Technical divers and deep divers descend of famous dive site.

Koh Tao, Thailand

Today, in combination with the graduation of a TDI Decompressions Procedures course was the graduation of 12 dive master candidates who completed their Deep Diver and Nitrox Diver course with Big Blue Tech Instructors Thomas Hallstrom and Andy Cavell.

Over the 3 dives on the full day trip the students were exposed to 40m and the use of nitrox for the first time. This training is required for anyone wishing to join us on wreck diving trips coming next week.

While Andy and Thomas were in technical diving gear for safety the students, being recreational dive master interns, were in a single cylinder.

The course was combined with several different agencies which was based on the students preference.

On top of the 3 great dives it was also Martin birthday which he spent celebrating at the front of the boat from seasickness. I’m sure he’ll have a repeat performance tonight for his birthday party.

Big Blue Tech are one of the few schools who frequently conduct full day trips and this was the first one of the season after a pause from strong winds. Although the conditions at sail rock weren’t ideal it was different with soft and hard coral not seen on koh tao and an abundance of marine life not seen elsewhere.

In other news Technical Diver Nick was being lead by Technical Divemaster Ash Dunn around the site gaining more experience and continuing his fun diving with us after a day off wreck diving.

Technical divers explore underwater sculptures on Koh Tao

Koh Tao, Thailand - During technical diver training for Magnus Baer the training team explored a new feature on Koh Tao called ‘Buoyancy World’ which is a island wide initiative created with the support for Marine Conservation Koh Tao

Buoyancy world is an alternative dive site and coral nursery designed and constructed by the island’s community and dive schools through the Save Koh Tao group. This island wide project is part of a larger program being enacted by the Save Koh Tao Marine Branch in order to monitor and protect our local resources and ecosystems.

Through this project a new dive site has been constructed which is specially designed to function as a buoyancy training site and coral/fish nursery. By increasing novice diver’s buoyancy skills with obstacles not found naturally on a reef we hope to reduce incidences of personal injury/illness and protect natural reef areas from damage. By also acting as a coral/fish nursery the project will help to restore and improve the abundance and biodiversity of Koh Tao’s reefs and help to offset local anthropogenic impacts. Additionally, this project will further increase awareness and community involvement on environmental conservation projects and improve tourist perceptions of Koh Tao.

The general plan of the site is various features built separately and then set up in close proximity to form one cohesive site. Features include:

• Training Aids
  • Swim-throughs or caves
  • Rings, hoops, and other obstacles
  • Balance beams
  • Hover weights
  • Permanent CESA Lines
  • Navigation check points
  • Search and recovery objects
  • Ecological Monitoring Program/Reef Check Belt Transects
• Coral Nursery Platforms/anchoring points
• Art & Sculptures
• Fish Nurseries/aggregates
• Diverse habitats for Marine Organisms

On this day we used the features of Buoyancy World to help improve the trim and underwater control for Magnus who started his first skills in technical diving gear. These skills will be enhanced with more training leading up to his certification dives tomorrow for the TDI Intro to Tech course.

Advanced nitrox divers graduate with bull sharks in Thailand

Koh Tao, Thailand - Big Blue Tech celebrates the graduation of Yvonne Fries, Helen Artal, Thomas Hallstrom and Duncan Tyler from a TDI Advanced Nitrox course conducted by TDI Instructor James Thornton-Allan and assisted by Andrew Cavell and Ash Dunn over various dive sites on Koh Tao Island in Thailand.

The TDI Advanced Nitrox course is designed to orientate the student about rich or high mixes of oxygen and their advantages while wearing technical diving gear. The use of low mixes to advance deep diving and the use of high mixes to add extra conservatism to optional stops during the dive.

The students learned about carrying a decompression cylinder, oxygen handling and analysis and vairous other skills. The final dives were conducted using nitrox to allow the diver to flow through a no-decompression schedule switching to different mixes of nitrox the shallower the dive went. This course certifies the diver to delve to 40m using up to 100% oxygen depending on the depth and if the situation is warranted.

The final dive was also held at Chmphon Pinnacle where we were met by Bull Sharks that live at that dive site creating an exciting atmosphere for learning and diving.

The students were issued certification after and exam and progress on to their TDI Decompression Procedures course tomorrow with a return to Chumphon Pinnacle for some more dive time with the sharks. You can read more about the Advanced Nitrox course here: TDI Advanced Nitrox Diver Course

Experienced dives graduate from the TDI Intro to Tech course in Thailand

Koh Tao, Thailand - Big Blue Tech celebrates the graduation of Yvonne Fries, Helen Artal, Thomas Hallstrom and Duncan Tyler from a TDI Intro to Tech course conducted by TDI Instructor James Thornton-Allan and assisted by Andrew Cavell and Ash Dunn over various dive sites on Koh Tao Island in Thailand.

The TDI Intro to Tech course is designed to introduce the foundation control skills of buoyancy and trim which will be built on during the rest of their training on the way up to TDI Extended Range which is the fourth level in the technical diver curriculum. The skills train a dive to maintain perfect control in a set of technical diving gear while keeping a constant horizontal body position in the water without the use of hands. The skills learned include unique skills like fining backwards and neutral buoyancy skills like no mask swim, regulator exchange, air sharing, long hose use etc.

While this course is not a prerequisite to become a technical diver we feel the skills learned are essential. One of the early goals in our training is to avoid contact with anything other then the equipment you carry once you enter the water. In Koh Tao there are a lot of buoy lines or permanent lines which may be tempting to hold on to during simulated stops but prevents the diver from focusing on controlling themselves in the water. In instances where the down line may not be available it’s essential a future technical diver be intimate with their diving equipment and how to use that equipment effectively.

The students were also exposed to air consumption calculations, basic dive planning without the use of a computer that tracks no decompression limits which is based on the philosophy of “Plan the dive, Dive the plan” which has fallen by the side recently with the advent of gas switching computers. Although the students will be provided with a gas switching computer later on it’s this course which teaches them how to rely and trust a dive plan which might be their back-up decompression information in the future.

In the end the students conducted 4 dives and received their certification after a final exam. The divers will progress on to their Advanced Nitrox course tomorrow. More information regarding the intro to tech course can be found here: TDI Intro to Tech Diver Course

Technical Divers Explore Asia’s Deepest Cave

Krabi, Thailand - Today Big Blue Tech conducted 2 dives inside the deepest cave in Asia called Sra Keow cave in the province of Krabi in Thailand. This cave is famous for recent penetrations to depths of 240m and continued expeditions are planned for further exploration.

Our goals were simply to check out the cave and see what they’re like. The surroundings are stunning and this would be a good chance to see some alternative diving and explore a system that has received a lot of attention in the past. Keeping with air depth limits we would only enter to maximum of 60m at which point narcosis and partial pressure of oxygen inspired would be too much of a risk or concern for overhead diving.

On our first dive we were surprised how the entrance to the cave begins almost immediately on descent. Clearly tied permanent lines were helpful but we ran our own initially until we knew the lines could be trusted. The cave itself is very silty and dirty; it’s basically a mud pit with limestone shapes. Every single move had to be calculated as the visibility was easily disturbed. Inside the cave itself it’s quite easy to navigate around as it’s a very large system with enough room for 2 dives to enter and exit easily. Additionally the installation of arrows are placed well except for the nasty line trap on ascent which can’t be avoided.

After the first dive we headed to see Dave at OneStop Dive centre for air and nitrox fills. While waiting we bought too much technical diving gear from him and generally took over his store kicking the tires for a few hours.

Our second dive of the day was was completed to a maximum depth of 60m staggered with surface support and then we went for a walk through one of the surface caves in the area.

In general we thought the cave was perfect for people who like dark, dirty, silty, smelly holes in the ground (like us) but not so great for people who like pretty open caves.It was also very cold which was quite shocking in our 3mm wetsuits.

The cave is also technically difficult with the aspects of narcosis, decompression and a whole host of hazards and it’s not reccomended for novice divers.

The team moves on to Phi Phi tomorrow for some sea caves off the coast before heading back up the west coast for our final leg of our tour.

Special thanks to OneStop and Bruce Konefe for their advice and support.

On January 4th 2010 Big Blue Tech arrived at Rajjaprabha Dam on Chiew Lan Lake in Khao Sok National Park to head out towards the raft house which would accommodate use for the duration of the TDI Cavern Course and BSAC/TDI Compressor Operator Course. The course was taught by James Thornton-Allan for students Andy Cavell, Mark Slinn, Emily Billingham, Piotr (Peter) Paulo and Malgorzata (Margaret) Babiak

As the team arrived at the resort we set up the area for the compressor and charging of the torches and then it was time to head out to the diving area to start the skills of the course.. The course needed to be staggered to maintain a ratio of 4 to 1 for the instructor which meant James took Peter and Margaret for their first training dives while Emily, Andy and Mark practiced their buoyancy in fresh water with their technical diving gear. The buoyancy and control came naturally to Peter and Margaret who come from Poland where the majority of their diving experience is in freshwater, additionally both Peter and Margaret are diving professionals who own Asian Divers in Phucket. Peter himself is a PADI Course Director and a Tec Deep Instructor Training for PADI/DSAT. For all divers the skills which need to be performed with comfort include using a reel and line to run a continuos guidleline, propulsion and finning techniques, loss of visibility and primary flashlight / torch failure and various other skills to make the diver comfortable in this ovehead environment. Addition to these skills all diver require 2 sources of artificial light, to reels and 2 sources of air supply.

On the 5th Peter and Margaret completed their course and received their certification followed by Andy, Emily and Mark on the 6th.

For Andy, Emily and Mark these newly developed skills would be further put to use in the coming days of the expedition when we explore shipwrecks on the west coast of Thailand. The Advanced Wreck and Cavern skills are quite similar as they both illustrate the procedures for dealing with an overhead environment.

On the 7th of January the team heading off the lake after a few thrashings of rain where Mark commented “I started the day off with possible heat stroke and now I think I’m coming down with hypothermia!”, we loaded the truck and headed off to Khao Lak which would the our base for diving for the next week.

This morning Big Blue Tech, a technical scuba diving school,  started a TDI Advanced Nitrox course on Koh Tao, Thailand. This course runs over 2 days and exposes divers to the use of nitrox to 40m and up to pure oxygen. Today the course was attended by Andy Cavell and Mark Slinn along with Ash Dunn and Emily Billingham.

The TDI Advanced Nitrox Course qualifies divers to use enriched air nitrox from EAN 21 through EAN 100 to a depth of 40 metres/130 feet during dives hat do not require staged decompression. Often taught in conjunction with the TDI Decompression Procedures course, this can be considered the foundation of your technical diving career.  Advanced Nitrox is also a great course for those wanting to extend their bottom times in shallower depths such as scientific diver, and a must for SCR or CCR divers.   The course cover topics like, Equipment requirement, Dive planning, Oxygen tracking, Blending methods.

You will use the TDI Advanced Nitrox Diving manual for your course, which explains in an easy to understand practical manner the complex information that Advanced Nitrox divers need to know.

The course began this morning with a dive to Chumphon Pinnacle, one of Koh Tao’s deep and best dive sites. Since the divers had experience in technical diving gear we were able to begin the dives deeper than normally. Emily had joined us to test out new equipment before joining the January expedition.

The divers had various skills to perform but we distracted by the appearence of over 20 sharks and a minke whale. Only the technical divers saw the minke whale underwater but everyone saw it on the surface as the whale cressed to show all everyone he was there.

After the two dives Andy said ” That was cracking like ” , “I’m well chuffed me”; for those that don’t speak northern english he said “What a wonderful dive i just had, i am very happy with the experience”.

The divers had drifted a considerable distance on their lift bags which attracted the large mamall who swap within touching disance of the divers. On the second dive of the morning the divers were again distracted by the swarms of bull sharks who were feeding on the abundant schools of fish. These sharks have never been interested in dives (knock on wood) and just circle around keeping a safe distance from the divers whom teh sharks are afraid of.

The divers performed really well despite all the action, unfortunately not all the same experiences can be shared by all. This week alone we have seen solo diving with shale sharks, simulated decompression with a whale and gas switching with sharks.

The course still requires an additional 2 dives which will be completed the following day.

Just a reminder, we accept new courses starting in February but spaces are filling quickly leading up till May.

Today is the official start for the technical diving internship for Andy and Mark. Andy returns a year after completing his dive master course with Big Blue and later becoming a PADI instructor in the Uk. Marl completed his solo diver certification earlier in the year and has decided to just in the deep end head first to become a technical diving instructor.

The 3 month intensive internship includes everything needed to be a technical diving instructor in today’s diving climate. The following certifications will be EARNED in the coming months.

* Gas Blender
* Compressor Operator
* Visual Inspections Procedures
* Equipment Service Technician
* O2 service technician
* Full Face Mask Diver
* DAN Oxygen Provider
* Advanced Nitrox Diver
* Cavern Diver
* Unlimited diving
* Decompression Procedures Diver
* Advanced Gas Blender
* SCR Rebreather Diver
* Solo Diver
* Research Diver
* All Khao Sok Trips
* All Similans Islands Liveaboards
* Extended Range and Trimix Diver
* TDI Technical Divemaster Rating
* BSAC Extended Range, compressor operator and oxygen provider Instructor
* Aqualung Service Technician Instructor

Today started with basic gas laws, dive planning and a review of nitrox and diving terms. In the afternoon the interns started their visual inspection course by servicing their own twin set and cylinders. These twin sets along with diving gear would be their own to use for the duration of the 3 months so it was essential they learned not only how to use them but also the process to troubleshoot and service them. Even Ash joined in for a bit of a theory refresher.

Tomorrow the interns move into advanced nitrox planning along with more visual inspections before the weekend.

Our internships happen every 3 months, the next available space is march 15th.

Big Blue Tech have been rebuilding a Drager Dolphin Semi Closed Rebreather in an attempt to create a Semi Closed Rebreather that functions and resembles the Halcyon RB80

The Drager Dolphin SCR always had some draw back that kept it from being respected amongst the more adventurous divers:

1. The in water trim was terrible;  The breathing bag or counter lung was located in the top of the unit and the steel cylinder slung in the bottom which made the diver very vertical, almost like a baloon with a weight tied on to the bottom. Additionally the bail out cylinder was mounted on the side making it unbalanced even if you did get vertical in the water.

2. The blue “Commando” bcd wasn’t black.

3. The white box that held the breathing bag wasn’t black

4. The small steel cylinder wasn’t big enough and a larger cylinder would only make the unit worse.

5. There was no way to mount deco or stage tanks.

6. The BCD was restrictive and could not be used with a backplate and harness.

Our initial purchase of a used unit in thailand gave us everything we would need including the oxygen sensor for our pp02 display. Out of the box, the unit was working perfectly with all the tests passed and no leaks.

Our first goal was to remove the old and restrictive built in bouyancy compensating jacket to allow the installation of a backplate and wing mounting system. This mounting system from V4Tec would allow all technical diving backplates and wings to be fitted in the same manner you fit diving gear to twin tanks.

The mounting system and side by side tank brakets arrived and fit perfectly. This alteration improved trim, bouyancy immediately. With the twin 6Lt (S40) cylinders mounted side by side it was difficult not to be balanced and horizontal.

The final and most dramatic improvement was the flexible manifold. Contacting our friends in Pattaya who own an engineer shop, we were able to source the high pressure hydraulic hose along with the fittings for our cylinders. This would give us redundancy and increased gas volume. We would still carry a bailout but that could be slung from the harness.

The testing later moved into shallow water trials where different divers of different skill levels went for a short dive to test the trim and overall experience. While this would be their first time in a rebreather they found it quite easy to reach neutral bouyancy and effective trim. The divers practiced bail out techniques  and general rebreather loop use.

Open water ocean trials will be conducted in the near future to test exposure limits and functionality in saltwater.

The TDI Advanced Nitrox course is designed to train the divers in the benefits, hazards and proper procedures for utilizing Enriched air nitrox through to one hundred (100%) percent oxygen for dives not requiring decompression To a depth of forty (40) msw, one hundred thirty (130) fsw.

The popularity of this course can further be illustrated with the recent shift in PADI’s technical diving arm DSAT to adopt the TDI style of courses which is to be released September 1st.

The course in itself gives the student many great new abilities as a diver. Of those include certification to 40m, above 40% nitrox use and the ability to dive in technical diving gear.

Yesterday Big Blue Tech completed such a course for Andy Holdaway , Panos Iosifoglo and Jean-Louis Rocheron. This course was also assited by Christos Kardana who was documenting the event with his under water camera.

The students excelled at the new gear and learning that extra buoyancy skills was introduced to help improve their confidence in the gear, these skills are typically found in the TDI Intro to Tech or GUE Foundations courses. This is essential for Panos and Andy who are continuing on to their TDI Cavern Course in a few days and later to more progressive technical diving course, they will use their new certification diving with twin tanks in the fresh water caves of Khao Sok National Park. Jean-Louis benefited from the extra skills and time to practice because he returns to work in France and might not have much time to dive again until next holiday.

Below are some pictures of the course.

Today we woke up early, had a large breakfast and headed down to the peir for our first load of dives. The trip would take 45 minuts by longtail boat, which is essentially a big canoe with a car engine on the back with a prop. Not complicated but it works.

As the boat departed bruce started assembling his side mounted diving system which proved to be a much better system for cave diving as he could enter restrictions far easier then had he been wearing conventional technical diving gear.

The first dive would be at the Temple Cave which is just about the limit in which you would consider a cavern. Your can see the natural light but you can get into complete dark if you wanted to. The first thing you notice strickingly different about this cavern system to others is the height of it running from 2m down to 32m giving a large open area to explore. We would spend the majority of our time practicing skills but the remaining time spent diving around.

All divers had redundant breathing systems either in technical diving gear or single tanks while carrying a RBS or Pony.

Other unusual features are the submerged trees. Khao Sok lake is man made after the built a dam and flooded it. You can see an entire flooded forest and even a village although too deep for recreational dives. This made diving in Khao Sok very unique and interesting.

The second cavern would be in a hole in the wall, in a random place along a cliff. Appearently the locals know these places because the elders could remember hiding in them during the communist influx. Whatever the story may be, here we were, 10m deep and going into a cavern in the middle of no where. The great thing about these systems that everyone noticed was how clear the visibility was once you got inside. Outside it was terrible and green but clear like gin inside.