Archive for December, 2009

Things never slow down at Deep Blue Scuba. Not even closing Christmas and New Year holidays when everyone is going wild hunting down gifts, preparing the family feast, or simply drinking themselves silly. At least when Ricky Koh the ‘Slave Driver’ is running the show, the Deep Blue crew should never expect to slack off.

Now that weekly trips to Tioman and Pulau Aur have come to a close, the crew geared up for a different agenda. It was time to put their rescue, briefing and navigation skills to the test, again.

Divers took turns to play the role of a victim and rescuer. While it was a simulated situation, all divers gave it their best shot.

Under the watchful eyes of five instructors, the rescuer had to gear up on the beach, swim out to sea, search for the unconscious victim under water, tow the victim back to shore and perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The need to systematically execute each step while keeping to the shortest time possible added to the pressure.

Accidents can happen to anyone anywhere. Each Deep Blue Scuba crew must therefore be able to perform the entire rescue operation independently. A couple of our female crew demonstrated true commitment as they rescued victims who were at least 20 per cent heavier than they were! As Pierre Chew, one of the instructors, often say: “in real life, you cannot choose your victim.”

Besides refreshing their rescue skills, the divers had to exhibit good navigation skills and give comprehensive – and yet interesting – dive briefings.

This year-end assessment also marked the completion of Dive Master training for a selected few – Mathias, Sharm, Pauline and Alex. Congratulations!