Helpful Diving Info
Do I Need to Know How To Swim to Scuba Dive?
This is a question that I often get asked, and really it is not as simple as YES or NO. Here is some explanations and reasons why.
If you want to become a certified scuba diver by doing the PADI Open Water Diver Course, the answer is yes. In the PADI Open Water Diver Course it is specified that you have to be able to swim continuously for 200 metres. This can be with any stroke however it does need to be continuous without stopping. There is alternate option and that is you do a 300 metre mask, fin and snorkel swim. Some do find this easier to the 200 swim.
You also have to be able to tread water or float for at least 10 minut [...]
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Diving Health
How to treat Coral Cuts and Scrapes
Dealing with coral cuts and scrapes is a common part of scuba diving and here is some tips on how to treat them.
Although scuba divers do their best not touch coral, accident contact does occur. This can cause itching, burning sensations, pain and sometimes rashes. These injuries can take weeks, even months to heal.
Here we will look at why this is so and what we can do to treat these injuries if they occur.
Corals are covered by a soft layer of living tissues. The soft layer is situated on top of the hard layer of coral. When you cut yourself on some, the under hard layer does the cutting and the soft top layer matter remai [...]
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Helpful Diving Info
How to buy a Dive Computer
There are plenty of different dive computer on the market. It can be a daunting task and an expensive one. Here is a blog on how to buy a dive computer and hopefully these few tips will make your purchase a successful one.
During this article we are assuming you are relatively new at purchasing a dive computer and a recreational scuba diver. If you are plan a life as a tech diver with mixed gases or rebreathers it is always good to talk to the instructors that specialize in that field.
Yes, that is an obvious question and of course the answer will be for scuba diving.
One of the really cool and obvious feature of a dive c [...]
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Everything Else
Why does my scuba mask fog up?
Fogging scuba or snorkeling masks have been a scuba diving issue since scuba diving first started.A foggy mask can ruin a dive. Here we will try and work out why does our scuba masks fog up?
The basic principle on why a mask fogs is a simple one. In the simplest term, temperature inside the mask is greater than the outside of the mask. The temperature difference occurs because our body temperature inside (skin, forehead, breathing) is around 37 degrees Celsius or 98 degrees Fahrenheit and the water on the outside of the mask is less than the water temperature.
Very basically, the temperature difference causes condensation (assiste [...]
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Everything Else
Things to do in Bangkok
Stuck in Thailand, bored in Bangkok and looking for new things to do? Get your PADI certification with Aussie Divers!
During these times of border closures and travel restrictions there is no shame in being bored. The first few days and weeks were golden, exploring your local area, sleeping in and watching everything on Netflix. Six months in, still with no international travel in sight and your looking for new ideas to elevate boredom. Time to find some new things to do in Bangkok and around Thailand!
For a limited time Aussie Divers & PADI are offering a free online introduction module, with interactive PADI eLearning.
Click [...]
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Everything Else
What Drives Me During COVID
What Drives me during COVID? During 2020 I repetitively heard comments to stay positive during these COVID times. These were always done with the best of intentions of the speaker. Often doing their best to keep everyone upbeat during some pretty tough times. As there was no international tourism, the scuba diving industry in Thailand was hit hard.
The inner me always found these comments a little frustrating and I didn’t know why. During COVID I had been working hard against the norm, making changes to my business and expanding the company. There have been some good results for us. Oddly though, I don’t think I was positive durin [...]
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Helpful Diving Info
Low Season Diving in Phuket
Here is a blog on low season (monsoon season or wet season) scuba diving in Phuket.
Firstly don't always believe the online weather forecast's. With the high humidity, we have year round in Phuket. A lot of the online weather sites & App's will simply predict thunderstorms & rain 365 days of the year. They are happy to get this correct maybe 40% of the time.....
We actually still have some very nice sunny days during the monsoonal season. The diving can still be really good. Also the beaches are less crowded and airfares & accommodation much cheaper. Its sounding like a win-win all round!
If you are looking for a local forec [...]
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Courses
What is a PADI Open Water Referral
Travelling to Phuket with friends or family? On a tight schedule? Looking to maximize your time in Phuket for other activities/tours? The PADI Open Water Referral is what you could be looking for.
Are you interested in taking the PADI Open Water course, but you’re on a limited time schedule? Or perhaps travelling with friends or family and want to maximize your time spent with them whilst in Phuket.
Then the PADI Open Water referral system may be a good option for you.
Taking advantage of the PADI Referral system allows for you to complete most of your initial scuba diving training at home. This will be together with your [...]
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Everything Else
What is the Underwater Visibility Like in Phuket?
A question that we often get asked here in Phuket is “What is the underwater visibility like when I am there?”
Good visibility and bad visibility is a subjective thing and people when commenting should be giving an example of what level of visibility they are comparing it too or with.
For example, a diver that regularly dives in lake or quarries and they compare to that, may think the visibility is good. Those that regularly dive in deep waters may think that that the visibility is poor. We regularly have divers from both spectrums and then can arrive back from the same dive trip and one saying the visibility is good and th [...]
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