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Wednesday, 01 October 2008 02:00 |
Mood: 
10.01.08 12:22 pm
|NAUI INSPIRATION REBREATHER USER COURSE: 24 – 28 SEPTEMBER 2008: Underwater Explorers recently hosted the very first South African NAUI sanctioned Inspiration Rebreather User course. The Instructor was Gerhard Du Preez, a highly experienced and well respected tech instructor.
The course was conducted over a period of 5 days, which saw us commencing with a general introduction to the unit coupled with de-contamination procedures, followed by an intensive and lengthy pool session the following day, wherein the various techniques were drilled into us repeatedly....
The next day we completed the lectures, with the last two days allocated to sea dives. We had the privilege to conduct several 1 ½ hour dives on the unit, during which time we again were hammered with multiple drills and rescue scenarios.
Although a staunch proponent of OC, I can happily say that going CCR was a great experience. The unit itself is absolutely remarkable (except in the shallows) and even after only a short while on the unit, I can appreciate how powerful a tool it is and can foresee great exploration dives on it in the not to distant future.
Once again thanks to Gerhard for traveling all the way from Jhb to run the course for us. Your knowledge and ability as an Instructor was awesome. Besides always knowing your PO2, remember, “something wrong no. 1”....it worked for me
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Wednesday, 01 October 2008 02:00 |
Mood:
10.01.08 12:21 pm
SATS GENERAL BOTHA - 20/09/2008: Conditions were looking good (for a change) and we soon headed out to the wreck site. Given the change in seasons, this was scheduled to be our last dive on the GB for the winter season.
We had previously removed the plaque for cleaning and had now planned to re-affix it to the wreck.
The water looked pretty clan from the surface and fortunately stayed that way for most of the way down. It was however overcast which meant that it was actually fairly dark at depth.
We however quickly attached the plaque and then set off towards the stern, even taking in some minor penetrations on the way down. No sooner had we reached the stern, when our bottom time was up and we had to commence our ascent.
The deco went quickly, as we were joined by some dolphins whilst at some of the shallower stops.
The dive was a success, but as we left we felt saddened by the fact that we would probably not get to see her for another six months at least.
The fortunate part is however that we get to dive the deep, cold wrecks in Table Bay!!!!!!
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Monday, 01 September 2008 02:00 |
Mood: 
09.01.08 1:51 am
SATS GENERAL BOTHA: We had planned to dive her this past Saturday, however with Cape Town experiencing the storm of the decade (destructive waves peaking at 10m!!!!), we decided to rather postpone the dive :)
We have however scheduled the dive for this Saturday the 6th of September 2008. Lets hope that the sea quietens down for then, as we are still experiencing some residual after effects from the storm. Keep watching for more details.
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Tuesday, 12 August 2008 02:00 |
Mood:
08.12.08 8:41 am
SATURDAY 9 AUGUST 2008: SATS GENERAL BOTHA - We tried, that's all I can say. Except for the swell, top side things were generally quite nice, with the result that we headed out to the dive site. The swell however picked up substantially on the way out and by the time we got to the wreck, they were huge....
In the interests of safety we decided to rather head for home without even getting wet, but as I said earlier, at least we tried.
The dive has now been postponed until the 30th of August. More details to follow soon.
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Tuesday, 05 August 2008 02:00 |
Mood:
08.05.08 12:18 am
SATS GENERAL BOTHA: The plaque has now been cleaned of a years worth of barnacles and marine growth and consequently is looking really smart again. We have decided to re-lay the plaque this Saturday the 9th of August on National Women's Day, to celebrate this "old lady of the sea". The plaque will also be re-positioned to make it more visible on the wreck. Photos will hopefully follow soon of it's new position.
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