Dive Times August 2012 Newsletter.

Dive Times

Issue 52 August 2012

We are gradually building up a “menu” of dive opportunities for you to choose from to further your experiences. Many of you have requested diving in offshore and further afield destinations. This month we preview our Northern Delights trip which proved to be hugely popular earlier this year.

Emma, who went on this year’s trip as a customer, will lead next March’s trip so you will be in the best possible care. Next month we will hopefully have details of a Tonga Dive/Whale Watching trip for later in 2013. As I write this preamble, spring is now but 4 weeks away and the winter has almost passed us by without firing a shot in anger! Best not to get too complacent though - Dave Watson

Recreational Courses DIVE OTAGO WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE: Newly Certified Open Water Divers Andrew Beck, Ben Beck, Kieran Hyslop, Kate McLean, Thomas McKay, Danyon Clouston, Bassam Sobahi, Marco Billia, Mathew Kiore, Keppel Kooman, Cameron Olsen .

Newly Certified Advanced Open Water Divers Daniel McNab, Darcy

Photo: Chris Zinsli

Kia Ora,

Congratulations to our very own Chris Zinsli had this stunning photo of an octopus at Moeraki published in the Dive New Zealand magazine

Knyvett, Finley Burrows, Bassam Sobahi, Karsten Shotbolt and Kane Freeman for completing their PADI Advanced open water diver course.

STAR SECONDARY SCHOOLS PROGRAMME Dive Otago would also like to congratulate Brady Clement, Hamish May and Jordan White from South Otago High School, Ben McKinlay and Sam Kelly from Kings High School, Connor Harwood from Verdon College,

Holly Lane from Craighead Diocesan School, Caitlin Buist from Otago Girls’ High School and Matt Haywood, Sam Huddleston, Sam Kelly, Daniel King, Logan Laws, Nick List, Kathryn May, Rhidian Towers, Jakeb Peterson, Kathryn Sullivan, Gemma Smith and William Vernall from Geraldine High School; who have been participating in the PADI Open Water Dive Course through the Dive Otago STAR Course Programme over the July school Holidays!

Congratulations to William Carruthers,

COURSES COMING UP • • • • •

Discover Scuba- September 5th Open Water - September 1st Advanced - August 23rd, September 20th Rescue - September 26th Divemaster - September

Dive Times

Issue 52 August 2012 Brady Clement, Hamish May, Jordan White, Kathryn Sullivan, Kathryn May, Ben McKinlay, Daniel King, Logan Laws, Nick List who are all now certified Divers!

We still have a few spaces available for our partially or fully funded PADI Open Water Courses for senior secondary students. Courses can be completed during the next holidays and Students can also join any of our monthly weekend courses. FIND OUT MORE HERE

Last weekend, the Dive Otago Club and some of our Advanced open water students had the pleasure of having a sealion for company during their dive. The sealion was very playful, helping people as they were getting out by the beach and nibbling on the divers underwater. At one point we had the sealion nibbling on our heads, check out the video on our Facebook page. A very surreal experience that I’m sure none of them will forget

Night Dive

Register your interest now for a night dive at the end of August.

Random note

If you’re picking up any bottles or cans underwater check for baby octopuses inside.

SPECIAL OFFER Sign up for an Advanced courses in August or September and we will include a night dive as part of your course!

our graduates see

twice as much

on their O.E.

We are still accepting applications for our August Diploma. CLICK HERE to receive a FREE Info Pack!

Dive Times

Issue 52 August 2012

TRIPS COMING UP • Boat Dive Club Trip - August 18th • Milford Sound – February 2013 • Northern Delights – Hauraki Gulf, Poor Knights, Rainbow Warrior. March 2013

Dive Trips NORTHERN NEW ZEALAND DIVE TRIP Monday 18th March 2013 – Monday 25th March 2013 (Otago Anniversary Day) Once again we are running an amazing diving trip to Northland.

But we have made many improvements from our past trip and feel this is the ultimate dive trip in this area. Covering all aspects of this area and catering for all diving interests from photography, amazing abundant marine life, corals, large fish species, reefs, caves, arches and wrecks, we tick off all areas on your checklist with this dream dive trip.

Diving Highlights: Total 19 Dives • HMNZS Waikato – 2 dives • Poor Knights – 9 dives over 3 days including night dives.

• HMNZS Canterbury, reef dive & night dive – 3 dives • Rainbow Warrior & Cavalli Islands – 2 dives • Mokohinau Islands – 3 dives • Goat Island Marine Reserve– 1 snorkel dive Inclusions: • 19 scuba dives + 1 snorkel over 8 days • All meals aboard Pacific Hideaway and at Northland Dive • All tank hire, air and weight belts • Accommodation • Transport round trip from Auckland Airport to Auckland Airport

Price: $1895 (ex Auckland) Deposit: $295 required when you advise us that your flight is booked. Balance of $1600 by 01 March 2013.

Payment Options: If you would like to pay the trip off over time, regular payments via direct crediting is a great option.

We also have gift certificates if your family and friends don’t know what to get you for your birthday or Christmas and this can go towards paying your trip off. FIND OUT MORE HERE MILFORD SOUND JULY TRIP - DEBRIEF EMMA YOUNG Ken Morgan, David Scobie and Kevin Piere joined Adam Illingworth (Skipper) and Emma Young (Tour Leader) on the Milford Trip in early July. Being in the middle of winter Milford was on show covered in snow and week long frosts building up on top of each other. Icicles were hanging down in beautiful formations along the Milford road. We even got in some ice skating on the small iced up creeks and ponds on the way home.

So apart from the beautiful scenery above the water, below was just as beautiful, because along with frosty nights you get calm and sunny days which made for amazing viz and we had the sun to warm us in between dives. The black coral was on show and also Jason nudibranchs. The abundance of fish life from Oblique swimming triplefins, dog sharks to blue cod, was amazing to see especially when the schools of fish were circling you or changing direction in unison. We had plenty of Crayfishing opportunities however a lot of the crays had eggs on them so had to be left behind.

This years Norhern NZ Trip Crew - 2013 looks as though its going to be even better, with even more dives!

In between dives we had the opportunity to spear fish and Kevin had a bit of luck bagging 3 Greenbone over the weekend.

We also had the opportunity to snorkel with the local fur seals

Dive Times

Issue 52 August 2012

MILFORD SOUND 2012 A selection of photos taken by Jen Clent, Garrath McArley, Chris Zinsli, Emma Young, Tracey Channon and Adam Illingworth on both our Tertiary and Recreational Trips!

Dive Times showing off along the way. 6 fantasitc dives at different dive sites both in and out of the reserve (thanks to our fantastic skipper Adam), then a bit of spear fishing, soaking up the sun and enjoying the winter scenery, this made for an awesome weekend away. Bring on our summer February trip!

EVENTS COMING UP • Spearfishing Try- Out Session August 14th • Project Aware Macandrew Bay September 15th

Tertiary Training Training Report - Tracey Channon Our February Diploma students have been having a fantastic winter diving season. Recently they have all become PADI Divemasters making them PADI professionals and are now all really excited about helping out with upcoming recreational courses, so look out for these guys during your weekend courses they will be eager to help out with anything you need.

Part of their Divemaster training was completed in the glorious Milford Sound. Three groups went over for a week each and experienced everything

Issue 52 August 2012 Milford has to offer. Some groups had amazing 20degree sunny days and others experienced the snow and hail that can make Milford a gorgeous place in winter but they all got to see some amazing marine life. Just some of the things seen included Jason mirabilis nudibranchs, black coral, red coral, sharks, rays and of course most of the students saw (and just maybe brought back a few) crayfish.

you have available. We have a selection of courses coming up that should fit into most people’s lives and get you organised to achieve your goals.

Recently back in good ol’ Dunedin the guys have had numerous encounters with some very playful sealions. The sealions have been joining in with the divers for entire dives, playing in the bubbles and following the divers around – there is some footage on facebook if you haven’t seen it yet.

Also congrats to our latest National Certificate in Diving (Foundation) graduates, Narelle, Mike, Ian and Matt.

These guys have recently completed their PADI rescue Diver certifications and gained their National Certificates.

A couple of them are now going onto the Divemaster certification.

I want to be a Divemaster • August 2012 - December 2012 (FT) • November 2012 - July 2013 (FT over Summer and Part time during 2013) • February - July 2013 (FT)

Starting next week we have our new Diploma in Professional Scuba Instruction starting along with our full Time National certificate in Diving (Foundation) – it’s not too late to get on board with one of these courses.

Also starting in September we have the National Certificate in Diving (Leadership/Divemaster) and we are now also taking enrolments for our Foundation Summer School. There is heaps coming up so if you are interested send us an email to gopro@ diveotago.co.nz and we will send you out an information pack.

Our Tertiary Courses are about getting you to where you want to go, with the best possible Instruction in the time

What are your diving goals?

I want to be a Scuba Diving Instructor • August 2012 - May 2013 (FT) • February 2013 - December 2013 (FT)

I want to be a Rescue Diver • August - Oct 2012 (FT) • November 2012 -January 2013(FT) • February 2013 - May 2013 (FT) • March 2013 - July 2013 (PT) *If you are looking to study part time we can work out a timetable to suit your goals and current schedule.

Graduate Stories LINDSAY DEVERY SHARK WRANGLER Last week was a great day for 3 Grey Nurse Sharks thanks to former student and staff member Lindsay Devery!

With the guidance of Marine Park staff, Lindsay and another former student Mark Botcher were part of a team that successfully cut rope from 3 Grey Nurse Sharks, which would, if left on, have slowly killed them by infection. They used a “whale rope disentanglement pole” to cut the rope off. All three sharks were saved!

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

Spearfishing Equipment Try-Out Session

WHEN: AUGUST 14TH 4PM TO 6PM WHERE: DIVE OTAGO POOL WHO: ALL WELCOME PRICE: FREE HOW: RSVP IN STORE OR CALL 03 466 4370 Come in and have a shot in the pool with the Beauchat Marlin Revolution, The Marlin Pacific, and the Marlin Elite Spearguns. We will also have the lastest range of entry level and top of the line spearfishing masks and fins available for you to try in the pool. Targets will be set up and Anthony from Beauchat will be there to answer any of your questions. JOIN THE FACEBOOK EVENT HERE

Dive Times

Issue 52 August 2012

“I am now working part-time at Jetty Dive Centre in Coffs Harbour, NSW. I am/will be a IDC Staff Instructor and got that at Jetty Dive Centre...love the crystal clear water over here. Water temps get to a low of 18C and a high of 29C. We get warm tropical currents coming down from the great barrier reef...I have learnt so much from my time with Dive Otago as a student in 2010 and as an employee in 2011.“

The Shop Oceanic Veo 1.0 Dive Computer Equipment Profile

Simple is as simple does. The Oceanic Veo 1.0 is a solid basic computer designed for air or single gas nitrox mixes up to 50 percent. It displays only essential information during the dive in easy-to-read digits; uses effective bar graphs to present nitrogen loading and ascent rate; and offers useful features like an automatic safety stop countdown timer that ticks off three minutes when you ascend to 15 feet.

A single push button is all that’s required to navigate the settings and the sequences are intuitive with help from the excellent owner’s manual and waterproof prompt card.

At this price point, you are giving up bells and whistles-most notably audible alarms, a backlight and the ability to download dive profiles--but these are excellent choices if you want a simple, low-cost computer.

• • • •

12 dive on-unit log book Memory Reset for rental and training applications Diver-Replaceable Battery with 8-second “Hot Swap”

Price $789.00 At this price point, you are giving up bells and whistles--most notably audible alarms, a backlight and the ability to download dive profiles--but these are excellent choices if you want a simple, low-cost computer.

The Engine Room

Easy to use, compact and some advanced features for a really low price!

•

• • •

Powered by Oceanic’s Exclusive Dual Algorithm™ - Your choice between Pelagic DSAT (Spencer/Powell data basis) or Pelagic Z+ (Buhlmann ZHL-16C data basis) Air or Single Nitrox Mix to 50% O2 Safety Stop Countdown Timer Water and/or manual activation Single button access to “Last Dive” display (max depth & bottom time)

(filling and servicing)

“The Hand of God” 10 years ago, Dive Otago introduced a policy of checking the end fill pressure in a cylinder prior to releasing it to the customer. This policy was designed to protect you, the customer and our staff from the consequences of arriving at the dive site with any empty or partially filled cylinder. The checks involve a leak test with soapy water during filling and a gauge test when the cylinder is collected. The system has largely worked well, however, there will be instances when a cylinder comes up short of the full quota of air. Leaks can occur unexpectedly.

Several times “the hand of God” has opened a cylinder valve in our filling area for no apparent reason. A cylinder can be bumped during transit or the kids have been playing in the garage. One way to ensure that you have a happy day’s diving is to check the air in your cylinders before you leave home. Cheers, Dave.

The End We hope you are enjoying keeping up to date what has been going on at Dive Otago. We would also love to hear from you, If you have got a story, recipe, joke let us know and we will pop it in the next issue. Look forward to hearing from you soon.

From all the team at Dive Otago

Online video review POOR KNIGHTS ISLANDS SCUBA DIVING JANUARY 2012

By Adam Illingworth Get excited about our Northern NZ Dive Trip with this great video of diving in the Poor Knights by Dive Otago Staff member Adam Illingworth.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

Dive Times

Issue 52 August 2012

Photography tips by Tracey Channon

Tip #2 MACRO I hope you have managed to get out over the last couple months and practise reducing your backscatter with the tips from the last newsletter. This time we are talking about macro photography. I have found that macro photography is a great way to have a new look at old dive sites. Focusing on the smaller things there are to see, even just patterns and textures can bring a whole new light to a site you have dived hundreds of times. Try some of these techniques next time you are in the water: 1. Composition think about how you are going to shoot your subject – head on, filling the frame, shooting on a diagonal, shooting from underneath. Different angles can make interesting shots.

2. Get Close the less water between you and your subject the sharper your picture will be but remember your camera will have limits – check your manual for your camera’s capability in macro mode.

3. Buoyancy if you are getting up close to subjects be careful what you are touching – use two fingers on a dead part of the reef if you have to touch something.

4. Pick you Moment sometimes the behaviour or movement of the subject can be the most interesting – start practising by shooting slow moving or stationary subjects such as nudibranchs so you can pick your moment to shoot your picture.

5. Background often you will see macro photos on black backgrounds. To get this effect, shoot on an upward angle to get an open water background, increase the shutter speed of your camera, narrow the aperture and use your flash.

When the flash fires it will light the subject and the open water background will be underexposed creating 6. Blurred Background if you can’t get a black background you can also try to blur the background. A large aperture (small f-stop) will blur the background and a small aperture will bring the background into focus.

7. Focus on the Eyes try and focus on the eyes of the fish or whatever your subject is, these are the most visually interesting parts.

8. Practice there is only one way to get better – practice. Photography is all about personal preference and what you find pleasing to the eye. Shooting stationary subjects will give you time to try different techniques without the subject swimming away!

9. Have fun with your macro photography – send us your pics and we can post them for everyone to see!

DID YOU KNOW - divers and non-divers can complete the theory portion of your PADI Underwater Digital Photographer course online with PADI Elearning for only $130 USD (approx $170NZD at time of print)

Dive Times

Issue 52 August 2012

Dive Centre Name Here Macandrew Bay

Underwater and beach clean up day!

When:

Saturday September 15th 2012

Where:

All Divers - 8.30am at Dive Otago First in first served with free hire of gear and transport to the Bay. All Non Divers - 10am at the Yacht club FREE BBQ weather permitting in the yacht clubs carpark commencing late morning over lunch. We should be finished and back at Dive Otago by 1pm.

Contact: SIGN UP

At Dive Otago or Call 03 466 4370

Dive Times

Issue 52 August 2012

Corporate Offer

pass these deals on to your boss, your workmates will love you for it!

Whether you want a great idea for a social event, a team building exercise or just want to say thank you to a great employee, our Discover Scuba Diving Experience is sure to make an impression!

PADI’s Discover Scuba Diving programme is an experience that focuses on adventure and personal growth by introducing your Staff to the excitement of being able to breathe underwater. The skills your lucky Staff will master at the end of the session can be used as credit towards future diving qualifications such as the PADI Open Water Diver course. As your Instructor will tell you, the great thing is that your Staff can always keep diving, so this is a Staff benefit that only becomes more and more exciting over time!

PADI DISCOVER SCUBA DIVING EXPERIENCE Training is conducted in our on-site indoor heated pool. All equipment is provided including wetsuits. Participants are split into small groups and are guided safely through each step by an experienced Instructor. The session only takes 1.5 hours per group. We have a viewing platform and port holes for you to take some great photos of your team for your Company Facebook Page or newsletter!

FOR THE INDIVIDUAL One on One - $100 • • • •

One on One tuition Flexible Timetable All equipment provided Bring a friend for free

FOR THE TEAM Private Group Session - $20 pp • • •

Get 6 or more members together Schedule a time that suits the team weekends, evenings, weekdays all OK Ask about adding a first aid course

FOR THE TEAM Discover Scuba / Social Night / Meeting Venue- $40 pp • • • •

•

Do something different!

Those who want to join in can jump in the pool those that don’t can watch from our recreation/ viewing area.

We provide a great venue, atmosphere, ample parking, good pizza and a drink!

Use it as a marketing tool. We will take photos for you that you can post on Facebook, your website, Twitter or in your Company newsletter. Brand your Company as exciting and creative and a great place to work by encouraging your Staff to tag themselves and spread the word among their friends and your potential new clients.

We also have projectors, laptops, LCD screens, classrooms and WiFi if you would like to use this time to make a presentation or conduct a Staff meeting.

www.diveotago.co.nz