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Most dive leaders never receive any rescue training beyond the basic skills taught in their standard rescue diver course. In fact, for many leaders in scuba training and education, it may have been decades since their last real training in rescue techniques and procedures. The skills needed to effect the rescue of a student or diver must be constantly practiced and refined to become and stay reflexive. Instructors, professional rescue personnel, divemasters, assistant instructors and dive guides need leadership-level rescue skills, not simply basic rescue techniques taught in their early diving career. “Everything you see is telling you a story. Are you listening?” Needless to say, this was an extremely effective attention-getting step used by NAUI Course Directors Walt “Butch” Hendrick (NAUI 1724) and Andrea Zaferes (NAUI 10533) during the…

NAUI Board of Directors, international advisors and headquarters staff recently met in Marathon, Florida, for three days of discussion and planning designed to set the course for the association over the next three to five years. “This meeting was one of the most exciting, motivating and productive that I have been a part of for NAUI,” said Dave Ochs, Chair of the NAUI Board of Directors. “For 57 years, NAUI’s purpose has remained constant. However, now we’ve taken the time to address our mission, develop and agree upon a shared vision, review industry and association data trends, and design a strategic framework to guide our decisions and support our actions going forward.” By analyzing goal statements from pervious Boards, it became evident that many worthwhile objectives had been identified in…

This past June, the Task Force Dagger Foundation hosted its 2017 Dagger Dive. The group completed the second day of confined-water scuba training at the Special Forces Underwater Operations military base, followed by its first open-water dives. The Task Force Dagger Foundation provides assistance to wounded, ill or injured U.S. Special Operations Command members and their families. It responds to urgent needs, conducts recreational therapy adaptive events, and provides next-generation health solutions for issues facing service members. In addition, the foundation is a rally point to combat traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress and environmental exposures. To find out more about the Task Force Dagger Foundation, visit taskforcedagger.org.…

In 1978, when I was 6 years old, I watched the adventures of Jacques Cousteau on our black-and-white television. I was fascinated by the underwater pictures, the flora, the fauna and the most amazing places on Earth. I knew for sure that I would be a diver when I was grown up! And my dream came true. The very first time I took a breath underwater was in Cyprus. It was an introductory scuba program, and we went on a shallow open-water dive. I loved diving immediately. I was weightless, flying and swimming, all at the same time. I enjoyed every second! It was another dimension, exploring the unknown. I made my decision: I would get my equipment, and whatever happened, I would go diving! Nobody could stop me. And…

“To this day, completing my NAUI Instructor certification may have been the hardest thing I have ever done, but I am forever grateful to be a NAUI Leader.” In the summer of 2010, I traveled to the British Virgin Islands to attend a summer camp called SeaTrek BVI (a diving, sailing and marine biology program for teens). I’d originally found this camp while researching ways to learn more about marine biology, but little did I know that I would fall in love with scuba diving. As a 16-year-old who came to SeaTrek unsure of my interests and aspirations, I left feeling more confident in myself, and I knew I wanted to take my scuba training to the next level. I returned to SeaTrek BVI the next summer and completed my…

Public safety diving is physically, mentally and emotionally challenging for the divers who take it upon themselves to serve their communities. While recreational divers have a broad range of risks to manage, public safety diver (PSD) teams must contend not only with the risks inherent in scuba diving, but also with pressing the application of scuba to its extreme limits. Challenging missions, dangerous conditions and emotionally charged situations are the wheelhouse of well-prepared PSD teams. Their duties cover a wide variety of diving locations, responsibilities and activities. PSD teams are called to victim recoveries, bomb disposals, crime scene investigations, port security actions and more every year — often without warning. Keeping these divers safe requires oversight, training and management of both diving- and mission-related hazards. Learn how they keep themselves…

Avast and green territory, marvelous beaches, the Indian Ocean — who could ask for anything more? Like most tourists, we could not have imagined the wealth or the agonies of this land until Wassanta, our guide, told us some of the history of this green pearl in the Indian Ocean. It’s southeast of India, but only 12 hours by plane from the capitals of Europe. During British rule, it was called Ceylon, but when it regained full independent status in 1972, it became the Republic of Sri Lanka — its old name, which dated back two millennia. Today, after more than 30 years of strife and civil war, a wind of revival blows through this island nation, which throws its doors open wide to tourism. Since 2009, the country has…

It was just past 8 o’clock on a typical morning in late November 1948. About a dozen people were riding Stockholm Tramways’ electric trolley (also known as an overhead-wire bus) on their way to work. World War II had ended a few years earlier, and life was returning to normal. The morning commute did not stand out in any particular way until the crash. While crossing a bridge on its way to Stora Essingen, the trolley was suddenly struck by a truck. The trolley careened out of control, crashed through the rail on the side of the bridge, and for a few tense moments teetered nearly 15 meters (50 feet) above the icy water below. Then, without warning, the bus and its 12 occupants plummeted into the water. There was…

The new NAUI CORE, will be your gateway to the online universe of all things NAUI! NAUI CORE has been designed with input from NAUI members, business owners and students. Here we provide an overview of this new platform. It’s important to note that this is not a website. Instead, it will be a fully integrated, multi-user enterprise management system (EMS) that for the first time will allow NAUI to manage its worldwide membership and activities. NAUI CORE 1.0 is just one element of this EMS, which also includes the NAUI forward-facing (public) website completed in 2016, the NAUI store and a future NAUI App. NAUI CORE presents Certifications, Online training, Resources and Educational material. NAUI CORE provides a convenient hub where you will find the latest news about NAUI,…

Back in 2012, the first-place winner of NAUI’s “Just Dive” photo contest was awarded a weeklong dive vacation on the famous Blackbeard’s Cruises liveaboard motor-sailboat. I could hardly believe it when I was the lucky winner. However, a weeklong diving vacation didn’t mesh well with having my first child, and my Blackbeard’s prize ticket expired. Four years later, I contacted Kathy Brownlow, operations manager at NAUI Headquarters, and mentioned the contest. She suggested that I call Blackbeard’s, so I phoned them. I spoke with Beth Oliveira at Blackbeard’s, and she was kind enough to tell me they would honor my expired ticket. I scheduled my trip for early February (it’s darn cold in Ontario) and flew to the Bahamas. Blackbeard’s took me from the airport to the docks, and I…

FIT (August 6, 2017) Candidates Francois Finet (left) and Michael Pamatat (right) began their leadership training by conducting the first Familiarization Instruction Testing (FIT) course in Hawaii with Course Director Tyler Phelps (NAUI 57749). ITC (August 15, 2017) Congratulations to Hawaii’s newest NAUI Instructors, Francois Finet (inside left) and Michael Pamatat (inside right)! Over the course of two weeks, they worked extremely hard with Course Director Tyler Phelps (left, NAUI 57749) and have earned the right to call themselves NAUI members. A special thank-you to Course Director Bryce Lauder (right, NAUI 52239) for coming out for their final evaluations, and to staff trainer Bryant Grady (not shown, NAUI 58269) for help in staffing the ITC. Intro to Tech (I2T) (August 21, 2017) Congratulations to James Terhune (left) and Bryant Grady…

NAUI is excited to announce yet another key industry partnership — one with The Florida Aquarium. On September 7, 2017, NAUI Executive Director Dallas Edmiston and Director of Marketing and Communications Derik Crotts met with The Florida Aquarium President and CEO Richard Germann and Vice President of Operations Casey Coy to sign an agreement focused on promoting shared goals and values. “Although The Florida Aquarium has a long history of working with NAUI and employing NAUI leaders, this new agreement is much more comprehensive and maximizes opportunities for sharing resources and executing important initiatives,” said Edmiston. “This [agreement] strongly connects two organizations whose values are very much in line with one another,” said Germann. “The Florida Aquarium values our blue planet and aims to protect it through education, entertainment, conservation…

Divers have been recovering lost souls and equipment as long as humans have had lungs or primitive equipment to enable them to journey beneath the water’s surface. Not long after Emile Gagnan and Jacques Cousteau invented and tested the first Aqua Lung, it was demonstrated that it could be used for military as well as civilian applications. In his landmark book The Silent World , Cousteau writes of the recovery of the remains of a pilot who crashed his aircraft not far from where Cousteau’s dive team was operating. Soon after the first scuba equipment made its way to the United States, the first fledgling steps toward public safety diving were taken when volunteer divers were sought out by municipalities needing the support of underwater-capable searchers and recovery experts. Generally,…

You are asked to participate in a novel task — developing the best car out there — and you have unlimited funds to do so. You and your team look through the motoring websites, pick the top 100 cars and get them delivered to a massive warehouse. You join 49 other automotive engineers and start to examine each car, identifying its strengths and weaknesses. After some deliberating, you decide how you are going to make the best car. You take the computer out of the Tesla, you take the engine out of the Ferrari, you take the chassis out of the Volvo, you take the suspension out of the Jeep, and so on, until you have all the bits you need for your car, and then you try to put…

It’s 2 o’clock in the morning. You’re miserable and cold. Large raindrops strike your face. The air temperature is barely above freezing. You’re standing on the pitching deck of the boat as swells roll it back and forth, up and down. A helicopter hovers overhead, its rotor wash whipping up frigid wind and mist as its searchlight hits the black-water. There’s a small private airplane down there, somewhere down there, reported to have hit the water an hour ago. The water is cold and dark, and a light sheen of oil can be seen on the surface with bits of flotsam. All gear checks have been completed. Pulling your mask onto your face and taking a breath, you hear: “Divers in the water.” You step off the deck into the…

Marine Search and Rescue (MSAR) is a division of the East Baton Rouge Sheriff ’s Office (EBRSO). MSAR is responsible for surface and subsurface water operations in East Baton Rouge Parish. Surface water operations include security for the port area, boating safety enforcement and water rescue. The MSAR Division dive team conducts all subsurface water operations. Port security in the Baton Rouge area is accomplished by a joint effort of the U.S. Coast Guard and Joint Task Force 7, a counterterrorism task force formed by several sheriffs in the Baton Rouge area. EBRSO is the lead agency of Joint Task Force 7, and MSAR serves in both administrative and operational roles for the task force. Mark Smith (NAUI 5515) and Underwater Adventures provide the NAUI Public Safety Diver (PSD) training…

This past August, NAUI divers and leaders across the industry celebrated NAUI’s 57-year history of defining diving with NAUI Week, which will become an annual event. The week of August 20-26 marks the time frame in 1960 when the first NAUI Instructor Certification Course was held in Houston. During NAUI Week, social media and other industry outlets were used to tell the NAUI story and bring NAUI members and divers together to not only honor the rich history of the association, but to look ahead and work together to grow NAUI’s reach and influence across the industry. Beginning in 2018, NAUI Week activities will include a NAUI Week Dive Getaway, as well as Show Your NAUI Pride media campaigns. “NAUI Week celebrates NAUI’s past and present — from ‘The Quality…

In April 2017, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced its decision to upgrade the status of the West Indian manatee ( Trichechus manatus ) from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. The USFWS used scientific models to map manatee population trends, considering factors such as increases in watercraft mortality, red tide mortality and other current threats. With all information taken into account, including consenting information from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), it was determined that manatees no longer meet the ESA’s definition of endangered. The West Indian manatee (including the Antillean and Florida subspecies) will remain federally protected as a threatened species under the ESA and the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, in addition to being protected at the…

SeaTrek BVI, one of NAUI’s largest youth training programs, offers tropical adventure summer camp programs for middle school, high school and college-age students in the British Virgin Islands and other islands throughout the Caribbean. Voyages revolve around learning to scuba dive, hands-on sailing and instruction in marine sciences. All of SeaTrek’s educational experiences are geared toward adventure, leadership, growth and fun. This past summer, SeaTrek’s on-staff NAUI Course Director and Instructor Trainers guided and supported eight leadership candidates in successfully completing their training. Staying true to NAUI’s high standards, SeaTrek training is intense yet rewarding, and covers every aspect of scuba diving, from academics and watermanship skills to supervising students in training. SeaTrek BVI would like to congratulate these new NAUI leaders and wish them well in their future careers…

Across the U.S. and around the world, there exists a special breed of diver. While these divers might prefer to dive in warm, clear, tropical waters as most of us do, they are often called on to dive in places and conditions that most of us wouldn’t dare enter. They do it as part of their job, sometimes in hopes that they might save a life or bring closure to a grieving family, and sometimes as investigators whose findings might help crack a case and send a criminal to jail. Regardless of their motivation, public safety divers (PSDs) around the world stand at the ready to assist the public at a moment’s notice. Decades ago, public safety dive teams were woefully unprepared for the demands of the job. Composed largely…

BETTER DRILLS AND REINFORCING THE BASICS CAN BENEFIT ENTRY-LEVEL PUBLIC SAFETY DIVE TEAM MEMBERS. Public safety dive teams provide vital marine services to rescue and law enforcement organizations all over the world. A well-trained dive team can tackle a wide variety of missions: accident scene assessment, evidence location and collection, and even victim recovery when the need arises. Public safety diving takes many of its practices and fundamental gear from recreational diving, but the activity imposes demands — and carries risks — that set it apart from other dive activities. Public safety divers don’t have the luxury of picking the location and conditions of their dives. The call may come at any time of day, any day, in all types of weather, and in locations that can be murky and…

Neighbors who know that I dive off Boynton Beach often ask me, “How’s the ocean look below?” It is an easy enough question to answer — if I fend it off as I would the more usual “How are you doing?”, then “good” is my usual answer. Very few have interest in listening to more. It is polite conversation: a quick hello and a polite question. But if it were not for the Gulf Stream, South Florida would be a noisome sewage sump. No one could have predicted the population surge in Florida. Not that long ago, everything west of Military Trail in Boynton Beach was either swamp or orange groves. My uncle urged me to buy five acres of land west of Military Trail. It was selling for $1,500…