PADI Enriched Air Diver Course: now online

The popular PADI Encriched Air (Nitrox to the rest of us!) Diver Course has been run by PADI for quite a while now, and continues to evolve. A while ago, compulsory dives were removed from the course - meaning that you can complete the entire course without having to get away and dive anywhere.

Now, there's a new online programme to enable you to complete the knowledge development portion of the course. This means you can do it when you want to do it, which is great for busy people. Once you've done this, you then meet with a PADI Instructor, as normal, to complete the practical section and assesment.

There's narrated presentation, videos, exercies and a knowledge review to complete. You'll be guided through the whole process, with the usual excellent standard of PADI teaching. If you get stuck, you can make contact with your instructor: they're just a click away.

You can visit PADI's e-Learning Portal to sign up, or see your local PADI Dive Centre for more information.

PADI Speciality of the Month: June

If you're very quick you can still get in on the Specialty of the Month for June, which is Peak Performance Buoyancy.

This is a really important and worthwhile course. Having neutral buoyancy means that you'll move through the water easier, you won't risk damaging coral, you'll even find you're using less air, leading to longer dive times! Also, perfectly neutral divers look pretty good as well when their slicing through the water, seemingly without any effort at all.

You'll learn about the weight you use, how much you need, where to put it and how to trim it. Your equipment choices also affect your weight and buoyancy in the water, so these are covered too. Finally you'll also be coached into perfect hovering, both vertically and horizontally.

You won't even need any extra equipment!

Having good buoyancy is a really important skill for a scuba diver, and this specialty is one of the single best things you can do to improve yourself as a diver.

To find out more about this course, and sign up have a look at the Christal Seas Scuba Specialty Page, or the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy page.

Full details about the special offer from the PADI Specialty of the Month page.

Check Your Dive School!

Diving is a safe sport. It owes it's enviable safety record to the professionalism of its instructors, and to rigorous safety protocols, which ensure that recreational diving is kept within safe limits, making it accessible to all.

Diving is one of the few (the only?) sports where you are required to use a mechanical piece of apparatus to sustain one of your basic life functions (breathing!). Don't you owe it to yourself to get the best possible tuition in it's use, even if that expert tuition might cost a few pounds more?

Whether you're just about to "take the plunge" with PADI and start diving, or are looking to advance up the PADI ladder, make sure you choose a registered PADI diving school.

PADI group dive schools into different categories, just like they group their instructors. These listings will be the subject of a separate post.

If you're starting to wonder how to find your nearest PADI-approved dive school: PADI make it easy! The PADI Dive Centre Finder plots all dive centres onto a Google Maps map, which you can easily search for your home town. The dive centres are then shown on the map, together with their category.

By the way: if you've had a bad experience with a dive centre or instructor, don't keep it to yourself: PADI's Quality Management people want to know! (they also collect positive feedback, so channel that their way too)

PADI issue Customer Alerts to safeguard you against rouge traders and poor quality teaching. PADI advise that you be pro-active and check out a dive school or instructor before signing up. Instructors and Dive Centres won't mind you asking for their numbers (PADI Divemasters / Assistant Instructors and Instructors all have PADI Pro Numbers, and Dive Centres have a Centre Number).

Make contact with PADI and double-check, then you can get on with the diving, safe in the knowledge you are being well looked after.

Project AWARE 2009 Certification Cards Out Now!

Project AWARE's new cert card for 2009 is now available.

For those that don't know, when you receive a PADI certification, you can opt to donate some money to Project AWARE, PADI's conservation and nature-awareness arm. When you donate at least £5 you can opt to have your certification printed on a Project AWARE card, rather than a normal PADI card.

The image of the cards is changed each year and typically features a stunning photograph of underwater nature.

You can also choose to pay £25 a year, and become a Project AWARE patron, which gives you extra benefits.

Are you the face of PADI?!

Fancy modelling for PADI?

PADI are looking for PADI divers to appear in print and digital media, for their new marketing campaigns.

To qualify, you must:

- Be a certified PADI Rescue Diver or above
- Be at least 18 years of age
- Have 75+ logged dives
- Have experience diving in a variety of environments (e.g., fresh and salt water, tropical and temperate conditions, wreck/drift/night diving experience, etc.)
Be available for one or more photo shoots this summer, each approximately one week or longer (exact dates TBD)

If you fancy going for it, there's full details and information on how to apply on the PADI site. You've got until the 2nd March 2009....

PADI Recall EANx32 RDP Table

PADI have recalled one of their RDP Tables - the Imperial English language EANx32 table. If your table has 'Printed in the USA' on the back, top right hand corner and a product number that ends in PDK7 then it is affected.

More information (and extra checks) available directly from the PADI site. If you have an affected table, return it to your PADI Dive Centre/Resort or PADI directly for a free replacement. Do not plan dives using the affected table.