THE PERENIAL FUDGE FACTOR Every scuba diver knows “Trust-me” dives are a red flag that sets legal departments at every dive centre worldwide on edge. Despite warnings, these dives happen far too often, according to several online forums. This is a situation that demands immediate attention. In diving, a “trust-me” dive is when a less experienced diver relies entirely on a more experienced buddy or guide to manage everything mission-critical: planning, navigation, gas management, and staying within gear and experience limits. The person being asked to trust is just “following the fins” and depends on the leader for the dive. A trust-me dive isn’t just foolish—it’s one of the most dangerous mistakes a diver can make. This hazard threatens everyone involved, not just the unwitting participant. Trust-me dives are psychological pitfalls with serious and immediate consequences. If the ‘guide’ has a

SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT MAINTAINING GEAR YOURSELF What exactly is a save-a-dive kit? Most of us have a pretty good grasp of what bits and pieces to carry with us when we go diving. A few O-Rings, duct tape, some assorted spanners, wrenches, screwdrivers, and a few low- and high-pressure port plugs. Some of us carry spare hoses, O2-compatible lube, and enough spare parts to perform a quick rebuild on a wing, a regulator’s first or second stage, or even a solenoid overhaul on a CCR. Who can blame us, right? There’s nothing worse than being on a day charter or remote dive site to find you’re grounded because of a broken or missing “whatchamacallit.”  However, in some parts of the world, being a good Samaritan can get you in trouble. For example, instructors are told not to touch another diver’s gear unless they are a certified tech for that brand of gear. They are warned not to supply a different ho

EXTENDED DECOMPRESSION: TRAINING WHERE HELIUM IS NOT AN OPTION There are many great dive sites around the world where the logistics simply make trimix diving impractical. Helium is either unavailable or priced out of reach unless your net worth includes ownership of a 72-metre private yacht. One option is to use compressed air as your bottom gas rather than missing out on the adventure. RAID’s Extended Decompression program (with a maximum depth limit of 55 metres) will deliver the training and help build the experience, proper techniques, equipment choices, and potential hazards of deep air diving. This course is equipment intensive and challenges students (and instructors) to manage up to three decompression gases (nitrox to pure oxygen) during a controlled staged ascent. Topics covered in this RAID program include a history of deep air diving, solutions for dive planning deep dives, the ph

THERE’S A NEW WAY TO LET THE WORLD KNOW YOU DIVE THE RAID WAY Celebrate your achievements and let the community know you are a serious underwater adventurer. Log in to your personal profile at user.diveraid.com and check out the new RAID cards. The invitation to add a personalised acheivement diver card to your profile is generated automatically and is linked to your online dive log in the RAID system!

THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH HATHA YOGA When you read through RAID student manuals and course descriptions, you’ll occasionally see the list of skills that students will be asked to demonstrate as Flexible Skills. Don’t let this worry you. Your instructor is not going to ask you to touch your ear with a foot or to hold Tree Pose for 5 minutes without support. While both of those things might be wonderful feats of physical prowess, they are not part of The RAID Way. A flexible skill simply means that while you will have to demonstrate mastery of the specific skill to earn a pass and graduate the course, your instructor is not obligated to teach you the skill on a specific dive. Agency standards do link some skills to dive one, two, three or whatever during your training. But with us, a flexible skill means you and your instructor get to choose when it happens. We think that way is less stressf

Student/instructor agreements… a powerful tool that’s worth the time investment. LINK TO PDF >>> Click on the link above to download the RAID Recommended agreement as a pdf.