New Lair

The Sea Hounds are currently moving its dive center from #02-335 to #02-331 The Plaza on Beach Road. The move will be completed by 20th August 2004. The new Dive and Instructor Development Center is focussed on Care for Nature and Interaction with Animals through Learning.



We will have a reference corner for everyone to share observations from their dives and excursions and also have id books and internet for checks. It will need everyone's contribution to keep it dynamic so dont keep it to yourself cos sharing is caring 'init'?



On a lighter note, we may require plastic bags to be hung around those of you who enjoy snacking in the dive center. Though we love our animals, the kinds attracted to the stuff you leave behind are best observed outside the shop!



We look forward to sharing the sea with you from our new base!

Thanks to the demolition crew, Jeff, Edd, Rick and Vincent (specialist in aluminium can recycling)





SEA HOUNDS SCUBA

(ROC.52918661J)



PADI National Geographic Dive Center

PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Center

(S-6255)



7500A Beach Road,

#02-331 The Plaza,

Singapore 199591



Tel: 65-6299 1147

Fax: 65-6299 1744

email: scuba@seahounds.com

web: www.seahounds.com



The Eco-Adventure Division of

VALUE TRAVEL PTE LTD

(TA.01369)

Better Briefings

One of the first things I was told when I took up the

Divemaster course was that the learning will just be

beginning once I obtain my certification. This past

weekend, I realised how true this statement is. So,

because I learned something this weekend, it is only

right that I share what I learned here.



As a new PADI Divemaster, I suppose it is only natural that

there is a tendency, during the dive briefings, to

over emphasise the practical aspects and safety / hazard

considerations of the planned dive, and give less

emphasis to the more enjoyable aspects of the dive.

What I realized was that when it came to the

briefings, I allowed the responsibility of my role in ensuring

diver safety and comfort to consume me, but forgot

that my other major role was to show these divers a good

time and share with them the wonders that each of

these sites holds. I did exactly what my PADI Divemaster manual

told me not to do..."avoid overstressing hazards". I

also realised that although I had dived all the sites

a number of times before, I still posessed limited

knowledge about what really makes each of these sites

unique and special, and what sort of sealife I could

almost be sure to see at each one. Even if I did have

this knowledge, because of my limited experience, I

don't think I allowed it to get across to the divers.

In the end, I think I probably came across as sounding

like a stern, over-protective father, and may have

caused, at best, the divers to become bored, and at

the worst, stressed them out.



So here is the learning points:



1. Don't be the "bad guy", who overemphasises hazards.

You may bore your divers or stress them out. While

there is a practical purpose to including safety /

hazard considerations in your briefing, make it brief.

If there is a need to re-emphasise some of these

considerations for some otherwise "errant" divers,

then take them aside to discuss with them separately,

rather than deal with it generally for all during the

briefing.



2. Get to know your sites and know them well. This

will only serve to enhance your briefings with interesting

bits of information about the site, and help you

identify the unique features and creatures of the

site.



3. Have fun! That's what we are there for, right??!!

Show your enthusiasm, even if you secretly find the

site boring.



...the learning continues.



Cheers.

Johari

PADI DM 479744

Continuing Education

What really keeps a dive center and its instructional crew going is the fact that our divers keep on learning with us! We welcome Liisa, Ann, Sarah, Anne Malepart, Frank, Christine, Leon, Caspar, Johnson, David and Rick who understood the importance of continuing their diver education immediately after entry level to the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course! They now stand out not only as Advanced divers but with a genuine care for the environment and appreciation of marine life.







We look forward to sharing more knowledge and skills with them in the PADI Rescue Diver course which Vincent, Christina, and Edward have just completed. Remember the more we learn the closer we get to nature!



The Advanced Divers each adopted a pet animal on their trip: Shark, Ray, Turtle, Moray Eel, Lionfish, Barracuda, and Cuttlefish. We managed to observe behaviours of a spotted catshark on the night dive, fantail bluespotted rays and lionfish on the deep dive, hawksbill turtle feeding on anemone on the fish id adventure dive, white-eyed morays on the wreck dive, and 3 species of barracuda throughout the trip; great barracudas and schooling pickhandle and arrowhead barracudas.







More on PADI Continuing Education