TDI – Technical Diving International – Thailand

Today Big Blue Tech conducted the first TDI Compressor Operator Course ever. This course was attended by Ash Dunn, Andy Cavell and Mark Slinn and conducted on Koh Tao island in the south east of Thailand. Big Blue Tech authored and submitted this course as a custom written certification and received authorization from TDI HQ to start teaching. We have been told that TDI plan to develop their own Compressor Operator course based on our outline.

The TDI Compressor Operator course is designed to introduce the safe operation and handling of scuba diving compressors and air bank systems. The students learned the proper checks, safety and hazards, minor maintenance and operation of 2 different compressors including the combination of a large air bank system. On our next Khao Sok expedition later this month they will also be operating a portable petrol powered compressor in the jungle.

Big Blue own over 10 compressors around thailand, on Koh Tao alone we have 2 Coltri Sub MCH16’s, 2 Bauer Mariner 1, 2 Bauer 250, 1 LW 450 and 1 Bauer Junior (for cave and remote diving). In Khao Lak we have 2 Bauer Mariner 250 and 1 Coltri Sub MCH16, which gives our students a lot different compressors to practice with and become familiar.

After our time in the shop and on the boat we filled all the twin sets and air systems in the shop giving the students ample time to practice and learn using a compressor un-aided. The students will later evolve their diving skills with future TDI Nitrox Gas blender and TDI Advanced Gas blender courses.

The certification earned will give the students the recognized ticket to operate scuba diving compressors in government controlled diving areas.

For those TDI instructors interested in teaching this course, feel free to contact us for authorization to teach this distinctive specialty course.

Today Mark Slinn (intern) and Andy Cavell (intern) completed their TDI O2 Service Technician Course. This would be the most recent service and technician related course after completing their TDI Visual Inspections course last week.

The o2 Service Technician builds on servicing regulators and cylinders but to a “oxygen clean” level. The students began by stripping and cleaning an Scubapro Mk2 1st stage and R295 Second stage and cleaning it removing any source of hydrocarbons. After a full clean and inspection the regulators we re assembled and tested. After full assembly the regulators were marked and recorded to be used in future training when breathing oxygen underwater. You can read more about this unique course here.

As the internship progresses the interns will be required to attain the SDI Divemaster certification and later the TDI Technical Divemaster certification. Since they are already PADI Divemasters all they had to do was cross over their skills and fill the gaps in the training.

One of these gaps is the most unpleasant swim tests and “surface recovery” or “ditch and don” exercise. The swim test are similar to other organizations with slight differences and the ditch and don exercise is rarely in a divemaster program in any official capacity (although many introduce it). At lunch we hit the water to cover these skills and stamina tests. The ditch and don is described as sinking your scuba gear, freediving down to it and assembling it underwater in about 3m. There are more steps to it but that’s the general description.

All of them did really well except Mark. Mark is a former soldier from the Parachute Regiment and is considered rather tough, however a cold got in his way and he couldn’t get down. He spent the remainder of the day blowing his nose and generally moaning on the surface with the instructor. He’ll get another chance in a few days.

In the afternoon the students cleaned their lean decompression mix cylinder while Ash cleaned twin set in preparation for our epic diving adventure in January. Once the practical work was finished the students sat a written exam and put all the tools away to prepare for the TDI Compressor Operator Course (distinctive) tomorrow.

Today Mark Slinn (intern), Andy Cavell (intern) and Ash Dunn (staff) attended a DAN (Divers Alert Network) O2 (oxygen) provider course. The course was conducted by the experienced dive medic technician and DAN O2 Provider Instructor Steve Reid. Steve took a break from his busy schedule as the owner of the new resort Sea View Koh Tao to conduct the course for Big Blue Tech and other diving schools in the area.

The course is described as:

DAN´s Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries Provider Course was designed to fill the void in oxygen first aid training available for the general diving public.

This course represents entry level training designed to educate the general diving (and qualified non-diving) public in recognizing possible dive related injuries and providing emergency oxygen first aid while activating the local emergency medical services (EMS) and/or arranging for evacuation to the nearest available medical facility.

In DAN´s most recent dive accident record, less than 33% of injured divers received emergency oxygen in the field. Few of those received oxygen concentrations approaching the recommended 100%. DAN and all major diving instructional agencies recommend that all divers be qualified to provide 100% oxygen in the field to those injured in a dive accident.

For countries like Australia, this course is required for all scuba diving professionals. For us on Koh Tao, this course is included and required for all staff and internship candidates.

The course was completed using theoretical examples, study of local and international law and practical assembly and administration of oxygen and oxygen related equipment.

This would be the perfect course leading up to their O2 Equipment Service Technician Course on the following day.

Big Blue Tech have published their upcoming schedule of various technical diving events during the holiday season of December and January.

These events can be found down the right hand side of our main news page or here:

• Event: Cavern Diver Course Expedition Khao Sok
  Fri 18 December 2009
  
• Event: Cavern Diver Course Expedition Khao Sok – 2010
  Sun 3 January 2010
  
• Event: Sea Chart 1 Shipwreck Survey
  Sat 9 January 2010
  
• Event: Tech Liveaboard Similans Island
  Wed 13 January 2010

Otherwise Big Blue Tech will be training and diving leading up to these events.

Christos Kardana, former tech crew member of Big Blue Tech has put his photo’s online on Flickr for everyone to see.

The majority of his work was composed during diving trips with us to Khao Sok and other diving destinations we ventured over the past 6 months.

On his website he describes his method by saying:

“Utilising multiple cylinders and mixed gas blends, technical diving allows you to dive beyond the standard recreational range. Characterised by extensive equipment requirements, added redundancy and decompression procedures; technical diving allows for exploration of deep water environments, wrecks and caverns.”

His collection can be seen HERE

Today Big Blue Tech visited Dave of Aquatech Scuba Service and Repair to complete the TDI Visual Inspection Procedures (VIP) course for the Technical Diving Interns Andy and Mark.

We visited Dave because he has all the expensive precise tools needed including the “go no-go guage” and the hydrostatic testing station. We also needed to hydro static two scuba cylinders that had expired and thought this would be a great chance to show the interns how the whole process works.

Dave showed the interns how to use the several different tools, hydro static test, cleaning the cylinder and marking the exterior to show the valid new test stamp.

After we left Aquatech we returned to the shop to complete the exam for the visual inspection procedures. And not a moment too soon as the rain started. Although the interns are quite eager to finally get in the water they realized they were lucky to be doing all this service work when they saw the cold and miserable people ouside in the rain. So with the kettle on and some music we sat and relaxed through the afternoon as the rain passed.

The interns enjoy a few days off and then spend sunday doing their DAN 02 provider course. The phylosophy behind that decision was to ensure all members of the dive team could help each other rather then just relying on the staff for help. Hopefully we’ll get a member of staff to come in on the weekend to get some pictures.

Today is the official start for the technical diving internship for Andy and Mark. Andy returns a year after completing his dive master course with Big Blue and later becoming a PADI instructor in the Uk. Marl completed his solo diver certification earlier in the year and has decided to just in the deep end head first to become a technical diving instructor.

The 3 month intensive internship includes everything needed to be a technical diving instructor in today’s diving climate. The following certifications will be EARNED in the coming months.

* Gas Blender
* Compressor Operator
* Visual Inspections Procedures
* Equipment Service Technician
* O2 service technician
* Full Face Mask Diver
* DAN Oxygen Provider
* Advanced Nitrox Diver
* Cavern Diver
* Unlimited diving
* Decompression Procedures Diver
* Advanced Gas Blender
* SCR Rebreather Diver
* Solo Diver
* Research Diver
* All Khao Sok Trips
* All Similans Islands Liveaboards
* Extended Range and Trimix Diver
* TDI Technical Divemaster Rating
* BSAC Extended Range, compressor operator and oxygen provider Instructor
* Aqualung Service Technician Instructor

Today started with basic gas laws, dive planning and a review of nitrox and diving terms. In the afternoon the interns started their visual inspection course by servicing their own twin set and cylinders. These twin sets along with diving gear would be their own to use for the duration of the 3 months so it was essential they learned not only how to use them but also the process to troubleshoot and service them. Even Ash joined in for a bit of a theory refresher.

Tomorrow the interns move into advanced nitrox planning along with more visual inspections before the weekend.

Our internships happen every 3 months, the next available space is march 15th.

Big Blue Tech opens it’s doors today to start the new season after closing during the annual monsoon that hit’s the east side of Koh Tao, however the monsoon never happened. Despite diving destinations on the east coast of Thailand like Pattaya being effected by consistent rain and flash flooding; koh tao was sunny and dry.

The many wise locals of koh tao who have been on the island before beer swear that monsoon is coming and that we shouldn’t be opening just yet. So against better judgment we opened the doors of Big Blue Tech and welcomed all the new activity.

One of the more regretful events is the departure of Christos Kardana who’s leaving Thailand to go to England to delve into the plentiful job market there. Regardless we hope he’ll find nothing but misery and come back in the new year.

Today isn’t without celebration as it’s also the first day for Ash Dunn who has been training to become the new Facilities Manager for this past month and walked right into work this morning ready to get to go.

Today is also the first day for our new technical diving interns who have a very long list of courses and goals to complete over the next 3 months on their way up to becoming a technical diving instructor. You can read more about them tomorrow.

Ayesha Cantrell has written an article about diving in Khao Sok which features pristine caves and caverns with the lesser known feature of sunken villages, one of which has a submerged temple.

Ayesha  refers to the sunken village  we located and dived on earlier in the year, which you can read more about HERE and HERE

In one section Ayesha describes the environment perfectly in saying:

If you live in Thailand, working as a dive instructor, people think that you are constantly on holiday. Not so, and it’s good to get away once in a while, go diving somewhere else for a bit of fun, to see something different and keep island fever at bay.

Khao Sok National Park is as different as you can get from Koh Tao. The park is made up of thick ancient rain forest, calm and peaceful, with beautiful limestone columns towering out of the 165sq km lake that dominates the park. Most people go to trek in the jungle, spot wildlife and absorb the tranquillity, but a lake that large holds too much temptation for avid divers. This is where we go to chill out!

The rest of her article can be found on the DSAT Tec-Rec Blog

If you would like to dive on one of these sunken villages then you can join our monthly expeditions. For more info you can contact us at info@bigbluetech.net

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

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

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

The official details can be found on the OMS website;

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

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

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

As part of the Indian Ocean, south of Myanmar is the Andaman Sea; with an average depth of 870 metres; covering an area of 797,700 square kilometres. Within this water body, south of Thailand, lie The Similan Islands, off the coast of Phang Nga Province. Established in 1982 as an archipelago national park, The Similan Islands consist of nine islands, which are Ko Bon, Ko Bayu, Ko Similan, Ko Payu, Ko Miang (two adjoining islands), Ko Payan, Ko Payang, and Ko Huyong. Recently, the park was expanded to include two remote islands, which are Ko Bon and Ko Tachai. “Similan” is a Yawi (dialect of the Malay language) word, which means “nine”.

Big Blue Tech. recently conducted technical diving on the prestigious Big Blue live-aboard, the MV Pawara, which cruises along the national park providing first class diving opportunities. Mike Borneo, who previously completed his TDI Extended Range course with Big Blue Tech. in Koh Tao, joined facilities manager Christos Kardana on the west coast to board the prestigious vessel, conducting technical diving over a four-day period, utilising various gas blends to explore the regions many sites, made easy with the ship’s on board nitrox blending and O2 system.

The MV Pawara boasts many luxuries, including: spacious dive platform accommodating with comfort up to twenty kitted-up divers, on-board computer with software for dive planning and photography download, entertainment lounge, air- conditioned cabins, sun deck, briefing area and four buffet style meals a day, as well as fruit, snacks and beverages provided daily. With a relaxed and comfortable set up, much free time is available between dives; allowing for marine life identification, course theory completion and of course catching some rays…

Mike utilised his time completing his TDI Nitrox Gas Blending course, gaining practical experience filling our technical dive cylinders with the required blend for our planned dive in question.

Below are some pictures from the trip (photographs taken by Christos Kardana).

If you are interested in any of our live-aboard trips, courses and / or expeditions, please do not hesitate to conduct us at: info@bigbluetech.net