Know the rules.
SCUBA diving is not a free-for-all, free-to-do anything kind of sport. There are certain restrictions and limitations such as certifications, training, physical health, weather, and a lot more. Knowing such will protect underwater life as well as yours.
Continuing from Master Instructor Profile: Daddy Bob at the Helm (Part 1)
I’d like to know now about his current capacity as Master Instructor for Mermaid Resort. Now, one becomes a Master Instructor, according to Bob, “…by instructing…after you have certified so many people and met all the rest of the criteria which also includes some business seminar training and that sort of thing…under PADI. You have to certify so many people in each different category and so many divers overall. You also have to teach at least 10 specialties. I have 17 specialties…like underwater photography, underwater videography, search and rescue, search and recovery, and the list goes on and on.”
In 1956, a British naval diver by the name of Lionel “Buster” Crabb went missing after a covert diving operation involving a visiting Soviet cruiser. The same year, 17-year old Robert “Bob” Kieran decided to take on a new sport - Scuba Diving. It did not take long for the rest of the world to join him - what with the launch of the Sea Hunt underwater adventure TV series in 1957 and the initial efforts of YMCA for a scuba certification course in 1959.
On the 25th of September, a Friday, the local dive community fielded a fleet of 15 dive boats and about 70 divers to do an underwater cleanup of our local Batangas Channel in lovely Puerto Galera. The Mermaid Dive Center provided one of our dive boats and 7 divers to join in. Our guest and staff divers collected around 200 kilos of undersea trash. Such things as old tires, paint cans, plastic bottles and bags, beer cans, rubber hoses, and many other unwanted material underwater. The experience was lots of fun and full of friendship.
We hope to be able to have more activities like this and we invite everyone to join this continuing effort!
Care to join us next time?
For the initial offering of The Green Diver, I invite you to discuss the very heart of a diver’s duty to the environment - Marine Life Conservation.
An interesting article came out this month at the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s website. The Philippines was named by The National Geographic Society’s Adventure Magazine as one of the “25 Best New Travel Destinations for 2010.” It made me wonder how much our diving resources affected this country’s inclusion into the list. A lot, apparently, as the actual article about the Philippines as a travel destination included a trip itinerary, set by their partner outfitter, Wilderness Travel, which ends in 5 days of diving where the adventurer can “bob around reefs, scanning the area’s 350 varieties of coral.”
After a successful WP company outing, …
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Arranging dive vacations in Puerto Gal…
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The Mermaid Resort’s YouTube page has …
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This past few days until Monday, we’ve…
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