers fall into this category.



Technical Divers however, use more complex diving equipment. They may dive a twinset or Sidemount configuration and they are trained to use it properly.

Tech divers have the training, equipment and skills to dive beyond 40 metres and often make decompression dives, which means they cannot make a direct ascent to the surface.

If you exceed your no-decompression, no-stop times, the decompression stop is mandatory and if you miss it, you will put yourself at an unacceptable risk of DCI.

However, just diving beyond 40m and going beyond the no-stop limits to make decopression dives does not make you a tech diver.

Technical divers learn how to use more sophisticated dive gear so, in the event of an emergency when a direct ascent to the surface is not possible due to overhead environments or decompression obligations, they can try to solve the problem underwater to allow them to ascend safely.

For example, a second stage free flows underwater and you are losing gas. In recreational gear, you would swap to your dive buddy's alternate air source and make a direct ascent but tech divers, whether on sidemount or twins, can shut the offending cylinder down and breathe from the other one while they complete decompression obligations or reach a safe depth to breathe a richer, decompression mix.

Mixed gases are another mark of a technical diver.

Nitrox is pretty standard as a breathing gas these days and in and of itself, does not distinguish a tech divers. Most recreational agencies only qualify divers to use up to 40% nitrox.

Tech divers can use up to 100% Oxygen to allow them to optimise off-gassing of Nitrogen (or indeed Helium). If diving to 45m, they could breathe a 25% nitrox mix on the bottom (or a 25/20 trimix), switching to 50% at 20m and then to 100% at 6m. This is known as Accelerated Decompression.



Over the years, the lines between rec and tech have been blurring. Some agencies such as BSAC and
CMAS train their divers to make decompression dives and to dive to 50m using air. Many recreational divers now carry additional cylinders in the form of a pony cylinder or a stage to allow them additional safety options. Sidemount diving and Twinset diving is becoming more mainstream in the recreational market for those wishing to dive with extra gas and nitrox is readily available practically anywhere in the world.



There is even talk of offering rebreather training from the very first dive. That would mean no open circuit training at all. I think that would be a bit further into the future but who knows with the way technology and diving  is advancing...

...now where did I put the keys to my hovercraft?

Costandis- Wreck DIving Cyprus