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PSAC Committee Meeting Minutes - June 2008

PSAC Committee  - MOM September 2008

21st September 2008: Gannet DP-1 (By Mark Tuttle)

Driving from Miri to Brunei on the sunny afternoon of 20 September, gazing over the water west of the Baram, Stephen remarked to his family "my goodness, look at that beautiful flat sea, Panagadivers will certainly have an excellent day out tomorrow ..." or something like that.

An early departure was planned by Mark S to allow for very low tides at 8am, so a few of us appeared at KBBC before 7am to fill cylinders, haul them to Naga Laut and get the rescue kit loaded. By 7:45 am everyone had arrived, all kit loaded and the briefing began. At 8am Bernard and his KBBC catering team were on-site to administer the final touch: four cups of coffee and three tuna sandwiches for the hungry divers.

We set off at 8:05 with Hazel at the helm, steering a predictable serpentine course downstream at 30+ knots along the Belait into what appeared to be darkening skies to the north, with only a few spilled drops of coffee making their way back along the deck.

The journey out was relatively uneventful but as we passed Fairley-4 it was obvious: we were headed into a squall. All but Hazel and Mark S took refuge in the foreward locker amidst a drill bit, rope, chains, anchors, petrol, buoys and a dive flag to sit out the passing storm. By the time we reached GADP01 the rain had subsided and the sea was looking rather ok for diving.

A few attempts to moor resulted in success. It is always best not to moor Naga Laut to the flaring platform.

Stephen and Mark T prepared for their ERD dive whilst Mark and Elaine S rapidly kitted up and we splashed nearly synchronous, in a murky green South China Sea around 10am. The viz in the top 15m was poor and limited to 5 metres but the life under the platform was remarkable.

Below the second bracing at 19m the water was clear but very dark, lights are needed to read your computer and SPG!

The first two buddy pairs descended to the fourth bracing at 45m, spotting many schools of jacks and reef fish on whom the pelagics enjoy a makan, the occasional barracuda and our Gannet resident the "tail-less Marbled Eagle Ray" munching on coral growth. Green idea: train Rays to clean the excess marine growth on platform stuctures rather than water-blasting. Easy-lah, they work cheap and are nicer to view than a commercial diver.

A good but dark dive: Stephen completed his ERD on a 45m-25min profile that got us safely back to the surface at 52 minutes using EAN 36 and 80 for deco on his open circuit plan. Mark S and Elaine conducted a no-stop dive to 45m with a slow, safe and enjoyable ascent through the horizontal bracings that seem to be placed perfectly for divers at approx 45m, 32m, 19m and 7m. There are horizontal bracings below 45m, all the way to 65m, then another 15m to the seabed but we don't dive there ... too deep!

Upon surfacing, Mark and Elaine S took control of Naga Laut, sorted out the drift lines, and Brigitte, Hazel, Daryll, Lindsay, Robert and Michel splashed into a rising sea at around 11am. I leave it to these folks to tell their diving stories. Upon their surfacing we all agreed it was a good idea to get back to shore. We enjoyed an ugly force 5 or 6 blowing from the SW making the journey interesting. Many thanks to Mark S for taking the helm and getting us to KBBC safely through rough seas and a heavy squall with only a few bruised butts and one lost t-shirt en-route.

A few photos accompany this brief monologue: Stephen doing his ERD and our resident (blurry) Eagle Ray in murky water. Hopefully others will contribute their photos. Did anyone manage a shot during the homeward journey?

Safe diving!.

September 2008: FAQ

Check out our new FAQ section. If you wish to contribute to this new section please send your FAQ to me Ryan Brothers.

October - December 2008: Training Schedule

The Q4 2008  PSAC training schedule is now published (click on link).

2nd September 2008: Chearnley Shoals

Here are a few photos from the dive taken by Thomas Kühnel:

Mark Tuttle
	Tara Brothers

31st August 2008: Gannet DP-1 (By Ryan Brothers)

Again we were treated to a fantastic dive on Gannet where the weather was great and the swell was minimal. Thanks to the good weather we could even see Mt. Mulu (see first photo) all the way from the north end of Ampa. The only problem was a "slight" current that was sweeping the Naga Laut and divers away from the platform at a speed of around 2 nm. Thankfully the current was only at the surface and after we descended below 10 m we hardly noticed it. The great visibility allowed Mark, Thomas and Brigitte to take some fantastic photos.

August 2008: Kota Kinabalu

The Smiths in Kota Kinabalu on their Summer 2008 Tour:

16th August 2008: Gannet DP-1 (By Ryan Brothers)

We were very fortunate this past weekend to be given permission to dive on the Gannet platform (GADP01). With a favourable weather forecast we headed out for my first ever platform dive. The 28 nm trip out to the platform was uneventful and I was itching to get in the water. I was paired with a an experienced diver who had not been diving for a few years so we agreed to take it slow at first and not go too deep. With much anticipation we made the plunge. Immediately I was struck by the clarity and 'blueness' of the water and as we slowly descended I could not not help but feel that I was going for a walk in a forest surrounded by large majestic trees. My forest was in fact just the platform legs, braces and conduits but as they have been in-situ since 1982 there was a thick coating of life on them. The forest analogy was with me for a good part of the dive so you can image my surprised when I cast my gaze downward and 25m below I saw a 2m wide eagle ray hovering next to one of my "Trees". Due to my earlier agreement with my dive buddy I did not take us down for a closer look but Mark, Brigette and Pete were doing some training at 40 m and were able to spend quite a few minutes with the ray and get some photos and videos of it. I was eagerly awaiting my second dive so we could go deeper and see the ray up close when it was decided to head back to shore as the sea had picked up considerably and we didn't want to risk it getting any worse so far from shore. It took a whole lot longer to get back than it did to get out and there were definitely a few green faces on board who I am sure felt some relief to get back to the KBBC. Even though it took about 7 hours to do one dive it was well worth it and I can't wait to get back out for another. Here are a few pictures of the dive taken by Brigette and Mark (underwater) and Rudy (above). Enjoy.

11th August 2008:

Need to buy some dive gear and travelling around the region? Check out the list of shops here: http://www.panagadivers.com/Club/dive_shops.htm. Have a favourite shop or have some updated info on any of the shops listed? Please let me know Ryan Brothers and I will add them to the list.

4th July 2008: (By Evert Moes)

With a weather depression just moving in on Friday night the Saturday dive unfortunately had to be cancelled as wave heights above 1.5 metre would make diving very uncomfortable and unsafe.

Therefore some other news of something most of you may have seen during a visit to KBBC, or maybe not. Two weeks ago the reconstruction of the dive shed started, which will gives the dive section a proper area to install and operate the compressors and airbank safely. And not unimportant to mention is that the area has been designed to be flood-proof to protect our equipment against king-tides.

It started earlier in the year with some sketches which after iterating a number of time finally resulted in an approval from Panaga Club and KBBC Committee to go ahead with the really needed maintenance project for the dive shed.

With the speed of light the processes were followed and the work started by demolishing the by termite consumed and often flooded interior. Within 4 working days, new brick walls appeared and with all the basics like doors, powerlines and drains it started to look like the design.
 

Figure 1: Status after 1 week of work - 27 June 2008

Figure 2 : Compressor room

Figure 3 : Progress on 4 July 2008.

Last weekends progress was so far ahead that the constructor mentioned that by the end of this week the work would be finished. Impressive, and actually he might be right!!!

Keep you posted.
 

30th June 2008: De Klerk Wreck (By John Elder)

Matt Atkinson from BSADC has found the attached photo of the SS De Klerk (alias the Australian Wreck).

Click for larger image.

28th June 2008: Heather Reef

Here are a few photos from what was obviously a fantastic dive by Bridgette Dale-Pine.

16th June 2008: Petani Mistral (By Mark Tuttle)

As the SW monsoon sets in the South China Sea becomes unsettled as one moves away from coastal waters. The wreck of the Petani Mistral lies in 47 metres of water, approximately 20 nm offshore from Jerudong and 45 nm NE of Kuala Belait. Given the distance from KBBC, we need to near-have perfect conditions to safely get to and back from this wreck when using KBBC as our base.

The weather forecast was favourable so a few adventurous divers decided to take a day away from the office last Monday to enjoy an excellent dive on the Petani, and weather permitting, have a a shallow bimble dive on the coral of Porters Patch during our return journey.

Choosing an 8am departure to avoid the Monday morning traffic jams of Kuala Belait, the boat was loaded and we set off nearly on schedule to find a calm sea awating us for the outward journey. Those who claim that Naga Laut is over-powered with those twin 200 HP Suzuki’s really should come aboard for a 45 mile journey! She will cruise nicely at 35 knots with engines running at 5500 RPM making the trip pleasantly bearable.

Guests Billy and Jo from Borneo Dream in KK joined the PSAC regulars Brigitte, Matt, Nick, Dave and Mark for what was a stunning dive on the Petani. We arrived on-site at 10:45 am, dropped the shot perfectly onto the back deck at 45m and the first pair splashed in at 11am for their 70 minute dive. As we rarely have the luxury of a dedicated cox’n and surface support team, nearly all of our diving is done in “waves” where there are at least two people on the boat at all times who are qualified cox’n and competent at diver rescue.

The wreck is massively populated by small reef fish and one or two larger species however it is sadly overfished and the port side companionway is now blocked by a 2m x 3m fish trap that is jammed between the cabin wall and gunwale. The bow of this ship is draped by enormous nets that are encrusted with shells and barnacles. The last time we visited this wreck with the BSADC boat Down Under 3, we met an unmarked powerboat equipped with a winch and davit, with two divers and three crew aboard. On descent I found the binnacle had been removed from the wheelhouse and placed atop the wreck between the funnels. How odd … then during my ascent the same two unknown divers were observed plummeting down our shot line with an enormous spool of rope in tow. The binnacle was not seen again.

Billy brought along a new Canon Ixus in an Ikelite housing to test it at depth and acquired some wonderful photos of the wreck, her fishy occupants and a few divers.

The second wave of divers splashed in at 12:30 with a plan to surface in 70 minutes. During their dive the wind picked up from 3-4 knots to 7-8 knots, pushing the sea state from 2 to an unfriendly 4 with 1 - 1.5 metre swell coming at us from the SW, precisely the direction we have to travel to return to KB! Upon surfacing at 1:40 pm, we collected all aboard safely, retrieved our shotline and headed toward Tutong to find sheltered seas closer to shore. This tactic worked well, allowing us to surf the oncoming swell until we were within 5 miles of the coastline where the sea suddenly returned to the glassy-calm state we enjoyed earlier in the morning. Steering a course parallel to the coast and in the absence of any appreciable waves, we managed to get Naga Laut back up to 35 knots and cruised home within the two hours we budgeted, forfeiting the planned second dive in favour of an early afternoon arrival back at KBBC.

All in all we enjoyed a successful day of cheeky diving, away from the office on a Monday morning. Our carbon footprint: 310 litres of petrol consumed during the 4 hour journey, a significant improvement resulting from the efficient 4-stroke engines, compared to their 2-stroke counterparts! We hope to do even better in the future by equipping our badly needed new boat with Volvo Penta diesel inboard engines, if the KBBC budget allows for such an expenditure this year!

All photos courtesy of Billy Hammond and Jo Cotterill of Borneo Dream, Kota Kinabalu who visited Brunei for their first time on 14-16 June. Apparently they arrived safely home in KK on Tuesday afternoon despite their handicap of not being able to buy diesel in Brunei!
 

15th June 2008: Chearnley Shoals

Here are a few photos from the dive by Bridgette Dale-Pine and Matt Newman:

14th June 2008: Baiei Maru (By Mark Tuttle)

 
We have a new wreck to dive in Brunei Bay! Ten intrepid divers planned a dive on 14 June 2008 to investigate the discovery…

Read the full story here: Baiei Maru

5th June 2008: Chearnley Shoals (By Brigette Dale-Pine)

After one uneventful dive on Chernley reef, the group practiced some rescue scenarios at surface….one lost buddy, one injury buddy, etc... The boat was moved to a new location where cuttlefish mania awaited for us! We counted up to 14 cuttlefishes, which were captured on camera (after a mad delete of my holiday snaps – my card was full!) On the way back, to end a perfect day, a pod of dolphins made their appearance!
 

PSAC Committee Meeting Minutes - June 2008

PSAC Committee  - MOM June 2008

National Instructor Visit May/June 2008: (By Mark Tuttle)

PanagaDivers hosted Dave Lock, a BSAC National Instructor for two weeks of dive training that has resulted in a significant increase to our instruction capability and ultimately continued safe diving in Brunei and Miri. Congratulations to all of the newly-qualified divers and instructors!

From PSAC, we welcome Brigitte, Stephen, Hazel, and Frits as our new Open Water Instructors while Mark S, Matt and Evert successfully completed their Advanced Instructor qualifications. The BSAC Advanced Instructor qualification is exemplary and unmatched by many other diver training organizations. Passing this assessment requires considerable talent and capability. I applaud Mark, Evert and Matt from PanagaDivers and Ian Jones from Piasau for their accomplishment.

In addition to the instructor courses, Dave also supervised a BSAC Sport Mixed Gas course for Neil Davey from Piasau, Paul and Nigel from BDSAC, and Pete, Matt and Evert from PSAC. Mark qualified as a Trimix Instructor by organizing and teaching the course. Stephen, Brigitte, Matt and Pete successfully completed their BSAC Diver Coxswain certification, an internationally recognized "driver's licence" for powerboats that is endorsed by the UK Maritime Coastal Agency.

This dive event was a true Borneo intra-branch effort with seven guest participants: from BDSAC, Paul, Rob and Nigel, from the Brunei Garrison branch, Nick Ankrah, and from Piasau Divers in Miri, Angela, Neil and Ian.

I thank all of these people for their positive participation and efforts to make this event a success. Sincere thanks also to our member base who endured two weeks of "no club dives" during a perfectly calm dive season, to Dave Lock for volunteering his valuable time, experience, knowledge and patience and to the management and staff of the Panaga Recreation Centre and KBBC for helping us to achieve our objectives!
 

Some pictures of the training can be seen here: http://web.mac.com/emoes

25th May 2008: Toho Maru (By Matt Newman)

 
The final dive of the ERD course conducted by Mark Tuttle, our Dive Officer, was a 'live' deep dive on the Toho Maru (more info on the website) using air and decompressing on Nitrox. For many divers this was their first visit to the Toho Maru and the underwater conditions were excellent with great visibility and a shot line right on the stern of the wreck. You couldn't ask for more.

For 25mins at 50m, the divers were required to perform 40mins of decompression resulting in a total 'run time' of 70mins. During the dive a strict schedule of deco stops is adhered to by the divers to minimise the risk of DCI with the exact schedule being calculated before the dive using computer software. "Multi gas" dive computers (i.e. those capable of switching from air to nitrox underwater) are also useful for these types of dives, however most entry-level dive computers do not have this capability. Needless to say, ERD dives involving decompression require a good level of pre-dive planning, good dive discipline and good buoyancy control at all times.

The ERD dive went well although things got very crowded on the shot line on the way up before the trapeze was met at 9m which allowed the divers to move apart. As always we should be thankful for the warm waters of the South China Sea which make these long decompression so much more pleasant than anything you could do the UK or the Netherlands.

Well done to all the ERD divers on the day: Brigette Dale-Pine, Pete Elvin, Paul Thurton (Bandar), Nigel Goring (Bandar) and Neil Davey (Piasau). At to their instructor, Mark Tuttle, of course. Stephen Smith missed out on the big day but will have another opportunity later.

After the ERD divers were safely back in the boat Evert Moes, Neil Hadfield and Matt Newman conducted their own ERD dive using air and trimix bottom gases. Some photos from this dive are included and show the great visibility on the day.

All in all a great day's diving on the Toho. Mention must be made of the porthole brought up by Pete in a most unconventional manner - clutched between his knees!

24th May 2008: Chearnley Shoals (By Matt Newman)

 
Space on the Naga Lout was very tight on Saturday due to 5 divers (plus instructor) undergoing Extended Range Diver (ERD) training. ERD invloves the use of manifolded twin-tanks to allow divers to increase their depth and/or time at the bottom, plus the use of side-slung deco- tanks to permit accelerated decompression using rich Nitrox. Needless to say this all takes up a lot of room and therefore the DM was forced to restrict the numbers of divers onboard - apologies to those who missed out.

Since the ERD trainees were still undergoing instruction in the use of twins and deco tanks, a shallow training ground at Chearnley was chosen. The poor old ERD trainees wouldn't have any time to look at the scenary anyway! 2 dives later the ERD trainees had taken on/off their deco tanks +20 times, performed valve shutdown drills +20 times, performed gas sharing as donor and receiver +20 times, laid a line +20 times, sent DSMBs to surface and tried simulated decompression on the floating trapeze all whilst maintaining neutral buoyancy. Very tiring for everyone but vital to create that "physical memory" that allows you perform actions while under stress.

May 2008: Kota Kinabalu Wreck Diving (By Mark Tuttle)

 
Mark tells us about his experience exploring the wreck diving opportunities during early May in Kota Kinabalu. Read the full story here:

Kota Kinabalu - Usukan Bay “The Rice Bowl Wreck” and Pulau Gaya “The Gaya Wreck”

10th May 2008: Chearnley Shoals (By Matt Newman)

 
Combination of the continuing saga of "The Cold" (part IV) and the Miri Jazz Festival meant a smallish outing of only 5 divers. Weather initially looked a bit *waggle* but the early offshore breeze died down and reduced the chop, however the underlying swell played havoc with a few tummies.

Since Ampa was a no-go due to the start-up, it was decided to head to Chearnley for some training. Chearnley "B" and "F" were visited and although neither was stunning both were 'nice' and very pleasant to bimble around over for 30mins. Both reefs looking in good shape with plenty of smaller fish, healthy corals and bl**dy tiny stingy jellyfish (cute to look at though). Nick claimed to have seen a turtle at "F" but frankly it was suspected that he was probably just narc'd (hey, it can happen at 18m). Hazel was put through the paces doing her DL rescue skills reviews as well as hefting a shot around (put it there, no there, just there, ummm, no, there...) while Craig underwent torture by DSMB.

All in all a nice day's diving.

P.S. Evert emphatically states "the turtle WAS there as well as the big lobster!"

19th April 2008: Ampa Platforms (By Matt Newman)

 
Despite it being a morning after Dutch Night and being in the grip of an apparent cold-epidemic, we mustered 7 divers for the first trip to the Ampa platforms this year. Weather was fine but a slow and steady 1.5m swell was evident as we left the breakwater, but being stout-hearted (pig-headed?) BSAC divers we proceeded up to Ampa.

Trying to find a decent mooring point on AMDP-10 was the first problem of the day. The current and wind were acting in opposite directions and so it was a matter of finding a spot on the platform where one of these forces dominated in order to keep the boat standing nicely off. Took three goes but we found it in the end.

After descending through the typical "Baram gloom" in the first 5m divers were presented with, er, more gloom. Vis was maximum of 15m at about 25m depth and got steadily worse thereafter. Several divers managed to head to the bottom and with the aid of torches could have a look at the conductors entering the seabed. For the entire dive divers were buffeted by the current eddies swirling around the platform and from about 8m up the swell also started to throw divers around. Made for a rather unpleasant 6m safety stop.

AMWJ-26 was the next port of call. In the event this turned out to be a bad call since visibility was even worse, down to 5m maximum. First wave managed a reasonably long dive, albeit rather murky, but the second and third waves aborted early either due to lost buddies or shear annoyance. Two Barracuda did swim up to one diver's torch but took off after seeing the grumpy look on the diver's face.

In order to ensure that at least some training could be ticked off, we conducted a training rescue management scenario where it was assumed that one diver had stopped breathing underwater and her buddy had been bent getting her to the surface rapidly. Hazel did a good job coordinating the "rescue". However two previously unseen workers on the platform did look rather worried until 'thumbs up' signals from the boat showed them we were only 'playing'. Funny people, divers.

29th March 2008: Browne Patch and Ampa Patches / Ampa Light (By Evert Moes)

 
For those 7 divers who did not register, a missed opportunity to make two excellent dives with flat calm sea condition where normally could only be dreamed off. Five divers, made it to the rarely visited Browne Patch and had a freezing dip (25C!!!) on this nice 20 metre reef with its sandy patches and diverse corals, but not many fish apart from the fussiliers.
 

Sandy patches and excellent coral at Browne Patch (click picture to enlarge)
 

Following the positive feedback of the previous day, the plan was to revisit Ampa Light and in particularly the old rig. With a more accurate understanding of its location the shot was placed only 30ft off, (surely to protect the artificial reef), and repositioned as part of Stephen’s Dive Leaders training exercise. With the 25m. viz and the shallow, maximum depth of only 11.3 metre, it was found to be an amazing location with a significant variety of nudibranchia like the Phyllodesium briareum.
 

Old Ampa Rig (click picture to enlarge)

 

Our newest artificial reef

 
Mampak well jacket loaded on a barge, waiting to be dropped in the sea, with Naga Laut in the foreground. Our newest artificial reef, the jacket I mean, not the Naga Laut (we hope).
  

(click picture to enlarge)

January - June 2008:  Training Schedule

The Q2 2008  PSAC training schedule is now published.

22nd March 2008:  Chearnley Shoals and Terumbu Kecil Selatan (TKS Reef)

 
With the good graces of Neptune we enjoyed calm seas and sunny skies for the second open-water dive in 208, from KBBC using our freshly painted Naga Laut, with eight eager divers on board. Setting off from Sungai Belait after a little aluminium foil magic to the GPS, we rounded the fairway buoy with Ryan at the helm and decided to navigate to TKS on compass and clock (just in case the GPS failed us). Good thing we did because the inevitable happened and after 45 minutes at 25 knots on a course of 30 degrees, we switched the Garmin GPSmap 188 on to find... no display!

After two attempts to locate the site using a handheld GPS (with position n=correct by 2 minutes of longitude) a little more aluminium foil was added to the power connector and we got the depth sounder working again long enough to navigate to the reef. Upon arrival, as we were preparing to drop the shot, a very large sting ray jumped out of the water about ten metres forward of our bow to greet us on this small reef!
 

Visibility was not stunning but we did enjoy a pleasant dive at 20-25 metres in unseasonably temperate water. Mark S performed half of his Advanced Diver Rescue Assessment with a lot of help from Lindsay who acted as the "casualty". Well done to both for their good performances!
 

The second dive was to be on the 8 metre shallow rise at Chearnely Shoal, which we were unable to locate so we turned instead to a 12m peak of Chearnely E ridge. Lovely dive despite the absence of larger pelagics, the coral looks relatively healthy and there are many small reef fish sheltering in the nooks and crannies of this reef.
 

Turning around to head home at 2pm, again the aluminium foil foiled us and we were forced to navigate back to Sungai Beliat using the ever-reliable compass and clock, well done Ryan!
 

The day ended with lots of smiles and the usual good cheer, 16 nearly-empty cylinders prompting a brief lesson on compressor operation, and one painfully stubbed toe saw the day draw to a close with grand plans to repair the Garmin and venture forth next weekend to explore Chearnely and Ampa Shoals for much-needed shallow sites for the upcoming instructor training sessions in May.
 

Naga Laut is Back in Action

 
The Naga Laut has been scrubbed, rubbed, given a few coats of paint and was launched on Wednesday March 19th at 20:00. Although the launch was done in the dark the boat went in without any trouble. Thanks to Mark T. Steve, Evert, Ryan and a few additional locals fishing at the boat ramp. The boat was taken out for a test run on Thursday and all systems are go for our second dive of year on Saturday March 22.

Naga Laut Re-painted March 2008

 
We're pleased to report that all work on our dive boat, Naga Laut, is completed, with fresh coats of two-part epoxy paint applied inside and out. As you can see from the photograph, she looks almost brand new in her two-tone splendour! We plan to launch her back into Sungai Belait this evening and when the new VHF radio antenna is installed we will be ready for another season of diving.

Many thanks to the volunteers who donated their time and effort to help us complete this vital maintenance project:
Brian Carl, Brigitte Dale-Pine, Evert Moes, Javier Leal, John Clouatre, Lindsay Nairn, Mark Steinhart, Mark Tuttle, Matt Newman, Poul Strobech, Ryan Brothers, Stephen Smith and Ying Tan.
 

Annual Report 2007

 
The 2007 Annual report has been published.(2007 Annual Report)

2008 Tariffs

 
The 2008 tariffs have been set. (2008 Tariffs)

May 28th - June 8th 2008: BSAC National Instructor visit to Brunei

 
We will be host to Dave Lock, BSAC National Instructor, in late May to early June, to conduct BSAC advanced-level instructor training and mixed-gas workshops. There is an ambitious schedule planned that will see a full two weeks of dive training in the Panaga classrooms, pools and offshore on the wrecks and reefs. Details to follow!
 

On-going Branch Training

We are keeping ourselves busy with BSAC Ocean Diver, Sports Diver and Dive Leader core theory courses and exams at present, in addition to Boat Handling, Oxygen Administration, Advanced Nitrox and Extended Range Diver skill development courses. Further information on the course syllabus can be found at the BSAC website http://www.bsac.org/page/258/sdc---course-syllabus.htm. Please contact our Training Officer Mark Steinhart or Diving Officer Mark Tuttle for details.

16th February 2008: Naga Laut

We pulled our trustworthy old dive boat from Sungai Belait last weekend for an annual hull scrub, inspection and painting all of which are making excellent progress thanks to the help of many volunteers. No damage or evidence of osmosis as yet, but unfortunately the boat was rammed once again from astern, causing fracture damage to the stbd anti-cavitation plate and trim tab, all of which has been repaired by the good Mr. Chong and Mr. Brody. Thanks to the low hanging branches at the public launching ramp we also earned a new VHF antenna. Good learnings on this one, we need at least 1.6 metres of tidal height before using the public ramp for launch or retrieval, if you have a trailer hook on your 4WD make sure it works to expectation, ensure there is ample padding on your clutch plates and check the trailer tires are fully inflated before setting a 2.5 ton boat on it! We hope to be finished painting the hull by end-February and given a favorable state of the NE monsoon, diving again in early March!

7th - 10th February 2008: Kota Kinabalu

Fourteen Panaga Divers descended upon Kota Kinabalu during Chinese New Year to complete a series of open water training sessions, inclusive of entry-level BSAC Ocean Diver, Sports Diver and a BSAC Advanced Diver marshaling assessment.
Despite a last-minute disappointment by Absolute Scuba in forfeiting our promised boat and tanks, we managed to achieve success with the help of Borneo Divers and their accommodating staff on Mamutic Island in the centre of Tunku Abdul Rahman Park . Conveniently located just offshore from KK, Tunku Abdul Rahman Park offers a diverse selection of div e sites and conditions, from surf-swept beach dives to low-viz reefs on the windward side of the island and 20+ metres viz on the leeward reefs . We managed to fully qualify five new Ocean Divers, help two new Sports Divers complete 90% of their practical lessons and Mark S completed one of his Advanced Diver assessments, all in three short chaotic days! Regrettably, those who chose to drive to KK were greeted with a flooded Temburong on their homeward journey creating an opportunity to remain in at Tanjung Aru for another day. Congratulations to Robert, Tara, Jan, Astrid, and Liz who all completed their BSAC Ocean Diver open water practical lessons, also to John and Ryan who completed all of their Sports Diver open water lessons and to Irene and Bas who completed much of their Sports Diver lessons. Many thanks to Mark S for organiz ing the expedition as part of his BSAC Advanced Diver marshalling assessment , Mark T and Evert for volunteering their time as instructors . Roes and Martijn for being there for the fun dives , and special thanks to non-diving family members for bearing with the hobby of their diving spouses!
 

13th January 2008:  Chearnley Shoals and Marlin Reef

Tis the season to start diving! The PSAC 2008 season has kicked off early with two dives thanks to some great weather. After a less than ideal start to the day, heavy seas and even the beginnings of a waterspout, the sun came out and we had a great dive with good visibility at Chearnley Shoals where a turtle and several large cuttlefish were spotted.  The second dive was not as nice due to the reduced visibility but several pods of dolphins we spotted on the surface. As many of the divers were also participating in the Boat Handling Training course most were able to get some hands on practical experience in addition to the diving.

January 2008:  Training Schedule

The Q1 2008  PSAC training schedule is now published.