Orpheus

Diving is a relatively safe sport. However, neccessary precautions are needed. Doing just your Open Water Diver course do not qualify you to do all sorts of diving. Even if the Instructor is willing to do it with you, take proper precautions. Fundamental training for each sort of diving is crucial and continuing your dive education will benefit you as a diver. I just came back from a three weeks trip from Pulau Perhentian and the first thing that greeted me was the media with this unfortunate accident. Reading it, I came to realise something. Many divers are selecting their dive operator based on pricing and not the level of education and safety. As a Instructor, my primary focus has always been delivering the right information to divers, even if it means not making a lot of money. Ultimately, divers' lives are more precious than a couple of dollars. For those divers to be, check with your dive operator the way they are gonna conduct their Open Water Course and even leisure dives. Just A NOTE: 1 It is your responsibility to ensure that the DIVE PROFESSIONAL attending to you stays current and updated. You can check their Professional card for their ratings. 2) Ensure that your Dive Professional are equipped with Oxygen and First Aid Kit in the unlikely event of an accident. 3) Check for the Emergency Assistant Plan. This should be a SOP item, they should have it.

Dun even try nitrox at that depth! Nitrox is NOT MEANT FOR DEEP DIVES! Trimix is the correct mixture!

Now I am beginning to think there is some jinx factor with Lona. Let's see what happens this weekend at Dayang without Lona

Lona; Apologise for the lousy visibility over the weekend. But I am sure you will have a better experience in Manado. Personally, I think the best way to dive Tioman is Liveonboard. Only then, you will be able to cover the better dive sites. I can personally recommend you a few good dive sites, even better than some in Thailand.

For those divers who own their personal diving gear, especially BCD and regulator, it is highly recommended that you send it back to your dive operator for an annual servicing. Especially if you dive with enriched air, get your o-rings changed twice a year.

Just to add a teeny bit of information. Split Fins - Apollo, Scubapro, Tusa and another Taiwan brand. Split fins are designed to create a propulsion effect. It is highly recommended for lazy divers but personally, I will not recommend for people who are turning pro. The power of split fins should not be under estimated. A diver will poor buoyancy control using split fins will harm the ecosystem by either "brushing" against marine life or stirring up the sand. Jet Fins / Force Fins - Scubapro, Force Fins Both of the above have their own followers. A person using either fins will swear by it. Generally speaking, users of either fins must have very strong hamstrings and the finning techniques must be right. The two fins are not recommended for new divers, unless u have a tube of deep heat with you on the dive trip. But once u have adapted to it, either fins will probably be your first and last fins. Plastics/Rubber Fins - Scubapro, Seac Sub, all taiwan brands, Tusa ... ... These are the most common fins. Highly recommended for city divers who dive only once or twice a year. However, there are some down sides to it. For plastic and rubber to co-exist, the only way is either by heat or glue. Translating it, it means the fins will not last u a life time. My two cents worth... ...

In States and other parts of Europe, PADI has 65% market shares and in Asia, PADI has close to 90% market shares. This means that PADI is a more recognised agency and this ensure that no matter where you go, your certification will be recognise. As for training standards, I am not in the position to compare which agency is better. But for PADI, it does not matter where you do your course as all the Instructors are using the same standards, the only difference is the style of delivering the information to each candidate. I choose PADI for my Open Water Diver course because of the ease of it. As a new diver, your concern should be experiencing the in-water experience. Singapore has the following agencies; - PADI - NAUI - SSI - BSAC - DIR The bottom line is not about selecting which agency but which instructor u are most comfortable with. Diving is a relatively safe sport and for you to truly enjoy it, you must be diving with the right company. Each dive last for only a maximum of 50mins and for the rest of the time, you will be facing the rest of the divers and dive professionals

Actually, both SSI and PADI has vey similiar training standards and procedures. As a freelance instructor, you can actually obtain both SSI and PADI Instructor status. But generally, PADI does lottsa of market reseach on divers's behaviour and they constantly introduce new adventures for divers. PADI is sort of a premium brand in diving, I guess that sums it all

On the contrary, I was at Perhentian the week before and diving was excellent

Additional dives can be made at RM50 per dive. As long as time and weather conditions permits, divers can always arrange for more dives.

Yazid; I have two mossies waiting for u in the office. Come by and see which one you prefer. There are many other choices of dive computers you can pick from Suunto Stinger and Mossie Apollo Nano Alladin (many models) Dive Rite

Hmmm.... .... bery interesting. Firstly, let me clarify the posting Yazid made. It was meant to be a personal experience and very much a joke for most of us to share. Firstly, Divemasters are not produced like eggs. Eggs are borned not produced. Secondly, it is not easy to acheive a PADI Divemaster status if the Instructor follows the training guidelines given by PADI. Ask any of Orpheus Divemaster and they will tell you that training here is tough but yet fun at the same time. We do not believe in mass producing PADI Divemasters but we do encourage people who has the confidence to take this bold step. Indeed, I have to agree that I am sad that some of you have experience Divemasters are do not live up to their status. For that, I would like to apologize to most of you. I am determined that whenever you dive with Orpheus, you thoughts of divemasters being arrogant and not up to standard would be change eventually.

Hi all; Thank you for all the reccommendations. Orpheus acknowledges all members of this forum. As a matter of fact, if you surf our website, you will notice that all members of this forum are entitled to 5% discounts for all courses and trips. And yes, AT or Conrad, I know who is who! And may I say, driving to Besut?!?! That is madness. I hope you have more than 1 driver in the car!

Why would u want to steal a trick or two? You are already a certified diver, aren't you?

Hi all; It is me, the kaypo again. Just to correct a few things being mentioned in here. The batch of mosquito having problems are actually the newer ones. How do you differentiate them? Look at the screen. The good old fashion ones has green and yellow markings at the rim of the dive computer. The new ones have red and white markings on it. Basically, if your Suunto dive computer has problems during the warranty period, you can send it back to Finland for repair (usually about two to three months). If the dive shop you bought the computer from is good, they might even give you an immediate replacement. Kelstorm is right, select your dive computer based on your needs and OF COURSE, your budget. DO NOT GIAM on this item. A dive computer is your best friend when you are diving in regions such as Thailand.