When the CMAS-backed Thailand Diving Association came up with the idea last year to sink a bunch of aluminum airplanes and helicopters, the near universal non-TDA opinion was it was a pretty stupid idea. Not only would the corrents in Bang Tao Bay play havoc with the site, but metal itself would quickly deterioriate before coral for the artificial reef could take root.

Turns out they were right. The TDA now admits the “Coral Reef Squadron” is 90 percent destroyed by fishing trawlers and currents. Read the rest of this entry »

The crew of the sinking Chart 1 bulk-carrier ship clamber aboard life rafts in the Andaman Sea. (Photo: Phuket Gazette)

A Thai bulk cargo ship went down in during storms in the Andaman Sea Aug. 23 about five miles from the Phang Nga Naval Base, about 55 kilometers north of Phuket. All hands were rescued but the ship sits at the bottom of the ocean while owners and authorities sort out the insurance issues.

Will the ship become a new wreck for diver? Unknown at this point, but there’s some talk of salvage, according to the Phuket Gazette. Read the rest of this entry »

As described earlier here, here and here, PADI’s DSAT technical diving division is overhauling the Tec Rec program, chopping up the Tec Deep and Tec Trimix courses into smaller, easier to digest pieces.

The Tec Deep course will be broken into three parts, called “Tec 40,” “Tec 45″ and “Tec 50,” signifying the depth in meters students will be certified to dive. The current Tec Trimix course will be similarly broken into two parts, dubbed “Trimix 65″ and “Trimix 75.”

PADI announced earlier this week that the new courses will rollout Sept. 1. Today it released the flowchart below, showing the route to becoming a Tec Rec diver. The chart will appear on the PADI website next month. Read the rest of this entry »

We all know that age is not a significant barrier to recreational diving. People can learn to dive — or even become instructors — in their 60s. But technical diving has generally been a younger diver’s game. The number of people who learn to tech dive in their 50s is much smaller than that of those in their 40s, 30s and 20s.

But, as these photos show, you’re never really too old to learn. Aquanauts Master Instructor Gary Tytler decided to finally strap on the doubles and get properly tech certified at age 55.

This month’s course also saw Aquanauts student John Paul complete his Tec Deep certification. Dan Beldon was the instructor.

So, how did it go? You’ll have to ask Gary, but from what those who watched him over the course will tell you, it took a lot of effort and academic discipline. Read the rest of this entry »

While women have firmly established themselves in recreational diving, the fairer sex’s profile past the 40-meter mark is considerably smaller. As Lady Divers magazine’s Misty A. Martin points out in an article published this week, tech is still “an all boys club.”

Not only have equipment manufacturers not offered the same range of tech gear designed for the female physique as they’ve done in recreational diving, the entire mindset and impact on physiology are different.

For a guy, her insights both make you go “ewww” and make you go “hmmm.” Read the rest of this entry »

Aquanauts' Roger M. Smith (center) with the MV Trident's Jamie MacLeod (left) and Stuart Oehl. The Trident's famed deep wreck explorers finally got CCR certified with Aquanauts' help.

When it comes to wreck hunting and exploration in Thailand, there are few who can rival the experience of the MV Trident’s Jamie Macleod and Stuart Oehl. But what may surprise many is that nearly all their technical expeditions have been done on open-circuit, not closed-circuit rebreathers.

“We’ve been meaning to get some proper training on CCR for ages,” Jamie said. “We’ve organized dozens of CCR expeditions and supervised thousands of dives so the theory and logistics of the unit weren’t going to be too much of a problem. It was simply the diving we needed.”

Having known for Jamie for years – and with Aquanauts positioned as one of Thailand’s premier rebreather-training centers – I offered to get both guys certified and started on the road to becoming CCR instructors. Read the rest of this entry »

Diving the HTMS Kood wreck. (Photo: Andrew Jennings)

City officials are promising better patrols and a new buoy for one of Pattaya’s most-popular scuba diving sites after markers anchored by the city and local dive operators to locate an undersea shipwreck repeatedly have gone missing.

The HTMS Kood, a World War II-era landing craft intentionally sunk off nearby Koh Sak in 2006, has become a thriving artificial reef. But technical divers who use the wreck for courses and fun dives increasingly have been frustrated by the disappearance of buoys marking its location 31 meters below the surface. Read the rest of this entry »

Changes are afoot at Phuket’s Pro-Tech Dive College with the opening of new facilities the boss gaining new closed-circuit rebreather ratings.

Construction of Pro-Tech’s new facility in Chalong has taken about six months, but is now complete, the company says on its Tech-CCR News & Events blog. Read the rest of this entry »