Protected: January RAID Special
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
How To Be A Better Diver
THERE’S ABSOLUTELY NO SECRET… IT’S LIKE PLAYING PIANO! When it comes to scuba diving, there’s no such thing as being a natural. Same thing goes for rebreather diving and freediving. There are folks who seem to have zero problem being relaxed in the water. And these are the ones who manage to look like they know what they are doing: always. These are the people who look natural, and make it all seem so amazingly easy. But look closely and you’ll find out that to get that way, they had to work at it just like the rest of us. Probably the question most frequently asked of experienced divers — the people who look like naturals — is, ‘HOW?’ How do you make it look so easy and why does it look like your dive gear is painted on? Well, the answer is simple and universal. One of our RAID cave instructor-trainers summed it up perfectly. When asked how long it took her to learn to do the reverse frog kick so well. She, thought for a moment and answered, “about 23 years. Since I first learned to dive. And I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.” Diving, at least making it look natural and easy, comes with hours in the water. It’s not about how many classes you’ve taken or how deep you go or how much gear you own. It’s all related to time. And although exactly how much time does seem to vary from person-to-person (some get it in a few hours while others take a ‘little’ longer), the secret is getting in the water and diving. And more to the point, it’s about diving with a purpose. When you’re trying to bring your game up to a higher level, dive with the goal in mind. Build on the basic skills you picked up in class. Focus on the fundamentals, buoyancy, trim, breath-control, situational awareness. RELAX. Hit your favourite dive spot, and keep it simple. Use a pool if one’s available. Most of all, steal the technical diver’s habit of practicing skills at the end of EVERY dive. Run through the basics, from regulator shutdowns to mask removal: the most complex to the simplest. They all count, and it’s guaranteed that you will benefit from the practice. Think of it as learning the scales for those early childhood piano lessons that we all “LOVED”. Before you know it, you’ll be playing Chopin like a pro. TELL US WHAT SKILL YOU HATE DOING MOST!
So, What Now?
HERE’S WHAT TO DO AFTER EARNING YOUR RAID OW20 The most important thing and the best advice is ‘Go Diving!’ Graduates from a RAID open water course have the basic skills to enjoy basic scuba diving and have fun doing it. Although we’d love to have you sign up for a specialty course right way, it’s far better for you to get a little experience logged with a dive buddy. In essence, to go our and have some fun. Just remember to “Keep it real, stay within your comfort zone, and stay safe.” When the time comes to broaden your understanding and knowledge, speak to your RAID instructor about next steps. A lot will depend on where you dive and what’s available in your area, or if you have dive travel in mind and what to take the adventure on the road. The list of possibilities is long. Take a look at our FREe-Learning if you haven’t already checked it out. Do a little research and you’re sure to find something to interest you and help you progress at your speed. However, one course we do recommend is NITROX. Most divers find diving with nitrox has several real advantages over plain air. In any event, congrats and do keep diving. This is a water world.
Static Apnea Special
WHY BREATH-HOLDING IS IMPORTANT TO SCUBA DIVERS This month, RAID is shining a spotlight on the benefits of static apnea training for scuba divers. Odd that something divers are told NOT to do — hold their breath — can offer such a long list of rewards. Static apnea is listed as a freediving discipline where a person holds their breath underwater for as long as possible without swimming or moving around. As a stand-alone skill, it is a competitive category for freediving. However, static apnea training can offer several benefits for scuba divers too, enhancing their overall diving experience and safety. And the added bonus is that Static Apnea training is available from most RAID instructors because we feel it is such an important and fundamental skill that sits at the very core of being comfortable and ‘at one’ with the water. Here are some key advantages: So, incorporating static apnea training into a diver’s routine can provide substantial advantages, not only in their diving skills but also in ensuring a safer and more enjoyable experience.
Decompression Diver
WHEN YOU DON’T WANT TO LEAVE THE PARTY EARLY RAID’s new advanced diving course has been engineered to be a soft introduction to staged decompression diving: it’s a simple but open-ended entry point into all the excitement and challenge of technical diving. This is Sidemount or Twinset diver course. This course allows for dives up to 40 meters /130 feet using three cylinders. This includes two filled with bottom gas (twinset or sidemount see below), and one with.decompression gas. The decompression gas for this course can contain a maximum of 100 percent oxygen when conditions are suitable with minimum of 50 percent recommended. Prerequisites to join this course are for students to be 18 or older, and to be an experienced open water divers with 30 hours/25 hours or more logged underwater with Deep, Nitrox (or Nitrox Plus), and Explorer 30 or Advanced 35 specialties. Decompression diver showcases RAID’s different approach to deep diving, and introduces students to more complex dive planning, the benefits of using a dedicated decompression gas. and smooth team work before, during, and post adventure. The Decompression Diver course may be combined with either sidemount or twinset training and cert cards will be configuration specific. During 2025 rollout phase RAID Deco 40 instructors or higher may conduct the Decompression Diver course. Limited Trimix may be conducted by Deco 40 Trimix instructors or higher. Each student must complete these requirements.
Nitrox Plus: The Missing Link…
A NEW APPROACH TO ADVANCED RECREATIONAL DIVING TECHNIQUES This is nothing to do with cavemen, just something that helps to fill a gap in recreational training from RAID. The brand new RAID Nitrox Plus Course is designed for recreational divers who wish to extend their underwater time and gain insights into technical diving. But without investing in tonnes of new kit. Nitrox Plus provides the essential knowledge and skills to help divers explore new depths while managing the benefits and considerations of nitrox use more effectively than ever. The plus is that this is a two cylinder course which provides the security of extra gas when your adventure takes you to the recreational limit of 40 metres/150 feet. This is also a great opportunity to learn the most efficient way to carry a second cylinder of bottom gas… a great strategy when diving beyond 30 metres/100 feet, or so! This course focuses on using nitrox for dives with a maximum safety stop of 10 minutes and incorporates a conservative gradient factor to ensure safety. Nitrox Plus kit configuration can be:Single cylinder (with or without H or Y valve) of adequate capacity for the planned dive.One standard primary regulator setup fitted with long hose including piston clip.One low-pressure (LP) inflator hose for BCD and dry suit (if appropriate). LP connectors must be interchangeable.One backup regulator with standard hose fitted with neck bungee.One SPG with piston clip.Stage cylinder holding suitable gas volume of bottom mix for planned dives.Stage cylinder rigging kit.Cylinder marking for MOD, Diver Name and Mix (labelled as per RAID cylinder marking standards).Suitable DIN regulator with SPG on a short HP hose.A recreational BCD that has capacity to carry a stage cylinder. OR Wing, plate and harness with single tank adaptor.Personal dive computer.Backup computer or depth dive timer.Wetnotes or wrist slate or finger slate.Primary SMB.1 x reels or spools with adequate line length for the dive depth.2 x cutting devices.Backup Mask.Light where appropriate.Smartphone, tablet or laptop with decompression software (instructor must have, optional for students).Access to an oxygen analyzer. SEE NEW DECOMPRESSION DIVER COURSE HERE>>>
New Training Flowchart
NOVEMBER 2024 UPDATE This updated course listing reflects changes we’ve made to the logical flow of Dive RAID International training progression including the introduction of Nitrox Plus and Decompression Diver. These new courses bridge the distance between Tech and Rec. Dive RAID International promises its members and their students high quality, skills-based instruction that’s always being added to and improved. That’s the nature of technology and at the core of safe, fun, and inclusive diving. That’s The RAID Way™. DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THIS TRAINING FLOWCHART HERE>>>
You Told Us… We Listened!
RAID HAS REARRANGED ITS TECHNICAL DIVING PATHWAY RAID has been helping divers live their dreams since we opened our doors. We’ve lost count of how many students we’ve coached from their first open water cert. to deep trimix CCR and beyond. But times change and the feedback we have been getting asked us to streamline things to reflect what divers making the transition from Rec to Tech are asking for today. And here is the answer to those requests. We’ve shuffled our course outline making it more logical, and better suited to what our students need. The secret behind the shuffle is the addition of a totally new bridging program: NITROX PLUS. DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THIS FLOWCHART HERE>>> VIEW THE MODIFIED TRAINING FLOWCHART HERE>>>
OC and Rebreather Divers: Quick Quiz
EVERY DIVE SHOULD START WITH A {please fill in the correct answer} A good pre-dive checklist must include all the usual suspects: from being correctly weighted to following a sensible dive plan. That’s a given and a piece of advice that every diver should follow without fail. However, a GREAT pre-dive checklist has all that but also includes everyone performing an S-drill before venturing any deeper than five or six metres. So, if you included S-Drill or Safety Drill in your answer, you win. Congratulations. Most RAID-trained divers know that an S-Drill is an essential pre-dive skill that confirms everyone in the dive team can safely and quickly hand-off a working second stage (and the breathing gas it delivers) to a diver who is out of gas — simulated or real. The exercise — completed in a few moments and more than worth the small time investment it takes — certainly makes sure that gas can be shared with a buddy cleanly and quickly in a time of stress. It also confirms that backup regulator hoses are free and untangled, and not caught in other peices of equipment. A properly performed S-Drill has the added advantage of checking equipment is bubble-free (no leaks), and that every diver in the team have no issue maintaining buoyancy control and trim while the skill is performed. (Which in turn confirms there are no issues with BCDs or wings.) Once something only cave divers bothered to do, at RAID, the S-Drill is considered an essential skill for every diver (except freedivers). It’s appropriate for all diving environments, and for divers planning to take their adventures to every depth. The take-home message, RAID certified diver or not, please make sure you include an S-Drill in your pre-dive checks every time you dive. Watch the videos linked to below for tips and demonstrations of standards open water S-Drills.
Every Little Helps… and sometimes a little help means a whole lot!
SELLING NITROX TO THE DIVERS WHO NEED IT MOST… We should start by saying that subheading contains a misleading statement; every diver needs nitrox. Air is good for pumping up bike tires, but the correct breathing gas for the majority of diving is nitrox or trimix. Of course, there are no absolutes in scuba diving and there are exceptions to every ‘rule.’ For instance, there are spots across the RAID network where nitrox is simply unavailable. If that’s your case, accept our apologies; we do understand that diving without nitrox is better than not diving. By now most dive operations, dive pros, and dive agencies have promoted the advantages of breathing nitrox clear and bold: Reduced Nitrogen Absorption: Because it contains less nitrogen, divers using nitrox can experience less nitrogen buildup in their bodies. This can help decrease the risk of decompression sickness (the bends) on every dive. Extended Bottom Time: Nitrox allows for longer bottom times at certain depths compared to air, making it ideal for dives where extended exploration and adventure is called for. Shorter Surface Intervals: Some dive plans may allow for shorter surface intervals between dives when using nitrox, depending on the specific mix, depth, and number of dives planned for the day. And even a cursory Google search turns up enough five-star ratings to help convince the biggest skeptics. But there’s one advantage to taking a nitrox class that isn’t talked about nearly enough. It’s one that is a real advantage to every diver, but especially the “more experienced” ones had to move placoderms out of the way to get into the water. And oddly it has little to do with the potential health benefits that nitrox may deliver to older divers. NITROX TRAINING IS A FANTASTIC GENERAL REFRESHERTaking a nitrox class reminds divers about some of the basics around dive planning. A good nitrox course (like this RAID specialty) walks the student through some of the simple but critical steps that help to make a dive plan relevant and safe. A nitrox dive tends to have well defined depth and time limits. The planning process for a nitrox dive is also more likely to include working closely with a dive buddy (or buddies) before getting wet. We’re not suggesting that experienced divers tend to have a more ‘ad-hoc’ attitude towards their recreational dive plans, but nitrox training can enhance the diving experience for older divers whose knowledge and safety procedures could use a little nudge in the right direction. Now’s a great time to your experienced diver mailing list with more information about nitrox programs.
