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Latest news from Christal Seas Scuba and beyond, including who's doing what, where and why in the world of diving.
12 March 2009:
Red Sea holiday: A group from CSS have just returned from a week's fantastic diving at Marsa Alam in the Red Sea. During the week we saw more turtles than ever before, loads of beautifiul reef fish, dolphins and an oceanic whitetip shark - fabulous! Well done to everyone who completed courses out there, especially Catherine and Andrew who qualified as Open Water divers. See the Latest photos page for the pics.
Updated 21 December 2008:
Rescue award: A big well done and thank you to Instructor David B and Divemaster Colin for playing a valuable part in the rescue of one of our students who got into difficulty earlier in the year. David and Colin will receive Royal Humane Society certificates of commendation for their quick thinking and rescue skills. Well done and it's good to know we're in such safe hands!
Sharks Trust donation: Thank you to everyone who took part in the raffle at the Christmas dinner and helped raise an amazing £241 for the Sharks Trust. This organisation does really valuable work campaigning to put an end to shark finning. The money has been sent off and is helping to support their work.
2009 Schedule: We are currently planning the dive schedule for 2009. Details of the Holidays are already on the Holidays page, and more details of dive weekends and socials are coming soon.
Christmas Dinner: A great night was had by all at the 2008 Christmas Dinner. See the Latet Photos page for pics from the night.
Updated 9 November 2008:
Shark Trust donation: Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Shark Trust collection box in the shop. We are pleased to have sent a cheque for £83 to the Sharks Trust to support their work campaigning to protect sharks around the world.
Assistant Instructor course: Good luck to all the candidates on the Assistant Instructor course running over the next few weeks. This in-depth course which looks at teaching presentations and care of students prepares candidates for the full Instructor course we are running next year.
Updated 5 October 2008:
New shop now open! We are very pleased to welcome everyone to the new dive shop at 6 Cromer Road Norwich. We have much more space for new stock as well as dedicated classroom facilites and servicing room upstairs. There are 3 parking spaces at the front and 2 more spaces behind the shop at the back. Overflow parking available in the Bottoms Up car park opposite.
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Free parking at the front and 2 spaces at the back |
Lots of new equipment in stock |
Updated 27 July 2008:
Chris qualifies as a PADI Course Director: Congratulations to Chris, owner of Christal Seas Scuba, for qualifying as a PADI Course Director in America in July - the highest level that a PADI professional can reach. Only a select few from around the world are accepted onto the Course Director programme each year, and Chris is the first Course Director in Norfolk. Congratulations!!
Here is the picture of Chris (far right), along with the other new PADI International Course Directors, on the CD programme in California.
Updated 7 July 2008:
Apeks Regulator recall: Apeks have issued a service bulletin stating that ATX and XTX regulators purchased between January 2007 and June 2008 may be missing the diaghram cover in the second stage assembly. Click here to read the service bulletin. If you own a set of Apeks regs purchased around this time (serial numbers 701 0001 to 807 0001) that have not been serviced yet please bring them into the shop for one of our Apeks technicians to check.
Updated 25 May 2008:
Shams Alam, 2008. Everyone had a great trip to Shams Alam in the Red Sea and we had some beautiful dives. This is still a really quiet area for diving so the coral is untouched and we only saw a few other boats all week. We did several dives over the week including some night dives and early morning dives - meaning that several people hit milestones while on the trip. Well done to all those who hit their 50th or 100th dive on the holiday.
Master Scuba Diver achievements. Congratulations to Lee, Glenn and Richard S who all qualified as Master Scuba Divers recently. This is the highest non-professional PADI dive qualification and all those who have earned it have demonstrated a wide range of skills as well as having Rescue qualifications. Well done and Congratulations!
New PADI Divemaster. Congratulations to Richard Wood who has just qualified as a PADI Divemaster. Well done and we look forward to releasing you into the real world soon.
Sharkwater. If you haven't already seen the film 'Sharkwater' then please get it as this powerful film about how the sharkfinning trade is decimating the shark population is a must-watch. It's beautifully filmed and covers Rob Stewarts battles with shark poachers, pirate boats and corrupt court cases to try and save sharks.
Updated 5 April 2008:
Marcus is off to sunny Cyprus. We are very sad because Instructor Marcus is off to Cyprus for the summer to work in 5* PADI Centre Cydive. He will be missed this summer but is returning in October, just in time for the cold water! He will be welcoming visitors out there all summer, so if you are in need of some summer sun why not consider Cyprus, with the wreck of the Zenobia and other great dive sites.
Club meeting: We are having a club meeting on Friday 18 April at The Falcon pub on Cromer Road in Norwich from 7pm. Please use this opportunity to ask us any questions and let us know what activities you would like to see arranged for 2008.
Drinks in The Falcon afterwards.
Seasearch Observer course: Seasearch are running an observer course in Sheringham on the 7 / 8 June 2008. This course introduces the Seasearch project and the techniques used to record marine life on dives around the UK and involves theory on Saturday and 2 shore dives from Weybourne on Sunday.
Minimum requirements include 20 dives (10 in UK sea) and third party insurance.
Cost is £35, booking forms available from Chris.
International Year of the Reef. 2008 is International Year of the Reef which is designed to focus public attention on the significance of coral reefs and encourage people to act to protect them. There are many things we can all do to get involved, such as taking part in reef clean ups and demonstrating and passing on good diving practices to those we dive with. Christal Seas Scuba is organising various activities to celebrate Year of the Reef, so look out for details of the following coming soon:
Mares night: The Mares rep is bringing up lots of new equipment for us to try in the pool on Wednesday 28 May. All welcome. Please call Chris to book your place.
Dolphin Rescue: Rescuers tending two stranded whales watched in amazement as a dolphin turned up, clearly communicated with the whales, and persuaded them to swim to safety.
The incident occurred off New Zealand's Mahia Beach, 500km north-east of Wellington. Before the dolphin arrived, rescuers had tried for over an hour to persuade the whales, a pygmy sperm whale and her calf, to swim away. They had been unable to navigate out to sea and had stranded four times on a sandbar.
The dolphin, a bottlenose, announced its arrival by surfacing between the rescuers and the whales, which were stranded in slightly deeper water than the wading people. The whales had arched their backs and were making anxious calls to each other, but once the dolphin arrived some sort of communication occurred between the three animals. The dolphin was able to persuade the whales to relax and, clearly encouraged, they were then able to wriggle free and follow the dolphin off into a safe, deepwater channel.
"I don't speak whale and I don't speak dolphin," Malcolm Smith, the rescue team's conservation officer, told the BBC, "but there was obviously something that went on because the two whales changed their attitude from being distressed to following the dolphin quite willingly and directly along the beach and straight out to sea. The dolphin did what we failed to do. It was all over in a matter of minutes."
"I actually went into the water with the dolphin and gave it a pat afterwards, because she really did save the day," he said. |
Updated 1 March 2008:
The Christal Seas Scuba dive trip to Costa Rica and the Cocos Islands in February was a huge success and the group were lucky enough to see some amazing sights including shoals of scalloped Hammerheads, silky sharks, reef sharks, manta rays, eagle rays and even whales. Read the trip reports from the liveaboard here:
Updated 27 January 2008:
New shop opening times. As from 1 February 2008 the shop is now also open on Mondays from 9am to 6pm.
2008 Schedule: The schedule of dive weekends and other events for the first part of 2008 is on the Events Schedule page now.
Thistlegorm re-opened.
The Red Sea wreck of the Thistlegorm has re-opened for diving, following an operation to install a dive boat mooring system and drill air-escape holes in the wreck. The works were necessary to prevent the wreck from further damage from dive boats mooring lines.
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The Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA) described the work, which finished on 15 December as planned, as "extremely successful". Now in place are 32 mooring lines and air-escape outlets to prevent further damage to the structure of the wreck.
HEPCA also commended, in particular, "diving operators and guests for their understanding in being unable to dive the ss Thistlegorm during the period of this urgent conservation work". More air-escape outlets are to be drilled at a later date, but this will not require another closure of the site.
Similar projects are now planned for the Rosalie Moller and other wrecks regarded as under threat, as part of the Saving the Red Sea Wrecks Campaign, which was launched by HEPCA at the DIVE 2007 show at Birmingham, UK in October.
Amy Winehouse readjusts underwater.
Singer Amy Winehouse has found peace and therapy by venturing under water.
She discovered the wonders of scuba diving while on holiday in the Caribbean over Christmas and New Year.
Staying with Canadian hit-maker Bryan Adams at his holiday home on Mustique, Winehouse is reported to have gone diving with him every day, and to have revelled in the new experience.
She told the Daily Star: "I've learnt to appreciate simple things, like the beauty of nature. And it's taught me to face my fears.
"It's a different world down there. I can look at things in a new way. I've come to the realisation that life is short, so I want to make sure I live every minute of it." |
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New recompression chamber in Yarmouth.
A new, state-of-the-art hyperbaric chamber opened at James Paget Hospital, Great Yarmouth, in mid-December. |
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| The facility, run by London Hyperbaric Medicine, will be used for a variety of medical treatments, from diving accident recompressions to clinical therapy where a sustained period of oxygenation boosts speed of recovery. The chamber is spacious enough to afford patients the choice of lying down or sitting in a comfortable chair while they undergo treatment. |
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Marathon Girl. Sharon who dives with us is doing the London marathon next year - brave girl! She has been training hard and is raising money for the spinal injuries association, see her fundraising website www.justgiving.com/NUCF. There is a sponsorship form at the shop so please have a look next time you are there.
New Divemaster. Tom has recently qualified as a PADI Divemaster, after several months helping and studying to learn all about dive planning, assisting with courses and a more in-depth understanding of dive theory. Congratulations and we look forward to having you on board.
| Charity calender. Assistant Instructor David is part of a charity calender focussing on football in strange locations. The bottom of the pool has been added to the list of venues such as the cathedral, supermarkets and nightclubs! We think he makes a lovely Mr November! To support the charity please contact David via the shop to purchase your copy of the calender. |
New Divemaster Trainees. Several people are doing their Divemaster internship at the moment. Richard W, Mark, Stuart, Glenn, Jenny and Richard F are all learning about being a dive professional and will be helping out at pool sessions and open water weekends. This is a very rewarding course that takes you 'behind the scenes' of the dive school and takes your diving to a whole new level. See how the guys are doing at your next session.
Scuba Steve is off to Germany. We are very sad because Steve is being posted out to Germany shortly so he won't be around so much, although he has promised to come back and visit us regularly and teach. Look out for his orange drysuit and yellow fins at a dive site near you next year! On Saturday 24th November we are going to the pub so come along and wish him all the best and celebrate Susans birthday.
Teccy diving. Mark Leadbeater has recently qualified as a rebreather diver and can now be seen with a big yellow box on his back at various dive sites while he gets some practice in before heading out off shore. Instructor Susan is also moving beyond her twin set and doing the Trimix course (oxygen, nitrogen and helium) so she can get even closer to those deep wrecks that she loves.
Atlantic Sail. Instructor Rob is making the final preparations for his sail across the Atlantic in November. He is setting sail from Gran Canaria on the 15th November and planning on arriving in St Lucia for Christmas - sounds like a good plan! Good luck Rob and have a great trip.
Congratulations. Well done and many congratulations to Simon T for qualifying as Master Scuba Diver recently. This is the highest non-professional level a diver can reach and shows that you have a range of experience in many types of diving and are rescue diver certified. A very well respected and rewarding qualification. |
