On Friday December 11th Big Blue hosted a “Divemaster Challenge” celebrated the graduation of our most recent interns by creating a mock “pop idol” style event with games and events.

The graduates included Big Blue Tech’s Ash Dun who received his PADI Divemaster certification along with Yan and Karen who received her SSI DiveCon certification.

The theme behind the event was based on “pop idol” where the graduates have to compete for best dancer and singer while the judges decide what their prize or punishment should be.

Now that ash has officialy graduated (he received his actual divemaster rating over a month before) he can go on to better a brighter things.

These divemaster challenges replace the more common practice of “snorkel challenge” and are common around dive centers worldwide for various certification levels. Big Blue host divemaster challenges monthly.

In 2010 Big Blue Tech will begin distribution of the OMS Side-Mount System called the OMS ‘PROFILE’. Big Blue Tech saw this system first in February of 2009 while it was being trialled in the caves of Khao Sok National Park by one of it’s developers.

Along with the release of this new system will also be in the introduction of Side Mount courses including cavern, cave and technical diving specific course for the Side Mount popularity.

Side mount systems have been growing but because of problems importing the products to Thailand it has been difficult to get the market leading manufacturers products causing a slow reaction to this growing trend.

The official details can be found on the OMS website;

This system has filled a void and will offer the “at home” and traveling diver freedom from the weight concerns of handling “back mounted” doubles. Side-mount allows individuals with limited physical abilities and lower back issues to enjoy the redundancy of two tanks and two regulators by minimizing the amount of weight on the lower back and lowering the center of gravity for increased stability when entering/exiting the water. Additionally reaching behind your head to shut off or turn on your manifold valve is a thing of the past as both cylinder valves are near your hands. Traveling divers can relax knowing that easily available single tanks are all they need to enjoy redundancy and adequacy of gas supply for any dive around the world.

Features:
• Allows the diver to utilize most harness and wing systems (with standardized 11 inch O.C. hole spacing)
• Over the shoulder design keeps the wing close to the divers back and allows air to travel freely from divers left to right
• Integral bib adds over 1/8” inch of abrasion protection to the vulnerable top part of the wing
• No changes to the fit of the harness throughout the inflation of the wing from empty to full capacity
• Permits the Rebreather diver to back mount the CCR scrubber and side mount the Oxygen and Diluent cylinders
• Enables the diver to back mount the bottom gas and side mount the decompression gases
• Streamlines the diver allowing access to tight, remote, hard to reach caves and wreck passage ways.

Below are some pictures from the OMS Website about the new product.

Our technical training team is comprised of skilled and experienced individuals who excel in their own field of expertise across the technical scuba diving industry in Thailand. No one can train divers to do everything, with that we have specialists who focus on their own personal interest in the area they’re responsible for.

Our team work and live in a very small community of technical scuba diving explorers who’s main goal is to train and expose divers to this ever growing style of technical deep water exploration and advanced scuba diving education in Thailand.

We provide technical diving leadership and education in English, French, German, Spanish, Swedish, Thai and Japanese.

James Thornton-Allan

Director Technical Diving Operations

James is responsible for the day to day operations of Big Blue Tech and the on going quality assurance of technical diving operations including the expanding selection of dive sites and training courses for Big Blue Diving branches across Thailand.

James provides contact and liaison through all facets of technical diving at big blue and provides on going consultation for other technical diving companies and agencies. For all course and diving bookings please contact him directly.

Contact: James@bigbluetech.net

Yvonne Fries

Manager Technical Diving Operations

Yvonne is responsible for supporting the Director of Technical Diving Operations by managing the finances, scheduling and accounts along with all other related activities for Big Blue Tech in Thailand.

Yvonne has been working for Big Blue Tech for several years and is one of the more senior and respected members of the team.

Falls Sie Interesse haben am technischen Tauchen, Hoehlentauchen oder Rebreather Tauchen in oder um thailand herum, bitte kontaktieren Sie mich per Eunter

Wir bieten alle Kurse auch in deutscher Sprache an.

Contact: Yvonne@bigbluetech.net

Ash Dunn

Diving Facilities Manager

Ash is our Advanced Gas Blender, Equipment and Oxygen Service Technician and Technical Divemaster. On top of these skills, Ash is responsible for the logistics and delivery of suppot services for all diving with Big Blue Tech.

Ash provides logistic support and serviced equipment for all our technical diving expeditions across Thailand.

Contact: Ash@bigbluetech.net

Andy Holdaway

Technical Divemaster

Andy is our technical divemaster. He is responsible for leading certified technical divers and conducting skill workshops for divers who have not been current with their diving.

When not diving Andy can be found travelling between Thailand and England or enhancing his education and skills to become a technical diving instructor in the future.

Contact: Andy@bigbluetech.net

Sonia Scott

Hyperbaric Services Manager

Sonia is responsible for the health and safety of all our divers as a dive medic and hyperbaric chamber operator.

Sonia supports technical diving by being an onsite representative for all diving related health concerns while working with other medical facilities and professionals in the region.

Contact: sonia@bigbluetech.net

Panos Iosifoglou

Technical Dive Manager Similans

Panos is our in house technical dive managers who’s responsibility is for the west coast technical diving in the Similan Islands and Khao Lak. He provides logistics, underwater guide, supervision and liaison through our shop in Khao Lak and on our liveaboard the Mv Pawara.

Panos is also responsible for Cave Diving and Gas Blending Facilities for the west coast on Thailand.

Contact: Panos@bigbluetech.net

Simon Garitty

Technical Instructor Trainer

Simon is our SSI (Scuba Schools International) Instructor Trainer providing instructor level course, cross-overs and general course development for the Big Blue Diving franchise. Simon is also heavily involved with the SSI-TXR curriculum of technical courses.

Contact: Simon@bigbluetech.net

Guillaume Fargues

Technical Instructor Development Coordinator

Guillaume is responsible for coordinating instructor development courses and assisting in their application. Regardless of what level you wish to complete be it technical diving instructor or open water instructor Guillaume creates an effortless process and private tutor beyond what is already provided.

Guillaume is also our in house French instructor and is available for translation or entire courses upon request

Contactez-nous pour en savoir plus sur les formations tech, ainsi que la plongee en cavernes et grottes et avec recycleur partout en Thailande. Nous offrons des cours individuels dans de nombreuses langues dont le francais pour tous les niveaux, de debutant a instructeur tech.

Contact:guillaume@bigbluetech.net

Dean Jenkins

Technical Internship Coordinator

Dean is responsible for the ongoing training and development of our Technical Dive Master Program. Those completing their tech dive master program will work closely with dean for all aspects from physics to water skills.

Dean overseas your entire development and insures that all student needs are addressed including accommodation and equipment.

Contact: dean@bigbluetech.net

Big Blue Tech has recently returned from cavern and cave diving in one of Thailand’s National Parks called Khao Sok. Big Blue Tech conducted a TDI (Technical Diving International) Cavern and Extended Range course for Matt Payne, Mike Borneo and Ash Dunn. Matt and Mike who had already completed their Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures with us earlier in the year returned to join this expedition with Ash Dunn who will be joining the tech crew in December as our new facilities manager.

The 4 day expedition in Khao Sok proved to be a text book adventure of challenging dives in stunning surroundings. On this particular trip the water had risen another 5m making the sunken temple out of range for the 55m certification depth.

The increase in water level on the lake was a result of heavy water fall leading up to the trip. Thankfully the rain fall and preceeding weather didn’t effect diving conditions or underwater visibiility leaving nothing but clear skies and sunshine.

The expedition progressed with the required training dives for the Cavern Diver certification followed by exploration for new cave systems and accelerated decompression dives up to 55m.

The students were introduced to new and unfamiliar conditions with diving from a longtail and in fresh water. While most chose the more formal method of backwards roll, others like United States Marine Captain Mike Borneo chose a more uncoventional method.

One of the more interesting highlights of the caverns was the exploration of a dry pool above one of the systems where a dive could surface to see the stalagtites and stalagmites forming above. An interesting spectacle when all the dive computers registered that we were still at 4m while very clearly above the surface of the water.

As the trip concluded, the divers had experienced 10 fresh water dives and combined their previous training with the challenges of overhead environment.

Big Blue Tech would like to tank Prival Raft House and Big Blue Diving for their support and assistance conducting this expedition.

Big Blue Tech returns to the region for more diving in December of 2009.

Today Big Blue Tech, a technical diving school based on Koh Tao in Thailand celebrates the graduation of Phil Elmer from his TDI Extended Range Course.

Phil arrived on Koh Tao almost a week previously and began with some technical diving fun dives as he was already certified as a TDI Decompression Procedures Diver. After a few trips Phil was ready to start his course. The TDI extended range course certifies the student to 55m and to use a variety of gas mixes and techniques for decompression diving. Phil started off in confined with a skill refresher and an introduction to how we do skills and then we were off deep diving the next day. The course took us to various locations, wrecks and conditions.

The final day was conducted by looking for new wrecks using gps and sonar from fishermen marks on our own boat. After a few sweeps and some dives we came up empty handed but it was great experience for Phil to see how wreck searches are conducted and it was a chance for Big Blue Tech to cross off an area of interest leaving only a few more search areas left.

As reported on the Big Blue Diving blog:
“Meanwhile in the deeply technical world of Deep Tech diving, ‘Canada’ (James Thornton-Allan) & his tattooed team of black hooded twin tank techie boys have been taking Navakid off for a jolly with a fish finder & a depth reader to see if they can find somewhere deep & dark to go diving. Ideally chancing upon a wreck would be a fine thing, but we’ll suffice with a ridge or a wall or a series of pinnacles. As long as its deep & its dark & its technical & it involves carrying around lots of tanks & a gimps hat it doesn’t really matter!”

Tonight the celebration will continue with a party at “Moov” which will be their last for the season.

Below are pictures from his course:

In 1980 the Ratchaprapha Dam in Khao Sok National park was created flooding the region creating what is now called Chiew Larn Lake. Surrounding the lake are large limestone cliffs characterized topographically with karst formations, dense jungle and diverse wildlife. The dam is popular for boat tours, kayaking, trekking and rock climbing and more recently as a technical diving destination used by Big Blue Tech. for conducting deep technical and cavern diving courses and explorations.

In February of 2009 6 technical divers from Big Blue Tech – a technical diving facility in Koh Tao, Thailand – discovered a sunken village 60m deep within the central region of the lake.  This discovery would open up more opportunities for future technical divers giving them the possibility to conduct serious expedition diving in conjuction with their course. We complete all our courses on wreck liveabords, sunken village and cavern expeditions or alternatively on a luxury Similan Islands liveaboard (as of December 1st 2009).

Our journey begins with a plan to re-visit the village and explore some caverns. The expedition was a combination of a TDI Extended Range Course and TDI Cavern Course. The members of the expedition team are James Thornton-Allan ( Instructor) Christos Kardana (Assistant Instructor) Andy Holdaway (Technical Diving Intern), Panos Iosifoglou , Steve Jeffs and Nate Weiss who are completing their training.

With any expedition comes logistics  and support planning. Emergency evacuation plans would have to be set before leaving Koh Tao to ensure the right people knew we were in the area and were able to respond in the eventuality of any incident. In addition, the success of the trip depended on a high level of equipment requirements and performance including primary and redundant  light systems, gps, sonar and technical dive rigs.

Arriving at the national park pier we immediately noticed the water had rose 5m / 15ft from since our last visit. Loading the longtail proved difficult since the pier parking area was submerged. Everyone pictched in and in no time we were cruising along the lake towards our floating hotel as the sun came over the mountains silhouetting the mist trapped by the eclipsing limestone structures.

The hotel we would be based at is a modest “raft house” called the Prival Raft House providing basic accommodation, excellent food and stunning surroundings . This system off wooden planks and walkways proved a bit weak for Andy who by any standard is a rather large man and broke several boards daily. For the entire crew the resort was quiet, peaceful, beautiful and friendly making everyone feel very comfortable and welcome. Big Blue Tech booked the entire resort for this expedition giving everyone their own room and private area. This also meant we could take over the whole place to put our compressor, set up charging areas for flashlights, a dry area and a wet area for hanging wetsuits leaving the bar area for relaxing and reading and. A few poor customers arrived, to be quickly sent on their way by the roaring of the compressor and the hissing and testing of equipment.

Our first task was to get straight into the water for the cavern course, This was ideal since the diving that would come later would be pitch black and in fresh water those two conditions need a bit of practice. Everyone needed to tweak their buoyancy but by the second dive of the day everyone progressed through the skills and training with ease. Learning to become a cavern diver focuses on using a reel, laying a line during your dive, advanced dive planning, diver trim and control with more challenging skills to follow.

The following day waking with the rise of the sun and watching the mist roll over the lake was a peacful and refreshing way to get out of bed. The staff of the resort prepared a western style breakfast and then we were off for 2 more cavern dives followed by a night dive. The cavern dives were completed with ease, those who were already certified could explore the overhead environment while those under instruction practiced already learned skills and excelled at new ones. During the 5 hour surface interval James and Christos headed off to the dive site of the sunken village to tie on a permanent buoy line. The sonar showed 59m indicating the depth had increased with the change in water level. Christos had not dived in the morning so was fresh to head down to tie on. The gps mark was taken from a fixed reel and lift bag in February, this same reel was found 2 meters from the shot line showing excellent precision in the communication systems taken with us. Christos actually found that the sunken city was at 53m which is well within the training limits of the TDI Extended Range. For Steve who initially requested a DSAT Tec Deep Course was thankful he changed to TDI because of the 50m maximum depth restriction of the DSAT course. Christos tied onto a concrete pillar and returned to the surface. In opur absence the rest of the team had been sleeping, out kayaking and fishing.

Before the day would end it was time for a night dive. This dive would help the students get accustomed to task loading and skills in a similar environment without the obligation of decompression. This proved an essential addition to training on reflection the following day.

The following and 3rd day everyone was woken by screams and moans from the woods which was the wild gibbon monkeys in the trees swinging and calling to each other. Everyone compared how they normally get woken up from the sound of traffic to a phone ringing but this would be truly unique. The noise would continue for hours of the morning as we got ready for the next big dives. This morning we had some engine problems so rather then lose the chance to do two dives we decided to do one under the resort. This would give the team a chance at some decompression dives in the darkness while we waited for the boat to be fixed. The area under the resort is a dense forest littered with various things dropped from above. The most unusual things were clothes, a saw, pots and pans but the most common were simply beer bottles and bottle caps. The challenge for the divers was to navigate through the trees and dense canopy and still retain some idea of location and destination. Arriving safely at the surface the longtail was fixed, 3 hour surface interval and then off to the Sunken City.

The final dive of the day would be conducted in 2 dives with constant surface support at all times. As we descended the water colour and temperature changed drastically. The water on the surface was green and 31 degrees celcius. As we descended the colour would change from light green to dark green then smoky green to light brown then dark brown and eventually black. The temperature would drop 6 degrees in the darkness with crystal clear visibility. The water was so still and so dark you lost the sense that you were underwater at all. Since the terrain was very much man made it felt like you were flying through the ruins of an old town at night. Our descent had taken 5 minutes. As this was a new depth for the majority of the team it was essential to head down slowly to allow the effects of nitrogen narcosis to come on gradual rather then sudden. Arriving at the bottom we had 10 minutes left before we would head back to the surface. Reeling off the down line and using it as a guide for the students we headed towards the village passing the old discarded reel left behind from the last trip in February.

All the divers buoyancy was perfect, at no time did any diver make contact with the bottom. Bouyancy and trim had been one of the focuses throughout the duration of the course and that allowed a clear and controlled dive. After moving past man made structures one member had reached their turn around pressure so it was back to the down line to make our ascent. The most shocking feeling during the ascent was the change in temperature from quite cold to very warm causing most divers to signal to their buddy “hang on a minute, i’m going to the toilet”. We were wearing tropical 3mm wetsuits which meant the change in water temperature would effect you in every way possible. Completing the decompression schedule and the mandatory additional safety stop we arrived back on the surface with laughter and smiles all fighting to tell their own story of the dive. Back on the boat and returning to the resort we would plan the following and final days dives and get to bed early. One of the significant changes most notice from decompression diving is the fatigue which combined with fun in the sun can make many sleepy.

Big Blue Tech enforce and strict no alcohol drinking on all our technical training and trips. The students have been dry since the very first day they put on a twin set with us and proves to be the key in minimizing risk in recreational technical diving, no matter how extreme of repetitive it may seem. Although many were too tired to drink anything this evening we did give Kayleigh (Panos’ girlfriend) a lot of grief for having a cold beer with dinner. Regardless of the rules it was to early celebrate since we still had two more dives to complete. One more dive being lead by the instructor which would be their final training dive and a final experience dive where the student would change roles and gain some confidence by leading their own dive leader.

The final day of diving was met with overcast skies and strong winds. The early morning dive exposed the students to even greater bottom time which allowed them to explore further from the down line looking at all the concrete structures and becoming more accustomed to functioning in the harsh environment. While the dives were being conducted the base camp of diving operations was being broken down and packed away from the journey home. The large 50L tank of oxygen and emergency kit was the only piece not stored away. The second dive of the day and final dive of the trip was conducted without problems. The students were exposed to dive times in excess of an hour and bottom times exceeding 20 minutes at around 55m.

Returning to the floating resort the students were jubilant in completing their TDI Extended Range Course and earning the title of being self sufficient deep technical and expedition divers

The expedition concluded with a road trip back to the Surathani pier followed by a night boat back to koh tao where the staff rinsed all the equipment and scheduled the necessary servicing before the next trip in October.

“Cheers for the Teck Diving. I had a great time. In retrospect, the training was everything I was hoping for and more.” Steve Jeffs – TDI Extended Range Diver

September 11th

A US Marine Officer, former US Airforce Engineer and a Private Security Consultant joined Big Blue Tech today for some decompression diving. All three men hail from New York and came to Big Blue Tech for different reasons but all dived together this morning.

Mike Borneo, US Marine Captain joined Big Blue Tech to get his TDI Advanced Nitrox but quickly moved on to complete his TDI Decompression Procedures course as well. Mike is on cultural attachment to the US Embassy in Thailand before his next deployment overseas in the new year.

Steve Papapanos, former US Airforce Engineer is travelling through thailand and came to Big Blue Tech for the same reasons as Mike and will continue his travells through the rest of Asia.

Nathaniel Weiss, Business Consultant for Private Security Companies overseas joined Big Blue Tech for his TDI Extended Range course and Khao Sok Expedition at the end of the month but came out today to receive a Technical Refresher before going straight into the course. Nathaniel will join 3 others later this month to start his extended range.

The course was conducted over 4 days and exposed the divers to accelerated decompression to 45m. The divers learned complex dive planning, equipment configuration and new diving techniques to allow them to dive deeper and longer than before.

The students enjoyed the diving so much the signed up for some additional experience dives right after the course. It was a great pleasure hanging out with these lads since we’re very much an ex military school and wish them all the luck in the future.

by Christos Kardana

It’s easy to get excited about Khao Sok National Park. Astonishing areas of ancient rain forest, exotic rare wildlife and countless trekking routes provide the ideal setting for the avid explorer or outdoor enthusiast. It also provides the perfect backdrop for diving fanatics such as ourselves here at Big Blue Tech, were we are all about going ‘deeper and darker’.  Khao Sok National Park’s 165kmsq lake - created by a damming project in the early 1980s- provides a rare and challenging environment for advanced divers. The lake is mesmerising, with limestone sheer cliffs and pinnacles surrounding the immense body of water. The water itself is a layer cake of debris covered surface, sulphur induced mid water columns and finally crystal clear water engulfing submerged tree tops at 60m in what can prove to be the most serene and yet challenging diving site for many. Big Blue Tech returned to this favourite destination to conduct the August TDI Cavern Course, in what was our first visit since our successful Technical Temple Expedition back in June.

Cavern and cave diving is an exhilarating experience appealing to a wide array of divers from speleological fanatics exploring the limestone formations formed over years of natural weathering and water flow erosion to hardcore divers looking for the challenge of extreme dive exposure and expedition planning and logistics.

The Big Blue Tech TDI Cavern Course is a 4-day expedition with fee covering all costs involved during the length, including overnight boat and minibus transport there and back, food and drink cover and the certifying course and additional dives as well. The TDI Cavern course is the first step in overhead environment training covering all necessary skills for chamber diving within an ambient light source putting you on the road for full cave diver in the future if your up for the challenge. Starting at our home headquarters in Koh Tao it’s a simple and pleasurable journey to the Khao Sok National Park resort.

Surrounded by evergreen forest, flowing streams and peacocks, academic presentations and theory Q&A is covered followed by hands on practical reel work including tie-offs and placements, team diving contact drills and light and air source failure bail out techniques.

Day two means we can finally get in the water and after a delightful traditional long-tail boat ride through the lake; a full skill briefing is conducted before kit up, entry and penetration of our main training cavern, ‘Temple’ defined by its stalactite and stalagmite formations all but lost with history to what is now an astonishing underwater chamber. Students lead the dive itself practicing appropriate reel work and buddy and light techniques all under the direct supervision of our head instructor, James Thornton Allan. The skills are perfected on the second dive within ‘Peters’ Cave; home to a cathedral type chamber that divers can surface in floating through narrow corridors.

Day 3 completes the skills required for certification as a cavern diver, of which we will not mention (we cant ruin the surprise!), with Day 4 allowing for adventure dives at new sites within the park, providing the perfect situation for newly qualified divers to utilise there new found skills in the true nature and reason of why cave and technical diving evolved to what it is today…Exploration!

Big Blue Tech’s August Expedition consisted of two students: English technical dive-master intern Andy Holdoway and instructor Panagiotis Iosifoglou of Greek German decent. Past students Sonia Scott and Yvonne Fries returned for a third and second time respectively for the love of the sport, adding further cavern dives to there log. As Andy and Panagiotis were already TDI Advance Nitrox Certified they were qualified to dive on a technical twin set rig, an addition they both agreed lent itself perfectly to the type of diving involved, while the girls utilised recreational kit with bail out pony cylinders across there torso.

Andy found the whole experience exhilarating stating “I feel alive again” with Panagiotis or ‘Panos’ as we call him, remaining speechless for the majority of the trip, every now and again doing the old “This is Sparta” routine before donning his tech kit. The girls loved the trip, as did we all here at Big Blue Tech, and the logistics and planning are already under way for our September Expedition.

If you are interested in our Khao Sok Cavern Expeditions or any of our training courses, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@bigbluetech.net

All photographs are © Christos Kardana / Big Blue Tech.

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.

Event took place on July 31st

Sail Rock dive site has been described by many as the best scuba diving destination on the entire east coast of Thailand.

There have been many rumors going around as to where the name comes from however we believe it’s because of the famous sail rock in the black sea which looks very very similar. Described here on wiki.

The site is a big granite pinnacle that breaks the surface half way between Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Tao and as there are no other rocks around it acts as a congregation point for all the fish in the surrounding area.

The pinnacle drops down to 50 meters in the sand and is typically dived in a circular route around the rock, spiraling slowly shallower. If currents are strong however, dive masters will guide customers around the sheltered areas, avoiding hard fining in the currents. There are other outer rocks a little deeper that can be seen from the main pinnacle and are home to reef sharks.

On a clear day, with light filtering down into the crystal blue water, the granite boulder looks stunning. Enormous schools of trevally are all over the dive site and they energetically harass the smaller fish which bunch together and move as one for protection from these darting raids

Because of the distance and the logistics required to reach the dive site very few schools on Koh Tao actually bother to reach this dive site. However Big Blue go there about twice a week with the aid of 3 boats, on board kitchen (galley) and space for 40 - 50 divers.

On this day in particular Big Blue Tech joined the boat for some technical diving, photography and just enjoy a day out on the seas.

The trip was accompanyed with several different courses and activities from Advanced and Dive Master courses to Recreational and Technical Fun Divers.

In the technical diving community it seems to be a common opinion that mixing technical diving and recreational diving on one boat is something of a problem, however we feel it’s a great environment to be in. Many divers have never seen such diving methods and are generally curious and interested which makes it a great chance to educate divers in other styles of fish watching.

Additionally the technical diving team wanted to explore some GPS Marks given to us by the boat captain and his friends with our sea bottom sonar along the way. Some proved promising and we would later return alone to the marks for further exploration.

Although the day was good the weather turned on us quite quickly causing strong current on the dive sites. This left the technical divers with one big dive and resorted to relaxing on the boat while the other divers did 3.

Below are some images from the day.

by James Thornton-Allan

Suunto have released a new dive computer called the Hel02 which is marketed to challenge the advanced technical diving computer market. With multiple gas mixes and the ability to handle normoxic trimix, this computer has the window sticker to tempt any diver.

However, all that glitters is not gold and you only have to look at the history of a company to realize that adding more features to a computer isn’t a good thing.

Traditionally technical divers would dive using a depth gauge and timer combined with a slate. This method isn’t the most flexible but it does create disciplined divers. I personally prefer to dive trimix on a slate, it keeps me alert and ensures I dive the plan rather than just jumping in and watching reserves.

This new computer has many features that allow divers to go quite deep with a real sense of freedom. Many remember the total collapse of their “bling tech” computer, the D9. It was ordered by the U.S consumer safety council to be recalled because it was giving false decompression times. For the original review of this product refer to:  “Dangerous at Any Depth”

The more dangerous aspect of the HelO2 is its complexity in function, especially for people who already own the Vytec DS computer, . This is also Suunto’s first computer where you can reduce the conservatism. However Suunto state this feature is only recommended for fit and young individuals. How many people place themselves in this category I wonder?

The HelO2 computer was loaned to us for testing to see if it was something we would be happy to recommend to our customers. After signing a liability release for Suunto, assuring them we would also use a back up source of decompression information, we strapped on the Helo2 and jumped in.

One major problem with the Hel02 is that it still does not show your upcoming stops. It has a “time to surface” indicator which estimates your schedule providing you swap on the gases you have programed, but that’s not the same thing as actually knowing what your stops are. With such advanced display, the computer should be able to show a graph or a forecast of stops and depths. I think this has to do with their forecasting style of diving. Those who have been on a Suunto before would of seen their computer go into decompression mode which just disappears sometimes when they arrive at a shallower depth around 10m. The Hel02 computer does the same thing, we got 3 minutes of deco, stayed over our depth for 2 minutes and it just went back to no decompression diving at 10m.

One of our instructors took the Hel02 for a recreational dive to test it for himself, as he was planning on upgrading from his Vytec Ds. Disapointinngly the instructor felt the Hel02 lacked important features and had he been on a trimix dive he would of bailed to slate and a back up.

One of the other aspects of the computer is the decompression model it uses. The model is called the Suunto Technical RGBM algorithm, despite not fully implementing the RGBM bubble model. Dr Bruce Wienke, who developed the full RGBM model, also developed the Suunto Technical RGBM algorithm and describes it as a simulation of a bubble model. When dived alongside a VR3, which uses a traditional Buhlmann model with Pyle Stops, the decompression required was almost identical. It is clear from the profiles produced by the HelO2 and from the new version of the Suunto Dive Planner that it is primarily a Haldanean/Buhlmann model with deep stops added.

The HelO2 was also compared against tables generated by two bubble models, VPM (using V-Planner) and RGBM (using GAP). It was clear that the profile required by the Suunto Technical RGM was very different to the RGBM profile generated by GAP. However the X1, which uses VPM-Live, matched the V-Planner generated VPM tables almost exactly. This is further confirmation that the HelO2 does not use a full RGBM implementation.

Post testing my conclusions are that Suunto have achieved what they set out to achieve. They have produced a computer which is easy to use and will appeal to a large number of Trimix divers. They have managed to do this at a price point that I think will appeal to a great deal of people coming into technical diving. Although it has its limitations, I can see this computer becoming a huge success, primarily because of distribution and getting your hands on this computer will be very easy compared to others. The HelO2 will polarize many in the technical diving world, with some people loving it and some people hating it. This will probably be the same people on the fence about the DSAT vs TDI debate as well.

However after several dives and debates with regards to its performance with other technical diving professionals, I would not recommend this computer at this time. Perhaps upon future releases of the HelO2 when all the potential bugs are fixed I will give it a second consideration. In the end, everyone recommends a VR3 (the closest competitor), despite the price, which will be the least of your concerns when diving beyond 100m

*this computer was tested againts the Vytec DS, VR3, Pursuit, and Uwatec Depth and Timer.

The Big Blue Tech family became a little bit bigger with the arrival of Andy Holdaway to start his technical dive master internship which will take him from a rescue diver to a member of staff as an instructor in a few months time.

Andy joins us from England where he has spent the past few years as a Royal Marines Commando and served with our director James Thornton-Allan over 4 years ago. Andy has been to Koh Tao before but this time he’s staying.

Being as Andy already has a relationship with the staff means there’s been quite a few late nights and shakey mornings. However the celebration of his arrival is over and now it’s time to get to work. Andy will be enrolling in the following courses.

PADI Divemaster Internship
TDI Technical Divemaster
TDI Advanced Gas Blender
TDI Service Technician
TDI Advanced Nitrox
TDI Decompression Procedures
TDI Extended Range
PADI Open Water Instructor
PADI Specialty Instructor - Deep and Nitrox
BSAC Compressor Operator

Once that’s done Andy will be joining us to take over the responsibility for all our specialty course training and freelancing for recreational diving while he builds up experience to take on the ominous role of TDI technical instructor.

Heeding customer feedback and finally bowing to market pressures, PADI’s DSAT technical diving arm is preparing an overhaul of its TecRec Deep and Trimix courses that will lower the entry barriers to the course and give instructors more flexibility.

Although final course outlines have not been finalized, the Tec Deep course will be broken into three parts, tentatively called “Tec 40,” “Tec 45″ and “Tec 50,” signifying the depth in meters students will be certified to dive. The current Tec Trimix course will be similarly broken into two parts, dubbed “Trimix 65″ and “Trimix 75.” DSAT hopes to introduce the courses by the end of the year.

Speaking at DSAT’s forum in Pattaya, Thailand June 21, PADI Instructor Examiner and TecRec Instructor Trainer George Wegmann stressed that the final look of the revamped TecRec program has not been finalized, but that DSAT now had a “strong direction” for 2009. The organization formed the basis for the tiered technical program from feedback at previous DSAT roundtables in Australia and the U.S. While still soliciting input from PADI professionals, the agency is now traveling around the world with its “Essential Change ‘09″ presentation…..Continued

April proved to be our busiest month with our biggest cavern course to date with 10 people on a 5 day exploration of the caves and cavers, an enrollment of 3 technical diving students at different stages progressing on to Trimix diving on the west coast and videography internships later. The arrival of new staff, Cory Lewis, to keep up with our nitrox distribution to the local diving community. All during this we had the arrival of “Golden Week” where 50 Japanese customers arrive for 3 weeks of diving on our boats, the overhall of all our compressors (7), Thai New Year, an electricity crisis and the renovation of the tech equipment room.

Unfortunately a few of our tech students hit a bit of trouble, Christos is still out of the water with some awful spider bite infection he got for passing out in the bushes in Khao Sok and John who picked up an ear infection for diving 5 times a day. However, this leaves room for some time off, with current courses on hold and no more planned until a CCR Megaladon Course in the end of May we’ve all decided to do some fun diving, relaxing, working on our tan and enjoying the island we all came here for.

Elsewhere on the island things have been busy. Mv Trident have been in and out of the harbour all month on technical wreck diving trips, PADI gave a discussion about how DSAT are changing their technical courses and another successful group of new instructors graduated from several different schools on the island.

We’ve got some pictures of Cory’s Tech course, he’s about 1/3 the way though and is only certified to dive in tech gear without anything too fancy. He’ll be joining the rest of the lads in mid May.