WHY RAID
REASON #127 Sometimes people ask why we teach open water students not to kneel on the bottom. The answer is stunning.
As Deep As We Go…
HYPOXIC TRIMIX OPEN CIRCUIT TO 100 METRES Hypoxic trimix is a highly specialized course and at the pinnacle of technical diver training. While it may seem just more of the same compared to other trimix open-circuit courses, because part of the focus of this course is on diving with gas mixtures containing extremely low levels of oxygen, it calls for extreme caution and highly skilled instruction and students at the top of their game! COURSE DESCRIPTION Something to note about this new RAID course is that it offers two certification options: Limited Hypoxic Trimix Open Circuit Diver (80m/265ft Hypoxic Trimix Open Circuit Diver (100m/330ft. (Check with your local RAID Dive Centre to see which is best suited to your needs.) Our Hypoxic Trimix Open Circuit Program and the Limited Hypoxic Trimix Open Circuit Program are advanced diving courses designed to equip divers with the skills and knowledge necessary to plan and execute dives to depths beyond 60m/200ft. This program builds upon the theoretical knowledge and skills learned in previous diving courses and introduces new techniques specific to deep decompression diving using multiple decompression strategies and gases. This is a program aimed at experienced divers who are already comfortable with planning deep open circuit dives and managing a complex equipment package, and operating as part of a team. Throughout the course, divers will review and refine existing skills, with particular focus on contingency planning, multiple gas switches, pin-point buoyancy control while exchanging stage cylinders, DSMB deployment from depth, and support planning. The program emphasizes the importance of proper equipment setup, pre-dive checks, gas analysis and labeling, as well as effective communication and problem-solving techniques. By the end of the program, divers will have the confidence and competence to safely navigate the challenges of deep open circuit mixed gas diving. One challenge of diving to extreme depths is that the partial pressure of oxygen in a standard gas mix would be beyond what’s considered safe levels and the likelihood of oxygen toxicity is unsupportably high. Proper training ensures that divers understand how to safely use these gas mixtures, calculate decompression obligations, and handle any emergencies that may arise. If you are considering hypoxic trimix training, it’s essential to enroll in a reputable training program with experienced instructors and follow all safety protocols to minimize risks associated with deep technical diving. Deep trimix diving also brings into play many other psychological and physiological challenges that this program will prepare you to meet and manage. Let us know if you need more information or have any specific questions about hypoxic trimix training!
Lungfish Dive Systems Achieves CE Certification
MAY 1, 2024 RAID is proud to offer factory sanctioned training on this innovative unit… MORE INFORMATION>>>
Dynamic Apnea adds another dimension to breathhold
RAID ADDS ANOTHER JEWEL IN ITS ONE-BREATH COURSE LINE-UP We are pleased to announce the launch of our Dynamic Apnea program, following the recent introduction of our Static Apnea program. This new offering further expands our range of training opportunities for freediving enthusiasts, and we are excited about the possibilities it presents for divers looking to enhance their skills and experiences in the world of apnea diving. Dynamic Apnea training is a type of breath-hold training that focuses on improving a person’s ability to hold their breath while moving underwater, typically used in freediving and swimming disciplines. At its fundamental level, it involves swimming underwater for a distance or time without taking a breath. Dynamic Apnea training can help enhance breath-holding capacity, increase lung efficiency, and improve overall performance in all water-based activities including scuba diving. Description: The RAID Dynamic Apnea Specialty course is a comprehensive training program designed to provide freedivers with the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in dynamic apnea swims. The course focuses specifically on dynamic apnea with bi-fins (DYNB) and dynamic apnea no fins (DNF). Participants will learn proper techniques, including buoyancy control, streamlining, and finning techniques. The course also covers important safety considerations, such as recognizing signs of hypoxia and performing rescue techniques. Additionally, the course emphasizes the importance of relaxation and mental focus, as well as the buddy system for supervision and support. Overall, the RAID Dynamic Apnea Specialty course offers divers the opportunity to improve their technique, enhance their performance, and enjoy the thrill of dynamic apnea. In freediving, Dynamic Apnea is a discipline where divers aim to cover the greatest horizontal distance underwater in a pool on a single breath, using fins for propulsion. This discipline requires both physical fitness and excellent breath-holding techniques. Divers streamline their bodies to minimize water resistance, use efficient finning techniques, and focus on relaxation and mental control to conserve oxygen and increase their distance. Dynamic Apnea training helps improve oxygen efficiency, lung capacity, and breath-holding ability, ultimately enhancing performance and safety during freediving activities. As with any activity in RAID’s curriculum, it’s important to practice Dynamic Apnea under the guidance of experienced instructors to ensure safety and proper technique. Dynamic Apnea at its highest level is a sport of records. The farthest freediving dynamic apnea with fins (male) is 301 metres, achieved by Guillaume Bourdila (France) at the 28th AIDA World Championship in Burgas, Bulgaria, on 24 June 2022. Bourdila surpassed the existing AIDA record of 300 metres, which had stood since 2016. Magdalena Solich-Talanda set a new DYN woman’s world record of 277 metres during a freediving competition in the Czech Republic, also in 2022. ASK YOUR LOCAL RAID DIVE CENTRE FOR MORE DETAILS>>>
A True Champion
BILL MARDEN HAS SUPPORTED RAID SINCE ITS BEGINNING How many people have had a Dive Centre for almost half a century and taught for most of it!? Perhaps only a stubborn, belligerent, bloke could do this, but he’d have to be honest, hardworking and a great Instructor. Meet Mr Bill Marden owner of SubAquatics in Sydney. A well-educated man himself, as a gunsmith and engineer he successfully combined both businesses with a dive centre. His reloading tools are well renown and his engineering feats are exported worldwide. A great seaman, at one time owning three boats, with skills that could have been garnered from serving with Lord Nelson (though he missed that opportunity by just a few years!), he was a pioneer around Jervis Bay and Sydney, finding and exploring sites and wrecks, many still dived today. An original FAUI (Federation of Australian Underwater Instructors) member, Bill is his own man with traditional values and teaches diving as he lives with a “do it right or don’t do it” attitude. In the early days he was always seen around Sutherland Shire and no doubt was the envy of other dive shops as he had a great rapport with the university students which meant he frequently had courses during the week as well as weekends. His students all know you pay for his course but earn the certification. In 2014, after suffering what Bill considered to be the “increased commercialisation and market driven” attitudes of major training agencies which were driving standards of divers down, he happily joined the RAID evolution when it had its re-launch to the world and embraced (even as an ‘old dog’) the new approach to training. He freely admits he learned new skills through RAID training and qualified as Sidemount, Technical Instructor and Rebreather diver. All of us at RAID agree that Bill has no boundaries as long as his ethical and moral compass is not asked to waiver. When working with Bill, he was quite often one of the oldest participant, but he always had the brightest outlook and the youngest approach. He embraced new teaching styles even when they differed massively to those he had practiced for decades. If Bill respects you, he will follow you into the gates of hell, he is a friend for life. Since 1965 when Bill began diving he has completed more than 7000 dives, and is an accomplished UW photographer who loves wrecks. The last few years Bill has suffered some health issues and is not actively teaching or working but in his true manner has told the doctors more than once that he’s not ready to hang up his reg and continues to plan dive trips! He doesn’t believe in ‘luck’ but we wish him all the best regardless and hope to see him in the water soon. Bill is a true Champion of diving and RAID are honoured to work with him.
A Note About Personal Dive Computers
PDCs ADD TO DIVE SAFETY… BUT PLEASE DO YOUR HOMEWORK Recently, there have been a few social media posts that send mixed messages about the roles and benefits of personal dive computers to recreational divers. It could be that the winter layoff in the northern hemisphere has ‘rusted’ familiarity with PDCs for some divers, and they have forgotten the basics, but we figured a quick recap might do some good. Let’s start by saying that RAID is a strong advocate for PDCs. We require students to understand and use them from OW20 on. (Although standards do allow basic divers to substitute depth gauges/bottom timers and traditional dive tables, PDCs are recommended even at beginner levels nevertheless.) Secondly, regardless of how many dives you have, how long you’ve been diving, or which PDC you use, if it and you have been dry for a month or two, a good plan is to reread the owner’s manual! Especially the section on setting conservative levels, and how that translates to your well-being! You might be reminded of something important. All that aside, most of us feel a whole lot more comfortable, and protected with a PDC helping on our dives. And here’s why However, that said, in spite of the many benefits PDCs provide, and the safety advantages of having real-time information about one’s dive, and instant feedback on decompression status, they’re not a panacea. Wearing a PDC cannot guarantee immunity to DCS; nothing can. Decompression sickness is one of the risks we can manage but never iraticate. One another note: PDC are not immune to suddenly going pear-shaped… especially if battery warnings are ignored! If your computer screen goes black part way through a dive, try to relax. As long as you’ve been diving within recreational limits, a dodgy PDC is an inconvenience rather than a dive emergency. Step one, your dive is over, no questions. Step two, check your cylinder pressure because having plenty to breathe is critical. Once that’s done, and you know you have plenty of gas, you’re golden. Signal your buddy, let them know you have an equipment issue, and then make a controlled ascent to the safety stop. Execute it (an extended stop would be best as long as you have sufficient gas), surface normally, establish buoyancy and explain the issue to your buddy. You might apologize and offer to buy the dessert at supper or something comparable. And as for fixing the issue, chances are that the problem is a dead battery… and that’s a simple fix. However, to be extra safe, it does mean you are out of the water for 24 hours. Hope this clears things up for anyone who’s getting back in the water after a long dry spell. #theraidway™
Which brand is your choice?
FOR THE PROFESSIONAL, IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT WORKS FOR THEM Some choices simply seem odd to those of us looking at the world from a different vantage point. For example, I have never developed a taste for the ubiquitous Canadian morning eye-opener, a “double-double” from Tim Horton’s. For those readers unfamiliar with the Tim’s franchise — a nationwide operation — a “double-double” is a large coffee with two shots of cream and two spoons of sugar. And although I understand that denouncing Tim Horton’s coffee in a public forum, puts my Canadian citizenship in jeopardy, I can’t drink it… not even one mouthful. Sorry, Canada (and many franchises operating in a handful of North-eastern states), I find it awful. It isn’t to my taste. Obviously, since Tim’s is popular enough to be the brand of choice for Canadians from sea to sea to sea, there are more than a few people who’d disagree and I expect to get messages to that effect any day now! But isn’t it great to have freedom of choice? What brought this to mind is an active thread posted on an online dive industry job market. Someone posted a “my-coffee-is-better-than-your-coffee” type of message. Of course, they were comparing certifying agencies and not coffee shops, but the intent and audience reaction were about the same. Very few people agree on which of the roughly 120 dive agencies in the world, really is the best. No problem identifying the biggest, but biggest is not the best. At least not for everyone. The argument that a single option is fine, the status quo is king, and universal brand recognition trumps everything, is… well… a bandwagon fallacy. It’s the same as saying that because Tim Horton’s coffee is the most popular in Canada, ergo, it must be the best. It ain’t! I wouldn’t even try to guess the reasons why a dive shop owner on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, chooses to certify through XYZ agency, while his sister, an instructor in Come By Chance, Newfoundland, prefers to work with ABC. That’s entirely up to them. As long as they understand that what makes sense to them, may not work for the shop down the street or one situated on the opposite coast. And in fairness, they have to accept that choice is good. It’s what keeps the industry vibrant. Without choice, standards, teaching methods, the way we adapt to new technology would become stagnant. That would be a disaster. Change and innovation are good. And I think it’s much harder for the established brand leader to try different things than it is for a smaller operation with more of a ‘bespoke’ approach. But, that’s just an opinion. When I lived in Maine, I bought a bumper sticker from a beautiful little coffee shop in a nearby college town, which read: “Friends don’t let friends drink Starbucks.” I have to bite my tongue sometimes, because I feel the same way about teaching for one or two of the major players in the dive industry. Truth is, I have strong views on the subject, but of course, I’m biased… and in the final draft, making a poor choice is anyone’s prerogative. I believe instead, it’s best to work to bring positive CHANGE to the dive industry, but respect another’s choice to stick… well, to stick in the mud. And if you ever find yourself driving through Toronto’s Little Italy district, there’s this little cafe… – Steve Lewis – #TheRAIDWay™
Risk Management
THERE’S MORE TO IT THAN ASSIGNING BLAME… Playing around water is risky. It really makes very little difference whether the game is freediving, recreational diving on a shallow reef, or navigating through the twisted remains of a battleship sitting in the dark at 80 metres. It can be dangerous, and if something goes wrong, it’s human nature to look for someone to blame. However, assigning blame is very different to actually fixing the problem. In fact, blaming ‘some clown’ for an accident or a near miss is as far away from fixing a issue as one can get. The goal of every RAID instructor regardless of what they teach, is fixing problems. In fact, the goal should be to manage the risk before a problem shows its ugly head. Here are some simple steps to help make that happen. Unfortunately, we can never eliminate all risk from diving. Slippery poolsides, trips over an equipment bag left in a gangway, cylinders falling off a bench, the consequences of dehydration, bumping into firecoral or the sharp edges of a shipwreck’s hull: we cannot take them away. All we can do, as divers or instructors, is work at making the risks associated with this wonderful adventure, acceptable. And that’s what risk management is all about. #Theraidway™ MANY THANKS TO MHA CONSULTING FOR THE EXCELLENT GRAPHIC https://www.mha-it.com/AND KUDOS TO PASH BAKER FOR THE ORIGINAL IDEA FOR THIS POST
Getting the most out of RAID’s Independent diver program
THIS BLOG POST IS AIMED AT DIVE PROS…THE DIVER VERSION IS HERE>>> Promoting RAID programs, in particular ones that are brand new and have no history, is exciting, but presents a challenge too. Independent Diver is a stand-out. It’s something totally new and while it offers a really useful and interesting addition to the RAID lineup, we thought you might appreciate a few tips on the best ways to get its special message out to your customers. Here are eight ideas that you’ll find helpful. Identify Your Target Audience: This program is an adventure. It opens up all kinds of possibilities with massive appeal to experienced divers who sometimes dive with less experienced buddies. Create Compelling Marketing Materials: Hit your email list with a campaign to introduce Independent Diver and its benefits to your customers. Let them know it’s available through your shop. That will give them a reason to call or drop by to find out more. Use the SoMe ads available in the RAID Dropbox to get your customers interested. Schedule the first course and get it filled. We think they will thank you for it. Utilize Social Media: Leverage social media platforms to reach a wider audience. Share details about your program, post engaging content, and interact with your followers to generate interest. Use RAID photos or take your own. Create a quick 30 second video. It does not have to be a Hollywood production to appeal and to get across the right message. Post it on all your platforms. Don’t forget to have a call to action. Collaborate: Work with Instructors and Partner with your customers and any key figures in the local diving community who can help promote your program to their followers. Offer Promotions and Discounts: Attract new customers by offering special promotions, discounts, or package deals for your new program. Couple the open water portion of your Independent Diver program with a trip to a really special local site. Blow your customer’s socks off. Host Events or Webinars: Organize an instore event and an online webinar to explain the special equipment, the skills, and the benefits specific to this new RAID program. We think it’s special. Make that point clear to your customers. This is new, it’s different to anything else. It fits with the whole RAID ethos. Gather Customer Testimonials: Encourage satisfied customers to share testimonials or reviews about their experiences with your program. Positive word-of-mouth is the most powerful marketing tool ever. Engage With Your Customers: As with your day-to-day marketing, stay connected with your customer base through regular communication, feedback surveys, and personalized interactions to build trust and loyalty. The internet makes all this easy and effective. Good luck!
It’ll take your breath away
RAID STATIC APNEA PROGRAM We are thrilled to announce the launch of our innovative Static Apnea Program. This groundbreaking initiative represents a significant development in our offerings, and we have high hopes for its success and impact within the diving community. This specialty program can be taught by all active RAID Freediving Pool Instructor. (This program is restricted to activity in pool or pool-like conditions.) It is the ultimate guide for anyone looking to master the mentally demanding discipline of static breath-holding in freediving. Whether a student is a beginner or an experienced freediver, this comprehensive manual provides step-by-step instructions, expert tips, and detailed tables to help them increase their breath hold time and achieve a personal best. Learn relaxation techniques, visualization strategies, and the important role of a buddy in static apnea. With this manual, students will gain the knowledge and confidence to excel in static apnea and take freediving skills to new depths. Static apnea, what most of us would call ‘structured breath holding,’ is practiced for various reasons besides being an essential part of freediver development. These include health benefits for all water enthusiasts including scuba and rebreather divers! Some potential benefits of static apnea for health include: In addition, unlike other RAID diving activities, static apnea is a Competitive Sport where participants compete to hold their breath for the longest time possible. This adds an element of excitement and motivation for those interested in pushing their limits and setting records.And of course, static apnea training is one of the central principles of freediving, and during the coming months, RAID will be boosting its freediving program. The launch of this completely new, totally revamped, recreated static apnea program is one of the first steps. Static apnea for scuba divers Static apnea, or breath-holding, can be particularly beneficial for scuba divers as it helps improve breath control, lung capacity, and overall comfort in the water. Here are some specific benefits of static apnea for scuba divers: Increase in breath-holding time: By training in static apnea, scuba divers can improve their ability to hold their breath, which can be advantageous when diving underwater for extended periods. Enhanced relaxation: Practicing static apnea techniques can help divers stay calm and relaxed underwater, which is crucial for conserving energy and avoiding panic while scuba diving. Improved lung capacity: Static apnea training can expand lung capacity, allowing divers to take deeper and more efficient breaths, which can be beneficial for buoyancy control and overall comfort while diving. Better equalization: Breath-holding exercises can help divers improve their ability to equalize pressure in their ears and sinuses, reducing the risk of discomfort or injury during descents. It’s essential for scuba divers who practice static apnea to know the guidelines, and safely and gradually increase breath-holding times to avoid hypoxia or other risks associated with breath-holding exercises. Additionally, divers should always dive within their limits and be aware of safe diving practices. So, this course is a must-have. Overall, static apnea combines physical endurance, mental focus, relaxation, and competitive spirit, making it a unique and cool activity for those interested in breath control and challenging themselves. ASK YOUR LOCAL RAID DIVE CENTRE FOR DETAILS>>>
