Techwise Tales

Early Morning Stubborn Dive

2011-07-29T23:43:00.000-07:00

Andrius and Saulius were up early this morning to head out with Sasha for a dive on the Stubborn.They are taking a rather big camera with them . . .

After missing his flight then doing his checks yesterday Chris is now finally heading off to explore the Imperial Eagle, while Chris Stubbins gets his check dives done.

Jason is going to be setting yet more challenges for Geoff and Nigel on the house reef today as part of their Tec 40 course.

New Side Mount Cylinders

2011-07-29T00:37:00.001-07:00

New Side mount cylinders have just arrived so we now have 10 sets. Plenty for running side mount courses!

Geoff Nutt is currently doing his Tec 40 course with us. The course got delayed a couple of days so he could do his Deep Speciality, a prerequisite for the course, however he now has a twin set strapped to his back and is heading out for a tough day of training.

Chris is also doing a check dive today to get his gear ready for a good 9 days of diving . . . should have been 10 but he missed the flight!

Leading Recreational Divers? Why not take a Twinset?

2011-07-22T04:53:00.000-07:00

It was an early start for Sascha this morning as he was in at 6am getting everything ready for an early dive on the Stubborn. John Kendell has been in the classroom all morning covering various topics of the Tech 1 course . . .

while Jack has been playing with his new squeaky toy . . .

On the odd occasion when Jason and Sascha have to lend a hand leading recreational divers on pleasure dives they always make a point of doing it in their twinset despite not really needing the extra air. They do this because they believe it’s still much safer for them to have the long hose and the additional air should anyone ever need it.

Aaron, one of the recreational instructors who also does tec diving, has decided to adopt this strategy. He has set up a rig that he can use for leading recreational pleasure divers like Jason and Sascha. Could this trend catch on? Maybe more and more recreational dive Instructors trained in technical diving will start to do this because of the added safety benefits for the people they are leading.

Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) Open Day Today

2011-07-16T01:04:00.000-07:00

The Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) open day is finally here. John Kendell arrived yesterday and he and Alan have been in early getting everything organised.

However John is still making some time for a dive on the Stubborn with Rikkard this morning but he will be back in time to talk to people about the GUE courses.

John is expecting some interesting questions . . . why does everyone wear black? . . . Why does everyone use Halcyon gear? . . .

Alan got an odd collection of Balloons for his birthday yesterday.

Jack is not amused by them . . .

Rebreathers, rebreathers, rebreathers . . .

2011-07-12T23:38:00.000-07:00

We’ve had lots of Rebreather try dives the last couple of days so Sascha has spent a lot of time assembling, disassembling and cleaning the rebreathers.

Jack’s had some trouble dealing with the heat. Viv has been keeping him in the office to keep him cool and out of mischief spent yesterday day expressing his jealousy at being left out by eating through the wetsuit hangars . . .

Caesar had such a good time the other day he has come back for more today. W are finding it reall odd that we have a Julius a Caesar and a Mark diving together. We are now just waiting for an Anthony!

Neoprene Pocket Shorts

2011-07-08T04:07:00.001-07:00

Have you ever noticed that one of the only down sides to wet suits is that most of them don’t have pockets. Given that not many of us actually live on the coast, and cycling in scuba gear above water is not the most sensible of ideas, it makes sense that most diversz have to drive to the dive site. Which leaves us with one problem, where to put the keys? . . .

Not only are our keys a problem, there are various other pieces of equipment we might want to takes such as a backup mask or wet notes or a torch. If we had them all hanging off our D-rings we would look like Christmas trees.

For all these problems there is potentially one solution . . . The NEOPRENE POCKET SHORTS!

Here they are being modelled by Ed . . .

They are pretty much identical to the types of pockets you get on a dry suit. Make sure you get a pair that fit properly thou, you don’t want them falling down when the pockets are full!

Alan is going be wearing these magic shorts today. He’s taking them down to Polynesian at 65m to really test their durability. We will have to wait for him to report back on this one . . .

Get Ready for some Simulated Ascents

2011-07-01T03:26:00.000-07:00

Alex’s gang headed out to the Beaufighter on Wednesday afternoon for a side mount experience of this stunning wreck. For those of you who have never done it the Beaufighter is a plane wreck that crash landed into the ocean during the war. It now sits at 38m upside down. It is only a small wreck but it looks spectacular surrounded by a vast stretch of white sand.Alex took some time out of diving this morning to try and fix up Harriet (the van) . . . after some confusion over some of Harriets quirks he managed to sort the problem. Sascha has returned from a short visit home and is taking Dennis to Zurrieq where he will be continuing his ART course with simulated ascents.

Hollis SMS 100 vs the Razor System

2011-06-28T23:08:00.000-07:00

Lots of Pleasure divers went off to explore the Imperial Eagle on the boat this morning as part of their various courses. It was a refreshing 17 deg down on the wreck, quite a big drop from a surface temp of 23! Harry is doing his Normoxic Instructor course, while Christen and Jason are doing a Normoxic course. Alex’s 3 guys are going to be doing the dive on Side mounts.

Today’s dive has turned into Hollis SMS 100 vs the Razor competition.

The question is which is better? The SMS 100 is a modular system making it great for divers who like to swap and change between back mount and side mount. The Razor on the other hand is designed specifically for Side Mount and so probably performs better with side mount as it is designed for only one function.

Watch this space to find out their results . . .

Roll Up, Roll Up . . . for the GUE Open Day

2011-06-25T23:20:00.000-07:00

Love them or hate them, if you want to know more about them and what courses they offer - as they do run some courses that can be very beneficial - come and learn about them. We are hosting a GUE open day on Saturday, 16^th July with John Kendell which will give you plenty of opportunity to ask questions and get detailed information about any courses you may be interested in. For those of you who are looking to try something a bit different or focus on problem areas but not sure what course you should be doing this may be the perfect opportunity for you to investigate some new options.

Harry Gets Ready for His Normoxic Instructor Course

2011-06-24T01:37:00.000-07:00

It was man vs dog in the office this morning as Jack managed to stealthily nick Alan’s undersuit just as he was putting it on . . . Jack won initially but then Viv came along and got them back no problem! Progress is being made!

Aaron is adjusting the Halcyon harnesses for Harry and Florin so they can go and do a check dive on the house reef to make sure everything is working properly and is fitted correctly. Then Florin will be let loose for some pleasure diving around the island.

Harry is here to do his Normoxic Instructor Course so Alan will be setting him lots of challenges during the course of the week. Good Luck Harry!

Alan has gone to the Stubborn today on his Side mounts while Jason continues with the Advanced Recreational Trimix Course.

Le Polynesian

2011-06-19T23:33:00.000-07:00

There have been a few dives going out to Le Polynesian the over the last couple of weeks. Jacques has made a video on it which he sent to us the other day which you can see if you follow this link:

http://www.haliotisexplovideo.com/

For those of you who have not been, or those of you that have been but don’t know much about it I thought I’d do a blog on it.

Le Polynesian is also known as The Plate Wreck because she sunk so quickly most of the plates and other some other artefacts can still be found on the wreck. She was hit by the torpedo of a German UC22 on the 10^th August 1918 and sank in 35 minutes.

She lies at her port side on a 45 degree angle 7 miles outside of Valetta Grand Harbour. The two deck guns, one on the bow and one on the stern are still present. Due to currents that are nearly always present, which vary from mild to very strong, there is an amazing amount of marine life to be found at this site, like big grouper and large schools of barracuda. Take a look at the divers bubbles when they are ascending in the video! If certified, there are lots of penetration possibilities on the Polynesian.

Beach cleaning you say? Bring out the Side Mounts . . .

2011-06-16T23:33:00.000-07:00

We had a very bizarre morning on Wednesday. Staff, divers of all types and snorkelers from the Hilton, Intercontinental and the Westin Hotels all grouped together in a big team effort to clean up Dragonara reef, Casino Reef and the Roman Baths.

After another of our “expertly” drawn maps was constructed everyone volunteering got split into groups with an Instructor to guide them.

Everyone was briefed on where they would be collecting rubbish and they were each given a bag.

While this was going on Ed was strapping himself into a Razor Harness to try it out for size.

Nearly there, now the other one . . .

I think that’s the first time I’ve seen him laugh! we must be on to a winner with these . . .

The snorkelers headed off out on the boat with Phil. Their job being to collect any floating rubbish and - if they are good at duck diving – some rubbish off the bottom.

The divers went off to their allocated section of the Reef with their guide and collected want rubbish they came across along the bottom.

With Jason leading the way his group managed to collect some odd items of rubbish!

Well if you know Jason you know he’s always up for a bit of a challenge . . .

I just hope that pipe wasn’t connecting anything important :s

After all the hard work everyone involved was rewarded with a buffet of sandwiches, cakes, fruit and every non-alcoholic drink you can think of, courtesy of the Westin Hotel.

Naturally Nev and Alan made sure anything left over was stored safely in the fridge for later . . .

Dry suit and Steel tanks? It can be done . . .

2011-06-11T00:54:00.000-07:00

Before the Side Mount course began Steve did a dive to the P29 on his Side Mounts with the some of the Techwise staff and some of the people who did the course.

There has been some scepticism about using steel tanks and dry suits in side mount diving. The aim of this dive was to show everyone that diving Side Mounts with steel tanks and a dry suit can indeed be done . . .

Side Mount Course, Day 1

2011-06-05T01:05:00.000-07:00

First they invaded and successfully destroyed Sarah’s clean classroom

Then they headed outside to play with their box of goodies . . .

Their first new toy was the razor harness

Steve selected his model for the course . . .

They had to adjust the harness so that everything that attaches to it will be easily accessible . . .

It is defiantly one streamlined piece of kit! You get the option of switching to low profile D rings if you prefer.

Nowadays all people who do the side mount course with Steve must purchase the razor harness as in the past when people used to turn up with whatever harness they owned he found it very difficult, even impossible to teach the skills he wanted to because the equipment simply made the skills impossible to perform. In the end most course participants ended up buying the razor harness after the course anyway. So now to make sure everyone gets the most out of their time on the course he insists they purchase the harness to begin with.

Then there was the pouch . . .

The Bat wing came next . . .

The way it is set up depends on whether you are diving in a dry suit or a wet suit . . .

Jason also contributed to the work load . . .

Until he got distracted by the mystery of his missing sandwich . . .

I wonder who that was . . .

Then it was time to suit up assemble the equipment

And head to the pool . . .

Where, after Steve had made sure they had attached the side mounts correctly . . .

They were let loose in the pool to work out how much weight they need to add

I for one was very jealous.

Boo boo was in awe at how good his buoyancy was with the side mounts saying its definalty a winner for him!

Boo boo, Yogi and David’s Normoxic Trimix Course . . .

2011-06-04T07:32:00.000-07:00

It’s been hard work but Jason reported they passed with flying colours yesterday . . . well done guys! Now let’s see what mischief you got up to beneath the waves . . .

Well if you’re going to do a course you want to visit a wreck . . .

Locate the smallest hole, and see if you can fit in it . . .

Yeah . . . easy!

As always you’re going to be using a spool at some point . . .

And you’ll probably have to lay a line . . .

You should also take some time out to admire the resident marine life . . .

KC and the Sunshine Band's Malta 2011 Adventure . . .

2011-06-02T04:51:00.000-07:00

KC and the sunshine band said their goodbyes yesterday . . . until next year guys! They have very kindly left us some photographs of their 2011 Malta trip. So I thought I’d share some with you . . .

So they took to the waves by shore . . .

By boat . . .

By tunnel . . .

And air! . . .

They explored the shallows . . .

And delved into the deep . . .

It seems they’ve explored and documented every dive site on malta in the time they’ve been here!

They ventured into many wrecks . . .

And saw the odd fish . . .

It was AMAZING!

The Side Mount God has Arrived . . .

2011-05-30T02:33:00.000-07:00

Jack gave Steve the OK to enter the premises after a close inspection upon his arrival . . .

Boo Boo and Yogi Bear started their intro to cave diving course yesterday, playing with lines blindfolded at the Maori yesterday.

They are currently setting up their equipment for the next step of their training at Zurrieq.

KC and the Sunshine Band

2011-05-28T23:44:00.000-07:00

KC and the Sunshine band have been here for a few days now causing mischief.

After their check dives and some spectacular dives on the Imperial Eagle and the Beaufighter Paul has decided to take on new challenges and do his Tec 45 course. He spent a lot of time on the house reef doing drills yesterday while the rest of the group continue to explore the waters around the Maltese Islands, but he’s being let loose on the Imperial Eagle today.

The Annual Bar-BQ

2011-05-26T02:18:00.000-07:00

After a lot of hard work in the classroom . . .

And some dry drills . . .

Pat and Aaron were let loose in the open ocean up at Cirkewwa to get some in-water practice. Well I say let loose . . . Sascha was there to set them more challenges and make sure they did everything properly. I mean let’s face it, with Tec dive training it’s a quick trip down but a long way up with the simulated deco-ascents they have to do!

Nev returned to work the other day after being really ill the past week. He’s not allowed in the water for a while so he’s been wandering around like a lost sheep looking for something to build, his other passion in life!

Not to worry Nev Alan has the perfect job for you . . .

On the 23^rd of Sept we are holding our annual Bar-BQ that you’re all invited to. I know, this sounds like ages off but believe me it comes around fast! Nev’s new building project is going to be the most important feature at the Bar-BQ, the BAR! We are going to have a non-diving fancy dress theme. So we need your help with ideas to make sure we pick a good one.

So drop us an email or contact us on facebook with your ideas!

The Razor Harness 2

2011-05-25T00:32:00.000-07:00

To experience the freedom and flexibility of diving side mount you need the right gear.

The Razor Side Mount System is a complete integrated system designed specifically for side mount diving.

The Razor Side Mount System has four components:

The Razor Harness 2
The BAT Wing
The T Weight system
The Expandable Pouch

There is no substitute for experience and finding out what really works in practice rather than just in theory. The development and testing process of the Razor Side Mount System has taken several years and hundreds of Side Mount dives under real world conditions with most dives being conducted in the cave environment by some of the world's most experienced side mount divers and cave explorers. The last test dives for example were conducted by Steve Bogaerts and Bil Phillips using side mount plus 4 stages and 2 scooters each for extended cave exploration dives in Sistema Ox Bel Ha.

The Razor Harness 2 is a new addition to this system replacing the Razor Harness. Many people are already familiar with the Razor Harness. A tried and tested side mount harness that is already being been used all over the world by divers in a variety of diving environments.

The New Razor Harness 2 retains the simplicity, functionality and elegance of the original but has been improved to compliment the rest of the razor side mount system.

This is the harness that Steve will be bringing with him for the Side Mount course in June. It is not available to buy online yet so those on the course will be some of the first people to get to use it.

To find out more about equipment visit his online shop at;

http://www.gosidemount.com/

Another OWSI Eager to Get Into Tec Diving . . .

2011-05-22T23:47:00.000-07:00

Toumas is off to Gozo today with Ed to do some rebreather diving.

When Sascha arrived the other day he told us he’d had some trouble getting his equipment through customs at the airport due to the immense amount of equipment he had. When it arrived a day later I wasn’t surprised . . .

Aaron is yet another addition to the Divewise staff for the summer. However he did his Tec 40 in November last year after successfully completing his Open Water Scuba Instructor Exams, and surprise, surprise his first day back at Divewise and he was already sneaking off to Techwise to start his Tec 45 course along with Pat.

Digital Underwater Photography Speciality Course

2011-05-22T00:54:00.000-07:00

Someone once said to me. Why go diving to experience this beautiful underwater scenery and not take photographs of it? I often hear a lot of people who do technical diving say 'I wish I'd had a camera on that dive!' as they want to take photographs so they can remember what it was like and share their experiences with other’s who do not have the training to explore beyond recreational depths.

However the reality is that taking photographs underwater is a lot different to taking photographs on land. You may have found when recreational diving that buying a waterproof disposable camera and taking it underwater normally results in very blue or very green blurry pictures, which in no way portray the experience that you had underwater and are rather disappointing to look at. What’s even more annoying is the deeper you go the worse the pictures seem to get.

Learning some basic rules about taking photos underwater will help solve a lot of these problems almost instantly, and the people you’ve been showing your pictures too will finally start to see the underwater world they way you see it. These rules can be applied within and beyond recreational limits to improve your photographs regardless of the fact there is less light when you dive deeper.

After you have learnt these tricks you just need to practice and play around. The DUP course teaches you the basic tips and tricks you need to learn to dramatically improve the quality of your underwater pictures and it also gives you the opportunity to play around with your camera and get familiar with the settings that work best with a given depth and water condition. It also gives you an opportunity to ask questions about Photoshop and other photo editing software.

So if you are interested in sharing your experiences with others or just creating nice memories for yourself this is a course defiantly worth considering.

The Cowry Trade

2011-05-18T02:40:00.000-07:00

While Pau and Ed were clearing rocks from the confined area the other day they decided to collect shells for the hermit crabs in the fish tank so the crabs have a greater selection of shells to choose from. They also tried to catch fish for the fish tank . . . trying being the operative word I think they managed to catch one but it managed to escape again.

Hermit crabs are plentiful in Malta and are not protected so it’s ok for us to keep some in the tank. However there are a number of species that you commonly see while diving in Malta that are protected. The sad reality is that nobody knows they are protected because there is no information around to make people aware of this and many new divers want to take shells as souvenirs when they go diving so we always have to remind them to look but not touch.

One species that tourists commonly like to take is the Cowrie. The Cowrie is a Gastropod Mollusc that has a very beautiful shell and is often sold to tourists as jewellery although this is illegal in some places.

The shell (cowry) has had many uses throughout history. Its most significant and long-lasting use was currency. The shells of cowries (especially Monetaria moneta)

were used for centuries as a currency in Africa, Asia, Australia, Oceania and other parts of the world. It was still being used in some parts of Africa up until 1921.

The shell has also been used for other purposes which give it additional value such as, in decoration, ornamentation (Egyptian tombs), divination, and in games (i.e. the pawn in chess).

The cowries were caught in nets, dried in the sun allowing the inner flesh to rot, piled into heaps and then transported across the Ocean in the ships ballast to be traded.

The Maldives were noted as the centre of the cowry trade over a period of 4000 years, from the earliest records of Arab merchants to the accounts of adventurers and later European visitors. They were even traded in Africa for slaves during the slave trade. In 1900 30-60,000 shells would buy one male slave.

These uses have endangered many species of cowries and so they are now protected in many places. In some coutries now it is illegal to even pick up certain species of living cowrie.

In Malta the following species are protected:

Erosaria spurca

English Common Name: Spotted Cowrie/Porcelaine Juane

Maltese Common Name: Ba`bu`a Ttigrata

Luria lurida

English Common Name: Brown Cowrie/Mediterranean Cowrie

Maltese Common Name: Bahbuha tal-Ghajnejn

Schilderia achatidea

English Common Name: Agate Cowrie

Maltese Common Name: Bahbuha

Zonaria pyrum

English Common Name: Pear Cowrie

If you want to find out some of the other species of marine fauna that are protected see the link below:

http://www.projectgaia.org/documents/LN_161_1999.pdf

Lost Diver, Lost Line!

2011-05-17T00:27:00.000-07:00

Viv is taking a few days off because she’s not feeling too well. Although knowing Viv she’s probably still cleaning the house or something like that! She has kept Jack home with her so everyone’s shoes and socks are safe, for now . . .

A big welcome to Sasha arrived last night. He is originally from Austria but is now Swiss. He was here with Irene doing Tec diving in the winter and has come back to work at Techwise for the summer. His will also be helping out Divewise, Techwises sister company when it gets really busy in the summer as he is also a recreational dive Instructor.

On the Cave Diving course today Peter and Joahim are being faced with new challenges. This time they are going to have to learn how to act in a lost diver situation and a lost line situation . . . there’s nothing like a bit of pressure at 9 o’clock in the morning to wake you up!

Steve Bogaerts Basic Sidemount Open Water Course Starts in Less Than 3 Weeks!

2011-05-16T03:08:00.000-07:00

Steve Bogaerts arrival is getting closer! He will be arriving here to run Basic Sidemount Open Water course in less than 3 weeks time! There are a few places left on the course for those of you who are itching to try something new. However if you are interested you must let us know soon because places are limited. Don’t wait until the last minute or you may miss out on this amazing opportunity!

If you missed the earlier blog regarding this course see the link below . . .

http://techwisemalta.blogspot.com/2011/04/go-side-mount-in-malta-with-steve.html

Peter and Joahim are taking a break from their Cave diving course today and going for pleasure dives to the X127 and the Maori.

Dan and Torbjorn are heading home today, hopefully leaving their scooters behind!

We had some guys in today to install the booster pump in the compressor making it more efficient.

Introduction to Cave Diving Course

2011-05-13T23:34:00.000-07:00

Passing through a cavern, until you reach the point where daylight cannot penetrate and you have utter darkness may seem scary to some, but to others it is yet another world to explore. You, with your lamp, guideline and extensive amount of training can enter this world. Obviously because of the greater risks involved in this specialised form of diving, all cave diver training starts in Open water first.

Peter and Joakim started their Introduction to Cave Diving in Open Water Course yesterday, which will teach them the basic principles of cave diving.

The course began with them rigging equipment to make sure everything fits properly, they have all the essentials easily accessible, and they’re not taking anything that’s not necessary!

Then Jason took them for some practice doing line drills much to Alan’s amusement. It may look easy but Peter and Joakim will tell you it certainly takes some practice! Once they’d got the hang of this they went on to learn how to lay guidelines with the reels.

Fran was ecstatic yesterday, she is currently doing her Tec 50 course along with 4 other divers and she found out that morning she was finally get to see the Stubborn! You couldn’t, not be excited for her! Meanwhile Howard Payne’s group went off to explore the Polynesian . . .

Techwise Curry Nights!

2011-05-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night, Dive Life who have come over to dive with us from Manchester went out for a curry, Divewise style.

We do curry night a lot for diving groups. We take the groups to the local curry house called the Emperor of India. The curry there is fantastic and they have a great range selection of both meat and vegetarian curries and you can request how hot you would like the curry.

I think the curry was a bit too hot for some . . .

The service is a bit slow sometimes because it is so popular however we have got around this problem by ringing in the orders of food at lunch time so the food is ready to be eaten when all the hungry divers arrive after a long day out diving.

If you fancy a curry night with us when you’re out here diving then just let us know and we can arrange it for you.

Trip to the Beaufighter

2011-05-11T00:40:00.001-07:00

The new canopy went up on Monday that will shade the wetsuit and BCD basin. The extra shade will be greatly appreciated in June when the temperature soars for the summer months. Now our unprofessional building team can relax from the building work . . . no wait forget about relaxing we have more diving to do!

Mondays boat trip to the Beaufighter was a great experience for everyone.

The free fall experience from the boat down to the plane wreck that lies at 42m is an expereince in itself. When the bomber crashed in WW2 it sunk upside down so the wheels project upwards from the sandy bottom. The wreck is covered in large Scorpion Fish that stare at you with large empty eyes. It really is an amazing dive!

The pressure is on today . . . Jim, Dave, Marco and Michel are off to the Um El Faroud for some simulates deco practice with Jason ready for the real thing on the Imperial Eagle tomorrow. Let's see how they get on!

The Swedish are Invading

2011-05-09T01:43:00.001-07:00

We had a Swedish invasion yesterday. Par and Andreas two Instructors from Sweden came in to do paperwork yesterday and will be going in on the house reef this afternoon to have a play around with their twin sets.

And what a nice day it is for it as well . . .

Fran’s so small it looked like she was ready for an expedition to the moon yesterday when she was bringing in the Poseidon gear.

After a long day at the Maori yesterday with ED as surface cover Howard Paynes group are now off to Cirkewwa today to dive the wrecks as part of the Normoxic course they are running, so ED can spend another day sunning himself . . . it’s a hard life!

Divers were getting ready for a dive on the Beaufighter today. Fran worked hard getting cylinders ready for the recreational divers . . . while Kalle and Matthieu enjoyed cups of coffee and watched her move cylinders that are probably half her body weight!

Once everyone was ready it was off to the boat to head out for some epic diving . . .

New Tec Seating Area

2011-05-08T04:46:00.000-07:00

Howard Paynes group have come over from the UK to take advantage of the most of the beautiful Maltese waters whilst doing an IANTD Normoxic course with Howard and Claire. The group have been making the most of the new Tec seating area that Nev, Howard , Ed and Pau have built which gets the evening sun for longer than the other seating area.

Jeremy Smith and Jim started doing their Tec 50 yesterday with Jason which begun with them playing with their equipment.

Mattieu and Kalle are at the HMS Stubborn at the moment with Jason, so that Mattieu can complete his Normoxic course. What a spectacular dive to do to finish a course!

Jacks got a nice clean bed . . .

Not for long thou!

GUE Dive Propulsion Vehicle (DPV) Diver Course Now Available At Divewise!

2011-05-06T23:37:00.000-07:00

The GUE Dive propulsion Vehicle (DPV) Diver course is now available at Divewise. For those of you who are interested here’s some information about the course:

What is a Diver Propulsion Vehicle?

A DPV is an item of diving equipment used by scuba and rebreather divers as a form on underwater transportation to increase range underwater during a dive. It usually consists of a battery-powered electric motor, which drives a propeller. The propeller is caged so that it cannot harm the diver, diving equipment or marine life. They are designed so that the vehicle cannot be accidentally started or run away from the diver; and it remains neutrally buoyant under all conditions.

Why Is It Useful?

They are commonly used in cave diving and technical diving where the vehicles help move bulky equipment and make better use of the limited underwater time imposed by the decompression requirements of deep diving, however visibility must be good to make navigation easy.

What will I learn?

The course will normally take 3 days. You will cover;

Reel and guideline use while utilising a DPV
Team order and protocols
Use of safety spools and surface markers
Emergency procedures
DPV towing and gas-sharing
Runaway DPV management
Lost diver procedures
Basic navigational skills
Visual referencing
Use and Maintenance of a DPV
Procedures and emergency management

Prerequisites for the course;

Must meet GUE general course prerequisites for health and insurance.
Must be minimum of sixteen years of age.
Must have passed GUE Fundamentals using standard equipment and have demonstrated competence in skill and drills at a grade of 4 or above.
Must have a minimum of sevently-five dives beyond open-water qualification.
Must have a minimum of fiftly dives beyond GUE Fundamentals.

The Normoxic Course

2011-05-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

Jack was occupied all yesterday with hording Nev’s shoes . . .

‘Now all I need is one more and I’ll have one for each foot!’

‘Oh yeah and some socks!’

Here’s what Jack currently hording . . .

Mathew has started his IANTD Normoxic course today while Marek and Mika continue their Tec 40 and 45. Howard Payne will also be arriving on the 6^th to do his Normoxic course. To find out a bit more about the course at Divewise click the link below:

http://www.techwise.com.mt/Courses/IANTDCourses/NormoxicTrimix/tabid/81/Default.aspx

New Version of the Razor Harness

2011-04-30T05:08:00.000-07:00

Steve Bogearts has brought out a new version of the Razor Harness. He will be bringing this latest version with him to do the course in June along with the wing that goes with it. To find out more about this harness see the link below . . .

http://www.gosidemount.com/razor.asp

Just to make sure Jason’s kept busy, Mika is back to continue his Tec 45 today as is Marek who is continuing his Tec 40. They both don’t ever seem to stop smiling!

Get the Most out of Your Gas!

2011-04-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

The sunny Maltese weather is finally back

Alan has just spent a large amount of money on a Gas booster for the compressor that will make our gas use more efficient.

Mika has just started his Tec 45 today with Jason and Alan.

Danny took them to the deep side of the Maori on the boat to do the training.

I’m not sure who was enjoying themselves more, Mika

Or Jason,

Or maybe even Alan given he got to have another play around on his side mounts.

Make The Most Of Your Trip!

2011-04-27T23:46:00.000-07:00

When Steve Bogaerts comes in June to run the Basic Side-Mount Open Water course he is bringing along some new bladders which need testing. There may be an opportunity on the course to be one of the first people to dive on these bladders.

Mika and Dave’s dive at the Faroud yesterday was a success so now Mika can relax after how apprehensive he was yesterday. Mika and Dave will be completing their Tech 40 course today and will probably be out celebrating tonight.

Lanny and Martin are going to dive the Polynesian today.

Now the weather has calmed down the boat is out again so the boat diving programme is back in operation. Ken’s group are going to be taking advantage of it to catch up on their favourite dives given they have been a bit restricted by the weather the past few days. They are going to the Imperial Eagle, then the Beaufighter then the Maori, talk about getting the most out of your trip!

The Tech 40 Experience

2011-04-27T00:26:00.000-07:00

Mika Rissa is here at the moment doing his Tech 40 with Dangerous Dave. When he arrived the other day Alan introduced them to various pieces of strange equipment.

Then there was the table therapy . . .

Which is apparently the most effective way to introduce new Tech divers to the correct fining techniques.

Jason then had his time to shine in the classroom as he taught them some of the theory.

The bad weather on the house reef meant that they got all the theory out of the way first.

They are both off to Zurrieq today to do some in water practice.

New Launch of the Techwise Site

2011-04-24T23:18:00.000-07:00

The Techwise site is currently undergoing renovation so that things are easier to find on it. New courses that will be available this year are being added such as the Side Mount course. This means that any information about a particular course you are interested in will be easy to locate.

If you’re wanting to try something new but not sure what you want to have a go at then the website will be a good start for you to find out what is available to you at your current level and to get some information about each of the courses, what they entail and how what you learn on the course will benefit you and improve your diving experiences.

Click here to view the new home page layout . .
http://www.techwise.com.mt/
More changes will be being made in the next few days . . .

Go Side Mount in Malta with Steve Bogaerts, Limited Places Available . . .

2011-04-23T23:14:00.000-07:00

In June this year the number one Side mount Instructor that trained Alan in the winter is coming to Malta to run a Basic Side mount Open Water course. The course will take 3 days and you must be a Certified Open water diver to participate.

http://www.gosidemount.com/calendar.asp

What are Side mounts?

Side mounts are simply cylinders that strap to your sides instead of your back which makes them much more comfortable as you don’t put them on until you are in the water. Because they are on your sides they allow your back to bend and move freely unlike whey you use a normal cylinder. The fact you have two of them (one on each side) means you don’t need to worry about taking a pony bottle for back up air as you have a whole extra cylinder of air with you!

The BDC and harness you used with the side mounts are much more compact which makes travelling much easier and you need much less gear.

Side Mounts and Cave diving

Side mounts are very good for cave diving becuase they allow you more flexibility in the water and allow you to fit through much smaller gaps than you could ever manage with back mounted cylinders. Also because you have two clylinders you have plenty of air with you.

Here are some video's from his website so you can see for yourself . . .

http://www.gosidemount.com/videos.asp

Steve does a lot of his courses in Mexico. This will be the first time he has run a course in Malta. There are limited places available on this course so book now to make sure you don't miss out on this amazing oppertunity!

Traffic Traffic Traffic!

2011-04-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

A coach crashed this morning which meant that the traffic outside of St Julian's has been crazy today.
So it took a while to get to some of the dive sites . . .
Danny took twin-set and rebreather divers to Cirkewwa today for pleasure diving . . .
Mika from Finland and Dave from Birmingham started their Tech 40 course today too, let's see how they get on . . .

Just another day . . .

2011-04-22T08:38:00.001-07:00

It’s a bit gloomy today . . . unlike the rest of us Jack came to work prepared . . .

Nev and Howard have still been working hard on the basins and they are starting to look rather smart.

Jason has taken Lanny, Bas, Sooz and Claire to Gozo today to do some pleasure diving.

Danny has been doing a rebreather course . . .

And Paul Toomers been busy with an Advanced Recreational Trimix course

Poseidon Try Dive

2011-04-21T05:13:00.000-07:00

Alan, Jason and Danni spent yesterday up at Cirkewwa. While JC’s group where off doing some recreational diving JC got stuck into a Poseidon try dive so he could give the rebreathers a go with Danny.

Bas and Suzanne also came along for some pleasure diving on their twin sets.

Now that Jason has recovered his chest infection. Alan and Jason took their side mounts so they could have a go at squeezing through small holes in the reef to see which sized gaps are ok and which ones they are defiantly going to get stuck in!

Martin Redferin has just arrived today . He will be doing some pleasure diving on his rebreather over the next few days.

Anyone up for a Surf in the Confined Area?

2011-04-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

The hotel pool has now been cleaned out from the winter so we are starting to use it for training and given its too cold for holidaymakers to use yet it’s nice a quiet which is great. Steve got in yesterday to practice maintaining his trim while doing skills.

The staff have been battling with some impressive waves in the confined area today. The boat was getting battered against the side and the ropes kept snapping.

The staff had to go in twice to rescue the boat. Howard even ended up going in with his clothes on! Finally after a lot of hauling, swimming and some strategic balancing acts from Sarah on the bow the boat is now facing into the waves so it isn’t getting smashed about quite so much.

New Seating Area

2011-04-17T02:14:00.000-07:00

Alan is off to the Faroud to do a deco dive with Bas Suzanne, Lanny and Claire today while Jack soaks up some sun after the bad weather yesterday.

Nev’s recruited Howard to help him work on the wash basins, and I’ve been decorating Nevs work of art with GUE and various other posters!

The new seating area and tables are going to be mainly for the Tech divers gear so there will be more space for them to sort out their equipment away from the recreational divers.

Phil Short was out partying in Huggins last night after the PADI forum as he left this morning to try and find some new challenges elsewhere but he’ll be back in June for more rebreather madness and no doubt more searching. I will make a blog about their expedition in the next few days.

How To Set Up Your Side Mounts

2011-04-16T05:56:00.000-07:00

Alan’s been showing Phil Short the ins and outs of rigging side mounts. Jason got to be our side mount model. Now I don’t know much about side mounts but this was what I understood of the exercise . . . First you need some expensive gear . . . Then you need to know how to put it together the right way . . . Find yourself an unsuspecting French victim . . . Put him in an appropriate T-shirt . . .

And strap lots of heavy objects to him . . .

There’s been some bad weather the last couple of days but that hasn’t deterred the expedition. They have still been out exploring the deep blue . . .

So shallow pools are now just a place for them to chill out . . .

Anyone Looking for a New Undersuit?

2011-04-14T23:22:00.000-07:00

Alan’s been introduced to yet more snazzy Halcyon gear. This time it’s the brand new Halo 3d undersuit. He says it really does work!

Here’s a link to it if you want to read more about it . . .

http://fourthelement.com/dry_halo_3d_undersuit.php

Our team of searchers have found a big wreck and are off to investigate it today which means another long day on Trimix, or rebreathers for them – not that anyone’s complaining about it!

We were all very lucky the other day at Divewise to get some of Viv’s amazing carrot cake that she’d been promising to make for the last few weeks.

Jack's had his bandage removed and has taken over the longe area that nev spent so much time on . . .

Some Proper Tech Trimix Expedition Diving!

2011-04-13T23:55:00.001-07:00

Oskar and Sverre left yesterday after a good few weeks of Advanced Recreational Trimix, Pleasure diving and Gas Blending. Hope to see you again soon guys!

Pau had a go at Tech diving the other day on the House Reef doing a try dive with Howard. He’s already eager to start his Tech 40 course though finding the time in the next few weeks will be rather difficult given how busy we are going to be with recreational divers now their season is starting. Fran and Anne are also itching to get back in the water with twin sets especialy after Annes pleasure dive at Gozo the other day.

Yesterday Richard Howes from PADI EMA awarded Divewise and the staff with a plaque to commemorate Divewise being a PADI member for the last 20 years and on reaching number one dive centre rating in 2008, 2009, and 2010, Let’s see what happens in 2011. Richard also commented on how Divewise has continued to improve every year despite changes to the Economic climate.

The other piece of big news I have for today is that over the next couple of days Alan Whitehead, Phil Short, Paul Toomer, Al Wright, Howard Payne and Jason Renoux are off doing some proper Tech trimix expedition diving. They have all been so excited they haven’t been able to sleep and Fran is very jealous that she’s not got the qualifications to join them. Watch this space to find out more . . .

Tech and Cave diving on Gozo

2011-04-11T00:36:00.000-07:00

Everyone had a fantastic time on Gozo yesterday ...

Jacks back today. Limping a bit but he's a lot livelier now and he’s opted for a yellow bandage today.

Ed, Pau and Jason are out of the water today helping Nev and Dave with yet more hammering, sawing and heavy lifting.

Well sort of . . .

Alan is in the classroom teaching a gas blending course . . .

In case anyone’s interested he also provides a ‘how to clean the whiteboard’ course for free . . .

Later Alan is going on the house reef today with the reg of death . . .

Poor Jack!

2011-04-10T00:07:00.001-07:00

Tech divers are off to Gozo today to do a 40m dive. Alan is taking his side mounts to do some cave exploration with Phil Sort, lets hope they find some interesting stuff!

Yesterday’s training proved a success. Fran, Anne and Steph, managed to find the P29 and the exit twice using different forms of navigation. Unfortunately for Fran, Anne and Steph also had practice driving Harriet so they could get used to driving a longer vehicle and learn where the big bumps are in the road. They found the best way to test this was to put little Fran in the back and if they heard Fran shout ‘oww!’ they knew it was a bump that should be avoided!

Jack had a worse day than Fran. Viv took him for a walk and he cut his paw on some glass. Probably a bottle smashed by some idiot that was out drinking last night. It was bleeding quite badly so he had to have stitches so he spent yesterday feeling very sorry for himself. So Viv and Jack have the day off today.

And while Jacks away the Maltese cats will play ....

I would also like to introduce, 3 men on a mission:

Nev

Dangerous Dave

And ‘el tonto del pueblo’ known as Pau

Have been building a new frame to hang out the dive gear

Don’t they look professional . . .

Staff Training Day!

2011-04-08T23:49:00.000-07:00

Today is our staff training day. We have one every month – providing we can fit it in around all the pleasure dives and courses that are going on!

Alan is in for a long day in the classroom with Phil Sort. Phil is going to be telling him about all the recent updates that have been made by IANTD.

However its only 8:30 and he’s already trying out the sofas on a tea break. Probably waiting for Alan to reply to his long list of emails.

Jason will hopefully be getting his luggage today otherwise he will have to endure one more day without his regulator!

Jason's Back for the Summer!

2011-04-08T01:18:00.000-07:00

We have a nice new lounge area at Divewise today courtesy of Nev so people have somewhere nice to sit while they drink coffee and sign log books.

We still only have one lone fish for Sarah to look after in the fish tank though!

Amy, Martin and Phil have been getting their rebreathers ready for a dive on the Um El Faroud this morning. Phil has never been to this wreck so this should be a good day of diving for him. Yesterday they went to Cirkewwa and Phil said that even though he normally prefers to dive in caves he really enjoyed the sea diving at Cirkewwa.

Yesterday Sarah took Oskar and Sverre to the Blenheim Bomber. A good dive to celebrate completing their Advanced Recreational Trimix course.

Today they have gone for a pleasure dive to Cirkewwa so they were in bright and early as usual getting their equipment ready.

We have an old friend called Jason who has come back to us from Mexico to work for the summer. He worked here for 5 years a few years ago and having been working in Mexico the past few years knows the ins and outs of diving with sidemounts so theres going to be plenty of oppertunity for people to learn about cave diving with him and Alan.

Dangerous Dave's also about today helping Nev with his handy work ....

Certifications, more certifications. . . and a lost King Fisher!

2011-04-07T03:23:00.000-07:00

Once again April has kicked off with Alan being awarded the status of Platinum Course Director. Every year PADI set challenges and targets to make it that bit more difficult to achieve this status. However Alan has continued to succeed at this since he was first awarded the status in 2004. He has also now certified over 1000 instructors – I don’t think I’ve even met that many instructors in my lifetime!

Yesterday someone rescued a King Fisher that he found stunned on the path and brought it to us. Fran immediately stopped what she was doing and adopted the little bird for half an hour making sure it had plenty of water.

Sarah then took it to a bird sanctuary nearby. Hopefully it will be better soon. They person at the sanctuary said it looked like the bird had flown into a window and was just stunned and that this was really common. The birds at the sanctuary apparently do it all the time when she gets the fish out and they try to get to it. Oh dear!

We currently have a whole family out diving with us. Amy and martin are out here doing a rebreather course with Phil Short, while their daughter Zoe and her friend Leonora are finishing off their Open Water course.

The family and Leonora have gone to Cirkewwa today so the girls can finish their Open Water dives 3 and 4, and Amy and Martin can continue their rebreather course with a change of scenery.

Oskar and Sverre completed their IANTD Advanced Tech Trimix course with us yesterday so congradulations to them. Its been a lot of hard work but also a lot of fun!

I think they're a bit sick of me taking pictures of them though!

That's One Big Camera!

2011-04-04T00:21:00.000-07:00

As promised Steve got us some pictures of Oskar on his short deco dive at Cirkewwa yesterday. So here they are:

Richard Stephenson, Phil Short and Max spent yesterday in the centre and on the house reef playing with some impressive photographic equipment!

And in Richies case drinking lots of tea – it’s a hard life for divers!

The picture quality they can achieve from this equipment puts my puny camera to shame!

IANTD Advanced Recreational Trimix Fun!

2011-04-03T00:02:00.000-07:00

The divers from Norway have been working hard this week doing their IANTD Advanced Recreational Trimix course. They’ve trained on land...

in the pool....

in the sea....

and also the classroom.

Oskar is going out today to put all the things he has learnt into practice. He is off to Cirkewwa where he is going to do a short deco dive to the P29 and the Rozi. Steve’s going along to get some photos of this spectacular dive, which ill share with you later.

Richie Stevenson arrived in the early hours of the morning with Maxwell Fisher and a rather large amount of luggage. They are here for a few days for some pleasure diving on their rebreathers or ‘rebreather madness’ as Richie calls it. Let’s hope there’s plenty of weird and wonderful creatures about this week for them to see.

Techwise Nappies

2011-03-27T00:53:00.000-07:00

Alan has purchesed some new equipment..

There’s been a bit of confusion around the dive centre about bow to wear it.....

Alan clearly didn’t understand how this piece of equipment functions...

Until Anne Japan demonstrated how it should be done ...

So now to Frans dismay, he’s getting his head around it...

Steve has just gone out to do a check dive on the house reef with Oskar and Sverre who are out here for two weeks from Norway and are starting their Advanced Recreational Trimix course. Steve's taken the camera so we will have to wait for the photos to come back ...

Tech 65

2011-03-26T07:10:00.000-07:00

Sasha, Irene and Arthur, three tech divers training for Tech 65 with Alan have been busy this last week. They went on a pleasure dive to the MV Karwela on Gozo for a bit of a break the other day. Sarah one of our instructors lead them out to the wreck. There were lots of Squid egg sacs about ...

Yesterday they had a more serious dive to the Faroud.

It appeared to Sasha and Arthur that Alan and Irene were having a competition for who had the most challenging dry suit to get into ....

Alan gave them some lovely simulations to deal with. They had to switch to back up plans and had to deal with a loss gas ascent followed by a loss deco switch. Which they handled well.

Alan also took his side mounts in to pracice with.

They also handled my first attempt at driving the van Harriet rather well, but to be honest I think they were so tired after the dive they probably weren’t paying much attention to it.

This morning they were up early to get their equipment ready for a 65m di

ve to the bow of the HMS Southwold.

Tech Diving ... a whole new ball game!

2011-03-25T03:23:00.000-07:00

My names Steph. I started working at Divewise/Techwise about a week ago as a part time recreational Instructor and part time office worker. I am supposed to be writing a blog for all you Tech divers. I have a bit of a problem. I have never actually done any tech diving. However Alan seems set on teaching me. The little have seen of tech diving in the last week has shown me people love it. I don’t think I’ve met anyone yet who has tried Tech diving and not got hooked on it.

I also know from helping load the vans that the equipment is about as heavy as me! Fran one of our recreational Instructors has tried Tech diving and she’s so tiny her knees actually give way under the weight and she ends up sat down about 3 times on the short walk to the entry point. If you hav'nt already guessed Fran is on the right ....

I’m going to be telling you a lot about what other Tech Divers are up to at Techwise but I’ll also share some of my learning experiences with you so you can all have a laugh at my expense. Because this is going to be a huge learning curve for me I may get things wrong in the blog, so feel free to correct me. Honestly I will appreciate it! Hopefully some of you will be coming out to dive with us this year, so you can give me some advice! You may even get to witness my seahorse impersonations, of which I’m sure there will be many!

8m dive, I mean 80!

2010-08-31T04:49:00.000-07:00

Today's date will be a noted date in the log books of four daring tech divers. Today was the first time that our very own instructor Howard and our long time tech student, Luidmila had ever been as deep as the dive today- planned depth of 80m! Planned turn time was 18minutes down the wall at Wras il Hobes off Gozo then another 40minutes decompressing on the ascent. Alan was there watching, proudly watching over his students while there were two safety divers at 40m as a back up. They were in the shop from an early time each diver taking three stages with them doing two switches to enriched air, first to 32% then 72%. One dive, 5 twin sets and 12 stages between the lot of them. High maintenance divers, absolutely! The buzz of excitement before the dive was electric between all of them and us rec divers were left at the centre jealous of their plan.We're eagerly awaiting their return to hear the ins and outs of the dive, but i'm sure they'll be as elusive as tech divers always are!

Earlier this week aswell we had three DTD (Discover Tech Dives) out on the house reef with Steve, our summer instructor. Francesca, Jay and Stephen all managed to survive, everyone was suprised as Fran who was carrying more than her body weight on her back. Debrief from Steve sounded like they all did extremely well practicing some back finning and helicopter turns on their first time. Pretty impressive for the Italien, Maltese and German. Think techwise is going to be busy this winter with all these keen techies!!

We're also anticipating a few groups to be paying us a visit this October when the water's still comfortable and the vis is great to hit those deep sites like the Stubborn and the Poly. And i heard Luidmila talking about the HMS Southwold which is aournd 70-80m so the next finger slates will be written up shortly!

Tech Delicatessen

2010-07-08T00:04:00.000-07:00

1 Danish Pastry

1 Luxembourger with chips

1 Lithuanian Litvak

No this isn't a very diverse menu this is the collection of tech divers doing their advanced Nitrox course at the moment with Alan. After a cruisy dive to Um El Faroud yesterday they left this morning to the inland sea after a quick morning classroom session with numbers and calculators flying around the room. Two days ago the gang were joined by Matt, one of our uni boys here doing a dozen recreational dives and wanted to give the twin set a bash so they all headed out to the house reef to do some skills and have a bimble around and all came back successfully and he's already looking forward to doing his Tech 40 on his next trip.

The other day I was being enlightened about Tech diving by a very inspiring tech instructor and he was telling me how it has more of a purpose, compared to recreational diving where is can be more relaxed in its planning, a more "we'll see what we see" kind of attitude. I enjoyed hearing this focused kind of diving with a plan an objective and a time limit. Hhmm I think I see my new certification card... I'll let you know when I do my twin set taster, feel free to let me know if anyone wants to join??

My Version of Tech History

2010-06-24T02:49:00.000-07:00

Technical diving- as a non technical diver, and um a girl, this sounds awfully complicated and also very heavy. I have attempted to lift one of those twin sets and its probably easier to lift a set of identical twins! But i have been assured that it is manageable and can't be too difficult...

If in doubt find solace that two of our instructors, the two Alexs or Dude and JNR as their known around the dive shop have recently become our newest tech instructors- so if they can teach it then we can surely learn it!! No no, they have worked really hard and are more than capable, ask our newly certified tech 40 diver Paul who finished his course at the Faroud yesterday! A very happy divers whos now taking some time away from the diving to finish his holiday with the family, a very big well done to him and looking forward to his return!!

We've got a trip to the Polynesian planned for tomorrow so the boys will be heading down 60m to check out the biggest wreck in Malta spanning over 100m in length. Now i've been doing my research on the wreck and its got quite a history and has now turned into a phenomenal dive. After being bombed in 1918 the thirty year old boat went down in just over half an hour to head to its new home taking ten lives with it. Its been nick-named the "plate" ship due to all the crockery and artifacts still aboard, since its been there for nearly a century its become a popular artificial reef where you see big schools of barracuda, you'll also see two deck guns at the bow and stern and play pretend wars! Boys with their toys and all!

Back in the deep for more lovely Trouble

2009-09-01T06:04:00.000-07:00

Dita is back (aka Trouble) sadly sans Chaos, but one is plenty for us - a wonderful woman ful of mischief and an excellent diver! Today Alan is taking Dita for a nice deep one off Gozo, getting back into the swing of things ready for the Stubborn and Le Polynesien over the next week or so!

As the recreational season starts to run at a slightly easier pace, its the perfect time for Teccies to drop in and enjoy some quiet and beautiful dives on the deeper sites of the island.

We'll fill you in on how Dita enjoys her diving this week as she goes.
For now, we're filling a whole bunch of twins and stage for the Guinness World Record attempt training taking place on the Divewise side of things.

Extending the Maltese Technical Community - Instructors Become Students Again

2009-08-26T06:59:00.000-07:00

Its never too late to stop learning, as our latest set of students prove - they're already instructors and well experienced in the dives of Malta - but they've taken on the new challenge of learning to go deeper, longer and safer.

Sadly, its well known on the island that many divers visit depths past 40m without proper training and equipment. Its something that we don't tolerate here, and our instructor friends from around the island don't do it, of course, but with growing numbers of enquiries into these deeper sites, centres everywhere want to start showing people how to do it properly, which means enabling their staff to do it!

Techwise steps in, offering especially tailored courses to fit round the hectic schedule of those working in the diving industry - which translates to night classes and spreading the course dives over time to allow instructors to use their days off to learn more. We're flexible and just happy to get as many people diving safely as possible. We love that these instructors want to set a good example to their students and clients - everybody wins!

Wild Weekends with the Lock/Fearn Franchise

2009-08-12T10:20:00.000-07:00

More returning friends are lighting up the Techwise shop once more. Gareth and Howard slipped over for a sneaky weekend of awesome technical diving on the best wrecks of Malta. The Polynsien, The Southwald and the Stubborn graced the menu - proving that even on a long weekend you can really get some depth and see some sights!

Poor guys, they go home and only today our two Italian technical friends spotted TWO Mola Mola Sunfish off the side of the Polynesien. Jammy!

Its unbelievable how fast the season is passing - blink and you're already into next week and a new set of tecchie divers! Soon it will be Autumn already and time for a return visit from Mr Collard, one of our favourite rebreather boys!

Can't wait guys, come on back any time!

103m Trimix Course Dive - Now We're talking!

2009-07-30T00:19:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to James Le and Hayden Schembri, who just completed their Exploratory Trimix Course with Paul Toomer at Techwise Malta. The grande finale of the course took them to 103m (and yes there was much fighting between the Black Sheep lads to register just a few centimetres deeper than their counterparts!).

Its been months in planning as Hayden and James are long term dive partners but their international jobs have kept them apart until now! We've heard nothing but hilarious stories about skill-drill time, underwater sign-language (keep it clean boys!) and of course the dive itself.

Hayden reported feeling like being in a dream when he surfaced, and having no words to describe the experience. We know that it's something both of these divers have been yearning for for a long time - so we're really chuffed for them.

The group went to the Cargo ship, through the glassy blue waves of Malta. The photos are really something else! (Check out our Facebook group to see these!). Thanks to Alan and Robin for support diving!

Reccie - Techie its all the same now!!

2009-07-25T10:33:00.001-07:00

Our newest family member - the Poseidon recreational rebreather! These lovely little fellas are making their way to Divewise as we type... and it could mean a whole new era for diving...

OK, so it's recreational - but look at this shiny new kit!
B E A Uuuutiful!

You don't have to be a technical diver to try this fantastic new bit of kit - you don't even have to be a diver! With the recreational rebreather you can BEGIN your diving adventure on a rebreather.

The difference between this shiny little number and conventional open circuit SCUBA is that when you breathe out on SCUBA, your exhalation is lost into the ocean - rebreathers recycle your breathe, adding just the right balance of Oxygen to let you breathe it again - less waste, less air carried - more time in the water!

Sounds good eh? We're ridiculously excited to bust them out of their boxes the minute they arrive and start getting to know them inside out - we'll keep you posted about all the neat features and benefits - our dives on them and when you too can book on to ... what shall we call it DRD? - Discover Rebreather Diving!

Gozo the Great - Technical Diving on the Honey isle!

2009-07-16T11:32:00.001-07:00

Back from another awesome day out on the waves - today Techwise was over on Gozo getting deep and dirty - really getting inside of the 2 wrecks of the Cominoland and the Karwela. Down the stairways, through the body of these great machines - nothing can top it - and all under the careful watch of a top-notch tec instructor and dive guide.

Of course you need to be fully qualified and skilled up to perform such feats under a bit of depth - but all those courses are available from Techwise too - TDI, IANTD, SSI TEK XR and DSAT - Lots of capitals and acronyms - and lots of lovely learning to be done.

Meanwhile, Richard is slavering over the Helo 2 and considering a nice little pre pre pre Christmas treat! Love it!

Ah, but its late now and there's gases to be mixed... so off we pop, into the night... ready for more fun tomorrow.

Getting Back into the Tec way

2009-07-15T09:41:00.000-07:00

This week we had a Divemaster and Technical qualified customer roll up to our doors - he was well supplied with certs, but it had been a while since he'd been diving, even in a recreational sense. Originally he only wanted to dive recreational, but after seeing the places that our tec divers were going out to - the bug suddenly bit once again!

So how do you get back into the Tec way after a bit of a break? Luckily for us, we're flexible, even up to the last minute - originally booked for a recreational , our customer was able to dip in on the reef with some other tec trainees and bust out a skill circuit or two. This is really essential - to get back in to complicated manoeuvres and specialized skills within the safety of the house reef and a great group of friends and instructors - there to help should you struggle.

From then on its just edging your limits back up to your previous standards - start night and easy with a shore dive at Gozo maybe - take in the Inland sea as you simulate deco-stops on your way up from the reef. Then when you're ready for something meatier - check out the Blenhiem Bomber or the Stubborn, and finally whip-cream topping your week with a jolly on the Poly! Well - we'll see - he has a wife on holiday with him after all!

This array of diving makes Malta JUST the island to tempt teccies back in after a stay away... and luckily for them Techwise is JUST the centre to get them back into the swing of things safely!