Thailand Divemaster Course - the final days of first sessions...

THE FULL TRANSFORMATION

BETH, TIM and JACOB, or DMTs act more as a DM everyday, the have come a long way. From refining skills and relearning buoyancy, to helping people underwater, setting up dive activities and even having some of our customers problems solved.



They have evolved into Divemasters gradually and now they are almost ready, SMB deploying is now natural to them, they proved to themselves that they can pass the stamina tests and in case of an emergency they are sure of their capacity. Mapping, navigating and briefing a divesite is now done good to be explained to anyone.



Paperwork is ready to be sent to PADI, all requirements have been met, but still, even when your instructor and your diveshop tell you you are ready, there is something missing.



The confidence, the training and the oportunities are there.



It is just the confidence to jump in the water for the first time being independent and responsible for that first group of divers.

That sensation is the one that transforms you in the end.


Thailand Divemaster Course

The first Thailand Divemaster Course of the season...

BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL

Every dive professional remembers their Divemaster course as a life changing experience. It improves your skills and knowledge but most importantly It changes the way you see people and diving.


For  Beth, Tim and Jacob, most of the trainig has been done while getting experience with most of out members of the staff. It's interesting to see how people can improve just by learning form people with different experience levels and styles.

They've come  long way and now they are working on the practical and theoretical evaluations. This is probably the most fun part. You get to act 100% as a divemaster and coordinate activities, plan dives, take people in the water, basically this is when you DIVEMASTER and still you have input from your instructor.



Everything you learn in the pool you apply towards helping instructors with begginers, what you practice in open water you assist guides and at the same time you learn from them.



In other words, all the experience you gain you get to apply, that's why we can make the course so effective, you don't just sit through a set of lectures and pool sessions, it's not just a course, it's an experience and this is why your perception of diving changes, you see it from the professionals point of view, and this is how you become a professional, it is not just the skills, it is also the mindset and the attitude.



-Wicked Diving Thailand

Thailand Divemaster Course - 2013

Here at Wicked Diving Thailand, We offer a 6 week Dive master Trainee program. Our first set of DMTs have been here just under a week, and have already been busy little bees. They are an integral part of our family here, and we would like to introduce them to you. Beth, Tim, and Jacob….. J

Tim…
Tim is a very happy go lucky, glass is half full, bright side of the street kind of guy. He is originally from Azores, but lives in Boston at the moment and is working as a Bartender. This is his first trip to Asia, and he has come all this way to participate in our DMT program. After the course, he will be returning to Boston, and then plans on continuing travelling and exploring, with intentions of working in the dive industry one day. He came to Wicked with 30 dives and the reason he chose Wicked, was because of our Eco Friendly programs, our high emphasis on safety, and our website. He is enjoying meeting new people, gaining knowledge, and eating lots of yummy thai food. So far he is feeling very comfortable, and welcomed, and looks forward to improving his sweet underwater moves. He says of DMT mentor Julio, “ I really like his musk and chest hair” Haha. And just in case you were wondering, his favourite colour is Maroon, and favourite sea animal is the Loggerhead turtle. Cheers Tim, We’re looking forward to another great 5 weeks together.

Beth...
Beth arrived with a flower in her hair, and a really sweet smile. She is from San Francisco, has vivid dreams of diving, and loves Octopus and Manta Rays. Back at home, she works as a director for an Arts summer camp. She has been a little mermaid her whole life and first learned to dive in a kelp forest, in California. She arrived in Khao Lak, with 145 dives, plenty of experience from all around the world. She will be travelling around Asia for 6 months after the course, and hopes to get some freelance dive work during her trip. What she loves most about diving is the element of surprise, and always experiencing a new adventure, Drift and Reef diving being her favourite. She was a guest with Wicked about 1 and a half years ago, and it was then that she knew she wanted to do her Dive Master course here with us. She is strongly enthusiastic and eager to get involved with our eco projects, the local community, and meeting the children from the Burmese school. She says of mentor, Julio “ I am mesmerized by his hand signals underwater. I haven’t experienced his musk yet, but he is very passionate, excited, and extremely knowledgeable.” It is an absolute pleasure having you here Beth, Thank you!!! :)

Jacob:
Jacob is a laid back funny guy from New Zealand. He is an avid adventurer and traveller with Rock Climbing and Scuba Diving being his 2 favourite sports. Jacob lives and works in Australia as an engineer, and has a 3 month travel plan in Asia. His favourite dive site in the world is Barracuda Point, in Sipidan, Borneo, and I cannot blame him! He likes to see the BIG things underwater, and really hopes to see a Manta Ray during his stay here with us. ( I’ve put in a call to the Manta Gods, I hope they can deliver!) He arrived at Wicked with 25 dives, and an eagerness to learn! He’s loving the food, and Chang beer here in Khao Lak, He is really looking forward to getting involved in our Artificial Reef project, and would like to get his hands on an aquamarine sub, to do some super exploring. He says of Julio, DMT mentor “ His mask is really small, and he’s got a sweet agenda.” Nice one. It’s great to have you here with us Jacob, keep the good times rolling…


At the moment these guys are in the pool, practicing the 20 open water dive skills. I’m sure we will have plenty to talk about when they return, as well as a few laughs to share. These guys have a lot of really cool and exciting stuff in store for them, and we are looking forward to being on this journey with them. Stay tuned…



There are still DMT spaces available!!! Read more on Tripadvisor about what a recent Divemaster thinks!! If you are interested in Joining the Wicked Diving family, please contact us info@wickeddiving.com


-Wicked Diving Thailand

More artificial reefs in Thailand

It is part of requirement for all Divemaster Trainees at Wicked Diving Thailand to plan and undertake Eco projects. As part of this process we are actively building an artificial reef using found materials. Our goal is both teach and encourage all professional divers to improve the world around them, but also find the best materials for creating reefs in the most economical and practical ways......

Wicked DMT’s Eco Project

As part of our DiveMaster training course with Wicked the DMT’s (Martin, AJ, Brian & Kim) were given the task to carry out an Eco project which entailed building an artificial reef.  We were briefed by Tuk and Colin who gave us the details of where and how this would be done and what the previous reefs built were like. 

The materials we had at our disposal were a large concrete pipe, three car tyres, some rope (which could be used to tie everything together and be used to make artificial sea fans) and an old broken stool of some sort. We discussed various ideas on how to arrange these and eventually settled on one and pieced it all together on land.

Afterwards we researched online regarding the benefits of using rubber tyres in artificial reefs and found that the general consensus was that the disadvantages of using tyres underwater outweighed the benefits. So we decided we did not want to use them if there was any chance they could harm the aquatic environment, which would make the whole exercise pointless.  We also decided that we would try to use as little rope as possible because it was made of nylon.

We shared the above with Tuk and Colin who agreed. Colin found rope that was made of natural materials that we could use to turn into artificial sea fans (instead of the nylon rope), then Tuk found some concrete blocks for us to use as well as the concrete pipe. Concrete is the best material to use when constructing artificial reef because it is very easy for aquatic life such as coral to grow on it.

So we all; now joined by George (a former DMT) set off on the longtail boat to the Boonsung Wreck. When we arrived George and Kim went down to locate the other artificial reefs and tie an SMB to a toilet. That way the captain knew exactly where to park the longtail boat so we could drop the materials. We had decided that the easiest and ‘safest’ way was to literally drop the Blocks and pipe in so once George and Kim had checked the area was clear and surfaced we threw everything into the sea.

 Then well all kitted up, got into the water, descended and started to locate everything which took a surprisingly short amount of time, somehow we also managed to find more concrete blocks than had actually been thrown in, Tuk even happened to find an extra one that had a big ‘W’ on it which was Wicked. (Pun intended) It is possible to swim underwater while carrying concrete blocks as long as your BCD is fully inflated and you don’t let go. We had no design planned out so once Tuk and Colin had rolled the concrete pipe into position….

 Kim and AJ arranged it all into a formation that looked best and made best use of all the holes in the blocks so that little fish could move in there and have a safe place to live. So while we were all holding it place and Brian was tying it all together (Brian is a sailor he’s awesome with knots, if you ever happen to give him some rope he will tie the heck out of it!) and Tuk was cutting up the environmentally friendly rope and making it into sea fans a couple of ill-tempered looking lion fish that live in another artificial reef came over, I guess they didn’t want anyone other than their own kind moving into their neighbourhood, or more likely they loved what we were building and was eager for a step up in the property ladder. Either way something had to be done because they were dangerously close and poisonous, we needed some security. Which is when Martin; with complete disregard for his own safety courageously stepped in as security detail and saved us all, so while we were working away you could see Martin in the background fighting of a couple of huge lions with what appeared to be an old piece of the Boonsung wreck (obviously he didn’t actually harm the fish because that wouldn’t be the Wicked Diving way)  The reef was then more or less finished but we were all close to 50bar on air so we surfaced.

Our surface interval was spent in what could only be described as monsoon like conditions. When we went back under we finished the reef and took photographs and then explored the Boonsung Wreck which I highly recommend because it is an awesome wreck dive and full of a huge variety of marine life.

Happy diving

AJ

 When you dive with Wicked....you make a difference. We offer one of the most unique and through Divemaster courses in Thailand.

-Khao Lak Diving

Divemaster Training - New Artificial reef!

Wicked Diving now has the best waste disposal system of any of Khao Lak's dive shops - we have an underwater toilet at Boonsung Wreck :)
But that’s not the whole story...

As a capstone of the first Divemaster course of the year, the four of us were responsible for designing, creating, and installing a piece of artificial reef near one of the wrecks in Khao Lak. We had the help of two intrepid instructors, Jade and Ash, and our DMT leader Diego. In 2010, a DMT group dropped a giant concrete pyramid that could act as a fish nursery.  This year, they're trying to have each DMT class install their own piece to create an artificial reef habitat, since most of the area around Khao Lak is sandy and inhospitable for fish aggregations.



We spent several hours researching the different materials used in reef construction. Porcelain, untreated wood, untreated metal, and some concretes are very good for artificial reefs since they don't leach many chemicals and can last a long time. Painted and treated materials are often toxic, and shouldn't be used.



We found an abandoned toilet bowl near the storeroom and some old concrete blocks, so we created our own version of the Wicked Throne (to the porcelain gods).



While we were trying to tie the toilet bowl to cement blocks, two Thai men stopped landscaping and came over to help us. They basically took the rope out of our hands and showed us how competent people tie down toilets... it was hilarious because they didn't ask why we were trying to tie down a toilet bowl, they just helped us do it better. Amazing. This country is full of the most remarkable, friendly, and helpful people!


Once installed, the site is about 20 meters away from the wreck. One the first dive of the day, we placed the toilet next to the installation from divemasters two years ago. We managed to get the toilet on the van, on and off the boat, and down to the sand without too much trouble. It was pretty funny though!

On the second dive, we tried to install the backboard and create a throne. We managed to bring it down to the toilet by weighing it down with ~3 kilos and some muscle, but it wasn't stable enough to withstand the currents and storms that hit Khao Lak in the summer. Actually, we underestimated George's muscles when he was tightening the backboard to the toilet, and the bamboo snapped! We decided to leave the toilet as a central feature and forget about its accessories. It'll be very interesting to see what grows over the rest of the season. All in all, a great day.

Thanks guys for all the hard work and the innovative new reef :)


-Similan Diving

Labuan Bajo community project – The marine life in Komodo National Park

 Today Calle and Erik went to the local Vocational High School and did a large presentation on marine life inside the Komodo National Park. The kids were super keen to learn more and also practice their english :) We'll be back for more presentations in the very near future!!

We, Calle and Erik, have been in Labuan Bajo since may. We started as DMTs and after the sign off we have been lucky enough to work for Wicked Diving. A few days ago we got the honourable task to do Wicked Divings first community project in one of the local schools in the area, for kids studying to become tour guides. The subject; The marine life here in Komodo National Park.

We were to do the presentations for two classes, covering the basics of the marine life in Komodo. Some of the different kind of corals and species you can see here. Such as what plankton and crustaceans are. And what fish, whether feeding on plankton/algae or on corals and who the bigger predators are. We also talked about the current threats, such as throwing garbage in the sea or on land and not using trash bins, illegal fishing methods and a few other things that destroy or damage reefs, but also what you can and should do to help preserve the marine life.

Not being used to teaching or even standing in front of kids we where, to put it simply, a bit freaked out. But in the end it turned out to be pretty fun. The kids where great and really enjoyed what we had to show and tell them. The teacher, Mr Jon, who helped arrange this for us where very happy and we will continue doing different kind of community projects for the school(s) around Labuan Bajo in the future.

Komodo Divemaster Blog - Linda

31/7/2012

How do you know someone is a Divemaster? They will probably tell you. Well... I’m now a Divemaster! It’s been ten weeks of blood, sweat and tears, but I made it. And there wasn’t really a lot of blood and tears involved. Mostly sweat. And lots of laughs and good times. Time has flown by.

The highlights of the course have definitely been the live aboards and diving in the Komodo National park. There are so many things I can now cross off my list of “things to see”. Frogfish, leaf scorpionfish, dragonet, new nudibranchs and flatworms, pygmy seahorses and of course the manta rays. You do get really spoiled diving here. Another highlight of the trips is the people you meet. The liveaboard trips gather together a random group of people who all have one thing in common, and that’s diving. Age, social status and nationality of the people all lose their meaning once you get on board. You meet and spend quite some time with people you’d never come across otherwise in everyday life.

Right before I finished my course I got some time off and decided to make a little overnight trip to one of the islands that surround Labuan Bajo. The destination was Seraya Kecil and it turned out to be a real island paradise. With nothing to do but to snorkel, eat, chill on the beach and do some minor trekking it was the perfect place for a relaxing mini vacation. And the snorkelling just out of the beach was really nice. Some cool little pipefish, a beautiful juvenile barramundi, lots of anemones with different clown fishes and all the usual stuff. In the evening as we climbed up to a hill to see the sunset we saw black tip reef sharks swimming in the shallows. Too bad we didn’t snorkel that side of the island.

As my Komodo Divemaster course has been coming to an end I’ve done some serious thinking about what to do next and whether diving will stay in my life as a hobby or should I try to make a living out of it. And well as I said in my last blog entry, I really don’t miss bartending, so why not give it a go. But as much as I like it here, I want to gain more experience in some easier waters. I’ve done some 45 dives in the Komodo National park and the more I dived there, the more I started to respect the dangers that you can come across there. The currents can be tricky and someone can really get hurt if the guide doesn’t know what they’re doing and doesn’t have control over the group. My flights are already booked and if everything goes well, in November I’ll be taking people diving in the Similan Islands in Thailand. Hope to see you there


Our Komodo Divemaster Program is unlike any other...intensive, safety conscious and hard work!

Komodo Divemaster Blog entry - July 1st

1/7/2012

I can say life in Labuan Bajo has been pretty busy. The tourist season has officially started. Things are rolling well at Wicked;  we’ve had loads of local diving daytrips, been exploring more dive sites by snorkeling and diving. Jaya is coming and going to and from the Komodo National park every three days. I’ve gotten a good insight on how a dive shop works. 

I’ve had the chance to arrange and take part on the daytrips. I’ve assisted on courses, drawn my first dive site maps and given my first little dive briefings. Which by the way is not as easy as it looks, especially for someone who can’t draw to save their life and is nervous about speaking in front of people. It’s been lots of new experiences and awesome diving. I have definitely learned a lot in the past few weeks.

I’ve had the chance to be onboard two of the Komodo liveaboard trips and the diving in the park… WOW! I’ve never been diving in such currents. At times it felt like being inside a washing machine, at other sites you could almost stop kicking and let the current take you. I think I want to become a drift dive specialist, why bother to swim ;)? 

And the things you see under water there; turtles, cuttlefishes, lionfishes, nudibranchs, eels, huge schools of fusiliers, sharks, rays, mantas, napoleon wrasses and jacks so big they look like they must be on steroids. I could go on and on with the list but I think you get my point. Above the surface tranquil scenery and sunsets that take your breath away. I can say I don’t miss bartending in back home in Finland.

The past couple of days I’ve had the privilege to assist on an open water course. It was really a joy to take someone diving on their very first dive. I remember clearly how excited I was when I saw my first Christmas tree worm and I thought it was the coolest thing. I actually still think they’re cool but they’re not exactly super special. And Hannah the student was such a natural. All the skills and everything nailed with no problems. And most importantly she had a really good time. A turtle on your first dive is not too bad. Dives 3 and 4 we came across a leaf fish and a frog fish which were both the first ones of their kind for me and made me a very happy dmt :)

-Linda

Our Komodo Divemaster course still has available spaces in August! 

Divemaster Training days...

Divemaster Training - Similan Islands


The final Divemaster training course for Wicked Diving this season is in it's final moments!



With Davis, Lucy, Kasper and Mick having worked very hard over the last 6 weeks...we had a few last projects to clear up!


One was the Oxygen provider training. With Paul - our resident Dive Medic - teaching the course, it is fun an intense. In this case putting together the Oxygen kit while blindfolded. Kasper did pretty well.


Wicked Diving also takes our Divemaster Internship to a whole other level. We visit the hyperbaric chamber in Phuket for an orientation. In addition we stopped at one of the boat yards in Phuket to see how repairs are done in this region. On this trip we also stopped at the Lampee waterfall in Phang Nga province to chill out a bit on the drive down.



Our Similan Divemaster Internship for the 2010-2011 season is rapidly filling up!

-Similan Islands Diving

Divemaster Graduation!!!!

The second group of our Professional Level Divemaster Trainees of the season started in half of November and the first one to finish the course was Nicole Gerschel. She came on our liveboardtrip as a guest, decided to stay a bit longer and ended up doing her Stress & Rescue Specialty, First Aid course and SSI Dive Control Specialist course. So roughly 6 weeks later, after a lot of studying, pool practice and of course loads of diving, she finally did her final day: the DMT day!!! On this day she took out our longtail to one of the local wrecks: the Premchai. Two other DMT's were on the boat to finish their mapping and one very special guest: Open Water Marcel, from Holland. First dive went great and during the surface interval the group had planned to do a beach clean up on Khao Nayak. This is the entry and exit point to the Tublamu Harbour and all the liveaboards and daytrip boats pass it when they go out to the Similans. There is a lot of rubbish however, but since no-one is really visiting this beach it doesn't really get looked after too well. Since Wicked Diving believes that we shouldn't only take care of the beaches we visit, but also other places, we decided to do a clean up here.

It didn't take long to fill up all of the bags we brought and we didn't manage to get all the litter of the beach, but at least it's a start. Luckily the beach clean-up ties in very well with the education of the Burmese Children at GHRE, since this weeks topic was: recycling. So we decided to bring on of the bags to the school, so the children can see with their own eyes what kind of litter ends up in the seas. Next week we will arrange two boats to Khao Nayak and we will take all the children out for a bigger and more complete clean-up.

The second dive of the day is one of our new "favourite" dive sites: our muck dive at Khao Nayak, just in front of the beach. In the past we have seen seahorses, boxer shrimp and even a pine apple fish there. This time no seahorse, but we did manage to find some really beautiful pipefish and a Janolus Nudibranch. Great day, great dives and another great Divemaster course finished!


Similan Diving

A visit to the Local hyperbaric chamber

At Wicked Diving we try to give all our professional level trainee's the opportunity to see more than just the dive sites. We strive to make all our students confident and aware of the world around them - not just the aquatic one.

One very significant part of our training revolves around safety. With our DAN oxygen training, First Responder courses, having a dive medic on staff - Wicked is very passionate about diving safety.

We strive to do all we can to prevent accidents from happening. From planning, constant monitoring, testing of equipment and vigorous training we do our best. By the very nature of accidents, they will still occur.

So we strive to also train our students and staff to deal with accidents in a safe and reasonable fashion. One of the ways we do this is to visit the local chamber and actually remove the mystery from this aspect of diving accidents.

With our constant contact and support of the local medic - Klaus - we are also able to give our staff, guests and trainees access to knowledge and information that helps develop a more conscientious diver.




-Similan Diving

Changing the world - Wicked Diving in our community - Recycling program

After a day of cleaning beaches and all the rubbish we found - Wicked Diving and our Divemaster Trainee's took the next logical step.

Instead of just getting angry, or simply complaining - we went out and tried to make a difference.

Filip, Sarah, Annette and Bernie were to do an educational presentation at the School (a program we sponsor)

They chose to talk about recycling and the impact rubbish makes on our environment (above and below the water).


They talked about how long it takes for different kinds of rubbish to break down, why throwing away plastic bags is a bad idea and different ways to actually do recycling in their own lives.





They also gave a few items as gifts - including two bins to collect recycleable materials.













Wicked Diving is very proud of our efforts to improve our community, and this is just one step towards a better future. We hope all these kids walk away with a little bit of the information we put forth and try to make a difference in their community.


Simple steps can help lead to a better world.













-Similan Diving

-Surin Islands

Another spontaneous beach clean-up

Here at Wicked Diving we do far more than just diving. We are always trying to make a difference - whether in the local community, the Similan Islands our our local dive sites.




We just got back from visiting one our local wrecks - the Premchai - and we visited the local "muck dive". This is a dive site that very few people have ever visited, but it has some incredible marine life and truly amazing scenery. With careful planning - making sure we time the tides and dives correctly - this is one of the most unique dives around.
































However it was also quite covered in litter :(














So instead of whining - we just stepped right up and did a beach clean up.



Sorry - but the first picture may break your heart. It did ours....


Hopefully the later pictures cheer you up - we took away 14 bags worth garbage!!!





We are very proud of these days, especially as this was a Divemaster training day. Hopefully all these Professional level students we train take away these moments and try to make a difference at their future places of employment.



-Similan Diving

Similan Divemaster Course - November 2009

It only feels like yesterday that we started the season and our first divemaster program. Yet, their course is almost over!


Last night we had the first dinner for our new divemasters!


6 weeks of hard work, great diving and plenty of learning ahead!

We do have a space left on on February course if becoming a professional diver might interest you...

Khao lak Divemaster Training
















-Similan Diving

Divemaster course - October 2009

Well, the season has officially begun! Our first Divemaster Training course started today. After a full day of orientation, lectures and paperwork - Marcel has the group ready to go! 6 weeks of work ahead, but we believe they will make it ;)




Going clockwise - Annika, Daniel, John (all from Sweden) Then Kathi and Marcel and finally - Daniel from Austria.

Keep an eye out for more footage as the course progresses!





Similan Diving

Divemaster Blog - read on...

We have started a new blog dedicated to the current and former divemaster students of Wicked Diving. We continually try to show you - our friends and guests - that we are more than just some words on a website. We work very very hard to make sure all our standards are high, that our guests receive the best service we can deliver and of course bring you to some of the Best Diving in Thailand.

As part of this process of showing (not telling) what we do, the new Divemaster Blog can give you insight into what it's like to go through one of our most intense courses ( minimum 6 weeks of very hard work) as well as what happens aftrewards too.

Look for pictures, updates, stories and even some gossip. Hopefully there will be pretty frequent updates about the various projects we do - currently we are doing a battery drive to properly dispose of the batteries used in the dive torchs in Khao Lak. The Divemaster Trainee's are putting together this program to help the town move away from torches that use excessive batteries to LED torches or LED torches combined with rechargeable batteries (what we use). Much more on this in the coming weeks.


As always - IF this is of onterest to you....

Similan Divemaster Training

Similan Diving

or join our Similan Liveaboard for 3 day or 6 Day tours.

Thailand's Best Divemaster Course

Our Divemaster Trainee's - Almost finished!

Working together - supporting one another!

Haning out and having fun on the Similan Islands
Sometimes they just do things the hard way.....

This year we have another incredible group of Divemaster Trainee's. They are all almost complete with their course and the next group is here to begin! It's been a long hard path, but it looks like the first batch of Wicked Divemasters '08 is ready to be unleashed on the world!