October 2009

                                                                  

 

 

HI DIVERS,

 
Online PADI Courses
You can now sign up online for PADI courses by logging onto our website at www.5stardivers.com.  Just click on PADI Elearning, and you click on the link for your desired course.  Courses offered are the PADI Open Water Course, Advanced Open Water, and Enriched Air (Nitrox) Course.
 
Christmas Get Together
We've reserved a room at the Great American in Vinton on Dec. 6th, for our Christmas Get Together.  I will send out a reminder as the date approaches.

Check out our travel section to get information on up coming dive travel.  We try to feature new and exciting destinations in all price ranges.  Don't worry if you don't have a dive buddy.  Also, sign up for our newsletter to get information on local buddy trips, and ladies only dives.

 

 

 
 
DAN Diving Emergency Management (DEMP)
 Provider Program

Course Overview
It is a rare event when a dive emergency is a single event. More often than not, small problems can compound to create a larger problem.

 Divers interested in understanding first aid care for dive emergencies can now take the Diving Emergency Management Provider course.  This single program integrates the knowledge and skills from several DAN Training Programs.

Included in the course:
Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries
First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries
Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for Scuba Diving
Advanced Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries
On-Site Neurological Assessment for Divers

Hours of Training
Approximately 9 hours.
The time needed to complete this course varies and depends on any factors, including the number of students and their ability to process the educational components of the program.
 
Course Prerequisites
Current CPR certification (within past 24 months)
Read the appropriate sections of the DAN DEMP and On-Site Neuro handbooks prior to the class.

 Equipment Maintenance

Always have your dive equipment checked before going on a  dive trip.   Make sure that  it  has  a current annual.  If the annual is current, put your regulator on a tank and breath on it, and have the intermediate pressure checked.   After a week of diving,  regulators  can  get out of tune, and need a minor adjustment.

Skin Tops

Rash guards are a great way to keep covered up from the sun on a dive boat.  While t-shirts get wet, and stay wet the entire trip, rash guards dry fast. You can wash them in the sink after a day of diving, and they'll be dry the next morning. They are light weight, and don't take up a lot of space in your dive bag.

The Scubapro neoprene swim shorts can be worn alone or under a wetsuit.  They are 1mm neoprene with Lycra side panels which provide warmth and flexibility.

 

Dive Buddy

We have a group that gets together every month for local diving.  Notification for the weekend trips is sent by email.  If your not all ready receiving emails from us, and want to be kept up to date on classes and dive trips, call the dive center with your email address.

Steve Guris, has been helping us organize some of the local weekend dives each month.  The last trip was planned for July 14th and 15th to Bottomless Lakes State Park in Roswell, NM.  In  search for  aliens.  For those of you who have never been there, the dive site is Lea Lake, about 30 acres with a maximum depth of 90 feet.  For novice something to follow Balmorhea.  For the more experienced diver,  it’s a good place to practice your navigation skills.  Visibility can be anywhere between 10-30 feet.  This is a good way to keep up your skills, and meet other divers in the area.

DCS

Because Scuba Diving requires us to travel to a lot of remote locations, it’s important for us to know how to handle an emergency..  You might be surprised to know that not all dive operations, and resorts know how to handle dive emergencies.  Even though they appear to be well equipped, they might not have the  training needed to perform in an emergency. Resorts usually have a large turnover of people,  and are not necessarily required to know the proper procedures to follow in an emergency situation. 

We offer the following courses though the dive center that will help prepare you for almost any emergency:

· The First Responder Course teaches you proper CPR and First Aid.

· The DAN Oxygen course teaches you how to set up an oxygen cylinder, how to identify the signs and symptoms, and proper delivery of oxygen.

· DAN Neurological Examinations

· First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries

So now it’s up to you to take the next step.

 

Back to Basics

After we’ve  been diving for a while we tend to forget the basics, and the importance of doing safety stops.  Even though you stayed as shallow as 30 feet at the end of a dive, it’s imperative that you do a 3 to 5 min. safety stop.  Remember you can do  everything  right  on a dive and still get decompression sickness.  Some of it has to do with our age, how in shape we are, how tired we are from traveling, or how dehydrated we might be.  So drink lots of water, not coffee or coke, and remember to do a safety stop on every dive.

 

 

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS!

Master Scuba Diver

Diane McElroy,  Gene Lybarger,  Jeannette Lockard

Larry Lockard,  Jason Leary,  Reed Leverton

 

"Open Water Divers"

Amiee Davis, Jack Potter, Jackson McGinnis, Larez McGinnis, Monica Thornton, Jesus Soltero, 

Chris Bagdon,Hugo Flores,  Patricia Valenzuela, Ron Futrell,  Dan Buckingham,

Helen Abresch, Kyle Lawrence,  Alba Loya,  Joel Lara,  Jodie Matejcek,  Laura Loveless

Matthew Gamwell,  Robles Efrain,  William Mapes,  Harry Stone,  Carlos Garcia,

 Joe Segapeli,  Eduardo Aviles,  Armando Guzman

 

"Jr.  Open Water Divers"

Amelia Hammond,  Estaban Ochoa, Jacobo Ochoa,  Alberto Flores,  Andres Flores,

 

"Oxygen Specialty"

Jason Leary, Steve Guris, Joan Shepack, Manuel  Valenzuela,Maggie Leverton,  John Terhune

.

"First Responder"

Jason Leary, Steve Guris, Joan Shepack, Manuel  Valenzuela

Maggie Leverton,  John Terhune,  Jenae Johnson,

Trish McClure, 

 

"Rescue Diver"

Maggie Leverton,  Jenae Johnson,  Richard Henderson, John Keenan

 

"DAN Emergency Management Provider"

Jason Leary, Steve Guris, Joan Shepack, Manuel  Valenzuela,

Maggie Leverton,  Jenae Johnson, John Terhune

 

"Equipment Specialist"

John Terhune,  Sharon Ninkovich

 

"Search & Recovery Specialist"

John Terhune

 

"Enriched Air"

Nitrox

Chris Bagdon, Robert Abresch,  William Brooks, Jessica McCabe, Jason McCabe

 

Naturalist

Kerstin Klingstedt

 

Boat Diver

Ketrstin Klingstedt

 

Gas Blender

Jason Leary

 

Dive Master

Jason Leary

 

Flood Insurance

Sea & Sea has launched a Flood Protection Program. This plan covers all Sea & Sea cameras, housings, strobes, lenses, ports as well as theft, loss or damage of all scuba diving equipment, photo and video equipment, housings and accessories. Lost equipment during travel is covered. The premiums are very reasonable. For example, for $2,000 of coverage, the annual premium is only $30. For $10,000, the premium is $150 per year. For more info. call the dive center.

Please remember to notify us when you move or change email address to prevent interruption of the news letter.

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