DIVERS NIGHT

On Thursday, November 3rd at 20.11 o’clock (local time), a worldwide attempt will be made for a new world record in night diving. Night dives will take place in many corners of the world. New countries are participating each year, and this year will probably be no different.

Approximately 3000 divers from all over the world are expected to be underwater at 20:11 (8:11 pm) this first Thursday in November.

Tone Svee Dahl (33) from Fredrikstad, Norway, is the initiator of the world record attempt. She is the woman behind Diversnight and has created a voluntary organisation which now coordinates the efforts of local Diversnight event organizers all over the world.

Diversnight started in 2005, as an result of Tone serving cakes, and inviting divers to social dive trips. The purpose of Diversnight is to promote the sport of scuba diving, to bring together scuba diving communities from all over the world, and to show how exciting and adventurous the sport is - during any season and any time of day.

Previous Diversnight arrangements:
1.2005: 351 divers in Norway.
2.2006: 889 divers in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
3.2007: 1859 divers in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and also Svalbard.
4.2008: 2183 divers in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Egypt, Indonesia, France, Spain, Faroe Islands and also Belgium
5.2009: 2749 divers, 218 divesites and 20 countries
6.2010: 1700 divers, 175 dive sites and 22 countries
7. We are going for a new record! In 2011 the gods of weather were against us covering most of the Nordic dive sites with ice.

During the past years both local and national medias have shown a great deal of interest in this. We hope that this will continue with this year’s Diversnight. We would appreciate an article or feature prior to the event, as well as some coverage of the actual world record attempt itself.



There is more information available at our website www.diversnight.com

You may also contact us at: info(at)diversnight.com



The Diversnight Team

Advanced Rescue Training

Advanced rescue training – When weather turns against us

Instructors and Divemasters at Nemo Classic Diving in Bergen, Norway, wanted to see what they were able to do in case of emergency, and under rough conditions. Some of the instructors are also working at a safety center for the offshore industry, Nosefo Bergen (Norwegian Senter for Offshore-training). Nosefo has a wave pool that is being used for offshore sea-survival training, and instructors and divemasters at Nemo were lucky enough to get to use this pool for a night of very realistic, but controlled practice. The pool can make waves of 90 cm height, and wind reaching a speed of 30 m/s. Temperature of the water were 6 degrees Celsius. Staff at Nemo were in for a big reality check.

Conditions in the pool were quite similar to what we can get at some of the most used dive sites in Bergen, and instructors and divemasters were looking forward to test them selves.

The group was devided into victim and rescuer, not very different from a regular rescue course. The victim was lying at 2 meters depth, and the rescuer had to swim about 15 meters to get to the victim. After surfacing the victim, the rescuer were to tow the victim 25 meters to shore, and get them onto the dock. The dock was about 40 cm high. Waves were breaking, and 90 cm high.

The rescue training a diver recieves during the Rescue Course, Divemaster Course and also during the Instructor Course is useually given in an area with little or no waves at all, because we have to learn the techniques first. Now we moved from ”driving in the streets, to driving in a rally slope”, and instructors and divemasters found out first hand that doing a rescue in rough conditions was very difficult, and extreamly exhausting.

It didn´t take long before the rescuer concluded that the mask was an item worth keeping, both for the rescuer and for the victim. The waves was constantly breaking and both rescuer and victim felt that drowning could be the result if the mask were lost. Routine steps like getting the dry-suit hose off suddenly was a challenge itself, because protecting the airways and preventing the victim from drowning took all of the rescuers attention. The same could also be said about getting the victim back on land. With the waves splashing around, it took a lot of strength, technique and stamina to get the victim out of the water.

Luckily, every victim was breathing in this case, but if they had not – ventilation in the water would be really difficult under such conditions. All the participating instructors and divemasters felt that in a situation with a lot of wind, low temperature and heavy waves – giving ventilations would not only be very difficult, but would also delay getting the victim out of the water to start CPR.

One of the most important lessons learned this night was that the limits for what instructors and divemasters find acceptable has to be lowerd. Even small waves may be to much in some circumstances. Another point that was reinforced this night was the importance of knowing the equipment we are using – not only your own, but your buddy´s as well. With waves splashing over your head, it is practicly impossible to get a good look at clips and releases, so you have to know where to find them, and how to release them. One of the biggest challenges was actually to get all the equipment of at the same time as the rescuer shold secure the victim in a safe position. And last but not least, if there is an emergency – it is all about choices, what to do in different circumstances, and that every rescuer must find the solution that works for him/her. There is no singel right way to do this…

The instructors and divemasters that took part in this ”advanced” rescue training got a new perspective of what a rescue situation like this means, and they all agreed that this was a very valuable experience. Skills and techniques that are easily done in calm water is a completely different scenario when the elements turn against us. After this experience – they are all able to make better decisions if they ever find them selves in a situastion like that.

Christine Hopeland.

INSTRUCTOR JOB

Colona Divers is looking for a Swedish speaking Instructor with the following characteristics;

• Service minded
• Knowledge in sales and marketing
• Nitrox instructor
• Aqua-Lung service technician
• Knowledge in Marine biology, and tropical marine life • Available from now until end of April


Best Regards

Niklas Funk


Colona Dive Center
Red Sea, Egypt
Mobile: (+2) 012-245 04 96
E-mail: niklas.funk@colona.com
www.colona.com

BIG SHARK SHOUT OUT OCTOBER 15 - 23

It’s time to pull out all the stops for sharks!
During Big Shark Shout Out week, Project AWARE Foundation, volunteer divers and shark supporters around the world will rally to protect sharks before it’s too late. PADI Pros and their student divers form a unique, collective voice that can help change the fate of vulnerable shark species.
Coinciding with Shark Alliance’s fifth annual European Shark Week and Project AWARE’s Give Sharks a Fighting Chance signature campaign – we’re calling on European Union (EU) fisheries ministers and parties to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to protect sharks from overexploitation.
What will you do during the Big Shark Shout Out?

1. Collect signatures for two vital petition efforts: the UnFinished Business petition to close loopholes in the EU Finning Ban and the Give Sharks a Chance petition to protect vulnerable shark species worldwide.

2. Teach the new AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty course.

3. Fundraise for sharks and create a local wall of support. Be the first of 10 to raise 200 ($, €, £) for shark protection and receive an AWARE shirt!
Organizing for the Big Shark Shout Out is easy with the organizer kit. It has everything you'll need to make your shark support something to shout about
　
NO SHOUT TOO LOUD FOR SHARKS!