BlueFlipper Diving

As a dive centre we were recently very touched by the plight of 4 dolphins being kept in a swimming pool outside a Hurghada villa. These poor creatures had been bought to Egypt from Japan and until their new dolphinarium was built, they had been placed in appalling conditions. The Youtube video posted on Facebook created such publicity and outrage and spurred the Egyptian authorities into action. HEPCA (a marine conservation organization based in Hurghada) stepped in and now the dolphins are being moved to a private salt lake of their own.

The issue remains of dolphinariums in Egypt, any company that can keep these beautiful creatures in such conditions is not capable of running a dolphin show. Reports indicate that the pool was 9m x 9m and with an ineffectual filtering system the visibility was less than 20cm.
As long as dolphin shows are allowed in Egypt things like this will continue to happen, the following link is to the petition site campaigning against all captive dolphins in Egypt.

www.thepetitionsite.com/16/stop-dolphin-captivity-in-Egypt

Please take the time to complete this and register your views.

Submitted by Red Sea Diving College.

According to the laws of physics they say the bumble bee can not fly…yet it does. When I look at the puffer fish it always reminds me of these strange buzzing bugs. They are cumbersome and move with an endearing awkward wiggle. It is due to this lack of maneuverability that the puffer has developed its unique defense mechanisms. Their highly elastics stomachs allow them to rapidly ingest large quantities of water turning them into an unappetizing ball of three times the size. Some species add spines to the menu (some containing toxins) and others also have poisonous internal organs designed to get the ultimate revenge on those that succeed in eating them! In the toxic species the venom is said to be over 1200 times more poisonous than cyanide, enough to kill over 30 adult humans!

Puffers range in size from 1 inch (the pygmy puffer found only in Indian rivers) right up to 2 feet long. They have 4 teeth; 2 top and 2 bottom with each layer fused together giving the appearance of having a beak. This beak is perfect for their omnivorous diet, allowing them to snap plant leaves and crack open the juicy mollusks they find when foraging along the reef.

When reproducing, the female is guided by the male towards the shore where mummy puffer releases between 3 and 7 eggs which are very light and float on the surface for a week before hatching. Once hatched the babies start to develop fins and a tail, when more developed they loose their buoyancy and sink down to join the other reef dwelling fish.

Like most fish the puffer faces threats from man, most notably in Japan where they are a delicacy called fugu, the chefs are specially trained to remove the most deadly toxins leaving only enough poison to give the diner a pleasant “tingle”. As many deaths occur each year from poor food preparation of these fish, perhaps they are best left on the reef?

Submitted by Red Sea Diving College.

Stonefish (Synanceia Verrucosa) are one of the deadliest marine creatures in existence. Often brown or green in colour they blend in almost perfectly with their reef surroundings and are extremely difficult for divers and fish to spot. This ‘chance’ picture was taken at Maxwell’s dive site located at Taba Heights in Egypt. It’s very unusual to see Stonefish making any movement whatsoever unless they are about to strike.

This is part of their unique and deadly attack strategy. The passing Surgeon fish was totally oblivious and had no idea that the piece of coral it was about to nibble would in fact be a deadly predator. In just a split second the lurking creature opened its large mouth and created a vacuum so strong that the defenseless surgeon fish was literally sucked into the jaws of the rock like critter. The Stonefish has 13 spines running down its back (they can be clearly seen in the picture). These spines act as a defense mechanism against predators and sometimes snorkelers or divers tread on the fish or touch it by mistake. In this case the Stonefish always reacts defensively.

The venom causes severe pain, shock and can even be fatal if not treated immediately. Divers encountered this rare sight during an underwater photography workshop held at Waterworld diving centre. Unfortunately it was a wide angle dive so no one could get any close ups.

The fish was also sitting inside a coral outcrop making it difficult for anything but a ‘plan view’ picture, how inconsiderate! The photograph shows the 30cm long Stonefish halfway through eating its ‘whopper’ sized meal. The blue body and yellow tail fin of the Surgeon fish is all that is left visible.

Talking about stonefish, have a look at this fantastic sketch of Billy Connolly about the ‘Ouch-meter’ and a stonefish. Hilarious!

Submitted by Red Sea Diving College.

You are looking to end the dive, your buddy decides to deploy an SMB, suddenly you realize your buddy is gone, panic sets in; where has he gone? Ahhh… there he is dangling from 5 inches of string, just below the surface!

As a key piece of dive kit the SMB is an extremely useful tool when used effectively, however improper use can make it dangerous and cause rapid ascents. This month’s hints and tips look at simple things to help make your SMB deployments safer and more effective.

1. Take care of your equipment

When preparing your equipment be sure that your reel is spooled neatly, a tangled reel can cause snagging which could result in a reel jam.

2. Everything clear above you

When ready to deploy the reel ensure that you are not attached in any way to the reel or SMB. Also look above to make sure there are no boats overhead, you will not be popular with the skipper when his propeller is tangled in your line!

3. Watch out for your buoyancy

Make yourself either neutrally buoyant or slightly negative as you inflate the SMB, whilst adding air exhale simultaneously. This will make sure that the slight pull from the ascending buoy will not affect your buoyancy.

4. Don’t attach your self to the reel

Do not attach the reel to yourself for any reason, should a boat travel overhead and catch your line, you will find yourself dragged at speed behind the boat…fine when waterskiing but not when diving. At any time you should be able to release the reel and SMB to keep yourself safe.

5. Choose the right SMB

Bigger is not always better, a large SMB will be harder to fill and even with the air expansion on ascent you may find a large SMB insufficiently full on the surface making it floppy.

It is worth taking the time to practice in shallow water. Go in a local pool or dabble in the shallows off the beach until you feel confident. The PADI SMB Distinctive Specialty Course is becoming increasingly popular as you will have the time to practice and learn many more effective tips for safe SMB use.

Submitted by Red Sea Diving College.

You are in Sharm to dive, but you are also on holiday? When diving the balance between those heavy nights out and your daily dive activities can be a fine one. This month we ask our medical experts in Sharm’s Hyperbaric Medical Centre what the effects of alcohol can be and more importantly how they can directly affect the diver.

First and foremost it is important to state that there is a big difference between “feeling” fine and actually being fine. One drink can actually produce a marked decline in reaction times, the visual, psychological and physical processing of tasks and a person’s attention span. Furthermore research has indicated that even after the blood alcohol level has returned to zero these abilities take time to return to normal, this has a large impact on the hung-over diver.

The diuretic effect of alcohol on the kidneys means that it becomes extremely easy to become de-hydrated creating an unacceptable risk of DCS.

Drinking in between dives (even one drink), is a definite no. Aside from the above factors there is also an increase in the effect of nitrogen narcosis whilst in water.

A pilot study made in Sharm el Sheikh and published during the 2007 EUBS Conference concluded that “..Alcohol awareness among divers is not emphasized enough…” and “…that 6.5% of diving professionals have a history of alcohol related injury…”

One must also account for the other factors that often accompany a night spent drinking, these can be anything from heavy smoking to disturbed sleep and late nights, neither of which are compatible with safe diving.

If the lure of the bar and tequila bottle is too  much to resist then either save it for your last night or even take a days break in your dive trip.

It is important to enjoy your holiday but it is more important to us that you remain safe.

SAFE  DIVING!

Dr. Adel Taher & Dr. Ahmed Sakr: your diving docs

If you have any medical queries please let us know at jochen@redseacollege.com. The most interesting one will be discussed in our next issue.

24 hr Emergency Hotline +20 (12) 212 42 92 – Email: hyper_med_center@sinainet.com.eg

Submitted by Red Sea Diving College.

It is not exactly blessed in the looks department.

In fact some divers who came across this unusual-looking fish off the Japanese coast have now nicknamed it ‘Shrek’ because of its bizarre features.

‘Shrek’ is a type of Asian sheepshead wrasse which are well-known for the odd protrusions on their head and are relatively common in the waters around Japan.

Is it the ugliest looking fish in the sea?

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1308043/Fish-looks-like-Shrek-Worlds-ugliest-fish-nicknamed-scuba-divers.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0z8VzZfx9

It is common to meet divers with a passion for marine life but it is rare to meet one who will dedicate their life to the science and preservation of a marine species. This July, Sharm was lucky to host Dr. Andrea Marshall, christened “Queen of Manta’s” by the BBC documentary of the same name. Her Ph.D. on Manta Rays was the first ever doctoral thesis to be completed on these magnificent creatures. Giving up a life of home comforts, shopping malls and dating potential, since 2003 Andrea has been working from a small hut in the remote coastal town of Tofu in Mozambique. Working tirelessly to discover more about this species, educate the public and encourage their conservation, Andrea has made huge progress in the data now available on mantas.

Andrea gave a series of talks whilst here, one of which was for the staff and guests of both Sinai Divers and Red Sea Diving College as a co-operative event. To describe the talk as fascinating would be an understatement. Covering everything from the fact that mantas can dive down to depths of 1000m, to their unique identifying features, the 2 penises endowed on the males, right through to the threats they face to their existence and how divers can help.

The Red Sea is of particular interest to Andrea as she has noticed that the majority of the
manta’s seen here are youngsters, meaning that we may actually have one of the worlds only known Giant Manta nurseries.

Within the same month, in the same subject of big ray’s we were amazed to have one of the only known devil ray sightings up near Taba at Farun Island. An exciting diving experience for the divers who were at the time taking their first ever dive experience!

To help Andrea with compiling an international database on Mantas, please send any manta photos to us detailing location and approximate date (worldwide sightings are welcome) on vicki.jarman@redseacollege.com and for more information on the activities of the Manta Queen visit her blog at www.saveourseas.com/blogs/mantas-mozambique

During July, several families took advantage of the school holidays and went Tek together, some on rebreathers and some on open circuit. Amoung them was Jeane-Prune, who started her rebreather course on her 17th birthday and now holds the record as the youngest CCR Inspiration Vision diver ever certified by PURE.

Onboard the dedicated technical diving boat she immediately fit in with the group of more experienced Tekkies. With a CCR Inspiration on her back, bailout stage at her side and helmet on her head she became hooked. The decision to join her brother Felix on the CCR Intro to Cave Course was an easy one to make after a magical dive in one of Ras Mohammed’s stunning caverns. Both are now rebreather  cave diving addicts with a mastery of rebreather buoyancy to make even the most experienced diver envious. As if this was not enough excitement, some DPV dives (and some monkey diving), close encounters with mantas and several species of sharks made the experience complete.

On the open circuit side there were other families joining in, Bertrand already a technical diving instructor chose this month to extend his technical credentials by taking a few more instructor qualifications. His daughter Clémence, only 18 years old and already a certified PADI Instructor decided to discover the deep with an entry level trimix course. The rest of the family, although not instructors, are experienced divers and are waiting impatiently to turn 15 and enrol on their first technical course.Last but not least we have Richard, at 18 years old, has just become PURE’s first certified TDI Helitrox Diver accompanied by his father Kevin!

According to Florence, the mother of Prune and Felix, the rest of the family had no alternative than to join the fun.

Feel the Force and come to the Darkside, but bring your family! Remember the family that (Tek) dives together…stays together.

Go to www.purediving.com for your first Tec-course.

When you look at the amount of heavy lifting involved in preparing for a dive and the methods for entering and exiting the water it becomes extremely important to look after one of your most important pieces of equipment; your back. This month our hints and tips look at ways to help with lifting, kitting up and entering or exiting the water.

1. Stay fit

Firstly it must be made clear that problems with your back when diving will more than likely aggravate an existing (perhaps even unknown) condition. Good physical fitness and muscle condition will always make strain or injury less likely.
The combined weight of all your required dive kit is substantial and simply lifting it on and off boats or out of vehicles can cause problems. Your leg muscles are much more powerful than your back, so it makes sense to use these for lifting.

2. Lift correctly

Stand close to the object, bend the knees and with a straight back lift by using the leg muscles to stand up.
When kitting or de-kitting extra care is necessary, those fiercely independent divers who insist on donning equipment without assistance will do themselves no favours. If you insist on doing it alone lift the equipment, with the technique above, onto a bench, ledge or other surface, and then put on the BCD. Far from looking cool…the over the head and down the back technique will eventually cause injury.

3. Stand in balance

Whilst standing around in equipment it is important to center your weight, lean forward slightly and try not to position weights over the spine where the cylinder will press them into your back. Distribute weights and extra cylinders (you tekkies) evenly to ensure a balanced weight load.

4. Minimize the stress

When coming up the ladder at the end of the dive stay close to the ladder to minimize stress on your lower back. Once up either sit down to remove equipment or slowly slide it down your back onto the floor.

5. Don’t force your back, stop in time

Lastly be sensible, if you have back pain and you feel it will become worse by diving, affect your enjoyment of the dive or distract you, then stay dry. It is better to be cautious and dive another day free from concerns.

For ways of reducing the amount of weight necessary and tips on distribution of equipment take the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Course.

Divers who wear contact lenses are sometimes put off diving as they are concerned about the effect the mask removal skills may have on their lenses and eyes. This month we ask our medical experts at the Sharm Hyperbaric Medical Centre, for information on diving when visually impaired.

Firstly, if you are not able to see much without glasses or lenses it is i mportant to have some form of correction when diving. This will make sure that you see the whale shark that swims past and also prevent you from swimming into the fragile reef.
Diving with contact lenses is something many divers do, when you meet your instructor inform them that you are a lens wearer and will be closing your eyes during the mask skills. Most instructors deal with this by tapping your shoulder when the mask is successfully cleared of water.

When choosing which lenses to wear the softer lenses are recommended as the hard lenses are not gas permeable, making off gassing of Nitrogen harder, this means that there can be a theoretical DCS risk when wearing hard lenses (we clarified this and yes; we actually off-gas through the eyes and tear ducts). It is also far cheaper to replace a soft than a hard lens, should one accidentally be lost.

Risk of infection from bacteria in the water getting under the lens is almost negligible, however should you suffer from any redness or itching in the days following a dive, it is always advisable to visit an eye specialist for a check-up.

Some divers may find their eyes rather dry after a dive and it is perfectly acceptable to use moisturizing eye drops after a dive for comfort.
For keen divers it may be a good idea to invest in a specially made prescription mask…the downside of this is that a carelessly placed tank may leave you with a broken mask and no means to see underwater. Either a second prescription mask or spare lenses can avoid theses situations.
Remember everything is magnified by about a third when underwater so if your concern is seeing the face of your dive computer, this may be solved naturally.

SAFE DIVING!
Dr. Adel Taher & Dr. Ahmed Sakr: your diving docs

If you have any medical queries please let us know at jochen@redseacollege.com. The most interesting one will be discussed in our next issue.
24 hr Emergency Hotline +20 (12) 212 42 92 – Email: hyper_med_center@sinainet.com.eg