Sea Hounds Adventures

Beauty and the Bleach

2010-05-31T18:52:00.000-07:00

Work had been hard on us the last couple of weeks and we were raring to get out on a liveaboard to Kuantan Wreck and Tioman. After plans were finalized, Renggis was the first dive site to start our weekend as it offered a shallow reef at slack tide, good for check out, and the reef is always busy!

On descent to 4m on the North shore, a glaring white brain coral was the first to catch my attention, followed by large white patches of acropora coral, which covers most of the reef around Renggis. I figured it was shallow and temperatures cause slight bleaching up here.

As we greeted a broadclub cuttlefish, some blue trevally and a tusked wrasse moving around the northern reef, more coral bleaching was observed down the fringing reef to 12m where it hit the sand bottom.

To our horror, the once bustling reef is now covered with dying or diseased coral from the north all the way to the patches of staghorns in the south. Water temperature hovered at 30deg celsius. Resident Hawksbill and Green Turtles laid lethargically in their favourite holes by the patch reef but the Blacktip Sharks were nowhere to be seen, especially when they were supposed to be on their usual morning run.

This was a worrying start to a weekend of awakening to the plight of our water world. The next dive at Chebeh confirmed more bleaching even to corals at 24m. Giant clams were diseased and corals were dead or dying. More were found at Labas though the corals sheltered amongst the boulders were thriving.

When threats occur concurrently, we must do all we can to minimize our impact on the marine environment as divers but more so not forgetting to reduce our footprint wherever we visit as eco-tourists.

There is always hope in protecting what we have now so we can leave a place better than we found it for future generations. It doesn't have to be a world changing event but instead small things we do or don't do has a cumulative and positive effect just from a boat carrying 20 divers.

A few comments made on one of my fb photo albums mentioned how nice the reef was and yes, experiencing the hidden beauty of nature underwater is what we have the privilege of as divers and it is in our interest to tell as many people about it.

My photos are testament to nature braving the bleaching but they also face other threats constantly.

Some simple things we can all do to help is to first, know your local environment. You can do this in a number of ways, like keeping a useful log of your dives, taking photos or videos of what you see and reading about the location you are diving at. Reading about the dive location and the dive sites before visiting them gets you excited about diving there and generates your interests in the history of the wreck or biodiversity of the reef. Getting to know the local culture helps if you intend to share your knowledge
on conservation with the people there. Photo or video journals are a lively way to log your dive memories although collecting simple but useful data as part of your dive logs can go a long way with getting you familiar with the site whilst aiding in a monitoring program like the ones for Sea Turtles and Coral Health.

Next, understand what these animals need to survive. Take a dive professional who knows the sites and is interested in marine animals with you to gain experience on how to interact with sensitive marine life and approach the animals. Continuing your diver education through courses like the Underwater Naturalist or National Geographic Diver Specialties are great ways to get insight to what you need to understand about different marine eco-systems.

Lastly, adopt simple eco-tourism practices whenever you travel. Before your trip, tune-up your buoyancy with clinics conducted in a pool and definitely do a scuba review if you have been absent from diving for 6 months or longer. Conserving water and not littering into the sea are things you can also do. Then choose an operator who is committed to responsible business practices and to marine conservation. These operators provide proper dive briefings and use mooring lines.

I'm glad to see that MV DiveRace spends the extra effort to tie a mooring at each site they visit rather than drop an anchor. Another liveaboard was seen doing this at one of the sites.

As a PADI Course Director, seeing the influence I have on instructors coming out of my courses is motivation enough for me to carry on doing what I do. If I can set one instructor at a time on the right path to appreciating the marine environment and being a good ambassador of our seas and oceans then hopefully there can be a greater rippling effect.

For this very reason I encourage those of you who are of the same mind to move ahead with your training as a Divemaster, an Instructor or a Staff Instructor to help make a difference not just as a dive leader but one who has the ability to open hearts and minds to the hidden beauty of God's creation and to uphold our obligation to protect it.

Stephen
99087

Adventure Conservation Exploration!

2005-06-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

Since Sea Hounds received the National Geographic Dive Center award in November 2004, we have certified over 40 National Geographic Divers! These committed divers include everyone from PADI Instructors to our youngest Junior National Geographic Diver, 10 year old Danielle Koh!

Each program we conduct just gets better and as crew members, we have lots of fun learning with our divers.

For certified divers and people thinking of beginning their dive adventure, the National Geographic Diver program with the Sea Hounds ensures an unforgettable experience of Adventure. You Explore our local reefs with us and get to know its inhabitants intimately. You can also get involved with coral health monitoring and fish counts.

Apart from knowing and appreciating reliant eco-systems, marine, coastal and terrestrial, you also acquire the necessary skills which enable you to be a responsible diver with Conservation in mind. On our recent explorations, we were not only able to observe behaviours of marine mammals & reptiles such as common dolphins and hawksbill turtles but also see the plight they are in with many factors working against their existence like coastal development, which brings heavy boat traffic & noise pollution, plastic & foam rubbish, and silting.

These skills include peak performance buoyancy in various positions(useful to get a closer look at the animals or taking the perfect photo!), aquatic life identification or underwater navigation.
The best part of the course is your National Geographic Exploration Dive where you put into practice what you've been training for!

Skills mastered during this program are credited to your PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course and PADI Specialty Diver courses.

Photo Albums

Come share the sea with us,
Beaver
PADI CD 99087

A National Geographic Experience!

2005-06-06T04:39:00.000-07:00

Celebrate the Sea 2005 lived up to what it represented. The organizers did a fantastic job of drawing in a great mix of exhibitors to make it 3 days of well-rounded environmental awareness and appreciation for everyone!

The crew at Sea Hounds made it a success for ourselves in terms of sharing with the visitors what it means to receive good diver education.

The PADI National Geographic Diver programs were introduced once again, which generated much interest! Our biggest highlight was when Shahram of PADI brought Dr Sylvia Earle, Explorer in Residence at National Geographic, to our booth. Her presence was enough encouragement for the team to push our drive for more National Geographic Explorers.

Project AWARE campaigns were a hit with the AWARE Kids program the most popular. Signing up the kids to be more aware of our marine environment was held at the booth as well as in conjunction with the PADI Discover Scuba Diving & Bubblemaker programs conducted outside Suntec Convention Center at street level.

Ensuring the education of our future generations with kids programs could not go without including Instructor Development. Sea Hounds also had good response to its PADI Instructor courses and we look forward to sharing care for the environment with our future dive educators.

The Singapore Underwater Federation also launched their public awareness brochure containing its mission and introductions to the National Operational Code of Practices for dive operators.

Beaver
PADI CD 99087

DiVe In to Earth Day 2005

2005-04-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

Snorkelers and Divers from Sea Hounds celebrated the Earth on DiVe In to Earth Day at TIOMAN over 22nd to 24th April 2005 weekend!

Several activities were organized by the Sea Hounds crew during this event. They included PADI Open Water Diver, Advanced OW Diver, & Rescue Diver courses, and National Geographic Diver & PADI Discover Snorkeling programs. Also conducted were Reef Checks, Fish Counts, Mangrove Appreciation walk and underwater clean-ups.

We were encouraged by the participants' commitment to conservation. Many continued their diver education during this event and others commited simply by following guidelines for an eco-tourist. By their attendance, they gave vital support to Sea Hounds as their local ProjectAWARE GoECO Operator.

Our count of significant species was done at Renggis with 32 groupers, 21 of which were under 30cm in length. The previous batch of National Geographic Divers last weekend were able to observe one of the resident rock cods approx. 1.2m in length at 7m depth.
Other observations for snappers, bumpheads, sweetlips, morays and humphead wrasse were done on seperate dives.
For invertebrates, we found an alarming number of COTs at SeaFan Garden, dive site off Tulai. Total count on that dive was 18 over 50m of reef, and ranging from 14 to 8m of water. Sea cucumbers were abundant. No count was done.

Renggis was also the site for the National Geographic Diver's exploration dive where aquatic life id and buoyancy skills were practised to observe behaviours of the apex predator, the Blacktip Reef Shark, and other vertebrates and invertebrates over a pre-determined section of the coral reef.

Coral Health Monitoring was also conducted randomly during this dive, supported by charts from Project AWARE. CoralWatch Data Sheets are being prepared.

The Mangrove Appreciation snorkel/walk led us to a well-aged bumphead parrotfish at 6m depth and pigtail macaques combing the beach. Our walk found abundant lifeforms seeking refuge in the pools left by the extremely low-tide from the New Moon that evening. Juvenile swimmer crab, mantis shrimp, slipper lobster, and cleaner shrimps. Silverlined mudskippers hid under the breathing roots of the mangroves.
Rhizophora, saplings of the mangrove, lined the coast and Nyapa palms grew from the rocky outcrops. As we left, white-bellied sea eagles were a common sight with more calling in the lush island forest.

The team collected 18kg in total of discarded boatlines left on the mangrove roots, rubber and plastic items from the mangroves. Sadly, the most trash we collected was from the Marine Park dive site where the most common item was plastic mineral water bottles.

Sea Hounds and the HantuBlog also conducted an effective cleanup for Earth Day on the same weekend in Singapore.
Kranji Mangrove Clean-up at Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve, Singapore

Unfortunately, mangrove forests are some of the most threatened ecosystems because of their proximity to the sea(prime developmental land) and the tendency for us to see them as useless swamps with threatening 'Swamp Things'.
Destruction of these forests has dire implications since they provide an important spawning ground and serve as a nursery for many commercially important species.

Earth Day Photo Album

To get involved more, enrol in the National Geographic Diver program, Join the HantuBlog dives or sign up for the next ICC or Dive In events.
email us

Beaver
PADI CD 99087

Celebrate the Sea 2005

2005-04-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

The MOST Exciting Event of the Sea in the ASIA PACIFIC

In association with the World Festival of Underwater Pictures, Antibes Juan les Pins

‘Celebrate the Sea 2005’

3 to 5 June SUNTEC CONVENTION CITY SINGAPORE

How strange that we celebrate anything and everything on this earth but neglect the very thing that keeps us alive – the SEA

Lets Celebrate the Sea

Meet us at the Sea Hounds boothes and look out for prizes and promotions on National Geographic Diver program and Project AWARE Specialties

Beaver
PADI 99087

Pointing Fingers

2005-03-23T05:51:00.000-08:00

It's the easiest thing to do when something goes wrong.
It's the quickest way out of something we are unsure of ourselves.

Recent press releases and forum discussions about our local operators having their boat detained for not having appropriate permits and more recently the sinking of another boat ferrying over 30 passengers is without a doubt an ugly scene.
Why are fingers being pointed though?

As a consumer, we expect to get what we pay for.
As an operator, we give what we can within our means and limitations without compromising standards and procedures.

It is not the first time accidents have happened to us, but these are the things we believe everyone involved in the dive industry should consider carefully..

Divers perspective:
Does the Singaporean consumer 'ask' for such services to be rendered?
Bargaining is not wrong, but within reason. That reason is for divers to understand what actually goes in to a sound dive operation. The same can be said about diver education.
eg1: Looking for a new dive location. That's what diving is all about isn't it? However, there is no cheap alternative when it comes to an expedition requiring heavy logistics, as in the liveaboard case. More about the operator's responsibility soon, but the point is, no demand on cutting corners, no supply.
eg2: Looking for a quick and economical getaway. Who doesn't want that? However, as a customer, we want to also demand for minimal safety measures and procedures no matter what. Once we do that, prices will make a whole lot of sense.
eg*: Open Water Diver is enough, as long as I get the card. That ticket is your licence to act responsibly and also involves a statement of understanding we signed to maintain proper buoyancy control and obey local diving laws and regulations. Pay for your diver education. It's the least you can do for conservation and caring for your environment. We are ambassadors of the underwater world, we should continue learning about it.

Recommendation:
- Find out the minimum requirement for a dive operation to run its show locally. eg. boat procedures and laws, oxygen first aid available, insurance, and certified & renewed dive professionals managing the divers.
- Cheap not necessarily means bad. Find out through reliable sources if the operation you choose would be the one for you and meets local standards.
- Every dive we do should be a special experience. There are operators who care for these needs.

Operators perspective:
Do we buckle under pressure?
Hell ya. As in planning for any dive, there are enough natural factors to shut down your perfect dive, there isn't a need to discount operational procedures or training standards. The same goes for trying to run the perfect dive business.
Singaporean dive operators have had a myriad of battles to fight just to survive, at the same time try to maintain an image befitting of an operation which takes care of lives. We do not want to dig up the past but we do want the consumer to know that maintaining a dive business is taxing on the owner's time, money and physical well-being.
As mentioned before, there are enough 'natural' factors to shut down a dive center/resort/liveaboard, there should not be a need to discount the price it takes to ensure diver safety and more importantly fun! It may not be appropriate for some operators to offer really cheap deals, even if there is no money to be made, but can they be blamed for providing what the customer wants?
eg1: The dive professional(instructor/divemaster) is a job often looked upon as one with much free time and associated with a care-free life. On the contrary, it is one of few 'out of the box' jobs which demands responsibility, integrity and intelligence to carry out its duties. The dive professional needs to be both mentally and physically fit to accomplish his/her job effectively. Much of the dive pro's planning and training is not seen by the consumer.
eg2: The dive center/resort/liveaboard requires constant maintenance of its facilities, equipment and personnel. It's not just about the cost of a trip or a course.
eg*: The Singapore Underwater Federation has new council members who care about the industry and its future. It is an ungratifying voluntary responsibility but the people holding up the federation are doing their best to enforce the National Operational Code of Practise.

Recommendation:
- Divers can check with the SUF for a list of dive operators who have pledged to adhere to the code and what it is.
- Divers can check with AISTA or the individual training agency (eg.PADI) on training issues.
- Operators can consult with the SUF council members on how to implement SOPs or training standards and requirements.

The article written by a Singaporean woman in the Straits Times 2 weeks ago really hurt. Generalizing Singaporean dive operators as unreliable and offering uncomfortable dive experiences does not deserve a space in the local newspaper, especially since the writer obviously has no clue about the rest of Singapore's dive operators who are doing a good job and offering worldclass training and services.

Let's work together so that "Uniquely Singapore" applies to the diving community as well.
Pay for the services offered by an operator who does not compromise standards and procedures.

You know, all we really wanna do is DIVE!

Beaver
PADI CD-99087

I declare the Malaysian Dive Season Open!

2005-03-14T20:29:00.000-08:00

I think many divers were a bit apprehensive about heading off to the east coast of Malaysia this past weekend after hearing reports of the sinking of a dive boat in rough weather the previous weekend. Seems the monsoon had a little more energy left in it, and caught many divers off guard. However, the Malaysian Meteorlogical Service lifted its high wave and wind warning for Tioman early in the week, and by Saturday morning we were cruising across a flat sea under sunny skies towards this South China Sea gem and anticipating a great weekend of diving ahead.

Here are some memorable moments and sightings from the weekend.

At Chebeh:
A group of about 6 very large golden trevallies and a couple of turtles were spotted. Debby even found a couple of empty shark casings, and shared this unique find with the rest of the divers. Those babies are out there somewhere!

At Seafan Garden:
Stick pipefish were the highlight of this dive. While many gathered around Debby for a good look at the one she had found, Ken had one all to himself nearby and I am sure was thankful for his solitude to get a couple of great photos of the one he found.

At Rengiss:
This site never fails to perform! While I had wanted to take everyone to check out the progress of the Pahang Royal Reef at the beginning of the dive, we were immediately distracted upon descent by the flurry of fish action. I was completely entranced by the massive school of chevron barracudas that surrounded me at the beginning of the dive, and seemed to carry me over the reef to greet a group of its larger cousins, the great barracudas! Then the silhouette of a very large (1m+) star puffer caught my eye from above, only to be distracted again by the puff of silt below from a blue spotted stingray. The barracudas remained nearby for some time, and when they got bored of us, the friendly batfish took over as our escorts. A couple of large cuttlefish waved their tentacles our way as we cruised along the edge of the reef slope, and Ken and his open water students were visited by a very large potato cod. It was great to see the smiles of excitement on all the divers faces upon ascent as they recalled the sightings, their faces awash in the golden glow of the setting sun. What a beautiful way to end the day! One sad discovery, however, is that the very large table coral near to the cart has not survived the monsoon, and has been broken at its stem. I only hope it was natural, and not the result of some divers' carelessness.

Night Dive at Salang:
Another hot favorite! Jimmy's keen eyes picked up what Ken and I thought to be a flathead...but once we moved on, Debby gave it a closer and "more thorough" inspection. Annoyed by all the sudden attention, the apparent "flathead" made itself more visible, and low and behold the full body of the demon stinger was revealed! Well, I thought that would have been enough for Debby to start frantically waving her flashlight to call us back...but NO!!...Debby reserves that action for the minute and almost imperceptible urchin shrimp! Geez, Deb, all that effort for something I cant even see! Ha! Good dive all around...but by this time, hunger had got the best of us.

Marine Park:
Wow! Good viz on early Sunday morning for the Marine Park, and because we were early, we had the site virtually to ourselves. A couple of very large tusked wrasses were hanging out around a couple of the wrecks, and a few baby morays were tucked into the rotting wood hulls. Lots more barracudas here too, both around the wrecks and under the pier. The rabbit fish were a little too hungry, and even though I thought I made it very clear to them that I had no food, one decided to have a taste of my middle finger.

Burong:
Current from the right. Current from the left. Current from above. Hello, this is supposed to be slack tide? Oh well, tucked in behind the wall, we managed to spot a variety of different nudibranchs and Ken spotted a couple of large morays hiding out among the crevices. Had the conditions been better, it would have been nice to check out the life around the large seafans and seawhips at 18m and below. Next time.

Congratulations to Rudy and Andrew for completing their Open Water courses! Welcome to the wonderful world of the deep blue sea! Looking forward to seeing you enhance your knowledge and adventures with the Advanced course.

Thanks to Ken (our intrepid leader for the weekend), Debby and Jimmy for their great assistance, and to Linda, Su Lin, Kwong Hwee, Claudia, Cynthia, Ian, Andrew, Rudy, Jon and Terror for making it fun and memorable.

I declare the Malaysian Dive Season Open!

Cheers!
Johari
PADI DM#479744

Our Natural Heritage

2005-02-12T06:26:00.000-08:00

Our local coral reefs need our serious attention!
(Get involved Dive In to Earth Day 2005)

Termed the "rainforests of the sea", coral reefs are home to one of every four marine species and are vital to maintaining the biological diversity of marine ecosystems. Existing for a very long time, these ecosystems are the oldest most productive on earth.

Aside from their environmental importance, coral reefs are extremely important to our local economy, tourism, human health and more. We are losing this vast resource at an alarming rate!
(refer to article "Hantu coral life dying out fast")

Threats to our reefs include sedimentation, pollution, destructive fishing practices and more.

Learn more from our National Geographic Diver program or join the Hantu Bloggers!

View Photo Album of observations made on Feb 5 & 6 Dives.
Highlights include threatened species, Horseshoe crab and Noble Volute shell. Gorgonian shrimps, sand divers, and healthy schooling fish.
More pictures also on the Hantu Blog!

Beaver, PADI 99087

original post on 7th Feb 2005

Back to Basics: Dive Planning

2005-02-10T14:00:00.000-08:00

This is the second installment in a series I have called "Back To Basics" , in which we refresh our knowledge and understanding of some basic procedures to ensure safe and enjoyable diving. This time around, let's take a more detailed look at how to best plan and be prepared for fun in diving.

Dive Planning
Remember, as a certified diver, you have obtained the skills necessary to dive safely and unsupervised within the limits of your training. However, usually we find ourselves diving within a group that is lead by a divemaster. The divemaster is there to supervise activities both on the boat and in the water, take care of logisitics including emergency planning and preparation, orient divers to the site by sharing knowledge and points of interest of each site, as well as to inject some fun into your overall experience. Really good ones may even cut mangoes for you while you soak up the sun on the boat during the surface interval! While the divemaster will provide recommendations and a broad dive plan based on his knowledge of the site conditions, he is not there to plan individual dives for each and every certified diver. Detailed dive planning is left to each and every diver/buddy pair to plan for their dives based on their experience and training.

So here are some basic points to remember when planning your dives, to ensure safety and a fun and memorable dive experience:

1. Set an objective
Together with your buddy, agree on an objective for the dive. This will help you understand each other better when communicating under water. If one of you is an avid macro photographer, and the other is without a camera and wants to search out big stuff in the blue, then even more so you need to agree on your objective.

2. Plan your dive within your experience and training
No two divers are the same, and so do not just follow a profile that someone else has planned for themselves. It may not be appropriate to your experience or the level of your training. If one buddy is more experienced than the other, always plan the dive within the level of experience and training of the less experienced diver.

3. Agree on a general course and profile
While the divemaster may have briefed his broad plan for the dive, you may decide you just want to hang out in one area along the planned route because you want to spend the whole dive photographing lobsters in the first bay. This is fine. But agree to this, and do let your divemaster know. Agreeing to and sticking to a general dive profile will allow you to manage and use your time effectively under water, as well as assist you in managing your air consumption for a safe return to the surface.

4. Agree on a buddy separation procedure
Separation can happen in certain conditions. But if you and your buddy agree on what to do if you get separated, you will be able to manage the situation calmly and effectively should it arise.

5. Know each others' quirky handsignals
While a buddy pair are likely to be in agreement on some of the basic handsignals given their basic training, it is good to review and share these with each other. Sometimes your buddy may have some different "expressions" he likes to use underwater, which if you are unfamiliar, could cause great confusion.

6. Computer vs Tables
Use both in your planning. Your computer will assist you to stay within your planned profile during the dive, but you need to know what your limits are while you are drawing up your plan and before you descend. The table or wheel is the best tool for this pre-dive planning. And unless your RDP melts in the sun, it wont fail you. Your computer might.

Finally, if you have any questions or concerns while drawing up your pre-dive plan, your Divemaster is more than happy to assist you and offer advice (and probably a few slices of mango too!).

Happy and safe diving always!

Johari
DM#479744

Sign Up NOW for Earth Day!

2005-01-23T11:44:00.000-08:00

Conserving our blue planet doesn't have to wait for a special occasion, our actions help every day, and our dives count each time we enter the water!

Dive In to Earth Day 2005 events are held during the week of 22nd April.

If you are diving with us from now til then, register now for the event and we can get you started right away!

Hantu and Tioman dives done before the event date counts as long as you start positively identifying, observing and documenting aquatic life on your local reefs, but more importantly look out for the significant species, ie of conservational significance(endangered, rare, vulnerable, covered by int'l convention).

Next available dives @ HANTU

5th(Sat), 6th(Sun), 12th(Sat) and 13th(Sun) February 2005

* Limited to 10 divers per outing only.

Courses being conducted during these outings:

1. National Geographic Diver

2. Enriched Air Diver

3. Rescue Diver

~ no one should need a reason to be Rescue Diver trained. It's simple, even if we spend just 1 hour in the whole year underwater, we would still be spending time out of our element.

Caring for the reef means also caring for yourself and for others with you.

Refer to previous post: "Hounds Treats"

Everyone is welcome to join any of the programs above, email us us to get your schedule started!

photos from ICC 2003 Tioman, golden snapper & fimbriated eel set free

300m troller net collectedfrom 6-12m depth. 65min bottom time.

March School Hols

12th March Saturday is already full for Discover Scuba Diving session,

but 13th March Sunday is still available for both Bubblemaker and Discover Scuba Diving!

Hounds TREATS

2005-01-22T03:01:00.000-08:00

In our efforts to encourage continuing diver education, the Sea Hounds are pleased to present Hounds Treats in the form of special discounts/packages for dive equipment and dive courses every month!

We are starting with 2 exciting, rewarding and extremely useful courses!

1. PADI RESCUE DIVER Package

S$480 ONLY (usual: S$565)

Includes 3 certifications:

~ Emergency First Response, Primary & Secondary Care with AED

~ Oxygen First Aid Specialty

~ Rescue Diver

* All PADI courses conducted by Sea Hounds include complete ownership of all PADI course materials.

** Course Fee does not include required open water dives. All travel activities are arranged and managed by Value Travel Pte Ltd (TA01369).

PADI Rescue Diver course requires two day outings to P.Hantu; 4 boat dives S$170 total.

!! First 12 people to register before 31st January 2005, receive Emergency First Response, Care for Children course & certification, worth $255, FREE !!

email now!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PADI Rescue Diver & EFR certification are pre-requisites for obtaining the PADI MASTER SCUBA DIVER rating.

Get 2 FREE specialty courses when you register for 3 specialty diver courses to achieve this rating!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2. EMERGENCY FIRST RESPONSE Package

S$380 ONLY (usual: S$480)

Includes 2 certifications:

~ Emergency First Response, Primary & Secondary Care with AED

~ Emergency First Response, Care for Children

!! Anyone can join! Courses have no age limit and no diver certification is necessary !!

*Offers above are valid for registrations done from date of this post until 20th February 2005.

**bookings on email will be confirmed upon registration at the dive center.

Refer to earlier posts:

"CHICKEN RICE! CHICKEN RICE!"

"Continuing Education"

Back to Basics: Why a Buddy?

2005-01-20T23:49:00.000-08:00

As we eagerly anticipate the approach of another exciting dive season in Malaysia, it may be a good time to revisit and refresh our knowledge and understanding of some of the most basic elements and procedures of diving to ensure fun, rewarding, yet safe diving experiences. In this first entry of "Back to Basics", let's relook at the importance of the Buddy System.

"Why a Buddy?"

Reflecting back on your open water training, remember that there are 3 important reasons for having a buddy:

1. Practicality

2. Safety

3. Fun

So what does this mean?

Having a buddy is practical because your buddy is an extra set of eyes and hands for you. On the surface, your buddy can assist you with your equipment, and vice versa. Below the surface, your buddy's extra set of eyes may spot things that you otherwise might miss, and thus enrich your overall dive experience.

Your buddy adds an extra measure of safety to your dive experience as well. Together you agree on an objective for your dive and plan your dive together. This will enhance your ability to communicate and understand each other underwater, and optimise both your safety and enjoyment of the dive. Performing your pre-dive safety check together will also help to familiarise each of you with the other's equipment and configuration, and give yourselves an added level of comfort by the time you give your final OK.

Start the dive together, stay together and end the dive together. This is for your own safety, but also to ensure you have fun together. Diving is a social activity, and therefore it is fun to have someone with you at all times to share in the adventure and excitement.

Whether you are a new diver, or have logged thousands of dives, take your role as a buddy seriously and you will lower your risk, and enhance your fun.

Happy Diving....together!

Johari

DM#479744

The Single Most Important Thing to Recycle

2005-01-16T10:33:00.000-08:00

by Annie Berthold-Bond, Care2.com Producer, Green Living Channels

Guess which electronic piece of equipment you can run for three hours because of the energy savings of recycling just one aluminum can?

Answer:

A computer or a television set!

Aluminum is the most abundant metal on earth. It takes 95 percent less energy to make a new aluminum can from recycled aluminum cans.

The aluminum can you recycle today will be back as a new aluminum can in 60-90 days.

Project AWARE ~ Go Eco

Why Reuse Beats Recycling

Adapted from Choose to Reuse,by Nikki & David Goldbeck.

Reuse is often confused with recycling, but they are really quite different.(Even those engaged in reuse frequently refer to it as recycling.) Reuse in the broadest sense means any activity that lengthens the life of an item. Recycling, on the other hand, is the reprocessing of an item into a new raw material for use in a new product -- for example grinding the tire and incorporating it into a road-surfacing compound.Reuse is nothing new. What is new is the need to reuse.

Reuse is accomplished through many different methods: purchasing durable goods, buying and selling in the used marketplace, borrowing, renting, subscribing to business waste exchanges and making or receiving charitable transfers. It is also achieved by attending to maintenance and repair, as well as by designing in relation to reuse. This may mean developing products that are reusable, long-lived, capable of being remanufactured or creatively refashioning used items.

Why is reuse so important? Because at the same time that it confronts the challenges of waste reduction, reuse also sustains a comfortable quality of life and supports a productive economy. With few exceptions reuse accomplishes these goals more effectively than recycling, and it does so in the following ways:

Reuse keeps goods and materials out of the waste stream

Reuse advances source reduction

Reuse preserves the "embodied energy" that was originally used to manufacture an item

Reuse reduces the strain on valuable resources, such as fuel, forests and water supplies, and helps safeguard wildlife habitats

Reuse creates less air and water pollution than making a new item or recycling

Reuse results in less hazardous waste

Reuse saves money in purchases and disposal costs

Reuse generates new business and employment opportunities for both small entrepreneurs and large enterprises

Reuse creates an affordable supply of goods that are often of excellent quality.

Unique to reuse is that it also brings resources to individuals and organizations that might otherwise be unable to acquire them.

The best case for reuse is made by the more than 1000 examples of individual, business, government and charitable reuse that are included in Choose to Reuse.

Care2.com

Log on to : Project A.W.A.R.E. Activities and Dive In to Earth Day 2005

for dates of environmental awareness events

'Green reconstruction' ..

2005-01-13T19:38:00.000-08:00

..vital in tsunami aftermath

Gland, Switzerland - In the aftermath of the tsunami disaster, WWF is calling on governments to support the devastated communities by ensuring that efforts to rebuild their livelihoods are environmentally sustainable.

Coastal ecosystems can act as a buffer against tsunamis.

Mangrove reforested area in the Philippines.

© WWF-Canon / Jürgen Freund

Read the full story

Deforestation threatens the cradle of reef diversity

CORAL REEFS - ancient and alive with life

Incomes from dive tourism can strongly contribute to

the development of small island developing states.

(c)WWF-Canon / Cat HOLLOWAY

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004

(Executive Summary) - available for download on the link

Beaver

The Animals Knew

2005-01-11T22:42:00.000-08:00

Did Animals Sense Tsunami Was Coming?

By Maryann Mottfor

National Geographic News

January 4, 2005

Before giant waves slammed into Sri Lanka and India coastlines ten days ago, wild and domestic animals seemed to know what was about to happen and fled to safety.

According to eyewitness accounts, the following events happened:

• Elephants screamed and ran for higher ground.

• Dogs refused to go outdoors.

• Flamingos abandoned their low-lying breeding areas.

• Zoo animals rushed into their shelters and could not be enticed to come back out.

Research indicates that elephants can feel vibrations in the ground over vast distances. This might be one way that they may be able to detect an earthquake or a tsunami long before a human becomes aware of impending disaster

Read the full story

CHICKEN RICE! CHICKEN RICE!

2005-01-08T09:34:00.000-08:00

If you ever hear that coming from our dive center, we're probably conducting an EMERGENCY FIRST RESPONSE course!

Chicken rice is one of the most popular meals in Singapore, so popular divers at Sea Hounds have chosen it to be their codename(else 'Help' comes for real) for activating EMS (Emergency Medical Services). This practise is consistent with our PADI Rescue Diver course, so if you hear us shouting it from our boat...we're not selling!

ImageShack.us" />

What is Emergency First Response?

Emergency First Response (EFR) is the fastest-growing international CPR, Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) and First Aid training organization. Dedicated to training the lay rescuer, EFR courses encompasses adult, child and infant CPR skills, provides AED and First Aid training, and feature an outstanding First Aid at Work component. The company’s award-winning programs and state-of-the-art training materials make it a favorite among divers around the world.

Primary Care (CPR) prepares you to render aid to those with life-threatening emergencies. Secondary Care (first aid) builds upon the lessons of Primary Care and helps you assist those in need when Emergency Medical Services are either delayed or unavailable.

Care for Children

The Emergency First Response Care for Children course is an innovative CPR, first aid and AED training course that teaches you how to provide emergency care for injured or ill children (ages one to eight) and infants less than one year old. You’ll learn about medical emergencies that children face and how they differ from adult conditions. The curriculum also includes the importance of attending to basic emergency situations with children, the emotional aspects of caring for children, secondary care for children, and preventing common injuries and illnesses in children.

EVERYONE can participate in this course, there is no certification requirement and no age limit!

What's more.. With our small group sizes and flexible schedules, You get the same care & attention from your Sea Hounds Instructor as you would in any other diving course or program!

The program is designed for 'No Stress'. In other words, skills are practised with one thing in mind: to create in you the Confidence to Care!

Many divers who have completed the EFR course as a pre-requisite to the PADI Rescue Diver course, find skills they learnt as Responders useful also at their workplace, in the gym, and especially at home where they have elderly parents or young children.

Sea Hounds' PADI Instructors and Divemasters are also EFR Instructors. They are able to conduct Emergency First Response programs including use of AEDs, as well as Care for Children programs. The PADI Oxygen First Aid course (including use with an AED) is a must for divers participating in the PADI Rescue Diver course conducted by Sea Hounds.

Keep watching this blog to find out special packages in store for January & February ONLY!

Also coming soon, PADI RESCUE DIVER specials! Look out for our next post!

For more info on EFR:

emergencyfirstresponse.com

Beaver

PADI MI 99087

New Year Resolutions of a Diver

2005-01-02T04:09:00.000-08:00

As the New Year festivities end, and that nasty hangover fades, it is that time of the year to review the accomplishments of the past year and set new goals for the next.

For me, the past year was one of significant development and commitment as a diver - I went from a holiday diver to an instructor, and took my first step into the challenging and rewarding realm of technical diving. My enjoyment of diving has increased tremendously with better knowledge and skill, and I look forward to sharing it with others in this new year.

In brief, my 3 main resolutions as a diver this year are:

1. Do more to protect our underwater environment. This includes learning more about the underwater environment to understand how our actions affect it, supporting upcoming projects like Earth Day, and training more responsible divers through the National Geographic Diver program.

2. Share diving with more of my friends. Get more friends to start diving, and for certified divers, gain a better appreciation of the wonderful underwater world.

3. Continue to improve my diving skills and discover new diving destinations. As a OWSI, I would like to earn my specialty instructor ratings that would allow me to share my passion and teach courses like Deep, Wreck and Nitrox. On the personal level, I would like to complete my Trimix course to allow me to explore greater depths and more of the underwater world (as Pygmy would attest to).

In short, the last year has been fulfilling and I look forward to it continuing into the New Year. Now, if only I could make the same progress in other areas of my life...

chewbacca

PADI OWSI #481069

Singapore's First National Geographic Divers

2005-01-02T01:48:00.000-08:00

Last week's Tsunamis must serve as a reminder of our place on this earth and how fragile life is for every living thing. Nature does deal with the circle of life without human interference, and this is a good reason for us to help conserve our world no matter how small the effort.

Pulau Hantu receives very mixed reviews from those who have dived the reefs around it. Most say there is 'nothing' to see and visibility is bad, but more recently with the efforts of many individuals such as Debby Ng of the Hantu Bloggers, and Ria Tan of Wild Singapore, our local reefs are reaching out to the masses in a good and positive way.

The National Geographic Diver program is an excellent way also to reintroduce familiar reefs. It creates an awareness of the local environment and the life it supports, and instills a greater appreciation of any kind of reef and every kind of aquatic life.

We welcome Singapore's very first National Geographic Divers. These are divers who, by participating in the program, show their commitment to the environment and a keen sense of adventure! We were especially encouraged as most of them are PADI Instructors and Divemasters who possess a want to continue their diver education even though they have already achieved much to get to where they are:

Kenneth Wong (PADI IDC Staff Instructor)

Sabine Henkel (PADI OWS Instructor)

Vincent Chew (PADI OWS Instructor)

Felicia Hee (PADI Divemaster)

Edd Ong (PADI Divemaster)

Jeff Greig (PADI Divemaster)

Debby Ng (PADI Divemaster)

Jimmy Woon (PADI Rescue Diver - Training Divemaster)

Congratulations to all of you and we look forward to your sharing the experience with more divers!

* Special Thanks to William Ong, PADI Course Director 18641, for his invaluable advise on the local reefs and suggestions for the program.

As already responsible divers, they honed their skills in :

Buoyancy - hovering in horizontal, horizontal with head slightly elevated and horizontal with feet slightly elevated positions. These useful skills were practised in confined water before applying them to their dives on the reef.

UW Navigation - fine tuning the use of a compass in confined water before using it on the reef together with natural navigation. At Pulau Hantu, positions of seafans and sea whips as well as direction of sand ripples are natural signs useful for orientation.

Aquatic Life Identification - this is a passion that will never go away. It makes every dive a challenging one to discover and know the diversity of life underwater. Participants identified more than the required number of vertebrates, invertebrates and aquatic plants during their dives. They had lots of fun observing certain animal behaviours such as territorial damsel fish!

Exploration Dive - putting into practise their buoyancy and navigational skills, the exploration dive is exciting and meaningful when observation skills are put into use. Divers participating in this National Geographic Portal program (for certified divers), were introduced to general reef survey techniques. Using a surface reference and a 10m transect line layed a meter from the start of the reef crest, they used both digital cameras and observations noted on their slates to identify features, animals and plants within the documented segment of the reef.

The team also used a Coral Health Monitoring Chart, from Project A.W.A.R.E. (www.coralwatch.org), to note coral bleaching.

Open Water Divers(entry-level) on the program practice simpler observation skills and aquatic life identification.

They have since summarized their dives in a simple powerpoint presentation so that their projects can remain dynamic, and updated each time they return to this reef. It is also the beginning to exploring other reefs the same way!

view Photo Album

Others have already signed up for the next course, started reading their own National Geographic Almanacs and watching their own National Geographic DVDs!

Call us now to join in: 62991147 or email us: scuba@seahounds.com

Beaver

PADI MI 99087

A.W.A.R.E. Kids

2004-12-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

We had fun this year on each of the school holidays blowing bubbles with kids from all over the country!

The PADI Bubblemaker and Discover Scuba Diving experience programs were conducted for kids ranging from 8 to 15 years of age.

It is a great reward to teach kids.

Their sheer enthusiasm, their eagerness to learn and their absolute innocent impatience to get on with the experience made for exciting sessions on their own.

The fun did not stop there!

The kids also learned about their local environment and animals they can find there, and each group of 2 kids 'adopted' an animal like dolphin, turtle, shark, stingray amongst others. Besides mastering skills underwater, they gladly remembered underwater signals for the animals and some even mimicked how the animal moved underwater!

This was a great start to having the kids continue their underwater adventures with the PADI SEAL TEAM programs, where a Critter I.D. dive is one of the AquaMissions completed as a Master Seal Team member! We look forward to the kids and parents who have signed up!

Recent groups had the opportunity to be introduced also to a new kids program from Project A.W.A.R.E. called AWARE Kids!

AWARE Kids

(for quicker processing, please sign-up at Sea Hounds or directly to Project AWARE-Asia Pacific, instead of the address indicated on the website above)

This is a fantastic program for kids to keep exploring the underwater world, yet create and take action. Having kids act is important for protecting our wild water planet and a great way for them to start caring for our blue planet!

Click on photo to view album

Parents can sign up their kids at Sea Hounds. It's FREE!

Your kids will be sent mailings to keep them involved.

To start their program, an AWARE Kids Activity Book will be given for a S$3 donation to Project A.W.A.R.E.

Proceeds will help fund worthwhile conservation projects around the region. www.projectaware.org

Don't leave the kids with a nanny, bring them along!

* Special Thanks to Michael Tan, PADI Divemaster 474011, for making the Bubblemaker sessions possible, and to Johnson Chua, PADI Rescue Diver, for arranging for his students at school to Discover Scuba Diving.

Kids & Parents, show you care by signing up for the PADI Bubblemaker program! You will automatically be involved with Dive In to Earth Day 2005! Email us for more info: scuba@seahounds.com

Beaver

PADI MI 99087

A New Breed of Dive Leaders

2004-12-28T03:37:00.000-08:00

"Cool shades, board shorts..dangling cigarette in the mouth."

"Suave and a sweet-talker."

"Has all the right gear but no idea what he's doing..and lost us underwater."

"..no comment on my impression of a divemaster or instructor."

These are just some of the comments we've heard divers make on their general impression of dive leaders in our industry.

Public opinion rarely differs from the truth in many ways. These negative conclusions must have come from an accumulation of unpleasant experiences over time. Word gets around, good or bad, the same way Singapore Zoological Gardens earned its reputation as the Best Zoo, or a new restaurant gets stuck with a bad rep after opening night was a service disaster.

So guilty or not, it only takes a few bad eggs to spoil the basket. This is one of our greatest motivations to work even harder, and be even better.

Being a PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Center for Sea Hounds is not a fancy rating with a colourful sticker pasted outside our dive center. It is a reason and a means to facilitate proper training for dive professionals. Why bother? Because everyone deserves good dive leadership, for training or leisure.

Refraining from talking too much on the "peanuts..monkies" expression, our objective for each and every one of our professional candidates is to ensure they possess the appropriate Attitude, Skills and Knowledge to become a professional educator.

Our dive center is there to constantly provide Education, Equipment and Experiences to keep you diving and loving the sea!

We welcome onboard our instructional crew, new and recently upgraded:

Vincent Chew

PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor 481069

Emergency First Response/Care for Children Instructor

Sabine Henkel

PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor 477759

Emergency First Response Instructor

DSAT Gas Blender Instructor

Kenneth Wong

PADI Instructor Development Course Staff Instructor 472165

Emergency First Response/Care for Children Instructor

* Special Thanks to Eugene Sim, PADI Course Director 89366, for his invaluable guidance during each of the PADI Instructor courses.

** Sea Hounds Instructors are also trained Decompression/Trimix divers and we will be working hard to make available to you the DSAT TecRec courses very soon!

See previous post "eXpLoReRs"

Our congratulations and encouragements to all of them for taking the initiative to continue their education. They are testaments to our belief that the learning never stops. We look forward to them sharing more of their experiences with our divers!

**In addition to PADI Standards & Procedures, Sea Hounds Instructors and Divemasters also adhere to the National Operational Code of Practise, governed by the Singapore Underwater Federation, and pledge to follow practises of an eco-operator.

Refer to earlier post:

Open Water Movie

Beaver

PADI MI 99087

Dive In to Earth Day 2005

2004-12-21T21:42:00.000-08:00

Earth Day Takes a Plunge to Rescue Threatened Marine Resources Worldwide: Dive In To Earth Day 2005 Celebrations Under Way

San Francisco, CA – How can you make a real difference in helping protect your marine environment while having fun and making new friends? Look no further! Dive In To Earth Day offers tens of thousands of water lovers the chance to celebrate Earth day with an underwater twist. Join celebrities such as Susan Sarandon, Tanya Streeter, William Shatner and Stan Waterman in this international marine conservation event!

This year marks the 6th anniversary of Dive In To Earth Day, which engages volunteers in hands on marine conservation activities during Earth Day week, April 22nd. Over 200,000 participants from 89 countries and territories around the world have taken part in 1,200 Dive In activities over the years. Activities, from beach cleanups in Florida to reef monitoring surveys in Oman and mooring buoy installations in Costa Rica, greatly benefit the health of the world’s oceans, coral reefs, lakes, rivers and other aquatic resources. To date, Dive In participants have removed 200,000 lbs of trash from coastal areas, educated and inspired children to care for water resources, supported coral reef areas and much, much more.

“We now know that the oceans are home to 80% of all living organisms on earth, and that coral reefs support a quarter of all known marine species,” comments Susan Sarandon, Hollywood actress and Dive In Host Committee member. “Still, our oceans are under serious stress from pollution and trash, destructive fishing practices and uncontrollable tourism. Dive In To Earth Day is a great and easy opportunity to take action and help raise awareness on urgent marine conservation issues. We all share this responsibility, and we have to start believing that each and every one of us can make a difference.”

Henry Arismendi from the Guacharo Scuba Club, Venezuela, recounts the incredible impact his Dive In 2004 event had: “During a beach-clean in a bay nearby a fishermen community, one little boy, son of a poor fisherman, was curious about what we we’re doing”, explains Henry. “I explained in simple words that not littering their beach was very important. He used to think that things thrown in the sea would vanish forever and not damage the fish. Several minutes later he and his friends were running along the beach cleaning and helping us because they wanted to protect THEIR beach. I hope we have planted a seed in their minds so that they will grow up as ecologically responsible citizens.”

Dive In To Earth Day was launched by The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) in 2000 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Earth Day. CORAL is a non-profit coral reef conservation organization based in San Francisco, California. CORAL coordinates the event in partnership with Project AWARE Foundation and with the support of West Marine, Earth Day Network and the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN).

For more information about how you can participate visit: www.coral.org/divein

Sea Hounds is your regional representative for Dive In 2005.

Watch out for program/event dates during the week of April 22, 2005!

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Fish Surveys

- Pulau Hantu (STARTS NOW!) & Pulau Tioman (Starting March 7th). Fish counts and positive identification starts every time you enter the water. Make this FUN activity a worthwhile one as well!

2. Reef Checks

3. AWARE Kids

- PADI Bubblemaker and Discover Scuba Diving incorporating information on how to protect reefs even from far away and fun games to share the message of how pollution & rubbish affects the survival of our marine life.

4. Underwater/Beach Clean-up

- Pulau Hantu (STARTS NOW) & Pulau Tioman (Starts March 7th)

Supported by:

Email us: scuba@seahounds.com to find out how you can get involved NOW!

Beaver

Sea Hounds: PADI NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Dive Center

2004-12-01T23:17:00.000-08:00

It's finally here in Singapore and Sea Hounds is your very first PADI National Geographic Dive Center!

PADI National Geographic Dive Centers are PADI's elite dive centers with highest customer standards and product offerings. PADI Instructors who wish to conduct the program and participants alike must use a local PADI National Geographic Dive Center to participate in the exclusive National Geographic Diver program.

The program is availale as an entry-level (Open Water Diver) course, as well as open to certified divers.

As a National Geographic Diver, you join an elite group of explorers, adventurers and conservationists. The insight and training you gain during this program will broaden your awareness and take your diving skills to a new level. You'll learn to observe and explore like an underwater scientist.

Most PADI Divers are fascinated with the aquatic world, which inspires them to learn more. Because you have already learned the theory and skills of diving, the National Geographic Portal gives you the opportunity to build on your dive experience to learn about new adventures, exploration and conservation opportunities.

Our facility will be set up within the next 2 weeks, and our instructional crew will undergo training as well as planning to provide you a fun and exciting program to look forward to! As most of you know our local islands house reefs and animals only a true explorer can discover so it's a perfect place to start during these months! Watch out for it!

To find out more, go to www.padi.com/ng

Beaver

PADI MI 99087

Deeper, Longer, Safer...

2004-08-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

As a kid, I used to love watching movies like 'Tora Tora Tora" and "Battle of Midway". I spent hours reading up on the naval battles of Leyte Gulf and Guadalcanal. My pocket money was spent buying Air-fix models of battleships and aircraft carriers.

I was ecstatic when I learnt that there were the Advance Nitrox and Decompression Procedure courses being held, with an expedition to the HMS Repulse planned in mid October. I was on my way to the realisation of a long time dream to dive some sunken World War II wreck!

The tech courses turned out to be one of the most physically and mentally challenging courses I have ever taken. Wearing twin tanks together with stage bottles for the first time, I felt so clumsy in the water. In the pool sessions, we were taught drills to familiarise us with our new equipment, whilst emphasizing on maintaining your bouyancy and knowing what to do under extreme scenarios (like out-of-air and blackout). During the two open water trips, we had to be constantly alert, running through all the possible scenarios and the course of action to keep us 'alive' (the instructor would declare you 'dead' if you could not react safely to the scenarios). Added to this was the feeling of narcosis for those of us who have never dived so deep before. All in all, although the learning curve was steep, it was a really rewarding course because of the sense of achievement you get from completing it.

My diver friends have asked me: 'Why did you do it? Are you crazy? The tanks are so heavy!'. Ok, looking at wrecks may be my thing but it doesn't really do it for everyone. It is a common misconception that tech diving is just for people who want to dive wrecks and caves. This is not true. Just imagine how much more you could see with a bottom time of 40min at your fouvourite 30m dive site? Or safely descending to 50m and staying for 20min on the drop-off to wait for the whalesharks and catch those mantas resting on the ledges. Instead of blind luck and hoping you have enough air to last you until your Mosquito will let you ascend, isn't it much better to plan and know for certain? It need not mean having to carry twin-tanks every time - sometimes just a deco bottle is enough.

In the just-concluded Olympics, athletes sought to go 'Higher, Faster, Stronger'. I guess for the group of us, we are constantly seeking to push our own diving limits, safely. So, if you too share our passion of 'Deeper, Longer, Safer', why not consider joining us in the next tech course?

chewbacca

PADI Divemaster #481069

eXpLoReRs

2004-08-26T02:53:00.000-07:00

In our quest to grow gills, our interim solution is scuba..ok beaver quit the bullshit!

A new group of Seahounds have progressed to donning more tanks to admire historical wrecks, stay with their favourite animal longer and to visit sites deeper than the recreational limit!

Whatever the reason may be, they are ALL well trained in decompression procedures.

They spent the last 3 weeks conditioning themselves to their new configuration of twin tanks on their backs and stage bottles by their sides, training in emergency and contingency procedures and drills and most importantly getting back to BASIC scuba skills!

It was a good reminder of how vital mastering basic skills are to progress to any level.

The team never thought they would be finning in so many directions for so long, clearing their masks so often and removing and replacing their regulators so much!!

Then it was out to Open Water where the team visited their favourite sites only this time below 50m! Chronicles of their Narcossis will follow this post...i think.

Animal action on the trip:

At the depths we were at, we were able to observe a myriad of heart urchins(lovenia elongata) moving quickly around the sand as other urchins would move under the cover of night. Urchins(echinoidea) are one of 5 classes of phylum echinodermata (meaning spiny skinned)including holothurians(sea cucumbers), crinoids, sea stars, and brittle stars. Other observations included peacock flounders and flatheads.

On the surface, we had the priviledge of watching a 2.5m black marlin tail-walking just off the salang jetty, right before our morning dive on Sunday!

Expanding their diving knowledge is something the whole tec team has taken away from both the Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures courses. We trust the theory sessions on technical diving have provided new perspectives on recreational diving.

Welcome S e a H o u n d s T e c T e a m :

Team 1: Ken Wong, Vincent Chew, Glenn Wong, Jacki Ng (Gill Divers)

Team 2: Sabine Henkel, Christina Goh, Jonathan Lam, Michelle Tan

Trainers: Eugene Sim (Dive Atlantis), Stephen Beng

Ken and Glenn are also trained Semi-closed Rebreather divers and are able to silently get closer to the animals...woohoo!!

will now wait silently for the team members personal accounts. . . .

Beaver

Open Water Movie

2004-08-26T02:01:00.000-07:00

The movie Open Water hits the cinemas today and many divers have already caught the previews over the last week. A select group of dive operators who are corporate members of the Singapore Underwater Federation (S.U.F.) were also exclusively invited to a preview last month by the Shaw Organization.

It has been a hot point of discussion between dive industry professionals concerning the movie prior to its launch to ensure that the public is aware of the risks involved with diving and how to avoid them.

scuba-doc

All divers are encouraged to view the movie and let it serve as a reminder of the importance of thorough dive training for both the recreational diver and more importantly the dive professional. Every entry level course, be it Open Water Diver for the recreational diver or Divemaster for the dive pro, is vital to ensure basic skills are mastered because only then can continuing education make sense.

Both the recreational diver and the dive pro have responsibilites.

The diver must be responsible for and confident enough to consider his/her own safety, and responsible for selecting a dive operator wisely and not just based on price.

The dive pro must follow through every area of responsibility required of a dive professional (these roles and responsibilities are set in black and white in the professional manuals), follow internal standard operating procedures, as well as adhere to local practises.

It's best for the divemaster or instructor to watch the movie and relate to the very real situation depicted in the movie instead of mocking what was done wrong. Learning from every case only makes our risk management better.

The group of dive operators, currently totalling 16, who are corporate members of the S.U.F. have also signed a pledge to adhere to a National Operational Code of Practise(NOCOP). The Code ensures standard operating procedures amongst the participating operators amongst other practices, checks and balances. It is exciting times for us with improvements finally taking shape. There will be many changes for the better, for example, operators will be required to submit and be checked on their standard operating procedures.

With these changes ahead of us, there are obvious costs involved and we sincerely hope the dive community will support the operators who are trying very hard to step up the standard of dive operations in Singapore. These operators will be listed on screen before the movie or you can check them out on the link below.

Singapore Underwater Federation

Beaver

PADI Master Instructor 99087

Status of the Coral Reefs Report 2002

2004-08-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

While most of us surface from a dive excitedly discussing the fish that we have seen , how many of us actually come up and discuss the corals that we saw (apart from cursing getting grazed by a staghorn)? Are we really taking notice of the coral life, and celebrating its diversity? Recently, I joined Debby on one of her increasingly popular Hantu Bloggers Dives. Viz averaged about 1m, and while this does not afford you much opportunity for spotting fish, it really allows you to change your focus to the coral, and take the opportunity to learn and understand more about coral life. Thanks to Debby for putting a lot of effort into sharing her knowledge about coral life, and making these Hantu Blogger dives fun, educational and memorable for all the divers. Since then, I have become increasingly interested in learning more about the coral reef itself, and this has enriched my dive experiences, making them far more interesting and fulfilling....Good or bad viz, with this added knowledge and interest, there will always be something of interest on the dive, and to celebrate upon surfacing.

I have attached a link to the Status of Coral Reef 2002 report, published by the Australian Institute of Marine Science, with support, in part, by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) . The chapter I have attached is with reference to SE Asia. This report warns that our reefs are under threat primarily from the activities of humans on and around the reefs, but provides some hope by highlighting isolated successes of reef rejuvenation through effective efforts in reef monitoring and management.

http://www.aims.gov.au/pages/research/coral-bleaching/scr2002/pdf/scr2002-07.pdf

Do take time out to read this report, and learn more about the state of the reefs in our region and elsewhere. I promise that next time you descend, you will see so much more, and your experience will be enriched by a better appreciation for the diversity and fragility of our seas.

Cheers!

Johari

Patience

2004-08-12T02:15:00.000-07:00

6 days of diving off the walls of Manado last week served a pleasant reminder of why we are in the business of sharing the sea with everyone! Being over Singapore's National Day weekend, many other patriotic Singaporean groups were out there as well. They came over to chat with us and left us comments that they didn't see much....(was followed by blank looks from all of us)

Owning one of the widest spectrums of marine biodiversity in the world, it's hard to believe that one does not see much on any one dive there. It is also one of the best places to observe animals in their natural environment. Divers should value the opportunity to observe the behaviour of even 1 animal on a dive for as long as it allows us to.

These are the animals which accompanied us during our dives there..

view Photo Album

Pelagics off and around the walls of Montehage, Manado Tua and Bunaken: Eagle Rays, Black tips, Dogtooth Tunas, Spanish Mackerels, Schools of HorseEye & Giant Trevallies, Chevron and Great Barracudas, and a Dugong swimming up the wall at 14m....oh and did we mention DUGONG!! Apparently they have taken to diving deeper there as well, and for a chubby animal it can sure haul some major a**! If you want a second-hand example, we have a couple of divemasters who do good impressions.

On the surface, Common and Bottlenose Dolphins, Black Marlins.

Critter encounters include Yellow Rhinopias, Robust Ghostpipefish, Pygmy Seahorses, Jawfish, Kuda Hippocampus, Leafy Scorpiofish, Cockatoo Waspfish, Flying Gurnards, Demon Stingers, Squatlobsters...hey we could go on and on but best if you experience it for yourself!

Some of our mistakes(even though we tried not to commit them) you can learn from:

1. Be Patient. Good things come to good people so dont keep swimming aimlessly if you dont see anything. Remember most animals move as well! It would be like a carousel, everything moving around in circles but never meeting. Once you do meet an animal, like..did we mention Dugong..don't freak out, don't aim your camera too quickly and don't blow big bubbles (guilty on all 3 counts)

2. Be Mindful. Dolphins, like women,are one of the most misunderstood mammals.(we're kidding..not really). Always looking friendly may not always mean that they want to play! Always keep a safe distance from a pod of dolphins, observe if there are young in the pod as adults may then be defensive, keep the noise level of the boat engine constant, if you enter the water(don't), do it quietly without splashing and keep the boat close to you!! Lastly, smile when they eyeball you!

3. Be Safe. It's easy when we are overwhelmed with nature to forget that we have limits underwater. Never let it leave your mind to check your dive computer or depth/time devices to stay within recreational diving limits. Negligence is a common reason for accidents. And btw, don't even get used to overstaying your limits and simply following deco time your computer gives you..remember it is an Emergency Decompression not a planned one if it does happen and it is best to stay off diving for 24hrs after. Using air on continuous repetitive dives leaves you loaded with nitrogen in no time so really, do what you learnt during your Open Water Diver course..drink lots of water, limit your alcohol and tobacco intake and stay out of the sun!

* Be a passive observer, remember we are all visitors under the sea. You wouldn't like it if someone came into your home lifted you off the sofa, chased you round the living room, jiggled you around then dropped you off at your neighbours house, either.

Every dive site or location should be selected objectively to enjoy the experience fully and expectations must be managed.

Our next Manado adventure will be in October 2004 and we hope to plan for 1-2 days out at sea to find the larger mammals and a dawn dive for the Great Hammerheads. Email us scuba@seahounds.com if you want to share the experience.

Beaver

PADI 99087

New Lair

2004-07-27T22:31:00.000-07:00

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

2004-07-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

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

2004-07-08T23:37:00.000-07:00

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

Perhentian Dive Log Entry

2004-06-30T09:06:00.000-07:00

Just back from a week on the Perhentian Islands. Had a great time with friends from Canada, and while none of them are divers, I treated myself to a few great dives while there. Did a superb dawn dive, and thought I would share an entry from my dive log:

_____________________________________________________

Dive #: 143

Location: Tokong Laut (Temple of the Sea), Perhentian Islands, Malaysia

Max Depth: 22.5m

Avg Depth: 13.7m

Bottom Time: 70 minutes

Water Temp: 28 degrees Celsius

Visibility: up to 20 metres

Divemaster: Yoe

I had been bugging Chris from Spice Divers on Perhentian Kecil all week about going on a night dive. On the afternoon of the scheduled night dive,he greeted me on the beach, and I knew the dive was off.

"jeff, i got a cracker of a dive scheduled for you tomorrow!"

With subtle disappointment in my voice, I replied, "i take it this is in lieu of the night dive?"

"Ya mate!", says Chris, a Malay, but with a thick australian accent

he aquired growing up around Darwin,"tomorrow you are going on a sunrise dive!"

I swear my excitement levitated me off the sand! This guy sure knows how to convey "bad" news! Woo Hoo! Having survived a "scuba boot camp" dawn dive aboard MV Grace earlier last year amid murky waters and strong currents, I couldn't wait to turn my perception of dawn dives around. Diving at dawn is said to be the best time to see the "buzz" of life on the reef. I set my alarm, but my excitement kept me awake most of the night.

5:30am the next morning, the guys at Spice Divers were amazingly chipper, and greeted 11 blurry eyed divers with toast, jam and hot coffee and tea.

Dive briefing at 5:45am; on the boat by 6am.

We arrived at the site 20mins later, and after gearing up, backrolled off the boat into the calm, but pitch black sea at 6:30am. The narrow strands of light from our torchlights guided us as we made our descent in the dark, warm waters. We descended to 22m to discover that the many shy-by-day bamboo sharks were lively and swimming about in search of their early morning meal. A few brave moray eels (normally tucked into crevices during the day) were also out and about, winding their way through the black coral

and gorgonian sea fans. As I scanned the sandy bottom with my torchlight, its light revealed a few small flathead crocodile fish hiding under a thin layer of sand. Large pairs of star puffer fish and porcupine fish were also drifting by across the field of view in front of my torchlight.

After 20min, we started slowly ascending up the pinnacle, with the reef silouetted in the pre-dawn light. At about 13m, the shapes and colours of the reef became more apparent, and I suddenly became aware of millions of fish swarming around me...schools of fusilliers, damselfish, glassfish, batfish,all out for their morning exercise, or perhaps trying to evade the lone great barracuda that was hunting just above me. Together with the other 3 divers I was with, and with the sun breaching the horizon of the world

above the surface, we halted all movement at that point, and remained

motionlesss, hovering weightlessly amongst the buzz of the early morning reef traffic. I wanted this moment to last forever. Even when the Divemaster signalled that a sometimes agressive triggerfish was roaming the area, I refused to let its presence disrupt my morning reef meditation.

Some minutes later, I snapped out of my trance to share my excitment with my buddies, and wrote in large emphatic letters on my underwater slate, "SO MANY FISH!!"

After 70 magical minutes, I broke the surface, my face

drenched in the rays of the low lying early morning sun, and said to

myself, "this is a great day!"

Jeff

aka Johari

DM #479744

Playing Catch up

2004-05-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

Sharing the sea is one of the most fulfilling things any diver can do, and we figure if we're only sharing it with the divers who dive with us then it's not really enough is it??

These are the dive blogs of the Seahounds, hoping we can understand and learn more about the world we live in!