Posted on April 29th, 2013 by admin-scubacat-dw | Comments Off on Finally I am a certified diver, by Quang
Quang is a marketing / sales intern who is with Scuba Cat for a 6 month placement from his university in Holland. As part of his internship he is receiving dive training up to Advanced open water through Scuba Cat. This is a great way to be involved in the industry and understand more about what you are trying to market. This though was more of a challenge for Quang than previous interns as he was unable to swim at the time he joined us.
Quang worked really hard, learnt to swim and snorkel and too 3 discover scuba dives prior to taking his open water course, this is his story of the day he got certified in his own words…….
Taking a deep breath, Breathing out, Opening my eyes, Seeing the sunlight: “Damn, I am now certified!!!” That is my first thinking when I completed the first of the last two skills in dive no.4 – Mask fully removed, replaced and cleared!
I could never forget two worst moments when I wasn’t able clear my flooded mask. That led to lose my regulator and suddenly come up to the surface in scare. I couldn’t recall how many times I must practice clearing my mask at the pool – win then loose, on then off because the feeling of water in my eyes and my nose is the most irritating thing for me!
I always remember the first two dives I did with Sean Porter. He is the first instructor who saw my mask clear problem and also the last one to help me end it. He must be the most experienced, the most incredible instructor I’ve known ever!
The journey to become a certified Open Water diver takes so much time and effort of me and several instructors. Yes! Several ones!!! I have done 3 times of Discover Scuba Diving with 7 dives in total without being able to swim, spent 3 days at the swimming pool. For me, each dive at that time was exciting yet worrying. I brought with me excitement, joy, nerves to underwater every time.
I must say I used to hate breathing through regulator (the weirdest kind of air ever), I couldn’t get over the feeling of water under my nose (perhaps feeling only), I wasn’t be able to be calm every time I clear the mask (I did it too fast and improperly), I couldn’t kick fins correctly and balance myself underwater. On top of that, my heart beat ten times faster every time I descended! However those things only existed in me until yesterday 26 of April.
It was a lovely Friday at Racha Yai. There was no big wave, the water was as clear as its best visibility. Benoit and I were ready, excited to finish it. I told myself hundred times “Just do it and I can!”
Racha Yai Island
Tony- my instructor- always encouraged me and made me relaxed on the way to the islands while Sean and Claus kept teasing us. We went through briefing to make sure that we understood correctly what we were going to do underwater. Yeah! There is no difference from the pool except 6 meters deeper down the sea J . “You two watch me then repeat one by one” That’s what Tony always gave a sign before each skill. We took time to perform all the skills from easy to difficult. Fortunately, all went on slowly, gently and properly. After done with skills, we had fun dives – swimming around and look for some special stuff to see
I love Racha Yai because it is a new-diver-friendly dive site. We went from a sandy bottom to a hard corral pinnacle. Marine life down here is amazing! At the dive no.2 we immediately saw a moray eel. At first, it can remind of you the giant monster undersea with big long mouth and sharp teeth in the imaginary movies that we often see, in fact, it is not dangerous at all.
There are many blue sea stars laying on the ground, many ugly moving sea cucumbers, lots of groups of colourful fished that I don’t know their names… They all look amazing!
ImageAt dive no.3, we were so lucky to meet a group of barracuda. We got closer to them, watched them and stayed with them in a while. I really wanted to get into the group but afraid that they would swim away.
At dive no.4, Tony taught us to use the compass. It is quite important to master the navigation skill by compass. It helps us direct and avoids getting lost underwater. Once swimming on the surface with my compass, suddenly I forgot my buddy Benoit and swam too fast. Tony wasn’t happy about that and reminded us the importance of staying together with the buddy. Sean and Claus were watching and laughing a lot, yeah teasers again!
Once I finished CESA, I descended with Sean while Benoit and Tony were doing CESA. Few minutes later, I met Tony, Benoit and my lovely Thai colleague: Fon. I had prepared for this last dive, perhaps because of my uninteresting skill: Mask fully removal and replacement. After Tony’s demonstration, he came closer to me, hold my BCD and put his fingers on regulator. I knew he was always there in front of me. Taking a deep breath, I took the mask out, closed my eyes, pinch my nose for one second, slowly breathed out through my nose, put the mask strap over my head, pulled over and put on my face, taking a another deep breath, Breathing out through my nose, Opening my eyes, Seeing the sunlight, “Damn, I am now certified!!!” That was my first thinking. Looking at Tony, I saw his smiley eyes. He shakes my hand to congratulate me. I gave him a sign to show my happiness again. I swear it has been the happiest moment so far!
I felt all of the stress, worry and scare were released with the water once I finished it. I now could stabilize myself in the water by control my breath inhale and exhale, my fin kicking got better. There were moments I stretched myself out like a cat on the sofa. I turn myself around and enjoyed the feeling of being free.
As swimming around the pinnacle, we found a red octopus. It was my first time seeing it. Keeping our eyes on it in minutes, it suddenly swam away, we slightly moved after it, it went to a rock and changed its colour. What an amazing scene!
Not to bother it anymore, we continued our journey, on the way back I saw a lionfish. I have seen it few times and I couldn’t hold back to lionfish’s beauty. This lionfish noticed us so it opened its fin spines to warn us. How beautiful it is to see! But okay we would leave it alone.
Coming back to the boat, many people cherished me. I certainly couldn’t hide my happiness. On the way back to the pier, I was thinking of the efforts of so many peoples. What I have achieved today in dedication to Sean’s training, (Santa) Claus and Patrick’s experiences, Tony’s instruction, Debbie, Fon and Sang’s supports and many other’s encouragements.
Posted on April 6th, 2013 by admin-scubacat-dw | Comments Off on Turtle release by Mai Khao Turtle foundation
The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation based in the north of Phuket had it’s 4th annual release of 100 turtles on the 29th of March this year. Scuba Cat decided to support this by sponsoring a release of a turtle back into the Andaman Sea. The important annual event is organized to raise funds for and awareness of the plight of Phuket’s critically endangered sea turtles and is supported by the Phuket Marine Biological Center and the Royal Thai Navy, the event sees the release of rehabilitated green turtles back into the Andaman Sea.
Sarah Kench, the GM and Course Director, Kath Ridley the tour leader of Scuba Adventure and Debbie Woods The Customer Service manager all went along to support the event held on the beach at Mai Khao, along with Jade, Debbie’s 1 year old daughter.
There were activities such as batik painting and turtle awareness going on throughout the afternoon along with light refreshments and a monks blessing for the new to be released green turtles.
After waiting to queuing in a busy registration Scuba Cat were allocated number 73 for release, this was a 10 month old green turtle, Sarah was the one elected to release it.
After some training we were called to beach in groups of 5, this allowed the turtles enough space to comfortably be released without big crowds around them which could cause stress. They were taken from holding tanks to the water edge and set free, the waves then helped them out to sea.
Phuket’s sea turtles face multiple threats and their numbers have severely depleted in recent years. Commercial fishing kills thousands of them every year. Many more die from eating or becoming trapped in plastic debris littering the ocean, not to mention entanglement in fishing nets and being hit by speedboats.
Every 2,500 baht raised pays for the rehabilitation of one turtle and its release back into the Andaman Sea. The work done by the Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation (founded by JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa), the Injured Turtle Rehabilitation Program (under the Phuket Marine Biological Center) and the Turtle Hatchery Program (under the Royal Thai Navy) is possible thanks to ongoing financial support from the Phuket community.
Phuket’s sea turtles are facing multiple threats and their numbers have severely depleted in recent years. Commercial fishing kills thousands of them every year. Many more die from eating or becoming trapped in plastic debris littering the ocean.
Mai Khao beach and the northern end of the adjacent Nai Yang beach are the only beaches where turtles lay their eggs in Phuket . These two locations have a long natural deserted beach stretching more than 17km. They form part of the Sirinath National Park, which is a protected marine and coastal area.
This is a nesting area of the giant Leatherback Turtle, one of the world’s most ancient species. These turtles on average weigh 450 kg. However, the Leatherback population is fast diminishing and its status is very critical. It is the only turtle without a true protective shell, though its outer protection is leathery scale-less skin – hence its name.
The breeding season of the turtles is November to March. The females come ashore just after dusk and return to the ocean as dawn breaks. The nesting site is selected and they dig a small pit using the rear flippers where they lay between 40 and 180 eggs, they try to conceal the nest once they finished by covering it with sand. The whole process takes about 1 hour. If left to nature the hatchlings will emerge after about 60 days digging their way out of the pit , usually at night so it is cooler and run towards the sea. House lights and hotel developments along the beach can disoriented the young turtles causing them to actually crawl the wrong way going away from the sea. Some large Phuket resorts have focused their attention on ensuring that turtles stand a chance of survival in the Phuket region by making the beach area environmentally friendly to the nesting turtles.
At nesting time environment groups and the local villagers of Mai Khao work very hard to protect the eggs. They take the eggs to their hatchery, where the baby turtles are protected from the vagaries of nature as well as human exploitation. During the breeding season, the local villagers patrol the beaches at night and keep records of the eggs that have been laid.
The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation was launched in 2002 and raises funds and awareness for the plight of the critically endangered giant leatherback turtles that nest in the area. It also co-ordinates with the Phuket Marine Biological Centre (PMBC).
Posted on March 6th, 2013 by admin-scubacat-dw | Comments Off on Digital Underwater Photography
Like most scuba divers, you were probably already fascinated with the beauty of both the scenery and marine life of the underwater world from the first dive. The next step is capturing this unique environment by taking some images with underwater photography. Whether you intend to take snapshots to show your friends and family, or create beautiful images of the world below by traveling to exotic destinations, you have to start somewhere.
At some point or another, most divers have thought about learning how to shoot underwater photography, many have taken the adventure dive as part of the advanced open water course. The affordability of digital cameras and the ability to instantly see the outcome of your efforts has reduced the barrier to trying and the learning curve to almost nothing. Add the ability to shoot video clips with even the most basic point & shoot cameras, and you can make scuba diving vacation memories to be the envy of your office and family.
There are many things to think about BEFORE picking up a camera.
Good buoyancy control is an essential skill not only for diving but for taking good photographs too. This needs to be mastered before adding the extra equipment and objective of taking a camera underwater. Taking the Peak Performance Buoyancy certification can do this.
Knowing the marine life you are going to photograph is a pretty big part of photography too, you need to be able to predict the movements and behaviour to get the best images. This can be studied in the underwater AWARE Fish ID and Naturalist specialties.
Obviously you will have new equipment with you, (the Camera) so a course, which teaches the use of this, is a good start point too, the Digital Underwater Photography course will cover this for you.
You may be a competent or experienced photographer on land but moving this experience underwater has a whole different set of issues to think about.
The first step to understanding any kind of photography is understanding your camera. If you have a new camera and housing, take the time to read the manuals. It may seem like a simple thing to do, but many people don’t.
As with any new diving equipment that you purchase, you should try out the photography equipment in a pool prior to diving, whenever possible. You will also want to take new camera housings underwater without the camera to ensure they are functioning properly. You don’t want to find problems with the housing while your camera is in it, this could lead to an expensive lesson.
No matter what camera you have, from an entry-level digital “point & shoot” to the most expensive dSLR , there are ten rules of underwater photography that should always be remember. Many of these rules are related to composition in the underwater environment and every photographer can benefit from proper composition.
1) Get Close, and when you think you are close enough, get closer again
Underwater photography differs from conventional wildlife photography, as it needs to be conducted up close. To get the best results you have to put as little water between your lens and the subject as possible.
The water holds small particles in it that reduce the contrast and sharpness of your image by dispersing light, this is called backscatter.
Water absorbs the light very quickly, and the most common complaint for new underwater photographers is the dull colours of their images.by getting closer and therefore removing the amount of water between the camera and the subject will mean a clearer, sharper, and more colorful image.
2) Shoot Up
Pointing the camera down as you take an image is often easier but will not result in the most interesting images.
Often the subject is lost in the background of reef as it is a more cluttered area. Pointing the camera more up can lead to clearer backgrounds and much more interesting images as you have contrast between the foreground and background.
3) Focus On The Eyes
A focused image is obviously important, but where you focus is too. Try to keep the eye of the subject in sharp focus, use this as the centre of the camera’s focal point.
4) Keeping Yourself Focused
Diving with a camera and diving without a camera are two totally different activities. After diving with a camera, you may find that those dives very different.
Patience is an extremely good quality to have when doing underwater photography, you may need to wait for divers to move out of the frame area, or for the subject to become used to you and start to behave in a more normal manor.
As a casual underwater photographer you dont need to be obsessive, but a level of personal focus and attention to detail will take your photography a long way.
Try to focus on a particular type of underwater photography, such as close-up or scenic and perfect your skills before moving on to the next type of shot. Avoid the shotgun approach of trying to capture everything that you see.
5) Use a Strobe
All divers know that water absorbs light, and therefore reduces the colour of the images you take, a strobe can be a way of restoring this.
Adding artificial light can give instant results to the photograph, but it is important to get the exposure right. Now most units come TTL ready and should give the correct light in all, but the most difficult conditions.
The photographer though has to ensure it is pointed in the right direction. Sounds simple, but if it is incorrectly positioned not only does it alter the quality of the image, but it also refracts the light so your subject appears closer and larger than it really is.
6) Shoot, Review, Adjust, Rinse, Repeat
Be patient, even though the digital photography gives us instant access to images, they still take time to perfect. The learning curve is shorterned by being able to see the image you have taken instantly on the screen. Take advantage of this by reviewing these images immediately after the photo has been taken, correct and re-take the image, adjust for composure, light, colour etc.
7) Go Manual
Starting off in auto mode is not a problem. But auto settings can only get you so far in underwater photography. To really control the exposure, colour and sharpness of your images you’ll need some degree of manual controls.
8) Maintain Your Equipment
Water and electronics don’t mix well so it is important to take your time when setting up your camera and housing. Make sure o-rings are clean and greased, but not over greased. A strand of hair or spec of dirt can be the difference between flooding your camera or using it. Always rinse your camera gear off with fresh water after every dive,never let salt water dry on your equipment.
While out on the dive boat be sure to keep camera gear out of the sun and away from heavy dive gear like scuba tanks and weight belts.
9) Respect the Environment
Remember, we are privileged guests in the underwater world, respecting the environment and marine life should be one of your top priorities. Before you start taking your camera underwater it is important to have excellent bouyancy skills, this will help protect both yourself and the environment around you. Keep all of your gear streamlined as to minimize the potential of a gauge or hose getting entangled or damaging the reef. Never harass or touch marine life. virtually everything you could touch is alive, touch it and it will damage it or even worse.
It can too often be seen the photographers who want a shot no matter what they have to break, kill or damage. It is important to stress to anyone who is keen to start underwater photography that as well as learning how to take a picture, you must also be environmentally aware.
If you have to damage anything to take a shot – don’t take it. Sometimes it is better to look and enjoy than try to take a photograph.
10) Have Fun
Don’t forget that underwater photography is supposed to be fun. Don’t get too caught up in the technical side. Start off with the basics, get a feel for it, and learn the technical side later.
Most of all, remember what you learned in your scuba diving class. You are a diver first and then a photographer. Your safety and that of divers around you depends on keeping this in mind at all times.
Posted on February 19th, 2013 by admin-scubacat-dw | Comments Off on We Belong to the Sea event on the 16th of February 2013
Scuba Cat organized a Finathon and underwater clean up event on the 16th of Feb 2013 under the banner of ‘We Belong to the Sea’.
This is the concept of Quang one of our sales and Marketing interns who is with us for 6 months on a placement from his school in Holland.
The idea is to develop more knowledge about factors affecting the sea and the marine life in our local area, by promoting conservation and raising public awareness through events and collaborations with local businesses.
We belong to the sea incorporated a sponsored fin and an underwater clean up at Paradise reef in the South of Patong on Phuket.
Scuba Cats owner and General manager Sarah Kench, donated the boat MV Scuba Fun for the day, along with providing food, the crew and drivers free of charge to make the even possible.
For the past 6 weeks Quang has worked very hard to promote the event getting the local newspaper. The Phuket News, and Live 98.5 Radio involved. There were several articles in print and a live radio interview with Quang and Kathryn Ridley the tour leader of our liveaboard MV Scuba Adventure.
From this we got some of our divers who took part in the day.
We decided to also include a treasure hunt to encourage divers and snorkelers to take part in the day. For this we needed some prizes, we got these in the form of vouchers and goods from some of the local businesses on the island.
We need to thank the following people and organizations for their involvement in this.
2C Phuket Residence
Dive Supply Phuket
Phuket Lager Beer
Fun Mags Media
Phuket Guide by Southern Three Media.
Prizes ranged from crates of larger to a nights accommodation in a hotel, to food and drinks vouchers in local restaurants.
We also need to thank the following organizations for cash donations for the finathon, get swimming to stop shark finning. This is a way to raise awareness of Shark Finning by Project AWARE.
Amazing Thailand Maps
Sonya’s Guest house
Asia Pacific
Aquamaster Phuket
The day started at our shop in the Kee Plaza with Quang introducing the event and welcoming the participants. We had 15 divers and snorkelers in total. regional manager Tony Andrews was there to see the opening.
Everyone then went to our Boat MV Scuba Sport which was a platform for the day.
The divers did the first dive removing bags of fishing lines, lead weights, bottles and cans.
During the surface time we completed the Finathon, this was the sponsored snorkel, everyone on board took part in this and completed the 1km swim in no time.
The second dive saw more lines and weights brought up, along with fishing lures, bottles and a broken fish cage.
After the event everyone was invited back to Molly Molones Irish bar who put on free food and gave a discount on drink for those who took part.
Everyone also won a prize with the treasure hunt, even Josh who won an xs ladies wet suit:) (he is an XL man).
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