Tabla de contenidos para Scuba Diver 1/2025 - 132 en Scuba Diver/Asian Diver

1999 In 1999, Richard Taylor – then the Regional Director for TDI/SDI – founded and organised the first OZTek Diving Exhibition and Conference, held at the National Maritime Museum at Sydney’s Darling Harbour. Australia’s first technical diving conference and an event that would grow to achieve international recognition and acclaim. Supported by a handful of industry organisations, including SSI Australia, Dräger, and TDI, that first event’s speakers included Richard Pyle, USA; Nuno Gomez, South Australia; Jim Bowden, USA, Dr Ann Kristovich, USA; Bret Gilliam, USA and Peter Readey, UK, with, as emcees, Richard Taylor and David Strike. 2000 The following year, the two-day event moved to Melbourne and ran in conjunction with that year’s Boat Show, taking place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Attracting a large exhibition audience,…

Though there exist various terms like helitrox, triox, and heliox, trimix can be seen as a general term for any diving gas mixture containing helium, oxygen, and usually a certain amount of nitrogen. While it has been known for a century, and successfully used as early as 1939 for a successful rescue operation on the USS Squalus, trimix is still seen by some divers as something complicated only used by experts. Very far from it! Julien Fortin, a technical and cave diving instructor and explorer, offers 10 tips to make you want to add a little helium into your diving. 01 JUST DO IT Trimix diving may sound daunting, but it’s not! Adding helium to the mix basically means you’ll have a clear mind and enjoy your dive more. Apart…

Sidemount is easily associated with the word “freedom” as often the feeling is akin to freediving, and it enables the diver the flexibility to move around freely in any orientation. Offering redundancy, sidemount is a great tool for future underwater adventures, providing a more streamlined profile and making finning, buoyancy control and trim easier. Sidemount is often the preferred choice for dives that call for navigation through narrow restrictions such as caves, mines, sumps and wrecks; as well as for divers who are looking to move into multi-cylinder and open-circuit diving. No matter the reason, sidemount diving is a new way to dive and an increasingly popular way to configure your tanks, making diving easier and more comfortable. One of the pioneers of sidemount and technical diving in India –…

Diving in underwater caves is considered one of the most challenging environments one can endeavour to learn. Safely entering these mysterious places has its own particular set of obstacles – both mentally and physically – that must be overcome in order to consistently conduct safe dives. Brian Kakuk discusses the essential things that any diver wanting to venture into the realm of underwater caves must keep in mind. 61 MOTIVATION Positive motivation is one of the key tenets of safe cave diving. Self-challenge, both mentally and physically, along with a good dose of self-preservation is what allows new cave divers to become old cave divers. Arrogance and unnecessary risk-taking often make for a short cave diving career. 62 EXPERIENCE Diving in underwater caves requires refined buoyancy, breathing, and spatial awareness…

Semi-closed rebreathers (or SCR) are one of many possible stepping stones into the technical realm of diving – particularly for those who want more from their diving experience – by delivering longer dives and closer wildlife interactions. An SCR system adds gas such as air, nitrox or trimix to the diver’s breathing loop either actively or passively. The gas is injected into the loop at a constant rate to replenish oxygen consumed from the loop by the diver. After several exhalations, the excess gas in the loop is then vented through an over-pressure valve (OPV), helping to keep an optimal breathing mix in the loop. It may sound confusing but once you get the hang of it, it becomes a breeze. Jeffrey Glenn, an acclaimed technical diver, shares his top…

Ask anyone about diving in the Philippines and they will tell you about all the star attractions: Wrecks, whale sharks, thresher sharks, and Tubbataha roll off the tongue, but this expansive archipelago of 7,641 islands has more than just the usual high-profile suspects. With the country being the epicentre of global marine biodiversity and with almost nine percent of our planet’s coral reefs, we were sure we could find something a bit left of centre, something more exploratory and off the typical diving trail. Embarking from Anilao, a mere two hours’ drive from Manila Airport, our trip on board the mighty MV Solitude One would take us on a seven-day safari exploring the lesser-known dive areas around Romblon, Tablas, and Puerto Galera, before finishing in the 11,400-square-kilometre Verde Island Passage,…

Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) With more than 6,600 PADI Dive Centres and Resorts, PADI is the world’s leading scuba diving training organisation. Started in 1966 by two scuba instructors and divers in the state of Illinois, USA, PADI has over 128,000 individual PADI professionals and have issued more than 30 million certifications around the world. The PADI System of diver education is based on progressive training that introduces skills, safety-related information and local environmental knowledge to student divers in stages. The PADI courses are student-centred and aim to provide maximum practice and realistic application. PADI also aims to make a significant impact on key issues facing the dive industry such as ocean health, marine animal protection, people and community and health and wellness. “Together, we will continue to…

Wreck diving has become an increasingly popular form of scuba diving over the years, and the experience one gets from diving amongst historical wrecks is unlike any other. As divers, we are constantly hunting for the next adventure, and with wreck diving, the thrill of exploring a ship that has lain undisturbed for decades, perhaps even centuries, filled with history fits well within that pursuit. Wreck divers immerse themselves – quite literally – in history, whether it’s a wartime battle or a peacetime maritime disaster, but as exciting as that may be, there are always risks involved. Here, acclaimed technical divers Tiffany Norberg and Edd Stockdale, who have explored countless wrecks throughout their dive careers, share their top tips to take note of when venturing out on a wreck dive.…

Ever wanted to dive with no bubbles? Closed-circuit rebreather diving – or CCR for short – makes that possible. Unlike open-circuit diving, where the exhaled breath diffuses out from the regulator, rebreather diving’s prime advantage is its “no bubbles” and “silent demeanour”. Often a popular choice among cave divers, wreck divers and underwater photographers and videographers, the advantages of this technology are endless. Robin Cuesta weighs in on the most important things to take note of for any diver who is looking to enter the world of CCR diving. 41 ALWAYS KNOW YOUR OXYGEN PARTIAL PRESSURE The partial pressure of oxygen (PPO2) of the gas you’re breathing in your rebreather is what keeps you alive, and allows you to optimise your diving. Be conscious of this at all times and under…

Unbeknown to many, mine diving and cave diving are vastly different and come from very different environments. Mines – unlike caves that are formed naturally over aeons – are disused places of an industry that have been flooded. Often, they are man-made structures that date back hundreds of years. Beautiful and fragile, such mines have to be treated with care, as their structural integrity has often been compromised due to years of abandonment. Yet, just like exploring shipwrecks, mines contain years of hidden secrets. Combining the challenge and complexity of overhead environment diving with history and archaeology, mines are thrilling to explore, but like any other deep dive, hold just as much danger. Victor Verlinden, an experienced mine diver who has been pursuing the sport for many years, shares his…

SEA CONDITIONS Shipwrecks exist because at some point conditions on the surface were less than optimal. Some of the most interesting historical wrecks are situated in the most challenging dive conditions for this reason. For divers this means high current, surge, unpredictable weather and heavy seas should be expected on the way to a deep wreck. With proper training, preparation and experience it’s possible to safely dive in these conditions, but they will always be physically challenging and require a careful approach. A giant stride from a rocking boat can be daunting, but most injuries occur while getting back on board after a dive. Fighting your way up a traverse line, avoiding a bucking stern and catching a ladder between wave crests can challenge the most experienced instructor and easily…

The Similan Islands and associated seamounts, running up the west coast of Thailand, are mainly composed of “intrusive granitoids”, rocks that formed between 150 and 250 million years ago as a result of plate tectonics, which allowed magma to bubble up from deep within the Earth’s core to form protrusions and small mountains. Eons of weathering and erosion have left the Similan Islands smoothly contoured, creating a unique topography that is extremely popular with tourists and divers alike. In the Similan archipelago, there are eleven ko – the Thai word for “island” – all of which are under Thailand’s protection as a national park. Each ko has a formal name, but for the sake of simplicity, they are more commonly known locally as Islands 1 to 11. During our seven-day…

TRIMIX WRECK DIVING BACKMOUNT DIVING SIDEMOUNT DIVING CLOSED-CIRCUIT REBREATHERS (CCR) ICE DIVING CAVE DIVING MINE DIVING CCR TRIMIX SEMI-CLOSED REBREATHERS (SCR)…

“Backmount or sidemount? Which is the better option?” This is one of the most commonly debated questions among divers and it has a very straightforward answer – there is no answer! Deciding which equipment configuration is the best ultimately lies in the preference of the individual, the form of dive he/she is doing and their experience level. The sport of diving demands a certain discipline in a diver, but deciding the best type of equipment configuration for yourself should never have to be a “forever” decision. Whichever you choose to go with, there is always an opportunity for you to switch over to the other. What is important, however, is that you have the proper training for whatever equipment configuration you want to use – don’t expect to immediately jump…

Ice diving is a mind game. Plunging into silent, icy water and exploring hypnotic, frozen scenery is an experience you will never forget, but descending into such realms, usually at minus 2°C or below, requires careful mental preparation prior to immersion. This applies to any diver, even professionals that have racked up countless hours. Here, Dr Mikhail Safonov – a renowned ice diving expert that helps teams of divers complete more than 1,000 ice dives annually across the North Pole, Antarctica and Russia – offers his advice to aspiring ice divers. 51 AVOID THE MAZE, FOLLOW THE LIFELINE An ice diver needs to stay alert and vigilant in order to know how to find a way out under the ice. Always know where and how to find an ice hole by…

In diving, one of the most obvious limits to push is depth. However, pushing the limits should be practised with great responsibility and divers should not succumb to peers and social pressures. Using trimix on a CCR should be considered from the very early stages of any rebreather divers’ career, due to the advantages of maintaining a clear head at depth when having to monitor complex life support equipment. They also allow greater gas efficiency, therefore allowing advantages in gas density concerns, enabling a diver a safer means of deep-water exploration. Marc Crane discusses the benefits, hazards, proper procedures, and the necessary techniques and skill sets involved in advanced mixed gas diving on a CCR. 81 TRAIN HARD, DIVE EASY It is critical that when diving CCR, you maintain a high…

The Revillagigedo Archipelago, commonly known as Socorro after its largest island, is one of the most spectacular diving destinations in the world – especially for underwater photographers. This remote paradise offers a pristine environment, where diving feels like stepping back in time to an era untouched by human activities. Located 400 kilometres southwest of the southernmost tip of Baja California Sur, these islands require nearly two days to reach, and as we left the mainland behind, time seemed to slow down, lost in the vast blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean. But it wasn’t long after arriving that our patience was richly rewarded. SUBLIME SOCORRO Our journey began at San Benedicto Island, a breathtaking volcanic island composed of solidified lava rock and petrified ash, where the rugged landscape remains untouched…