Rescue Diver Course

I was fortunate enough to have completed the Rescue Diver Course with ScubaCat Diving over the last 5 days with 3 other trainees – Noel, Josh and Kasper. Patrick and Sean were our brilliant instructors for the course.

Day 1 – Theory Lesson

We spent the whole of the Day 1 in the classroom learning about Emergency First Response (a pre-requisite for the actual Rescue Diver Course).

Sitting through hours of dry, boring videos is never an easy task – I was struggling to keep myself awake at times. However, the lively discussions that we had with regards to the subject as well as the mock scenarios we were given to remedy made the day so much more bearable. It also helped that our instructors shared many of their real-life experiences, making the knowledge fed to us a lot more relevant and memorable.

Day 2 – Pool Session

Day 2 was our first taste of the Rescue Diver Course. In the training pool, we learnt how to deal with, and pretend to be, a panicked, tired or unresponsive divers on the surface and in the water. Despite the training being serious and extremely draining, there was never a shortage of laughter throughout the day. Of course, Sean, being our instructor was the one who always had the last laugh, and an extremely sinister one in fact – in Patrick’s words “a bit of a mix between that of a Dracula and the Devil”. Midway through our training we even got to meet Sean’s hairy ‘son’ (Jasmine, I think he was called)! Towards the end of the day it started to drizzle. A sign of things to come the next day.

Day 3 – Practice Exercises @ Paradise Beach

The day began beautifully. The air was nice and warm. It was also the first time we got to see the Sun in days. We were on MV Scuba Sport in less than 30min after setting off from ScubaCat’s back office.

The objective for the day was simple; we were going to do what we did the previous day in the pool, except this time we would be subjected to the sea condition. We didn’t think much of it since the sea conditions seemed rather favorable that morning. Our instructors, of course, had very different ideas. Sean and Patrick casually mentioned that it would be a lot more beneficial to us trainees if the sea was choppier and winds were stronger. They then proceeded to summon a thunderstorm (which came within 5 minutes) with their secret mutant powers. Sean would later pretend that he had no hand in the sudden change of weather by humming to ABBA’s Mamma Mia!

As rescue diver wannabes, we were all getting more and more comfortable with the drills and routines we were supposed to do. Pretending as panicked or unresponsive divers, we were all getting more and more comfortable with having seawater go up our nostrils and into our eyes.

Day 4 – Practice Scenarios @ Rachai Yai

The 2nd day out at sea started early at 7.00am. We headed to Chalong Bay where MV Scuba Fun was already waiting for us. It was Christmas Day so there were no surprises when we found Santa Hats on board. The videographer Johnny B. was a strong advocate of them hats and spent a good 15mins trying to convince others on board to put them on as he did. The journey to Rachai Yai wasn’t the most comfortable one as the ship took a good beating from the angry sea. However, once we got into Bungalow Bay of Rachai Yai, everything was nice and calm again.

Today was the day we became extremely proficient in getting into our diving gear and jumping into the water. I think we may have gone in and out of the water no less than 15 times. Working together, we found out how much easier things could be if we established good communication during our rescues.

The highlight of the day came when we had a real search to carry out – fortunately, not for a real case of a missing diver – after it was discovered that one of the customer’s fin was knocked into the sea just as the boat was moving to another dive site. Eventually, we managed to recover it rather quickly.

Day 5 – Knowledge Review and Theory Examination

After 4 tiring days, we concluded the course with Patrick going through our knowledge reviews and then sitting for our theory examination, which all of us aced. We were now newly certified Rescue Divers! A bittersweet moment for me since although the course being absolutely exhausting, it was also extremely fun and insightful!

Few months ago, I decided to leave Europe for my internship at Scuba Cat. As I had been told that I would have many opportunities to do diving here, I had become over excited because I could never image how the undersea lives looked like. However, I had felt very nervous at the same time.
My first dives DSD (Discover Scuba Diving) took places at Paradise Reef, a beautiful shallow site in the Patong Bay.

My instructor is Sean Porter, an incredibly optimistic English man. I heard that Sean was a very experienced dive instructor but I was still unable to hide my nerves.
I received a thorough briefing about mask, fins, pressure, breathing, etc before I jumped into the water. After putting on me a BCD and air tank, Sean did one more check to make sure that everything was well-setup. For this first dive ever, Sean would only take me down till 6 meters depth. Then now I was ready to explore the ocean.
Once being in the sea, I must breathe through the regulator. Although the air in the tank is similar to the normal air, I felt like it was the weirdest air I had ever breathe in my life. Being told to face down slowly into the water, I had feeling that my heart beat ten times faster to make it. Gosh! I felt water everywhere. I didn’t feel comfortable at all! As struggling few times with breathing and descending, I was now undersea.

Sean guided through reefs, show me fishes. He kept asking whether everything was ok with my ear, my mask and so on. He and I still remember how I was excited as I tried to catch the fishes with my hands. OMG! Fishes are everywhere surrounding me. My eyes opened as big as they can. I saw Sergeant Majorfish, Clark’s Anemone Fish, Longfin Bannerfish, Moorish Idol, Lined Butterflyish, Powder Blue Surgeonfish, Corals, Blue Sea Star, and that “ugly” Sea Cucumber and “scary” Black Diadema Urchin and many that I don’t know their names. I didn’t notice that 20 minutes had gone until Sean gave sign to go up. When we came back to the boat, Sean teased me that I could catch the fishes well but I should stop doing it next time.

The second dives would be the most unforgettable dive in my life. This time I didn’t have problem descending but struggling with breathing and water (again!). As water came into my mouth and my mask, I started feeling unsafe and wanted to go back but few seconds after that, I couldn’t resist anymore. I was shaking, trying to blow water out and somehow the regulator was out. In a second, I thought that I would end my life there but thank to Sean, he put the regulator in my mouth again, pressed the air button, the air flew into my lung and immediately I felt “alive” again. He inflated my BCD and I was already on the surface few seconds after that.
I went diving again a few days later, the feeling of being scared had disappeared and I felt more relaxed, and I guess it will feel like that more and more each time I do it.

It’s hard to believe that I just returned from a scary-but-interesting journey. In dedication to Sean, who made my first dive experience absolutely amazing. He has been doing a brilliant job as an hero undersea. How challenging it is to get over myself to see a wonderful world undersea but since that moment, I knew that I truly loved diving again.

I must agree with Dave Barry- a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author- as he said
“There’s nothing wrong with enjoying looking at the surface of the ocean itself, except that when you finally see what goes on underwater, you realize that you’ve been missing the whole point of the ocean. Staying on the surface all the time is like going to the circus and staring at the outside of the tent.”

December 5 is an important day for Thai nation to celebrate the birthday of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest reigning monarch. This year, it marks his 85th birthday.
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, or King Rama IX, was born in 5 December 1927 in Cambridge, ascended the throne on 9 June 1946. The King is more than an icon in the heart of Thai nation through his combination of dedication to the well-being and development of his people as well as a good understanding and awareness of political and social issues.

The King’s birthday is a national holiday and is celebrated all over the country with great enthusiasm. Buildings and homes on this day are vividly decorated with flag, lights, flowers, portrait’s of Majesty which are predominantly in the colour yellow or gold. It’s wonderful to see Thai nation showing the love, respect, homage and joy to his honor Majesty.

Moreover, the day is also regarded as the nation’s Father’s Day since The King is recognised as the “Father of the Thai nation”. In respect of Thai tradition together with welcoming divers on this day, Scuba Cat happily introduce the special promotion for all divers and their families: ScubaKitten love ScubaCat. Many discounts on all father and kids diving, snorkelling and equipment will be given on December 5. This promotion encourages diver parents to discover new experiences with their beloved children. In other words, it engages children in diving experience with their parents.

Peacock Mantis Shrimps (Odontodactylus scyllarus)

They are found in the indo Pacific region and we have many of these on all of the dive sites we visit, but you do have to look closely for them.
Although called shrimp they are not actually true shrimp, but a separate family of crustaceans called Stomatopods.

They are mostly found at the base of reefs where they build their burrows, the excavate a u shape tunnel by collecting nearby rubble or other substrate to go over and around suitable sites of rock crevices or corals.

They are very colorful and flamboyant when you find them, with red, green and blue warning coloration.

They feed on various fish and invertebrates and are fast, efficient hunters, though they often wait for their prey to walk by and pounce on them. The peacock is a ‘smashers’ type of mantis shrimp it has two club-like appendages to exo skeleton animals such as crabs, clams and snails. With just one hit the ‘club’ produces a force almost as fast as a 22-caliber bullet, 10m per sec, and this has been know to break aquarium glass. This is so fast it can actually vaporize the water at the point of impact!

In addition to the smashing clubs they also have a shorter body compared to the longer, very flexible tail, this lets them turn quickly and easily in tight spaces and burrows. The tail and the specialized swimming appendages on its underside provide a surprisingly fast swim when on the hunt, or when they get scared.

The eyes are stalk like which allows them to accurately see their prey from the protection of the crevices they live in, the eyes are complex with at least 8 types of different colour sensors, which include ultraviolet and polarized light. They can see 10 times more colours than humans.

From the mantis shrimps that have been kept in captivity, we have learned that they are the only invertebrates that can actually recognize individuals, they do this by body odor!!
They can be aggressive with others of there own species and get into fights using the flexible tails, they sometimes can fight to the death, but often decide who is victorious before either gets seriously hurt.

Some of the shrimps can mate for life, which can be up to 20 years, whilst others prefer a one-night stand. They usually court then come together. The female can hold fertilized eggs under the tail or in the forearms, or they can be laid in burrows and are watched over until they hatch into Larvae. These larvae are also keen predators often preying on other larvae during the 3 months it takes to hatch.

To see these fascinating shrimps you can join us on our daytrips or liveaboards where they are often seen at the divesites, ask our staff about them and other interesting creatures we have in the waters of Thailand.

Learn more about the marine life in our area by taking the Naturalist specialty course with us.

Here at Scuba Cat Diving we have a long history of working to preserve our reefs for the future generations. We cannot do this alone, we need your help!

It is important that all divers have a good understanding of their roles in Reef Conservation and how their diving practices can affect the reef eco system.

Learn to Scuba Dive at a responsible dive centre, ensure you will be taught to the highest standards, remember the Cheapest price is not always the best service for you or for the environment!

Here at Scuba Cat we are a 5 * CDC which is the top rating any dive centre can get from and the course quality reflects this. The maximum group size is 1 instructor to 4 candidates, the instructors all work for Scuba Cat Diving on a permanent basis, all our equipment is maintained and serviced by our full time engineer and we operate our own boats with maximum number of divers on them MV Scuba Fun 20, Our own Liveaboard MV Scuba Adventure, 12 and MV Scuba Sport is only 10. we do not believe many other companies can offer you this quality. We recently received many awards from , Project Aware and Reef Check for our environmental work, including the  first Dive Centre in Thailand to be presented the prestigious  Green Star Award.

The quality of our courses means you learn in a calm, controlled manner and also means there is much less impact on the environment whilst learning. Our Instructors give particular emphasis to teaching good buoyancy skills underwater. If you are not in control of your buoyancy you can injure yourself and our precious reef systems. A responsible diver in control of their buoyancy will not interfere with the Ocean life by damaging Corals or breaking sea fans. Practice your buoyancy over sand away from the reef, after  you have mastered this you can conformably swim over the reefs.

Once you are a Certified Diver dont become complacent about your buoyancy. Every dive is different, some sites will be more challenging than others. Always dive within your limits, you have been trained to that limit for a reason both for your own safety and the safety of others.

We strive to ‘make a difference’ to the environment with our diving. With a maximum ratio of 4 divers to 1 guide, means that we can look after everyone and make sure they do no damage, dramatically reducing the impact of our divers on the reef. Ultimately as Certified Divers you are responsible, the Open Water Course certifies you to dive to you limits to a maximum depth of 18m, with a buddy. The guide will do exactly that, guide you… was your training adequate for you to be responsible?

If the answer to this is no, dont worry. We have a whole range of courses to help you become more responsible divers. Why not look at your Advanced Open Water Course, completing 5 more dives under the supervision of a Instructor. This course will teach you new skills required for different diving environments, two core dives will teach you about safe Deep Diving practices and give you basic navigation skills. Included in your optional dives are great skills to help you become a responsible diver, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Aware Fish Identification and Underwater Naturalist to give you a few examples.

Also there is a whole range of Specialities to enhance these skills further. The more that you learn the more you will see and enjoy, this will also make you a safer diver, for yourself, others and the environment. You could also look at becoming a Reef Check Diver, learning how to monitor the reef.

Always make sure that your skills are up to date, if you haven’t dived for a period of time make sure you take a “refresher” course or a Scuba Review to bring your confidence back as a diver, do this for your safety, the safety of your buddy and the safety of the environment.

Ask our staff on board the boat to help you with your ideal diving weight. The weights you will need will vary on different dives. Are you used to diving in Fresh Water? What type of exposure suit are you wearing? What type of tank do you have? Our qualified staff are there to ensure your days diving is aas enjoyable as it can be. If you are over weighted your legs and feet will be dragging downwards. Did you know even if you are not touching the reef,  kicking up sand can have a negative impact on the corals around you?

At Scuba Cat we have a no touching policy, remember the precious corals and Marine Life can be destroyed even by the gentlest touch. Many marine animals have developed a camouflage to help them survive along with a stinging defensive system, can you be sure that you know them all?

Please take photographs, this is a great way of sharing the underwater world with many friends and family. However  it is easy to become distracted when trying to get that perfect shot and accidentally kick the corals with a fin tip or lie on the rock/corals to get nearer your subject, please dont, would you like it if a giant stood on your house? Why not get our Professional Videographer to make a memory of your day for you.

All our instructors are aware of the importance of protecting the reef and they remove rubbish from underwater, if they see any. This doubles the effect as customers see us taking care of the environment and follow suit and show a good example by removing anything underwater that should not be there. Once a month we hold an Underwater Clean up event in conjunction with Project Aware and there dive for debris initiative, why not join in with us?

We want you to come and dive with us, enjoying the trip leaving us as a better informed, responsible, and environmentally aware diver.